The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: Life & Arts

  • Mar’s Gaming Garage: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

    Mar’s Gaming Garage: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

    By Mario Orozco

    For the final game review of the semester, I took the recommendation of a fellow journalism major and played “Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.” The “Super Monkey Ball” games have piqued my interest since childhood and Banana Blitz served as my overdue introduction to the series. Fortunately for me, it seems like I didn’t miss out on anything that special.

    Unlike the past games that I have reviewed thus far, I didn’t particularly enjoy Banana Blitz, at least the main single-player portion of the game. The main game revolves around you controlling a monkey in a ball and traversing through different levels leading up to various boss fights. 

    While I didn’t love this game, there are some aspects that I thought were pretty fun. The first thing I liked about Banana Blitz were the boss fights themselves. The designs of the different animals that we must battle are all very fun and creative. The boss fights at the end of the worlds were also a breath of fresh air after struggling through the levels leading up to them.

    My favorite part of Banana Blitz wasn’t a part of the main game at all. The party games section was the best part of this game by far in my opinion. It consists of 50 different mini games that can be played solo or with your friends. There is such a wide variety of different games to choose from and plenty of replay value, whether you’re competing against your friends or just trying to beat your own high scores. This was my saving grace for Banana Blitz and the reason why I will likely go back and give it some more playtime in the future.

    Now to the negatives. The camera and the way it shakes and twists rapidly with every movement made me feel nauseous. I eventually got used to the movement, but the first couple hours of this playthrough were exceedingly difficult as a result. Getting used to the movement of the monkey’s is also challenging. It is very sensitive, making it easy to accidentally fall off the course and make frustrating mistakes. These two things combined made it both disorienting and frustrating at the same time. 

    The final thing I didn’t like about the game was how repetitive it got. There are 100 total levels that have a very similar structure to each other, which can dampen the experience over time. This might not be the case for most people, however. I played the game entirely in one sitting which I definitely don’t recommend.

    Overall, “Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz” has its strengths and weaknesses, but is overall a decent game. It took me a total of 5 hours and 49 minutes to complete the main game. If I was rating the mini games alone, I would give Banana Blitz a 4 out of 5. However, with everything in consideration, I give “Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz” a 2.5 out of 5. 

    I do not recommend the game if you get motion sickness or are looking for a relaxing gaming experience. If you want a fun party game to play with your friends or a challenging game to speedrun, this might be the game for you.

    If you have any games you would like me to review, you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • The humanities for humanity

    Several arts and humanities majors at Cal Poly Humboldt are seeing a downturn in their enrollment numbers

    By Eli Staton

    There has been a downward trend in enrollment in English, Philosophy, and History majors at Cal Poly Humboldt. According to data from Humboldt’s Institutional Research, Analytics, and Reporting website, in the past 32 years since enrollment data has been collected: English majors decreased 62.5%; Philosophy majors decreased 52.0%; History majors decreased 74.6%.

    Comparatively, enrollment in these STEM majors increased: Biological Sciences increased 12.1%; Computer Science increased 62.0%; Environmental Science Management increased 24.4%. 

    Overall, Humboldt enrollment decreased 23.6% from 7,823 in Fall 1991 to 5,976 in Fall 2023.

    Lisa Tremain, Department Chair for English and philosophy at the university, points out that this data does not show the whole picture of what is happening with enrollments. 

    “The IRAR data doesn’t capture the number of students who start here at Cal Poly in one major, typically STEM, and realize ‘this isn’t a fit for me’, and they come to majors like English,” Tremain said. “I sign forms constantly where students are changing their major to come to English.”

    Tremain observed that because of the change to a polytechnic status, humanities enrollments have increased.

    “I want to correct a misconception that in the humanities here at Cal Poly Humboldt we’re going to continue to see this decline,” Tremain said. “Actually, what’s happening is that because of the transition to Cal Poly, we’re having more students come to us overall, and some of the students are choosing the humanities, and the data from philosophy is showing that.”

    There has been a downward trend across the country and globally according to Martha Nussbaum’s 2010 book, Not for Profit, which is about the importance of humanities for democracy. 

    Another factor that is not captured in the IRAR data is the number of students who minor in humanities.

    “We have lots of students who minor in philosophy. Many of them don’t want a major because they’re worried that with a philosophy degree, they won’t be employable,” said Benjamin Shaeffer, Humboldt’s philosophy department leader. “Unfortunately, that actually is an illusion. Philosophy majors do really well in the market, it turns out.”

    The American Academy of Arts & Sciences released a report in October 2023 showing the earnings outcomes for humanities majors in each state. The report was based on data collected between 2017 to 2021 by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which sampled over 15 million cases nationwide. Results for California showed that full-time workers ages 22 to 26 with a humanities degree had median earnings of $46,347, and $90,634 for ages 30 to 59. The survey’s definition of humanities went beyond English, philosophy, and history to include ethnic studies, foreign languages, art history, linguistics, and religious Studies, to name a few. 

    There seems to be a misconception that humanities graduates will be uncompetitive in the job market.

    “The reality is that humanities do very well in the job market,” Jeff Crane, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences at Humboldt, said. “Within 20 years they’ll be making as much, or more than, people with engineering degrees and other STEM degrees.”

    Crane is not opposed to STEM degrees, but rather he is opposed to the undeserved criticism that humanities degrees receive from the public.

    “Business is valuable, engineering is valuable, science is valuable, but they’re not the ones getting hammered and criticized on a regular basis,” Crane said. “In our society, it’s the humanities.”  

    In reference to the bias toward STEM advertising in Humboldt’s recruitment videos,  Tremain said, “we’re seeing students out on the riverbed, students on the Coral Sea on the boat, students at the beach, students up in the forest…I do think it’s a PR problem.”

    Tori Vargas, a junior at Humboldt double majoring in History Education and Religious Studies with a minor in anthropology, is the president of the History Club. She has noticed the lack of advertising for humanities majors at Humboldt. 

    “I really wish that Humboldt would advertise that there’s a religious studies major here and that there’s a history major here, because they just aren’t advertised to people,” Vargas said. “People don’t even know about Humboldt. My high school had 4,000 students and I was the only one in my graduating class out of a thousand to come here.” 

    Vargas also recognizes how cuts in funding for the humanities departments are effecting her experience at Humboldt. 

    “We have to fundraise our own money for travel and for lodging and everything,” Vargas said, referring to History Club field trips. 

    During this interview, Vargas and a fellow history club member were selling coffee and Goldfish crackers in the lobby of Founders Hall to save money for the annual American Historical Association’s conference held in New York in January 2025. 

    “Part of the religious studies programs have something called experiential weekends where they pay to take students to visit temples and stuff like that,” Vargas said. “They’ve been having to cut back on the amount of people who can go on these trips, and they’ve been having to change locations and stuff because they haven’t had enough funding to take people. They don’t offer bus rides anymore and you have to drive yourself, which really sucks.”

    Providing these kinds of experiential education opportunities is one of the ways to help students engage with the community and apply the skills they learn, said Crane. The college is also trying to help students get more internships.

    “And we can say to parents, you know, ‘your son or daughter will be able to get a job because they’ll do an internship, say, with College Corps, one of our programs, which will help them secure a position,’” Crane said. 

    The leadership and faculty in Humboldt’s College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences are also working on creating a new major called Public Humanities or Applied Humanities, which will be a bachelor’s degree program aiming for release in Fall 2025. The curriculum will be a mix of philosophy, religious studies, and world languages and cultures.

    “Students will be taking what they’re learning in their classes to address very specific issues in society, and then build a set of skills that will strengthen them both on an individual level, but also as candidates in the job market,”  Crane said. 

    The stakes are high when choosing a major because a university education in the United States can also be expensive. Considerations for the financial return-on-investment can weigh heavily when deciding on a major. Possibly even more so for first-generation students and for Pell Grant recipients, a federal government subsidy for students who have exceptional financial need. According to Cal Poly Humboldt’s IRAR data, in Fall 2023, 40% of students were first-generation, and 38% of students were Pell Grant recipients.

    “Are we just creating workers?” Tremain asked. “What about creating humans? It’s problematic that we’re so focused on, ‘I go to school to get a job and become a worker.’ One of the things that majoring in English will do is it will help you to be an engaged citizen, a critical thinker, someone who can separate truth from fact, someone who can appreciate beauty, someone who understands the importance of the literary arts as part of a full human experience.”

    The job market is changing rapidly in the 21st century, with the ubiquity of the internet and other technological advancements. There is now the ability for many people to work from anywhere with internet access, so competition for those jobs is no longer confined to geographic locations.

    “The world of work is going to change significantly in the next few decades,” said  Tremain. 

    Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are rumored to change the job market in drastic ways.

    “I haven’t figured out what the hell to even think about A.I.,” said Crane. 

    Unlike technology, one thing that is unlikely to change quickly is human nature and our need to communicate effectively with each other.

    “If we’re really standing by our discipline, we teach people how to love the world and we teach people how to love and understand each other,” said Heal McKnight, faculty member in Humboldt’s Creative Writing Program. “If you walk out of here, a sturdy person who has a sense of humor about who you are, you can put those skills to work in all kinds of places.”

    The curriculums in Humboldt’s humanities departments are designed to nourish the development of students into critical thinkers who have confidence in themselves. This is gained through analysis of texts, writing, class discussions, and exposure to different perspectives.

    “The thing that people don’t realize about philosophy is it’s not providing you answers, but it’s providing you tools. It’s providing you with the capacity to think independently,” Shaeffer said. “So it’s creating the space for you to think for yourself. And that’s what we’re interested in fostering. I think [this] goes for all the humanities, it goes for art, it’s not unique to philosophy.”

    Declining enrollments in humanities courses at Cal Poly Humboldt can lead to some course options becoming unavailable in the future. In the current educational paradigm, it comes down to how to allocate limited resources of budgets and faculty. The cutting of humanities course options can limit the growth of students and ultimately humanity becomes less humane than it could be.

    “The only way to save the humanities is to take humanities, because if we have enrollment numbers, then we won’t get funding cut,” Vargas said.

  • Mar’s Gaming Garage: Buddy Simulator 1984

    Mar’s Gaming Garage: Buddy Simulator 1984

    By Mario Orozco

    Independent developers have created many hidden gems in gaming, and this week’s game is one of them. “Buddy Simulator 1984” was recommended to me by a liberal studies elementary education major and was one the best indie-horror games I have ever played.

    “Buddy Simulator 1984” is one of those games that kept me thinking even after I completed it. This game was a psychological adventure that I can’t say I have experienced from very many games. The first main aspect of this game that I really enjoyed was the progression of quality that the game undergoes as you progress. The game is played from the perspective of an old 1984 computer and it starts off as a simple text based role-play game (RPG) that has been created for us by our new AI buddy. As our buddy learns and evolves, so does the game, with the graphics becoming 2D and eventually 3D as the story continues. Despite the increase in quality over time, it still keeps that nostalgic pixelated design, continuing the feel of an older game.

    The next aspect of “Buddy Simulator 1984” that elevates this game to a whole new level is the way your buddy becomes more mentally unstable as the game progresses. It obsesses over being your only friend and making you happy to the point that it becomes terrifying. Multiple creepy glitches occur throughout the game whenever something causes it to feel negative. These glitches ranged from uncomfortable text filling the screen to seemingly being inside your buddies mind viewing its overwhelming thoughts. Depending on the way you play the game, your buddy gets increasingly hostile towards you for disobeying its directions and “ruining the game” that it worked so hard to create for you. Witnessing the buddy’s codependency drive it to the point of insanity was spine-chilling, yet sad.

    The underlying plot of this game is the final aspect that made it so great. There are multiple “glitches” that occur throughout the playthrough that give the impression that your buddy may not have full control. Characters appear where they shouldn’t and interacting with them causes the game to become distorted. A few times when interacting with characters, they can be seen calling you a different name that immediately glitches back to the correct name. This implies you aren’t the first person this has happened to, and gives insight into the insecurities that your buddy has about losing you. 

    There are only two minor complaints that I have with this game. The first is the length. The game is super short, and I wish there was more content, because it was genuinely such a unique experience. However, there are multiple endings to the game that can help extend the playthrough. The other complaint I have is the fact that the game only autosaves, so after completion, you have to play through the entirety of the game again to get a new ending instead of being able to access a specific save point. 

    Overall, “Buddy Simulator 1984” was one of my favorite indie-horror games that I have ever played. It took me a total of 6 hours and 12 minutes to complete and was a joy throughout. I rate this game 4.4 out of 5, it is definitely worth playing and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys glitch-horror.

    If you have any games you would like me to review, you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt’s queer community comes together at the Trans Resource Expo

    By Alexandra Berrocal and Mia Costales

    Pink, white, and blue streamers, pride flags, and the familiar sound of students and community members mingling filled the Great Hall this past Saturday, thanks to the Trans Resource Expo (TREXPO) put on by the Eric Rofes Multicultural Queer Resource Center (ERC). TREXPO is one of the biggest events put on by the ERC and aims to provide queer resources and a safe and inclusive space for trans and queer people.  

    According to the Cal Poly Humboldt website, the ERC’s mission is to, “shift public opinion of the queer community on campus and in the local area from tolerance to acceptance.”

    They also provide services such as their Queer Library and Gender Affirming Clothing Closet, both located in the Nelson Hall West, and the Queer Community Garden located at CCAT. 

    At the event, there were several tables representing organizations such as Queer Humboldt, Planned Parenthood, and Open Door, where attendees could learn about local resources and other events being held by these groups. There were also activities like button making, Dungeons and Dragons, and queer trivia. Most importantly, TREXPO provided a safe space for trans, queer, and closeted people to connect with each other and learn more about how the community serves them. 

    Isabelle Dushane, the ERC Events Director, shared their intent with putting on this event.

    “The overall goal of the event is to connect the trans community in Humboldt/the university to local resources, information about transitioning, and information about gender affirming care,” DuShane said. “We also hold events for people within the LGBTQ community to connect over shared experiences and meet new people.”

    While the goal of the event was to provide students and community members with trans and queer resources, TREXPO also fostered an inclusive hangout for everyone who attended. Organizers provided food and drinks while music by queer artists blasted through the speakers throughout the night. People could be found perusing stations showcasing queer-made zines and pamphlets, the raffle with prizes including albums by artists like Mitski, and the rack filled with gender affirming clothing.

    The turnout for the night was solid, resources and activities were plentiful, and above all people of all types of backgrounds were able to come together for a night of comradery and connection. 

    Sky Smith, a Cal Poly student who attended the event, was content with how the TREXPO turned out.

    “I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I can’t really think about what more I could ask for in terms of resources,” Smith said. “This kind of thing could be turned into a progressively bigger and bigger event for people who already have a lot of their resources lined up, but are just looking for a community.” 

  • Student dancers bring art to life in the Van Duzer

    By Dezmond Remington

    Dance Visions can’t be summed up in a few simple opening sentences. 

    The concert can’t be judged as a whole because of the six students and three faculty that choreographed 10 different dances, all performed by dancers from Humboldt’s dance department. Each dance had its own different look. There were fairy tales, night clubs, and cabaret halls all on stage, as well as a few more archetypal modern dance pieces. 

    It was a celebration of aesthetics. Though none of the costumes or lighting was overly elaborate, it was all rich. No dance was boring to watch. All of the dances were a thrill to watch as performers contorted and flipped, swayed and leaped. Broken Boundaries, a dance choreographed by professor Linda Maxwell and performed by just three dancers, looked like a moving painting. 

    Though the pieces by the professors were perfectly, reasonably interesting, the most entertaining and daring performances came courtesy of the student choreographers. Alli Bush’s 8te was a neo-burlesque extravaganza. Miriam Allen’s Evocative Pigment juxtaposed three different colors in a dazzling display of light and motion that was wholly captivating.

    The one criticism that could be thrown at Dance Visions is that art usually has some kind of meaning, a meaning that many of the dances seemed to lack. What significance or idea they expressed wasn’t easy to pick up on, though I’m no professional art critic.

    But how much does that even matter? Dance Visions was a beautiful spectacle, a fun look into the minds of Cal Poly Humboldt’s dance auteurs and performers. Meanings or messages can be overrated when it comes to critiquing art, especially at a college level when people are just learning how to express themselves. It was joyous, a delight to the senses. That in itself is a meaning. 

  • Northern tribal artwork gets the spotlight at the Wa Hinthil Come North Group Exhibition

    Northern tribal artwork gets the spotlight at the Wa Hinthil Come North Group Exhibition

    By Christina Mehr

    The Wa Hinthil Come North Group Exhibition was curated by Meyo Marrufo. The exhibit is located in the Goudi’ni Native American Arts Gallery at Cal Poly Humboldt and runs through March 28 through May 11.

    The Wa Hinthil Come North Exhibition expands on the curatorial work of Maruffo, who began working for her tribe as a cultural resource assistant in the environmental department. Currently, Marrufo is an Environmental Director for another Pomo tribe in Central California. Their work has been showcased at the Mendocino Art Museum, Grace Hudson Museum and Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. 

    Featuring a group of 11 artists curated by Meyo Marrufo, Wa Hinthil Come North focuses on Pomo worldview through visual language and storytelling. Wa Hinthil stands for “the People” in the Pomo language, and this specific exhibition is a cultural exchange into our local northern tribal lands. Presenting regalia, digital media, photography, basketry, painting and more, this exhibition expands on the curatorial and artwork of Maruffo. 

    If you want to check out the artwork, the gallery is open to in-person viewing four days a week, and presented virtually at art.humboldt.edu/galleries. They welcome visitors to their in-person viewing hours at the Goudi’ni Gallery. Please contact the Gallery Director at rbg@humboldt.edu, or call 707-826-3629 for more information or to set up a private viewing. 

  • Larry the gardening specialist: a hidden hero

    Larry the gardening specialist: a hidden hero

    By Noah Pond

    Imagine being on your hands and knees all day, planting wild strawberries during the unpredictable Humboldt winter. It’s one of those days where the torrential downpour feels neverending, but at least you’re suited up in full rain gear so you’re dry. Until you reach in your pocket to find your phone had been bathing in a pocket puddle all day.

    This is a familiar situation for Cal Poly Humboldt’s Gardening Specialist Larry Nichols. Gardening has always been a hobby of his and it has kept him on campus for ten years.

    “Ever since I was a little kid, yard work was my favorite chore around the house,” Nichols said. “I’ve been here on campus for about ten years and before that, I had a local landscaping business for about 15 years.”

    Nichols is one of four gardening specialists here at Cal Poly Humboldt. They have the 144 acres of campus divided up into sections that they are in charge of taking care of.

    “I think I have the coolest area,” Nichols said. “I’m responsible for all of Founders and Van Matre Hall, and all through the sciences and a whole bunch of athletics. I have a super cool mix of some of the oldest, original landscapes on campus. I have the oldest rhododendrons on campus and I have some forest in my area, and some of the newest landscape that’s been redesigned and reinstalled in the last 10 years. So, I have this huge spectrum of things to concern.”

    Being in Humboldt, the weather is unpredictable from season to season, and this winter hasn’t been any different.

    “This year has been a super wet winter, and there’s stuff we just can’t do — and it’s not because we’re afraid of getting wet, but you can’t mow a lawn while there’s water standing on it,” Nichols said. “There are some lawns we haven’t been able to mow for a couple of months.”

    In recent years, the grounds team has been trying to move away from lawns being the norm and move more towards native plants, plants for pollinators, and climate-adaptive areas in their place. Although a little bit more labor intensive with all the hand weeding and such, the carbon footprint will be vastly improved due to the lack of power tools and synthetic chemicals.

    Being a gardening specialist is not easy work, but what it comes down to for Larry Nichols is appreciation. He appreciates, cares, and loves this campus, so when people stop and take time out of their day to appreciate the work he is doing, it makes it all worth it.

    “People all the time, visitors, students and staff – they notice what we do and they compliment us on it, especially this time of year when the flowers are starting to happen and the magnolias and rhododendrons are looking really great,” Nichols said. “Multiple times a day people will stop me and say, ‘It looks so beautiful around here, thank you.’”

  • Mar’s Gaming Garage: Spider-Man 2

    Mar’s Gaming Garage: Spider-Man 2

    By Mario Orozco

    Superheroes and video games are two things widely beloved by many and this week’s game combines the two. “Spider-Man 2” was recommended to me by a forestry major and was a long but delightful gaming experience.

    “Spider-Man 2” is one of, if not the best superhero video game I have ever played. I absolutely loved everything about this game. The first main aspect that I enjoyed was the gameplay. It took the combat and web swinging from the previous Spider-Man games and improved it with new combat and traversal mechanics for each of the playable Spider-Men. Also, the ability to switch between both Peter Parker and Miles Morales kept the game fresh, with each having their own unique style of gameplay.

    The next aspect of “Spider-Man 2” that I enjoyed was the sheer amount of things that can be done. Both Spider-Men had their own individual sets of missions as well as cooperative missions. This combination made it feel like I was playing two games in one. The game did a great job taking these two individual paths and intertwining them into a cohesive and engaging story. Experiencing the two Spider-Men fight both as a team and as enemies helped take this game to a brand new level. There is even one small portion where you get to play as Venom and basically destroy everything and everyone in your path. 

    The final aspect of “Spider-Man 2” that made the game so great was the story. The storytelling in this game was amazing and it had many emotional moments that hit so hard. The main story of this game was beautiful from both sides with Peter’s story being one filled with pain and heartbreak while Miles’s was more about fully coming into his role as Spider-Man. Another thing that needs mentioning is how the game took some of the old characters from the previous games’ side quests and gave them more depth through new side quests. The side quest about Howard and his pigeons was told so well. It wasn’t another instance of Spider-Man fighting villains, but a heartfelt story about a guy helping a friend. Getting insight into Howard’s life and helping fulfill his final wish before death made me cry upon completion. It says a lot about the quality of “Spider-Man 2” that even just a side quest could cause such a strong emotional response.
    The only negative thing I felt about this game was some of the side quests were slightly repetitive at times. Some of Miles’ side missions, specifically the ones involving his high school, were a little boring, with little to no combat portions. The rest of the repetitive missions often had some kind of fun multi-enemy combat portion, which made them much more enjoyable to play through. 

    “Spider-Man 2” took me a total of 23 hours and 18 minutes to complete all of the main and side missions. It was such a fun experience, and I rate the game a 4.6 out 5. “Spider-Man 2” is definitely worth playing, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes open world story games. 

    If you have any games you would like me to review, you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • Depressing Dishes: recipes for when you’re feeling down

    By Alexandra Berrocal

    I normally don’t like spinach because people typically serve it raw. Many people don’t like “creamed” spinach either. Try this recipe. It isn’t raw, or creamed. It is simple to make. It is also very nutritious because it includes soybean paste, which adds nutrients. According to a research paper called Effects of Doenjang, traditional Korean Soybean paste has anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Garlic is also known as a natural antibiotic. The blanching in the cooking process also leaves most of the nutrients intact, unlike the boiling process in other recipes. 

    Depressed people often don’t feel up to doing anything fun. It was my goal in publishing “I am the darkness”, my recent cookbook, to let people know they aren’t alone in their depression. And, if they want to cook a recipe along the way, well, that’s great too!  The tofu recipe is also easy to multiply in case you want to serve it to others. The tofu recipe, on the other hand, is a simple, tasty way to prepare tofu. Usually tofu is a bit bland, but the sauce counters this. It is a good way to add more protein to your diet. You can combine the spinach and the tofu into a simple meal, if you like.

    SOY SPINACH

    1 bunch spinach (or other greens)

    Salt

    1 tablespoon soybean paste

    1 minced clove garlic

    1 tablespoon sesame oil

    Toasted sesame seeds

    Wash spinach and remove dead leaves and roots. Blanch spinach for about 20 seconds in boiling water. Cool with cold running water. Gently squeeze to get out as much excess water as possible. Add soybean paste, garlic, and sesame oil. Mix it all by hand. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top as garnish.

    PAN FRIED TOFU

    1 package medium firm tofu

    1 tablespoon avocado oil

    1 green onion

    4 teaspoons soy sauce

    2 teaspoons rice vinegar

    1 teaspoon sesame seeds

    1 teaspoon sugar

    Blot the tofu with paper towels. Cut the tofu block in half, then into slices.  Grease the pan with the oil. Place the tofu in the pan without overlapping or touching. Put the lid on the pan and cook for three minutes on high heat, or until crispy and golden brown on one side. Repeat on the other side.

    Thinly slice green onion, and combine all other ingredients in a bowl for the sauce. Enjoy!

  • An excerpt from Sanctuary

    An excerpt from Sanctuary

    Sanctuary: A book of essays on faith (with some romantic poetry mixed in) 

    By Alexandra Berrocal

    I

    Dream of

    Red hair and

    Soft green eyes. 

    The eyes of my mother.

    I have dreamed of her for

    Decades upon decades and

    Centuries upon centuries.  I paint

    Her because she is clear when all fades.

    The one thing I reliably recall.

    She walks into the front door of my space

    I feel like she has entered myself

    And with every painting she sees

    She gazes into my soul.

    A soul that’s filled with her.

    For time after time

    I look at her

    And feel I

    Collapse 

    In.

    Graphic by Griffin Mancuso
  • Mar’s Gaming Garage: HI-FI Rush

    Mar’s Gaming Garage: HI-FI Rush

    By Mario Orozco

    Every good game has music. Usually a game’s music plays in the background and has no actual effect on the gameplay. This week’s game uses music differently, it’s not just in the background of your gameplay, but part of the mechanics of the game itself. Justin Crittenden, a software engineering major, recommended “HI-FI Rush” to me, a rhythm-based action game released in 2023. Before I played this game, I was under the false impression that it would be like other rhythm games, but “HI-FI Rush” isn’t like anything I have experienced before. 

    This game has a really simple story, but it was well executed and had my complete attention throughout the playthrough. It did a fantastic job taking a simple plot and making it feel entertaining and fresh. One aspect of the game that I enjoyed was the art style. The characters are cel-shaded, giving the game a comic book like appearance and the main bosses of the game each had beautifully detailed freeze frames that contributed to this design. Another aspect I enjoyed were the characters; each character had clear motives and reasoning behind their actions which is extremely important. The characters were also very entertaining, the main cast had fantastic chemistry with each other and it was fun to see them interact and grow together. 

    The main aspect of the game that makes it memorable is the gameplay – the combat is amazing. There is a constant beat playing throughout the game and combos performed exactly on this beat increase the effectiveness of your attacks, which is also used to parry enemy attacks. The beat is useful in ways outside of combat too. It is used to move faster and assists in traversing through the levels. The style of gameplay temporarily switches a few times in specific portions, it even becomes like “Guitar Hero” in a few battles with buttons needing to be pressed exactly on time to the song playing in the background.

    Like always, there are a couple negatives that I would like to address. The first is the design of the levels. Most of them have a similar feel, following the same general outline. This is okay though, the main focus is the combat, which is fun enough for the repetitive nature to not really matter. The other issue is how difficult the timing can be. In the later stages of the game, there are just way too many enemies attacking you all at once to be able to focus on hitting your opponents with rhythm. Instead, it turned into me just dashing around chaotically, randomly swinging at everything close to me. If this is a problem, you can just turn the difficulty down and it’ll make staying on rhythm more manageable.

    “HI-FI Rush” took me a grand total of nine hours and one minute to complete. It is evident through playing the game that the developers had a blast making it, and it feels like a passion project. I rate this game a 4 out of 5, and if you like fast paced, hack-and-slash gameplay, then I strongly recommend this game to you. “HI-FI Rush” is definitely worth the purchase. 

    If you have any games you would like me to review you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • Having a doggone good time at the Dog Expo

    Having a doggone good time at the Dog Expo

    By Griffin Mancuso

    Last Sunday, in the middle of a warehouse bustling with families and dog lovers alike, I stepped into the compact demo area, waving nervously to the packed bleachers on either side. The president of Humboldt Disc Dogs introduced me and my dog-child athlete, Oscar Meyer, as newer members of the club with a lot of promise.

    While Oscar leaped into the air trying to grab the frisbee from my hands, I lead him to the center of the demo area and gave a thumbs up to the president. The familiar start cue before every disc dog game echoed through the warehouse.

    “Ready, set, go!”

    I had the honor of participating and volunteering at the annual Dog Expo hosted by the Humboldt Dog Obedience Group. After a grueling five-hour set up the day before, I was ready for Oscar to show his skills – and to buy dog supplies that I didn’t need. 

    Even though the expo was hosted in one building this year, it was still packed with visitors. Thirty dog breeds were present for visitors to meet and learn about, ranging from the Golden Retriever to the Lancashire Heeler. There were also demos for dog sports like disc sports, rally, carting, and agility.

    Only a few Humboldt Disc Dogs members were interested in participating in the demo, and I wasn’t surprised. We normally have our games on an expansive, lush green field in Fortuna, and we were now having to show off our sport in a 30-foot long rectangle with rubber mats for traction. I was determined to make it work.

    I thankfully had the foresight to practice on set-up day and realized that my plastic discs would either a) hit a spectator, or b) go skidding out of the demo area and Oscar would follow suit.

    Equipped with a new rubber disc that would not injure anyone or send Oscar flying over the fence, I demonstrated the games 4-Way Play and Throw n’ Go along with a few other teams. As Humboldt Disc Dogs is a newer club, I felt its reputation weighing on my shoulders. I felt obligated to prove that my dog had the skill and focus to catch frisbees while surrounded by cheering spectators and barking dogs.

    Brimming with energy, Oscar caught the first frisbee throw with ease, drawing cheers from the crowd. I yelled, “Good boy, Oscar!” as he ran back to me, frisbee in mouth. Before I could tell him to drop the frisbee, he started to violently spin and thrash it around. He had too many ants in his pants. The more I chased after him, the faster he spun away from me. Once I grabbed the frisbee, we engaged in a brief game of tug-of-war as the audience roared with laughter. 

    Besides the spinning shenanigans, Oscar did fantastically and I did not hit anyone. I left the demo area with a relieved smile and gave Oscar lots of love and treats for a job well done. After the fact, the president told me Oscar was a crowd favorite.

    I spent the rest of the conference sprinting around trying to recruit booths for the upcoming All Breeds Show in July and observing the demos. Keeping myself busy helped me resist the urge to spend hundreds of dollars on dog-themed hoodies, leather collars, leashes, homemade dog treats, dog art, ceramic dog bowls, and wooden dog coasters.

    As someone who is just starting out in dog sports, I was glad to have the opportunity to see demonstrations of the sports I haven’t tried yet, especially agility. I have been told by several members of the dog sport community that agility is a rich man’s sport. Coming in at a whopping $22 per entry and hundreds of dollars for classes, it would not be an ideal sport for a college student. However, watching a poodle go flying over hurdles and diving through weave poles is really convincing. I might have to consider it despite the state of my checking account.

    One of my favorite parts of the expo was getting to meet dog breeds I otherwise wouldn’t see out and about in Humboldt. I got to meet a lovely 8-year old Drentsche Patrijshond named Mr. Tickles. The more I pet him, the more he drooled, and he’d paw at my hand if I dared to stop. The Irish Wolfhound, whose back reached just below my chest, stared at me blankly while I ran my fingers through his wiry coat. Vinnie the Lagotto Romagnolo’s entire body wiggled with excitement before I even approached him. One of the Greyhounds, Maxwell, wanted nothing to do with me and refused to sit still for a photo. Maxwell was my favorite.

    While I enjoyed the expo as a dog nerd, this event is especially important to the casual dog-lovers and families visiting. The Dog Expo exists to educate the public on responsible pet ownership, how to take care of different dog breeds, and all the amazing skills dogs are capable of. Maybe next year I’ll suggest a rescue dog booth for Oscar and I.

  • A St. Patricks journey to the center of corned beef

    A St. Patricks journey to the center of corned beef

    By Alana Hackman

    In the death of Saint Patrick came a holiday of green beer, dancing, Irish pride, and this year, an excuse to get day drunk on a Sunday. However, I had one goal on my mind this St. Patrick’s Day: to try every corned beef dish I could get my hands on before my 6 p.m. shift. It started organically as my roommate and I were anticipating the Irish dancers at the Logger bar, but our agenda spontaneously unfolded into trying all the salt-cured meaty goodness our college student budgets didn’t have the room for on Paddy’s Day, but all in good fun. 

    I bring you almost all of the corned beef dishes I tried in Humboldt County to quench your FOMO. Not all are mentioned, but here’s an idea so you can start marking your calendars for next year. I’ll be ranking the dishes on taste, restaurant festivity, and price. 

    The first plate of corned beef I had that fateful Sunday was around noon at Six Rivers Brewery in Mckinleyville. The plate was $20 for two slabs of corned beef, two boiled potatoes, one chunky boiled carrot, cabbage, a hunk of soda bread, and a little dish of stock. This plate was probably the biggest and most authentic corned beef dish I bought that day. $20 seemed pricey at first. I almost opted for their corned beef Reuben, but that would’ve been cheating. 

    The corned beef itself was tough and chewy, but still able to get through with teeth and/or a steak knife. I think it lacked that mouth-puckering saltiness I usually attribute to the meat. Having the stock separate from the veggies and beef in a dipping dish was an interesting choice, but aided in adding that saltiness to the beef. It still just wasn’t salty enough for me and I wish the meat and veggies were sitting in the broth. There was a little chili kick when I indulged in my first bite, but every bite followed was very beef broth-y, which could easily be zested up with a squirt of yellow mustard. No horseradish was a bummer, but I also didn’t ask if they had any.

      The veggies were perfectly tender and as simple as you can get flavor-wise, but the beef broth gave them that extra butter flavor that a plain old boiled veggie wouldn’t have. The ambience in the restaurant was fantastic and very loud. There were rainbow balloon arches, live music, and an anniversary banner with crossed out numbers in sharpie to signify the brewery’s 20th anniversary celebration alongside the St Patrick’s day festivities. 

    There were lots of cute families and strangers to chit chat with, including our table neighbor who questioned, “Where was I gonna put all that?” when I explained my corned beef agenda for the day. I told him he was underestimating me. Overall I give this plate a 6/10. I wish the beef was more tender and served in the stock, but the energy in the brewery and kind service really made the dish special for me. Also, a women-owned brewery, hell yea!

    The next pit stop on my journey to the center of corned beef was South G kitchen, a food truck located in the Redwood Curtain Brewing Company in Arcata. They had been slinging their corned beef special for about a week before the holiday out of their tight-quarters food truck which is super impressive. Their dish was $17 and included corned beef, collard greens instead of cabbage, and crispy potatoes. It was a smaller portion than Six Rivers Brewery, but this dish was smokey and delectably dense. Their corned beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender with a crispy skin. You could have enjoyed it with a spoon if you wanted to.  They also topped it off with some stone-ground mustard which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

    The greens were super tender and umami from the rich bowl of brown broth they were bathing in. There were pieces of thick cut bacon in the greens, which really brought me back to eating my highschool best friend’s grandma’s greens out of tinfoil serving dishes on Thanksgiving. The portions of this dish were definitely for a single serving, but they provided the perfect balance of salty, crunchy decadence that left you satiated. The collard greens absorbed most of the broth, making them saltier than the beef, but complemented the dish well. The outdoor seating at the brewery was a lot less festive and didn’t really encapsulate the holiday, but was still a chill environment. This corned beef plate was definitely not traditional, but the culinary spin on it really wowed me. It was cheaper than Six Rivers but a smaller portion with a creative take. I’d rate this dish a 9/10. My roommate and I were able to house it down after a previous plate of corned beef, so it was pretty damn good. 

    After a quick outfit change and brief state of comatose in the sun, I arrived at the Logger Bar in Blue Lake. They were having an all day St. Patrick’s Day bash, but weren’t serving corned beef until 5 p.m. so it was my second time there that day. The first time involved a lovely conversation with Tina Catalina, a Blue Lake resident who gave me a copy of her song on green paper and informed me that the entire meal was cooked by the Mad River Old Crows, which is the men’s service and drinking organization according to the Mad River Union.

     The line for food was wrapped around the bar when we arrived. It was served buffet style with chafing pans and portable burners. This felt like a family reunion which made the experience that much sweeter. There was a jar at the start of the serving table that had a sliding scale of $5-$10 for donations, but they weren’t necessary to get a plate. I ended up donating $10 for a plate of corned beef, a few pieces of olive raisin soda bread, potatoes, cabbage, and a chocolate cupcake with green frosting. They actually had horseradish, unlike other locations, which I indulged a little too much of with teary eyes. There wasn’t much space to eat inside as the talented Irish Dance Academy students doing Irish dances in their tartan skirts took the floor during serving, but it was enjoyed outside in the sun. 

    The corned beef packed that salty flavor I was looking for and wasn’t sitting in any broth, though it was dripping juices after each bite. The potatoes weren’t too special, but I will always appreciate a boiled carbohydrate. The cabbage really was the prize winner for me. It was extremely moist and flavorful. There was even a whole onion in the scoop we got. You could see all the spices they used within the cabbage as well, which gave it a much more meaty and spicy flavor than just the broth as marinade compared to other places. Overall I rate this dish an 8/10. A home cooked meal makes all the difference, no matter the taste (this one was delish), and the community was so heartwarming and supportive at that little bar. Who wouldn’t love that Old Crow corned beef? 

    The fateful and final stop of this voyage was Murphy’s hot bar in Blue Lake. I was on my way to The Pub in Arcata, but had to stop by after getting wind of their corned beef. It was 5 p.m. at this point and an hour before I had to be at work. The potatoes were combined with the shredded corned beef in one charing pan and the cabbage was dry and crispy in another pan to the left. At this point of the day, I was scraping the bottom of the pans to get something of a portion. After checkout, my plate came out to about $4  – may I add it was majority cabbage. The corned beef was extremely fatty, but also fried to a crisp under the heat lamp,which created an interesting texture. The cabbage was basically raw with a slightly buttery flavor if you got into the inner layer. The bigger pieces of corned beef weren’t too bad if gnawed around the fat. The beef was pretty bland, but had the essence of peppered beef jerky taste at the end so I can’t complain too much. The potatoes carried the dish, but again I don’t believe  a person can mess up vegetables that bad. The employees at all Murphy’s locations are always wonderful and I can’t bash on a late stop to the hot bar too much. It was my fault. I rate this dish a 4/10 all together. 

    This Sunday service of corned beef was something I was grateful to take part in. In less than six hours, I was able to cover four stops of beefy, salty, and starchy goodness. The Pub was unfortunately sold out and my lovely friends who offered to bring it in for me during my work shift tried to get their redemption by calling Gallagher’s Irish Pub in Eureka for any corned beef briefs. They were left with the dial tone. 

    At this point, I was barely moving and had a dry mouth from my salt intake, so I decided to call it a day. I had found peace, love, and happiness while exploring some, but not all, of the corned beef dishes of Humboldt county. Next year, I’ll make sure to start my excursion at 9 a.m. so I can really savor all the salt beef I want. 

  • Femme Fronted: local bands to check out

    Femme Fronted: local bands to check out

    By Mia Costales

    Jude Daughdrill playing the drums and Jack Hallinan playing guitar with Porcelain Dog at Richards’ Goat Tavern. Photos by Paige Main

    Picture this: you’re mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed when you stumble across a repost of a hand-drawn show poster and the words, “DM for address.” After a quick pep-talk to the reflection in your mirror, you muster up the courage to DM the account and get the address for quite possibly the greatest night of your short 16-year-old life. As you walk up to the door you are instantly hit with the smell of American Spirits, PBR and a gaggle of grown men who are way too old to be hanging out with teenagers. 

    The music is great and you’re right—this is probably the best night of your life. But you can’t help but feel a little out of place in the sea of mustached, rolled beanie, American traditional tattooed guys that will inevitably ask you if you’ve ever listened to Sonic Youth. The unfortunate truth is that this may sound all too familiar to femmes. Luckily, Arcata has a small but mighty music scene. While there is always room for improvement, there are a handful of queer and femme musicians that are putting in the work to make the scene safer and more inclusive for everyone. Here are two Arcata bands who are diversifying the scene and putting on damn good shows while they do it. 

    Porcelain Dog

    Porcelain Dog is the indie three-piece composed of guitarist Jack Hallinan, drummer Jude Daughdrill, and bassist and singer Vivian Spear. The self-proclaimed loser-rock band has made strides in the Arcata music scene, playing house shows, local venues, and even playing a live set on Cal Poly Humboldt’s very own student-ran radio station, KRFH. Spear has been open about her queer identity and has actively encouraged other queer femmes to join the scene on platforms such as Instagram and KRFH.

    “I think Arcata is probably better than most places,” Spear said. “It’s such a small scene. I feel like we all look out for and support each other. I just wish there were more queer girl bands here. I know there’s a lot of creative queer femmes here, I think we’re just more inclined to feel self-conscious about putting ourselves out there.”

    Spear attributed iconic femme musicians such as Kathleen Hannah of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and Kim Deal of Pixies and The Breeders to inspiring her openness to vulnerability in her songwriting. 

    “I held myself back for so long because I felt not good enough,” Spear said. “Now that I’ve been in this band for six plus months, I know that I’ve been ready for a while. If you feel you have something to say or just want to play then go for it—you’ll pick it up along the way.”

    Heart Eyes

    Heart Eyes, the feminist queercore punk trio, is bringing back the gritty enthusiasm of 90s riot grrrl, but with a modern twist on the genre. Members Kianna Znika, Lexi Takaki, and Milo Lorence-Ganong aim to make music with punk and emo influences that portray an authentic depiction of the highs and lows of the queer experience. Local scenes can be a breeding ground for casual misogyny and bigotry. However, Heart Eyes have used these experiences as inspiration for their songwriting and hope to expand Arcata’s scene to be as inclusive as possible. 

    “It’s been hard to overcome being labeled as a ‘girl band,’” Takaki said. “We are a punk band regardless of our gender and identities. We want to be seen as musicians in the local scene, not a token band because of our perceived gender.”

    The band also encourages fellow queer and femme musicians to reach out to them and get involved in the local scene by making connections with like-minded people. 

    “Go to open mic nights and local shows, talk to musicians you like and make connections,” Lorence-Ganong said. “Your unique perspective as a femme or queer person will be appreciated, don’t feel the pressure to cater your artistic message to a wider audience. Maybe most importantly, just do it! Even if you are new to music, even if everyone else in the room knows more than you, even if you can’t afford nice equipment, don’t be intimidated. Your creative spirit is valuable, and don’t let anyone have you believe otherwise.”

  • Mar’s Gaming Garage : The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

    Mar’s Gaming Garage : The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

    By Mario Orozco

    Welcome back to Mar’s Gaming Garage. This week’s game is “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” and was requested by a rangeland resource science major. “Tears of the Kingdom” (TOTK) is the newest entry in a long line of Zelda games and picks up sometime after the events of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” 

    Going into the game, my expectations were through the roof. Its predecessor was awarded game of the year in 2017, so I expected TOTK to live up to this legacy. Thankfully for me and my wallet, this game exceeded my high expectations.

    TOTK’s story is amazing, from the main quests to the side quests. The game does a great job expanding on the stories of previous characters and creating compelling stories for the new faces. The game stands out as a sequel when compared to others because of the brand new mechanics. Most sequels I have played take similar gameplay and insert them into a new world. TOTK does the opposite, taking a different style of gameplay and putting it into an expanded version of the “Breath of the Wild” world. These mechanics assist in making the game feel completely different than the original, despite sharing many similarities. The expansion to the world is massive; it allows for players to enter the depths of the original map and go underground in what is essentially a second full world. The sequel also introduced islands in the sky that can be explored. 

    While “Tears of the Kingdom” improves on the overall gameplay and provides more for the player to do, there are a couple things that fall short when compared to the precursor. The first of these shortcomings is the storytelling. While I enjoyed the story of TOTK more than “Breath of the Wild,” it was told in such strange ways at times. Multiple different questlines can be completed out of order, which can cause a lot of confusion. For instance, if you find the Master Sword before completing its dedicated questline, it completely ruins what I believe to be the most impactful cutscene in the entire franchise by showing it with none of the required buildup. The other issue is the graphics. The quality is a slight downgrade from “Breath of the Wild” despite being released six years later. This isn’t really a problem for me, as the reasons for the downgrade are the expanded world combined with the limits of the Nintendo Switch. While slightly disappointing, graphics were sacrificed for extra content and extra content is never a bad thing.

    “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” took a total of 63 hours and 42 minutes to complete and is arguably just as good as, if not better than, “Breath of the Wild.” I rate this game a 4.8/5. If you can afford to invest a considerable amount of time into a game, then I wholeheartedly recommend this one to you. “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” is worth the purchase.

    If you have any games you would like me to review, you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • Being a part of the fourth estate: The Lumberjack attends the ACP conference in La Jolla

    Being a part of the fourth estate: The Lumberjack attends the ACP conference in La Jolla

    By Griffin Mancuso

    One of the distinctive qualities of a journalist is that they never truly stop working. They may finish working on a story or taking photos, but they are always thinking of their next story, their next assignment, their next grand idea to pitch to their editor. A great journalist can make a story out of almost anything.

    One of my greatest qualities (and downfalls) is my ability to turn what was supposed to be my vacation into another article.

    Every March, just before spring break, a handful of journalism students at Cal Poly Humboldt get the chance to attend the Associated Collegiate Press Conference (ACP), where we get to attend panels on journalistic practices, connect with companies and other students, and submit our work for the chance to win awards. It takes place in a different city in California every year, which gives us the opportunity to travel to new places and see all the local sights.

    This year, the ACP conference was held in La Jolla, a sunny beachside town populated by rich people and entitled seagulls. Journalists travel from all over the country to attend this conference and, hopefully, win some awards for their student media. Apparently, this year had the most attending journalism students out of any ACP conference, according to a fellow journalist who interviewed me for an article. Even with the large number of attendees, there was an unspoken sense of comradery and understanding among us, even if we had never met each other.

    One of the appeals of the conference, besides the opportunity to network and learn new skills at the dozens of panels, is getting to explore the city as a group. I didn’t have the opportunity to stick around and enjoy the city at last year’s conference, so I’m happy I had the chance to spend time with the rest of the Lumberjack team. We had a group breakfast of homemade eggs and potatoes made by our editors. We visited the Birch Aquarium where I stared at the leopard shark tank for a good ten minutes. We browsed downtown La Jolla and I made everyone visit my mother’s yoga teacher’s deli shop. I got to swim at the beach for the first time since high school.

    I make an effort to attend panels with differing topics to broaden my knowledge and gain an appreciation for the other jobs in the newsroom. I learned about the particular but important art of typography, I got a refresher on inclusive design for newspapers and websites, I learned about covering LGBTQ+ communities in San Diego County, and I attended the panel on satire news hosted by our amazing adviser and one of our editors-in-chief. Everyone was laughing for a good half of the presentation, so I consider that a success. I smiled as journalists from other schools ecstatically told me how they planned to pitch a satire issue to their publications. Holding figures of authority accountable is much more fun when you get to be funny about it.

    The biggest part of the conference for our newspaper is the awards. The ACP hosts its own award show, and a separate group called the California College Media Association (CCMA) has its own awards on the last night of the conference. ACP is a national organization, and out of all the schools with less than 15,000 students, we still won 5th place in Best in Show for one of our papers. Not too shabby for a staff of less than 30.

    The CCMAs focuses more on awards for individual journalists and is where we get most of our recognition. We all watch with anticipation as the announcer reads off each category, waiting for our school’s name to appear on the projector.

    Being unable to take a break ever, I took it upon myself to film all of our announced awards for social media. As the announcer read off the top three winners for Best Headline Portfolio, I narrowed my eyes as three familiar headlines rolled across the screen. I soon realized they were my headlines and I had won second place out of all California schools with under 15,000 students. I can now proudly put on my resume that I have the second best headlines in the state, and I have the piece of paper to prove it.

    We embraced one another and cheered as we collected a total of 14 awards for the Lumberjack. We placed in categories like Best Social Justice Coverage, Best Feature Photo, Best Arts and Entertainment Story, and Best in Show. We were struggling to get a photo with all of our awards together on the table, even when I stood on a chair and raised my camera in the air. Our advisor soon approached each of us to get a snippet of our reactions for social media. At the time, I was so overwhelmed with excitement and pride in my team that I couldn’t give the groundbreaking, heartfelt speech I wanted. I can at least give that speech in writing.

    I didn’t originally come to Cal Poly Humboldt as a journalist. I was an English major and I wanted to write novels. I joined the student magazine, Osprey, during my first semester and fell in love with it. I loved learning from people and giving that knowledge to the public. I knew I wanted to write. When I took the Lumberjack workshop, I didn’t expect to be writing for an award-winning paper. I’m grateful to be a part of the process and I am honored that our hard work gets to be recognized on a state and national level. The pressure of working on The Lumberjack is intense, but you take on that pressure as a team. No matter what else is going on in our lives, we get together every Tuesday, hunker down in the newsroom, and make a newspaper for our campus.

  • How to interact with a service dog – don’t.

    How to interact with a service dog – don’t.

    By Griffin Mancuso

    On my second day of public access with my service dog in training, I braved the crowded hallways of The Depot in search of brunch. After paying for my food, I found a booth and used the opportunity to practice deep pressure therapy with my service dog, which is his favorite task because it involves him laying on my legs and getting a bunch of treats. The pressure helps decrease my heartrate, and thus, lowers the constant buzz of anxiety any time I go into a public place. 

    A group of men in the booth next to me took notice of my service dog. I didn’t pay them much attention until I heard one of them say, “Hey, there’s a way you can point out a fake service dog, watch this.”

    My blood ran cold as one of the men tried to call my dog over in an excited, high-pitched voice. Even though it was his second day on the job and he was seven months old at the time, my angel of a dog stayed put and watched them with the same amount of bewilderment I had. Apparently, that glance was enough for the men to start gasping and pointing. Feeling embarrassed and defeated, I rushed out of The Depot and hid in my apartment for several hours.
    Thankfully, that was the worst situation I have faced with my service dog. Since then, I gained more confidence in me and my service dog’s abilities and know how to advocate for his space. I also did a little bit of reading on the law.

    According to California Penal Code 365.6, section A, anyone who intentionally interferes with a service dog’s ability to perform their tasks could be charged with misdemeanor. They can face time in jail for up to six months, a fine between $1500 and $2500, or both.

    Two years later, I have realized that many people do not know how to interact with a service dog in public. Generally speaking, the key is to not interact with them at all. In fact, pretend like they aren’t even there.

    The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a service dog as a dog that is trained to perform a task that alleviates the symptoms of a person’s disability. A service dog can be any breed and are not required to be certified or go through a professional training program. They are also not required to wear a vest or identification showing that they are a service dog, but most handlers will identify their dogs in some way to prevent access issues.

    The types of tasks service dogs can perform include retrieving items, deep pressure therapy, acting as a brace if their handler falls down, alerting to rises in cortisol or blood pressure, reminding their handler to take medication, protecting their handler’s head during a seizure, and many more. In a legal sense, service dogs are medical equipment and can be life-saving. They empower their handlers to live independently and improve their quality of life.

    Therefore, it can be detrimental, or deadly, if someone distracts a service dog, no matter what their intentions are. The Depot incident was the only time a person’s intentions were clearly malicious, but most of the time people just really, really want to say hello to my dog. 

    I’ve noticed that many passersby develop what I call doggy tunnel vision. They see the dog and feel intensely compelled to talk to them or approach them, without much thinking in between. I get it, I really do. I love dogs with my whole being. If you are an adult, I promise that you have enough self-control to leave service dogs alone. If you must say something, talk to the handler directly.

    When talking to a handler, some may be more comfortable answering questions about their dog than others. I will put up with a lot of questions and comments. You’d be surprised how many stories I get about people’s dead dogs. Not everyone is as tolerant as I am, so please be respectful of the handler’s comfort level and save your stories for later. Most importantly, do not ask about their disability.

    Some handlers are okay with their dog being pet, and some aren’t. Petting them may interfere with their ability to task or the dog is simply not interested in greeting strangers. Some handlers will have a badge saying something like, “Ask to pet,” but you should always ask before you reach your hand out.

    Most of the time, if a dog is tasking, it is best to let them do their job. You wouldn’t go up to a cashier at a store and ask them if they need help. 

    If you pass by someone having a medical episode and their service dog is tasking, assess the situation before immediately dialing 911. Ambulance rides are expensive and not always necessary.

    I am personally more patient with children when it comes to my service dog. They often don’t know any better and are following their parent’s example. Half of the time, parents will redirect their children away from my dog or take a few minutes to explain that my dog is working. Those are my favorite parents. My least favorite parents are the ones who are either blissfully unaware of their child approaching my dog or actively encourage them talking to or petting my dog.

    Living in Humboldt County, I understand that I live in a pretty dog-centric area. Some people bring their pet dogs everywhere they go, including non-pet friendly stores. Most of the time, these dogs are behaved enough and not bothering anyone, but I have no way to tell if those dogs are a danger to my service dog. Service dogs come with the expectation that they will not lunge, bark, or attack other dogs while working. Pet dogs do not.

    Some dog owners try to bypass this restriction by putting a vest on their pet dog and bringing them anyway. Legally, store employees are only allowed to ask service dog handlers if their dog is, in fact, a service dog, and what tasks they perform. This is meant to prevent employees from asking handlers invasive questions about their disability, but some pet dog owners abuse this system. 

    There is no definitive way to tell a fake service dog from a real one, so you’re doing a disservice to service dog handlers by trying to pass your dog as an essential piece of medical equipment. The best case scenario is that they are an inconvenience we have to avoid while shopping. The worst-case scenario is that your dog injures our service dog and puts them out of work permanently, or kills them.

    Having a disability can be hard. We navigate a world that was not built with us in mind, and if the dog allows me to go to the grocery store and find the minced garlic without panicking, so be it. Please don’t make our outings harder than they need to be. We appreciate those who respect us and our service dog’s space, and we’d love more people to join that crowd.

    Griffin Mancuso is the photo editor and a prolific graphic designer for The Lumberjack. He is also a service dog handler and overall dog enthusiast/nerd. You can contact him at gm249@humboldt.edu.

  • Recasting the narrative at the Latino Film Fest

    Recasting the narrative at the Latino Film Fest

    By Savana Robinson

    Chatter ceased as the house lights dimmed. Hands rustled in bags of popcorn and miniscule pieces dropped to the floor on their way to a mouth as an impressive scene of the Amazon appeared on the massive screen.

    The 25th annual Latino Film Festival at Mill Creek Cinema was held Feb. 27 through Feb. 29. This year’s theme for the festival was environmental issues. The films shown were “Nostalgia de la Luz” (Nostalgia for the Light), “El Abrazo de la Serpiente” (The Embrace of the Serpent), and “A Million Miles Away.”

    “Nostalgia de la Luz” is a documentary that takes place in the Chilean Atacama Desert, where a woman is searching for remains of loved ones whose lives were taken under the regime of Augusto Pinochet. At the same time, astronomers are looking for answers about the past of the cosmos.

    “El Abrazo de la Serpiente” shows a shaman in the Amazon who leads a sick man and his colleague to a flower that may cure him. Years later, a botanist leads him back to the sacred flower, which the shaman had forgotten. The film is set with overtones of the importance of protecting indigenous cultures and sharing knowledge.

    “A Million Miles Away” is a biopic about the life of José Hernández, a migrant farmworker who becomes an astronaut. The film is about hardship, perseverance, and the power of a dream.

    Gabrielle Gopinath, professor of history of cinema and art at college of the Redwoods, was part of the panel discussion after the screening of “Abrazo de la Serpiente.” Gopinath noted the distinct difference between the film and others of its kind.

     “Films about the jungle typically cast the global south as a crucible existing outside time and history,” Gopinath said. “Indigenous characters only come into focus insofar as they play subsidiary roles in a white protagonist’s journey. However, in “Abrazo de la Serpiente,” the white characters and their quest are accessory to Karamakate’s central character arc.”

    José Marin Jarrín, a professor of fisheries biology at Cal Poly Humboldt, gave a speech during the panel after the screening of “A Million Miles Away.” Jarrín said that the movie reminded him of the history and stories of all immigrants.

    “When we arrive, we change who we are to try to assimilate with the majority,” Jarrín said. “We also eventually realize there’s nothing wrong with who we are, and that we should be very proud of where we come from.”

  • Mar’s Gaming Garage; “Dead Space”: a classic worth a playthrough.

    Mar’s Gaming Garage; “Dead Space”: a classic worth a playthrough.

    By Mario Orozco

    Welcome to the debut of Mar’s Gaming Garage. I will be playing video games that our fellow students recommend, good or bad, and give my honest opinions to tell you whether or not it’s worth buying. 

    For the first week of Mar’s Gaming Garage, I was asked by an anthropology major here at Cal Poly Humboldt to review the game “Dead Space,” the original from 2008, not the remastered one from 2023. This is a game that I have always wanted to play, but the survival horror vibe always sort of scared me off. With this request, I finally had a reason to set my fears aside and dive into this game. I am happy to say it was well worth it.

    “Dead Space” thankfully wasn’t as scary as I had feared. Don’t get me wrong, I was still scared, but it was a fun fear. The storyline followed our main character Isaac Clarke fighting his way through a ship that was taken over by these creatures called Necromorphs. The Necromorphs appeared after the former passengers found an artifact called The Marker. The story of this game was fantastic and was honestly one of the best single-player survival games that I have ever experienced. The terrifying creatures were both gross and really cool to look at. It had very fun gameplay, heartbreaking losses, and multiple shocking twists that I genuinely never saw coming. The twist that concluded the game has been a constant in my mind ever since I saw it.

    However, there are a couple issues I had that I’d like to share. First, the camera is at a weird angle, making the creatures rushing at you really difficult to see, especially in such a dim game. As a result of the camera angle, the controls are sort of awkward; when you rotate the camera, your character doesn’t turn in that direction like in other survival games, meaning you have to rotate the character and camera independently of each other. This makes it more difficult to get shots on anything rushing that’s not directly in front of you, this mixed with the weird angle can be slightly frustrating at times. These negatives are really just me nitpicking, this game was an absolute joy and if I could go back in time and play it for the first time again, I would.

    “Dead Space” took me a grand total of  8 hours and 48 minutes to finish and was worth every one of those minutes. I rate this game a 4.6 out of 5. Whether you’re into survival horror or not, I recommend this game to you all. So yes, “Dead Space” is well worth the purchase.

    If you have any games you would like me to review you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.

  • Dual enrollment; seeing double on campus

    Dual enrollment; seeing double on campus

    By Carlina Grillo

    Ever seen a classmate who seems to be in two places at once? 

    They could be a track star, master of teleportation, hologram – or more simply, a twin. 

    The chances of being an identical twin are three or four in 1000, but what are the odds of both twins going to the same college, or more specifically, a small university tucked away in the redwood forest of Northern California?

    Without a school-wide survey asking about twins, it’s hard to say, but there are at least a few pairs of identical twins right here on campus. 

    Marley and Wiley Thrift are a pair of sophomore computer science majors who grew up in Humboldt, and didn’t think much about going to the same college. 

    “Both of our parents work here, it was an easy choice to go to Humboldt,” Wiley Thrift said. “Our dad works in computer science, so that’s kind of where we got the inspiration from.”

    According to Wiley, the difference between being twins in highschool and college is mostly the size of campus and the larger population. It doesn’t always come up in conversation at first, so there will always be confusion.

    “If I see somebody that Marley knows on campus and they wave to me, I usually just wave back but I don’t know the person,” Wiley Thrift said. “If they try to talk to me, I’ll say ‘I’m not Marley,’ and it’s a little awkward, but it’s kind of funny too because I know it’s happened before, and I know what’s happening.”

    Hunter and Tanner Circe are seniors majoring in environmental studies who also grew up in Humboldt and went to highschool in Mckinleyville.

    “It’s easy to have a built-in roommate… because neither of us really had the desire to live with other people,” Tanner Circe said. “It just kind of made sense.”

    “We also rent from our parents in Arcata, so It’s a convenient reason to go to Cal Poly [Humboldt],” Hunter Circe said. 

    The Circes have a similar experience to the Thrifts, describing the same situation of people approaching the wrong twin. 

    “It’s like talking to a lot more strangers because he knows them,” Hunter Circe said. “This is our experience, it’s not unique [to us].”

    “You’re walking by and people will just look, and you know you’re getting the look like, ‘Oh, they’re twins,’” Tanner Circe said. 

    In many ways, the media has portrayed twins to be a certain way and check certain boxes. This causes a constant flow of stereotypical questions from peers.

    “I’m tired of, ‘Is one of you evil? Do you feel each other’s pain?’ It’s just so silly to me,” Hunter Circe said. “People like to put us in like ‘box A’ and ‘box B’. Like, ‘he’s the artsy one,’ or ‘he’s the sporty one…’ Why does there have to be ‘the one?’”

    “We’re siblings who look the same,” Tanner Circe said. “Its’ unique but… a little bit mystified on TV and stuff.”

    At the end of the day, twins are just like any other siblings, but the same age.

    “I think it’s a lot more similar to normal siblings than people realize,” Tanner Circe said. “[People think] it’s this mystical thing, but really, I think it’s just from growing up together.”

    For all these siblings, the future is still unwritten. 18 days is the longest time the Thrifts have spent apart, but they plan on extending that time next semester, with many miles in between.

    Both Marley Thrift and Tanner Circe have plans to travel abroad while their twins stay in California. 

    “Being a twin’s great, you should try it,” Marley Thrift said. 

  • Bitch n’ Stitch in the Makerspace

    By Jasmin Shirazian

    Whether it’s due to the rise of fast-fashion or the misogyny surrounding what is traditionally considered “women’s work,” sewing is often overlooked as a valuable life skill. Nonetheless, the opportunities that come with understanding the basics of sewing are endless. 

    Studio art major Sawyer Armitage is the host of the Sew Easy event held every Monday at the Makerspace in the library. They walked me through my very first fully finished sewing project: an itty-bitty, stuffed piece of pie. 

    Armitage has been working as a student assistant at the Makerspace since Dec. 2022. They only recently began hosting the sewing circle this semester, having learned the basics over winter break. 

    “I love to make tiny [things],” Armitage said. “I was lucky to have someone throughout my whole life who knew how to sew and was willing to teach me, and I wish I [had] taken them up on it. It’s been super empowering to learn, not only small alterations, but also to teach people how to hand-sew, to use the Singer sewing machine for the first time, hem their clothes, create new designs… it’s genuinely a good, functioning life tool.” 

    Armitage started me off by handing me a piece of felt, a pen and a set of shapes to trace onto the fabric. Afterwards, they handed me a needle and some embroidery thread. The endless struggle of getting the thinnest piece of string through the narrowest eye of the needle followed me throughout the entire sewing process.

    Emerald Dowd, a wildlife major, joined us halfway through the first hour and almost immediately began crocheting a flower with the prettiest yellow yarn. By the time it took me to finish cutting out my pieces out of the felt, she was halfway through the first layer of her flower. I spent some time trying to figure out if she was fast or if I was just slow. 

    As we sat and worked on our projects, we talked about all different aspects of our lives and personalities. Different people joined and left us throughout our two hours together, some coming to work on unrelated projects, others just stopping by to chat or borrow supplies. As Armitage, with the occasional help from Dowd, showed me how to do a blanket stitch, we all shared our favorite musicals, what got us into sewing, Armitage’s new band that they’re songwriting for and everything in between. Sitting and engaging with each other, in what Armitage called parallel play, filled a sense of community that I didn’t know I was missing. 

    Nova Presley is an environmental management major who utilizes the Makerspace not only for resources, but for getting independent work done.

    “I have really bad issues with getting myself to do tasks that I want to do unless somebody else is also doing [something] next to me,” Presley said. “The Makerspace is really helpful because, like, I’m not even here for sewing right now, I’m here for a different thing that’s graphic design. As long as everyone else in the area is working on something creative, it’s a lot easier for me to hangout and do something creative.”

    Presley has found the Makerspace to be a good source of forming friendships on campus.

    “It’s a very like-minded space, it’s fun to meet people outside of the typical avenues,” Presley said. “It’s hard to find people in Humboldt to hang out with.”

    Learning to make and mend clothing is also environmentally and financially sustainable. Instead of having to buy an entirely new garment when something tears or a zipper breaks, you can fix it yourself – or better yet, create something out of quality materials. 

    “When you don’t have a lot of money, whether you’re a person crafting or a higher institution that doesn’t have a huge budget, you have to figure out how to make things work with what you have,” Armitage said. “Being able to change what you have, or make it fit something new, that’s what sewing is a lot of the time.”

    Dowd sews for many reasons, starting with the love of creating and altering clothes. 

    “It’s a creative outlet, that you can then wear around and be like, ‘This is who I am, and this is what I like,’” Dowd said. “It’s this way of expressing yourself.” 

    Dowd comes to the Makerspace at least once a week for the Monday sewing circle. Otherwise, they often make use of the many resources that are offered, such as the communal sewing machine or the 3D printer. 

    “It’s a stitch-n-bitch,” Dowd said. “It’s a place for community; a place for people with similar interests to join together and to help each other out. If you’re just learning, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I don’t know how to do this yet,’ the people who are into sewing and into crafting are like, ‘I will indoctrinate you.’”

  • Humboldt gamer enters the competitive scene

    Humboldt gamer enters the competitive scene

    By Mario Orozco

    Competitive gaming and esports have risen to the mainstream with audiences captivated by the elite gameplay and competitive events. This rise in popularity has birthed thousands of professional gamers all competing for the top spot in their respective games. One of these competitive gamers is here at Cal Poly Humboldt, taking his talents for Super Smash Bros. to the competitive scene. 

    Deven Teixeira, a communication major at Cal Poly Humboldt, recently competed in GENESIS, an annual tournament held in Oakland and San Jose. GENESIS is considered to be one of the premiere tournaments with thousands of players competing for the top spot in the event. Teixeira was driven to compete in the tournament to test his skills after winning some smaller competitions.

    “What inspired me is that I won a decent amount of online [tournaments] and some locals in Central California,” Teixeira said.

    A tournament of this size and importance calls for different types of preparation. Apart from just gameplay, Teixeira typically prepares both his body and mind to ensure he’s at his best.

    “I usually get good sleep and eat very healthy meals, not greasy or saturated in fat meals,” Teixeira said. “Meditation through breathing exercises is a staple to my prep as well.”

    This journey into esports started with a healthy rivalry between Teixeira and his high school best friend. The two began by competing against one another in a modded version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl called “Project M” while in their freshman year of high school. This mod made the game more like the former Super Smash Bros. Melee and after some time they decided to test their skills and compete in some local Project M tournaments. They eventually found they were no longer satisfied with the modded game and wanted the real thing, putting together some money to buy two copies of Melee. This led to them attending their first major tournament, with Teixeira crediting his best friend for being one of the main reasons he competes to this day.

    While not placing first in tournament, being eliminated from the bracket going 3-2 and ranking 513th out of around 2000 participants, Teixeira isn’t upset about his placing in the tournament. He views the experience as beneficial and inspiring.

    “I’m not upset with my placing,” Teixeira said. “I’m more inspired to do more majors and try to do even better each time.”

    Competitive gaming is a difficult task that requires a lot of time and practice. Teixera offers advice to any students who are looking to step foot into the competitive gaming scene.

    “My advice is to challenge yourself,” Teixeira said. “If things bring you discomfort in gaming, use that discomfort as a threshold for learning. Reach out to me. I’m easily accessible and I can help people get to top level quick if they want to do that grind.”

    Teixera hopes that Melee becomes more prominent locally. He wants to revive the game on campus and see the competitive scene flourish once again. 

    “Revive Melee in Humboldt,” Teixeira said.

  • Breakfast burritos in the backwoods of Humboldt

    Breakfast burritos in the backwoods of Humboldt

    By Zack Mink

    Arcata is filled with small businesses and food trucks with a wide variety of styles, cuisines, and loyal customers. From Mexican food to hibachi, cravings can be satisfied simply by making a quick stop. One thing that has been missing from the local food scene is a good old fashion breakfast burrito. Something that will motivate you to get out of bed or cure your hangover on a Sunday morning. A burrito that is both classic and unique, giving you something to look forward to all week. This craving has been satiated with Backwoods Burritos, a local food cart serving up those reliable, tasty, and satisfying breakfast burritos people have been looking for. 

    Britton Latham, founder of Backwoods Burritos, serves up his Southwest inspired breakfast burritos every Thursday through Monday in front of Arcata Theater Lounge and at the North Coast Farmers Market in Arcata. With four different options, three meat and one vegetarian, everyone can get their fix of breakfast burritos. Prices range from $10-$12, featuring Latham’s original redwood chili in each one. 

    “It’s super unique because of the redwood chili,” Latham said. “It’s basically like a green chili, except with the seasonings and peppers I put in it, it turns red… It’s a very signature flavor.”

    Britton Latham serving up Backwoods Burritos at the North Coast Farmers Market in Arcata. photo by: Zack Mink 2/10/24

    Along with this original recipe, Backwoods Burritos is special because consistency is prioritized for customers to have the best experience possible.

    “The first bite tastes like the last bite, and that’s super important,” Latham said. “That makes it really unique, and it’s sold out of a little cart with a UFO on it.”

    After taking some breakfast burritos on a camping trip in the backwoods with friends, Latham realized they could be his new culinary venture and become a successful business. During this time of recipe development, UFO testimonies played in the background as he cooked, inspiring him to pursue an alien theme, strongly branding himself. Latham began selling his Humboldt backwoods/alien themed breakfast burritos in October of 2021, but has outgrown his home kitchen and now utilizes The Kitchen Arcata for commissary.

    Recently, Backwoods Burritos became an approved vendor for Cal Poly Humboldt events, bringing the burritos from downtown Arcata to campus for students to indulge in.

    “Yes, and that’s the dream,” Latham said. “I didn’t even go to college, so to be slinging burritos at a college… this is the closest I ever came.”

    Aside from sharing his creation with students, Latham has goals of selling burritos every day of the week, creating a brick and mortar store, vending at local music festivals, and spreading his impact across Humboldt County.

    “I definitely have the goal of more carts, getting more carts through Humboldt,” Latham said.

    With Backwoods Burritos beginning with friends and locals, Latham gives back and encourages community members to not only support himself, but other local businesses with his golden burrito program. The golden burrito, based off of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, is a random burrito secretly wrapped in gold foil. The winner receives gift certificates to local businesses that he loves and wants to support. 

    Latham is also starting what he calls the Backwood Running Club, which brings people together to not only run, but to spend time outside in the backwoods of Humboldt County.

    Backwoods Burritos isn’t just about making money for Latham. It’s about building a strong community and making memories with new and old friends.

    “We’re all friends,” Latham said. “Started with friends and now it’s just like expanding with more and more friends… that’s what I love about it.”

    Graphic by Griffin Mancuso