The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: News

  • Hyflex in Hyflux

    Hyflex in Hyflux

    Faculty are just as frustrated as students when it comes to adapting to the new HyFlex reality. To put it plainly, some classes don’t translate to Zoom formats. The format can leave professors worried that some students are left behind and students missing out on vital learning interactions.

    Gina Tuzzi, a painting professor of eight years, has adapted her style to ensure all of her students receive the same quality of teaching. Tuzzi is trying to find equitable ways for students to interact with one another.

    “I have this room of 4-foot by 5-foot paintings, and the students are not painting in a way that’s visible to the camera because of the way we are distanced from one another,” Tuzzi said.

    There are also some challenges digitally communicating a visual medium. Tuzzi believes that it’s something that should be taught and understood in person. The experience of a 20 foot painting doesn’t translate through a little screen. That doesn’t deter Tuzzi from creating a new adaptable learning experience.

    Many professors are trying their own unique adaptations of HyFlex classrooms. Tuzzi found the best way around it has been to split time between students in person and online. Trying to teach both at the same time is not viable for all classroom settings. Students in different learning settings communicate differently, and it takes planning to facilitate that communication gap.

    “I’m really spread thin,” Tuzzi said. “The thing I worry about is the experience the students are having. I stress about being face to face in a pandemic and worried about exposure.”

    The pandemic has challenged students and instructors to learn in new ways. Tuzzi was grateful for the support she found within her department to adapt.

    HyFlex has its glitches, but there are new paths of access and learning on HSU campus. Tuzzi has found that her students use many different modalities to learn. For some students, HyFlex is really working. It allows accessibility in ways that weren’t accounted for in pre-pandemic classrooms. It can give a voice to students who otherwise would not feel confident in sharing.

    Robert Yunker is the Labs and Classrooms Support Lead and hero of HyFlex. He’s been here to help instructors troubleshoot since before the start of the semester. Yunker sees HyFlex as a new extension of learning that wasn’t available before.

    “Different instructors are adapting differently. Some are embracing it and some are a little more hesitant. Most realize what we gotta do and that we’re all trying,” Yunker said.

    He noted that a lot of instructors are making it their own. Some teach from the Redwood Bowl, use creative camera angles to view art projects, or even fix a camera under a fume hood to give a safe but clear view of chemical reactions.

    Other professors find themselves in a virtual abyss talking only to blank squares on their screen. They are having a hard time with students who have their cameras turned off. Forming relationships with students has become a difficult task for professors. Engagement and interaction can be a vital part of learning, but engaging and forming relationships hasn’t yet adapted to the world of Zoom. Knowing what their students comprehend and what is falling through the cracks is more of a challenge.

    Many assume a combination of classroom, online, and Zoom would prepare students and faculty for HyFlex, but HyFlex isn’t a combination of all of those methods. HyFlex is a new method of teaching. Today’s students find themselves the guinea pigs of a new era in education. Everyone is relearning how to learn.

    This tool of learning has offered new avenues of accessibility for many students. Using HyFlex can prevent colds from spreading in classrooms. It enables mobility restricted students to learn in the comfort of their own space or even allow student athletes to learn while on the road. No one enjoys being restricted, but HyFlex can be a tool of empathy and accessibility. So next time you’re waiting out a laggy screen or those awkward Zoom interruptions, stop to take a breath and practice patience. Next time you see your professor online or in person, say thanks.

  • Propagating In Place

    Let’s be honest, who here has never killed a plant? Maybe you overwatered it or maybe you’re one of those people who walk by your thirst craved, desiccating plant with a glass of water and think, “hmm…. wonder what I should do.” Maybe you even did your research and talked to your friends, and still, your plant croaked.

    Whatever your affliction may be, you’re not alone. We’ve all killed a plant. Seems to be the ones you love the most are the most susceptible to an untimely death. I attribute this to over-care. I, for one, tend to put most of my attention to my most loved plants. This somewhat obsessive attention seems to fuel their tendency to die. I’ve found that in doubt, err on the side of neglect. Container plants do not require as much water as those planted in the ground. Of course, this all depends on temperature, placement and variety of plant. One type of plant that seems to be especially evasive are succulents. Something about these drought-tolerant plants just makes people want to water them, causing them to become over-saturated and die.

    If you fear your succulent is on the verge of dying, do not, I REPEAT, do NOT throw it out and give up. Succulents are very easy to propagate and require very little care. These geometric beauties come in all forms, shapes, and sizes and are native to almost every continent. From the high desert to cool, wet shores these appealing plants are amazing additions to a plant collection, easy on the eyes and a lot of fun to grow. Just have patience, everything takes time.

    You can propagate a succulent in many ways. You can pluck leaves and propagate from a single leaf, take a pup – a baby rosette that has grown from the mother plant – and if you’ve found that you did, in fact, overwater it, you can break your plant from its original root mass and plant it in dry dirt to revitalize it. This last method can take more time for your plant to resituate itself, but it still works.

    The propagation method for all of these ways is essentially the same. I have had success propagating succulents in all the aforementioned ways but found the most successful and gratifying way to propagate succulents is to pluck a pup from a healthy mother plant and start a new plant. Although the other ways still produce a healthy plant, they take more time, which is always a hard pill to swallow. Again, be patient, waiting will serve you.

    To propagate a pup from your mother plant take sharp scissors and cut the pup as close to the base of the mother plant as you can. Leave a couple inches of stem so that roots can grow from the stem area. Once you have separated your pup, place it into some well draining soil and let it sit completely dry for a while. The trick for propagating succulents is to keep the soil completely dry. You will drown developing roots if you water your new cutting. Depending on temperature, wait at least a week to water your succulent, probably two. When you finally decide your plant needs water, be sparing. These plants are very resilient and will grow faster if their roots are not saturated.

    Lastly, and not to harp on this, but be patient! Growth takes time. Your plant won’t grow any faster if you obsess over it. Happy succulenting!

  • Whiteness: a continuation

    I was asked why I decided to write about whiteness and uncomfortable conversations. And I had a few reasons.

    Seeing my white classmates shut down when someone speaks on their experience as a person of color (POC) that challenges a white person’s perception of such experience is a bewildering thing to see. Yet, I often see it that a white person could have more knowledge and experience over a POC’s experience of living as a person of color. Talking about race used to feel like I was doing something wrong, and it wasn’t until I left my bubble and went to college that I realized, “damn, I am an idiot.”

    I might seem like a white savior or even like someone turning their back on fellow white people, but that’s not what I’m doing – at least I hope that’s not what’s happening. In my last piece, I got a few fun comments from other white people. One person was really upset about melatonin and people that have a lot of it. I hope they can find the sleep aid that they need. But I also got comments that immediately went on the defense. And to them, I say, no one is shaming you for your skin color or ancestors and I know how sad that must be to be criticized for your skin color constantly. No one said anything about your ancestors. You brought it up. We know that wasn’t you, yet you are, holding on to it like it’s a fun statement piece.

    I’m a loud and outspoken person. Anyone who has ever even been in the same room as me would know that. When I see things, I call them out. I jump to people’s defense without even thinking about it. But I had to learn not to do that sometimes. That people can take care of the situation on their own. That speaking over the voices that are being suppressed or ignored isn’t okay, and I don’t need to jump in front and start yelling. I needed to learn to stand back and let people speak for themselves and listen.

    A few years ago was talking to a friend of mine about a band that I used to listen to all the time when I was younger, a South African band called Die Antwoord. I showed her one of their music videos because it was so crazy, and she turned to me and said, “they’re doing blackface.” I was mortified that I never even realized. Something as obvious as blackface, yet I didn’t even notice. I looked them up after she pointed them out, and there was article after article about how problematic they are. I used to listen to and watch their music videos, and I never noticed the blatant racism.

    Many white people are open to difference and exploring different ideas but afraid of being ostracized for being white. Tapping into the deep fear many white people have not just dissing whiteness but criticizing while inhabiting. But even the whites that want to do better aren’t. I’ve seen countless comments asking, “Can I wear this? Is it okay if I do this? Is it bad to buy from a black-owned store?” on a video of someone doing a TikTok dance. While I don’t want what I’m saying to shame you or deter you from learning, there are so many better ways of getting your questions answered in the correct space.

    As a white person, the moment you enter a conversation between people your group generally dominates, you ask for accommodation. Social media allows us to listen and learn without butting in. Not every conversation is for me or about my whiteness. But those conversations are so important to listen to and understand, to see other people’s experiences and perspectives on something that I am not a part of.

  • Loss and regrets

    My family and I now sit in a confusing state of grief and anger. Last week we got the earth-shattering news that a family friend of over 30 years had passed away due to COVID-19.

    In early August, he was admitted into the hospital and shortly after put on a ventilator. Before being put under, he confessed that he wished he would have gotten the vaccine. I think about his last conscious seconds before being put on the ventilator and I can’t imagine what was going through his mind.

    We have all been getting vaccines since we were born. To me, I see this vaccine as no different than the rest. Many people worry about the efficacy of the drug since it was produced at such a fast rate. What most people fail to realize is the astronomical funding that went behind this. This vaccine shows what happens when people band together and contribute to public health.

    Nearly every person on the planet has been affected by this terrible virus in one way or another, whether they have simply had to change the pace of their everyday life or lost a loved one to COVID-19. I truly never thought I would be the second of those two options.

    The events that occurred on September 11, 2001 are horrific and never forgotten, killing nearly 3,000 people in a single day. After that, the United States severely beefed up security and started a twenty year war in the Middle East.

    At its peak, COVID was killing over 15,000 people a day around the globe. What has changed in the year since we embarked on this journey of a global pandemic? Not too much. There is virtually no “lockdown” anymore, with festival season beginning and nightclubs being packed to the brim, as if the pandemic is a distant memory.

    Masks, you ask? Mandates widely vary by your geographical location. I can go to a supermarket in my city and everyone is abiding by the rules. But if I grab dinner at a restaurant in the next town, not a mask in sight.

    Too little is being done in efforts to combat this disastrous virus. As of this past week, the United States hit a dreadful milestone. 1 in 500 US citizens have died from COVID-19. If you don’t want to get the vaccine for yourself, please do it for the safety of those around you.

    In the final hours of my family friend’s life, his fiancée was allowed to say her goodbyes in a hazmat suit. I could not think of a worse way to spend your loved ones’ last seconds on earth. No one wants to deal with that and no one should have to.

    The hardest part about this situation is that it could have been avoided. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent and his life was lost because he didn’t want to get a free shot. Even though he was a right-winged lunatic at times, he did not deserve this in any capacity. He had so much more life to live. He was supposed to get married, watch his children start a family, and travel the world. He should not have been another statistic.

  • The Humboldt Hags Are Back To Hucking

    The Humboldt Hags Are Back To Hucking

    The Humboldt State women’s ultimate frisbee club team is back on campus after nearly a three-semester hiatus.

    The team has been practicing three times a week to prepare for their upcoming home tournament, HUCK, on September 25th and 26th with Sonoma State’s women’s ultimate team at the Arcata Community Center softball field.

    The Humboldt State Hags 2020 season got cut following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, the spring semester is the competitive season for the team while the fall semester is recreational. However, the USA Ultimate Association decided to extend the team’s competitive season to fall this year to make up for their lost spring season of 2020.

    Emily “Eddie” Dryer is a senior environmental studies major who has been a part of the Hags since her freshman year, after an injury prevented her from continuing her collegiate softball career. Dyer was also the team captain and vice-president of the Hags before the pandemic.

    “It really affected us,“ Dryer said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was really challenging ’cause we were trying to get everyone on Zoom and keep everyone involved but it was just so hard to keep everyone motivated, I’m really happy and really excited about our numbers this year.”

    According to team president Helinna Leone, the Hags had a higher turnout of recruits this year than past seasons, which led to more opportunities to compete and go out into the local community. The team is all walk-ons and recruits anyone from any experience level. In past years the Hags have participated in local invasive plant pulls and trash pickups throughout Humboldt county to stay active in the community, where they work side-by-side with Hags alumni.

    Leone, a third-year kinesiology and dance studies major, has big plans for the Hags this year after being appointed as team president. Leone has been playing with the Hags since her first year at HSU. She is planning for an alumni game as well as incorporating injury prevention into the team’s practices and tournaments to build a healthy team foundation.

    “Definitely right now the emphasis is still on rebuilding and remembering that we are working to go to regionals or maybe even nationals as a solid team of burly, burly Hags,” Leone said.

    The Hags are a close-knit family, evident from just a few seconds of watching them scrimmage together in the stands. The team consists of members with years of ultimate experience and others who are brand-new to the game.

    Ella Feick is a third-year environmental science and management student who joined the Hags for the first time this semester. Feick enjoys the team aspect of Hags as well as the opportunity to meet other people she would have never met before joining the team.

    “It is nice to be seeing people I would have never known before without doing this and now I see them around Arcata,” Feick said. “It is really cool to have these connections outside of the game but also a time where I get to see everybody every week.”

    Team members said they rely on each other for advice, school work accountability, confidence-building, and getting their numbers up for the future seasons. Many Hags members consider joining Hags as a foundational block to enjoying their student experience here at Humboldt State.

    “I came to college having spent all of my extracurricular time on dance and so at this new start I was sort of moving away from that life and the rocky relationship I had with my body and the dance community as a whole, frisbee helped me step away from that and find power in myself again,” Leone said. “The camaraderie built from late-night practices, long tournament weekends, and just juggling life together is unparalleled.”

    Samantha Castro is a senior returning to the Hags for her third season and said joining the team allowed her to find a community on campus after feeling somewhat lost her first year at HSU.

    “We’re like a family out there on the field,” Castro said. “Since day one it’s all been about the girls and how close and tight-knit we are, I really enjoy that aspect.”

    The Hags will be hosting the first tournament of the fall club season this weekend and are hoping to use it as a warmup for new players before their sectionals in October. The team is always looking for more burly Hags to join the group, no matter the experience level.

  • See what they saw: HSU timbersports team in action

    See what they saw: HSU timbersports team in action

    Chainsaws buzz as the rain pours down in the redwoods. Timbersports athletes can be found clambering up trees, throwing axes, attempting some extreme balance beam act with saws in hand – just an average Saturday for the HSU Timbersports team. They are determined to keep alive practices which once defined the timber industry.

    According to Alex Beauchene, a forestry restoration major, “Logging sports events are rooted in tradition and competition, and can be applied to working in the woods whether that’s in the past or adapted to present day.”

    Clinton Kafka, the team president, cheers on his team even in the gloomiest of weather. He chops wood and runs a chainsaw every Saturday practice as a way to destress from a week full of classes. Kafka gave a lay out of all the events that our lumberjacks love.

    “As a team, we compete in all of the events at the competitions,” Kafka said. “There’s tree climbing, power saw, obstacle pole, choker setting, cross cut, double buck, horizontal chop, vertical chop, axe throwing, pulp toss, caber toss. And then, some more academic events that we have are timber cruising, plant identification, and traversing.”

    Beauchene’s favorite discipline is climbing. It involves athletes climbing up a tree using gaffs (leg braces with a spike to stab into the bark) and a rope around the tree. In competition, climbing is a timed event to see who can reach the 50 foot mark the fastest. In his opinion, the hardest event is the single buck also known as the misery whip.

    “The misery whip got its name from loggers felling large trees historically with a crosscut saw running it back and forth and back and forth,” Beauchene said. “In logging sports it has been adapted to single or double buck, where one or two people run a crosscut saw and race for the best time to cut a cookie (a cross section of log in the shape of a disk) from a log.”

    Others pin the vertical chop as the toughest event, where athletes must chop through 14 inches of an upright vertical log in the quickest time possible.

    One of the most visually-interesting events is the obstacle pole. In this event, athletes balance as they run up an inclined log with saw in hand, and once at the end they saw through the end producing a cookie before running back down. According to the team president it is hard to even get a qualifying time, let alone a fast one.

    The skills learned here are often applicable career skills for quite a few majors, but that does not mean the team is limited to just forestry or management majors. The team welcomes everyone to try their hand at being a lumberjack, and students of all skill levels or majors can join the club or the class. The program is looking to build up their numbers since obstacles in the pandemic have impacted campus life.

    Kyle Mantzouranis is a forestry operations major who found community in the logging sports team.

    “My favorite thing about logging sports is the broad variety of events and how friendly and helpful the team is. They encourage everyone to try the events and are very supportive regardless of your skill level,” Mantzouranis said.

    Cassandra Renteria, a junior on the team, thinks there is something special about practicing logging sports in Humboldt County which has so much history in the timber industry. She also believes there is something special about her team.

    “I’m proud that as a team we still come out here rain or shine ready to put in work at practice every Saturday while being safe about it. I also love how the team makes me feel like I’m a part of something special,” Renteria said.

    The team hopes to compete against other collegiate teams from around the West this season. Students may consider taking the logging sports class next semester to help support the Lumberjacks at Logtoberfest competition.

  • Lumberjack soccer star shines in early season tests

    Lumberjack soccer star shines in early season tests

    “There’s not a prize until the end”

    Christian Gonzalez center back in his second year on the Humboldt State men’s soccer team, is settling in.

    A junior born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Gonzalez has loved the game since he was just five years old. He has four years of college soccer experience under his belt, evident in his playing this season.

    “The further you get into soccer, you’re just grateful that you get into it with a group of guys that are just as determined to keep pushing as you are,” Gonzalez said.

    Gonzalez enjoys the grind of soccer and talked a lot about how it keeps him engaged after the HSU versus Simpson game on Friday.

    “There’s not a prize until the end. You’re just grinding games, running several miles each game,” Gonzalez said. “That’s something that’s great to appreciate towards the end of the season. Early in the season, we know we’re 5-0, but that’s not what we’re seeing right now. We’re taking it one game at a time.”

    Gonzalez said his winning mindset has come from training constantly for years. He learned to practice the way he would play in a real soccer game by having the determination to win all the competitions, not just limited to games, but small sided challenges in practice as well.

    “Even something as simple as a passing drill,” Gonzalez said.

    On the field, Gonzalez plays with his head. He maintains confidence that he can win a ball in the air, offensively or defensively.

    Gonzalez also mentioned that he has been heavily influenced by Italian defenders and the way they play.

    “Defending has been my passion ever since I was little and if I had to pick out several influences it’d just be the classic Italian defender,” Gonzalez said. “If you can score a goal, that’s great, but first thing is defending.”

    This mindset explains how the men’s soccer team defense has been so successful this season. They back up their offense and make things easier for them. They simply allow fewer goals.

    The team has had a very successful season so far, undefeated with a 5-0 record currently. They managed to sneak away with a 1-0 win against Simpson Friday where a goal from Marco Silveira late in the game snatched the victory for the Lumberjacks.

    The previous weekend, the Jacks won two away games against different non-conference opponents in Hayward, California by scores of 4-0 and 3-0. The team’s next game is at College Creek Field this coming Saturday, September 25th. They will face their first conference opponent, Chico State, in a rivalry game.

  • Why waste when WRRAP’s got you covered

    Why waste when WRRAP’s got you covered

    Food waste is an environmental issue that impacts all of us. Good food thrown away today will be greenhouse gases impacting our community tomorrow. This is all preventable.

    Food waste comes in several forms: it can be spoiled food that never made it on a plate, or overstock from a grocery store that never made it to a cart. A food system filled with inefficiency leaves us with extra waste that impacts us all. Lucky for communities around Humboldt County, there are solutions and resources that can reduce the emissions that you are responsible for.

    There are several issues that make food waste’s impact so negative. For one, it is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Food that is wasted in landfills never properly decomposes as it is trapped between other refuse like plastic. It is a waste of the resources put into growing, processing, and transporting food products too. In addition, it is unethical to dispose of so much food in the face of food scarcity.

    Many sources of food waste come in the pre-consumer stage, where food fit for consumption is tossed out before making it to market. This can be due to such trivial things as appearance of produce, improper storing techniques, or often, grocery stores throw out food that was never sold.

    Alexis Diaz, a remote Environmental Studies student at HSU, is doing her part to combat food waste by dumpster diving. Diaz looked into the legality and found that dumpster diving was permitted under California v. Greenwood (1988), as long as there were no local ordinances prohibiting it. She began frequenting grocery store dumpsters and found her own method of modern foraging. Diaz found herself shopping less and always stocked on produce.

    “I went to the dumpster and I just found large amounts of potatoes, onions and apples consistently, I just have so much food to eat” Diaz said.

    Zero Waste Humboldt, a local non profit, is doing their part to ensure that food waste never reaches landfills by supporting food security efforts in Humboldt County communities. Their model follows the food recovery hierarchy supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

    The model starts by reducing production to account for our surplus of food that is thrown away, then feeding people with edible products that would otherwise go to waste. Food unfit for humans and scraps go to farms to feed livestock. Food byproducts like oils go towards industrial uses. Anything unaccounted for in those steps is to be composted and returns nutrients to soils. Their efforts help to propel bills like SB1383, which will hold food industries accountable for their organic waste materials. SB1383 will take effect Jan. 1 2022.

    So what can HSU students do about it? Fortunately, the university has several programs to help educate students on waste reduction and mitigate food waste impacts. Waste Reduction Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP) is home of the Earth Tub, an industrial sized composter for student scrap needs.

    The Compost Squad puts out five gallon buckets to collect compostable material weekly. Using an e-bike, they deliver it to the Earth Tub to turn into nutrient rich finished compost. The finished product is available for free pickup to use in your own garden.

    The Compost Squad is here to help! Krissi Fiebig serves as the Compost Director and is an Environmental Engineering major at HSU.

    “Before COVID, the Earth Tub was diverting around 500 pounds of waste every week, but now it is only diverting about 40 pounds,” Fiebig said.

    You can change that. Ella Moore, the other member of the Compost Squad, encourages students to get back into eco-friendly habits as student life returns to campus.

    “All the students have to do is put their waste into the WRRAP provided buckets that are in dorm kitchens and around campus and you can actually request your own bucket for classrooms on campus as well,” Moore said. “That will be collected on Thursdays after 4 pm.”

    As for students off campus, there are options too.

    “Students off campus can bring their compost in a brown paper bag or a bin that they can dump to CCAT, the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, and put it into their compost or any other bins around campus,” Moore said.

    The Compost Squad misses their loyal bucket holders that did their part to keep the hungry earth tub fed. Please do your part to reduce emissions and mitigate needless waste. For more resources or to answer questions, check out WRRAPs website.

  • HSU counts down for Library’s return

    HSU counts down for Library’s return

    Anticipated to complete in the fall of 2019, HSU’s library construction has continued on far past its originally intended end date. A simple seismic retrofit intended to keep the building up to newly updated safety codes has turned into a full blown reimagining of the university’s library.

    “When it first started, it started with the roof replacement and exterior painting,” Cyril Oberlander, dean of the university’s library, said. “What ended up happening is while we were waiting to do the second bid, the seismic coefficient changed in standards… [forcing] a redesign of our original plans.”

    This sudden change in plans inspired the much larger update currently taking place at the campus library. This newly updated library will follow a more open floor design plan, allowing for the ability to create new spaces geared towards collaborative learning.

    Oberlander listed changes ranging from whole new sets of LED lights with a focus on power consumption reduction, improvements in overall safety, and even a possible future virtual dissection table that would not only allow students to examine the human body through an interactive 3D model but also allow for the examining of wildlife and marine life too.

    Jason Baugh, head construction project manager, added that along with the new LED light installations there will be new mechanical grills, mechanical ducting, improved air quality, and a total repainting and new flooring.

    “We’re going more towards a green, more school color [theme],” Baugh said.

    The library will also be added into the campus-wide system lockdown update, which will allow for the remote locking of any doors on campus at a moment’s notice. Baugh lastly teased that the library may see the addition of solar panels to it within the next few years as part of the university’s microgrid project.

    Aside from the physical changes coming to the library, Oberlander and the faculty are working on making the library a hub for more important student resources.

    “The YES House, Youth Education Service, and Academic Career Advising [are] now moving into the library,” Oberlander said. “And should be opening [with] the [re-opening] of the library.”

    It’s easy to see now how such an originally small project wasn’t able to hit its intended end date. All these additions to the construction weren’t the only obstacles that Baugh and Oberlander hit along the way.

    “It was like, how many curveballs can you get,” Oberlander said, sharing a laugh with Baugh. “Well…we had a few”

    Due to the university’s location, many contractors have been hesitant to take on this huge project in such a secluded area, thus efforts had to be made to rein in the project’s budget. This largely entailed figuring out the best ways to cut corners financially without sacrificing imperative safety measures and features.

    “We did end up having to get rid of our general contractor. They weren’t doing what they were supposed to and they weren’t going to hit our original milestones,” Baugh said. “But it’s fine. We’re getting there. I’m just happy to say we’re making the progress we have.”

    Currently, they are on track to get the first floor open by November, with a full reopening of all floors by the beginning of next year’s spring semester. Prior to the pandemic, the library itself had on average 4,000 people visiting a single day and hosted over 2,100 events in 2018 alone, making its speedy return vitally important to student life.

    Oberlander and Baugh both recognized the strain this project has brought to many students’ academic lives. Both felt a mutual sense of frustration about the whole situation.

    “It was tough on people… I recognize that and I’m pushing as hard as I can to get them back into a space that they should have and rightfully so,” Baugh said.

    For students looking to currently access library resources you can visit HSU’s official library website at https://library.humboldt.edu/ or visit the lowest level of the library in room 28 located at the building’s south entrance, open Mondays through Fridays from 8 am to 7 pm and Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm.

  • HSU’s new app is in the works

    A new app is currently in development for Humboldt State students. Its primary focus would be to connect students better with the AS board and campus life. The app would also offer exclusive local deals and give students a place to easily find and join clubs.

    Bruce Twersky, the lead developer for a company called App Builder U, pitched the new HSU app during an AS board meeting last Friday. Twersky had already developed a demo app for his sales pitch that he made available to members of the board. App Builder U’s application would cost the school a one-time fee of $5,000 and a monthly maintenance fee of $500.

    “We’re basically going to put all of the Associated Student’s information [on the App] and combine that with a bunch of student discounts – pretty simple right? Kind of revolutionary. No one’s ever done this before,” said Twersky.

    Twersky’s demo for the HSU app had multiple functions. For one, it acted as a way for the AS board to directly communicate with students about upcoming events through push notifications. The app also included an interactive campus map that allowed students to find specific locations through a search function.

    As a part of the deal, App Builder U employees would set up exclusive deals with local and national businesses that would be accessible through the app. App Builder U has already developed several other apps for different campuses. To see how useful these deals could actually be, you can download the app they developed for Riverside City College.

    The RCC app has quite a few deals available. However, the deals aren’t all exclusive to the app, many of which are already available to students. Quite a few of the deals are only available through the first-time download of apps from other establishments.

    One function that looks particularly useful is the club page. Here, students can browse the different clubs available on campus and find contact information to join the clubs.

    Overall, the app is simple and easy to navigate with several features that could be mildly helpful. Nothing about it is necessary or groundbreaking, yet the app could still be beneficial in raising student participation.

    Now the question remains, will this app make it through the review process? For the most part, the AS board seems receptive to the idea.

    External Affairs Representative, Rosa Granados was enthusiastic about the idea for a new app, citing back to when she was a freshman moving from Southern California and how this app offers resources that could have helped her as a new student.

    “I really would love to see this expand through, you know, adding wellness services groups as well,” said Granados.

    She explained how the app could be useful in connecting different groups and resources to students who are unaware of what’s available.

    The app still faces approval by the Student Disability Resource Center before it’s released. Dr. Eboni Ford Turnbow reminded the board of the process an app has to go through before publication.

    “Institutionally, before you would decide, this would need to go through an accessibility review through the accessibility department on campus,” said Dr. Turnbow.

    Twersky was confident that his app would be able to successfully go through this process but the board cannot make a decision until the app passes through the accessibility department’s review process.

  • Stop speculating on John Mulaney’s personal life

    Comedian John Mulaney has certainly been having a rough year. This past December, he was admitted to rehab after a relapse in alcoholism and cocaine use, and upon his release he announced his separation from his wife of six years, lampshade artist Annamarie Tendler. Within a week of the news going public, rumors began to circulate that Mulaney was already in a relationship with actress Olivia Munn. In his first interview of 2021, Mulaney confirmed on The Late Show with Seth Meyers that he is in a relationship with Munn and that the couple is expecting a child.

    This was definitely surprising information for me to read. I’m a long-time fan of Mulaney, and some of my favorite material were the bits he did about his relationship with his wife. However, the fact remains that I do not know this man. I have never met him, and I likely never will. Although I have watched his comedy specials almost to the point of memorization, John Mulaney is not my friend and never will be. I know nothing about his life and experiences. He may have a confessional, personal style of comedy, but that does not make me anything beyond a stranger, or him anything other than a face on my screen. I only know what he tells an audience.

    Many fans of Mulaney, myself included, were anxiously hanging on for news during his stint in rehab. It’s natural enough to want to know someone is doing okay, but the more personal news coming out about him became, the stranger the fixation got, and the more concerned I was about myself and my own interest. Reading articles speculating on the nature of his relationships honestly began to feel gross, like I was looking at something that I wasn’t supposed to see. The news of Mulaney’s divorce had some on social media going so far as to compare it to the separation of their own parents. When the news came of him dating Munn so soon after the split, people quickly accused him of moving on too fast and her of being a homewrecker. From the way people talked about her, you would think Munn had seduced their actual dad.

    The term “parasocial relationship” is thrown around a lot online and it is largely misunderstood. Essentially, the term refers to a psychological phenomenon where people form imaginary friendships with media personalities. People see a person on television or social media often enough, and come to see them as a friend despite the lack of real connection. Our monkey brains are not evolved to recognize a difference between a Netflix comedian and a fellow hunter-gatherer tribesman. We have to put in mental effort to acknowledge that celebrities are just strangers we know a disproportionate amount of information about.

    Please note that an interest in celebrity gossip or having a favorite celebrity is not inherently bad or parasocial. If you’re a fan of someone, that’s great! There is nothing wrong with enjoying content. Following your favorite singer or actor on social media is completely normal. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that whatever connection you feel with your icon, this is not mutual.

    Of course he’s going through something. Of course this man is having some sort of rough patch. That much is obvious. The polite thing to do here is to simply stop feeding into the obsession with a random man’s life. You don’t know John Mulaney. His personal life is not your business.

  • Black Trucks and Bleeding Ears

    I was in the market for a gas mask last summer. I had no time to order it. There was nothing good at the Ace Hardware in Arcata. Nothing at the local auto shops or paint stores. I knew I needed to check the Ace Hardware in McKinleyville. It was unfortunate, but no matter what went on in the McKinleyville Ace, it was better than being tear-gassed.

    I braved the store. I found some useful tat, but no gas mask. The man in front of me in line wore a thin-blue-line face mask, but I supposed it was better than no mask. One of the worst songs I have ever endured assaulted me from the radio. It was a country piece about the singer’s “big black jacked up truck.” I left the hardware store with no protection against tear gas but a few new truck descriptors.

    I am honestly unsure if the tear gas ended up being worse.

    “I listen to everything except for country” goes the common refrain. I get it.

    At a protest last September, I saw someone in a large black truck run over a protestor. Any of the protestors at the scene could have been the one hit. It was just their luck. The protester went under the truck, but they suffered only minor injuries, largely because of how jacked the big black truck was.

    I pulled into a McKinleyville gas station a few days later. I cringed as I parked by a large, lifted black truck. I left my car and eyed the back of the truck, noting a punisher symbol with a thin-blue-line worked into the skull. I bought a cup of burnt coffee from the gas station market and walked back out toward my car. Now there were two additional large black trucks. One truck bore a small confederate battle flag sticker.

    I left the gas station with a sick feeling in my stomach. I could hear the song again, exalting these ridiculous trucks. They weren’t even good at killing people.

    Country music feels like tear gas. Like the thud of a body meeting black painted sheet metal. It smells like gasoline fumes and tastes like burnt coffee.

    “I listen to everything except for country” makes sense. But I still listen to it.

    I can’t help that country music also sounds like home. It feels like grease between my fingers and dust beneath my nails. Like the crunch of gravel beneath the tires of my dad’s old truck.

    Months later, I went back to an old playlist cleverly named “I Don’t Like Country” sitting in my Spotify library. The playlist holds all the songs that used to sound like home. None of it carries overt authoritarian themes or culture-war messaging. The artists are diverse, and the sounds range from modern americana to gospel.

    Now the music sounds like everything my home is not. It sounds like a home I could have had if the people on the wrong end of a big black jacked up truck had what they wanted.

    Everyone who says they “listen to everything but country” might want to try again. You don’t have to enjoy it. It’s a hard genre to navigate, but for me, it’s worth digging. Much of it describes the pain and joy of working-class experiences. It talks about the gruesome consequences of American Protestant ideology. It digs into American sickness and finds a version of America I could abide.

    It feels like my home and tear gas at the same time. These days home may as well be where the tear gas is. Country music is both the weapon used against protesters and the protest song. It’s complex and deeply American. Authoritarian and populist. It’s a map of the American condition. It contains a path to a better home that I wish more people like me could see.

  • IPCC climate report

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, released the first installment of the Sixth Assessment Report in August that pointed towards a particular threat to Humboldt county, the disruption of ocean currents. Just off the Humboldt coast flows the California current, which brings cold water down from the North Pacific, and the Davidson current that brings warm water up from the south. The circulation of this sea water is not only the driving force behind Humboldt’s wetter weather and lower temperatures, but they also bring in zooplankton that fish and birds prey on.

    Christine Cass, associate professor and chair of Humboldt State’s oceanography department, said the weakening of the California current will have an effect on the offshore salmon populations who rely on the larger and more calorie dense plankton brought down from the north over the smaller plankton coming up from the south.

    “If we have weaker CA current circulation, we are likely to see fewer of those northern plankton. This can have important implications for plankton predators, including birds and fish,” Cass said. “For instance, young salmon tend to be more successful if they enter the ocean at a time when northern zooplankton are more abundant. When we have fewer northern plankton and more of the southern plankton, the young salmon tend to have lower survival rates. In sum, changing the intensity of the CA current will impact the local plankton present, and could also impact the success of plankton predators.”

    The arctic regions that the northern cold water originates from is poised to get hotter faster than most other regions, meaning that the cold water coming south will be heating up much faster than anticipated. This will mean the salmon will have less nutrient rich food during their mating season. With higher amounts of CO2 entering the atmosphere, the sea’s ability to absorb it and absorb heat gets strained. If ocean waters reach their maximum level of captured CO2, they will begin bouncing more CO2 and heat from the sun back into the atmosphere, compounding the effects of climate change and causing its worse effects to begin faster.

    According to the IPCC report in August, all of the projections for more unprecedented weather patterns hinge largely on human activity.

    “The magnitude of feedback between climate change and the carbon cycle becomes larger but also more uncertain in high CO2 emissions scenarios,” the report said. “However, climate model projections show the uncertainties of atmospheric CO2 concentrations by 2100 are dominated by the difference between emissions scenarios.”

    The most important factor in reducing climate change is reaching net zero emissions as soon as possible. CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions are the largest contributors to the increase in unpredictable weather patterns.

    According to IPCC working Group One chair Panmao Zhai in the August 9th press release, the only effective way to tackle climate change is for world leaders to reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible.

    “Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net zero CO2 emissions,” Zhai said. “Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate.”

  • Cajun Cheesy Potatoes with Sausages

    Do you ever crave a meal that may remind you of home or is just very comforting? Well, this meal is it!

    You can have it as a side or main dish. You can serve it with meat or not. Some really great meat suggestions are chicken and shrimp, but for the non-meat eaters, you can add broccoli and mushrooms. This savory dish is truly a statement meal and great for any occasion. Not only that, but it’s a little under 15 dollars in cost and only takes about 25 minutes to cook.

    Ingredients:

    3 red skin potatoes, sliced thickly

    1/2 red onion, chopped

    1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

    1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

    2 tbsps chopped garlic

    splash of olive oil

    2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded

    1 cup of parmesan cheese

    1 tbsp paprika

    1 tbsp garlic powder

    1 tbsp onion powder

    1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

    1 tbsp cayenne seasoning

    Louisiana’s Cajun seasoning

    1 tbsp McCormick garlic and herb seasoning

    Parsley flakes, for color

    Salt and pepper to taste

    Cooking instructions:

    Add chopped potatoes, garlic, onions, and peppers to a pot of rolling hot water.

    cut the sausages however you’d like. Place them in a pan and let them brown up on each side, you could also add them to the boiling potatoes.

    Add oil and a dash of salt. Add protein of your choice. Let that boil for about 15- 20 mins or until you can stick a fork through one of the potatoes smoothly. Do not overcook, potatoes should keep their shape.

    Once they are fork-tender, drain a good majority of the water and add the seasonings. Fold the potatoes and the seasonings very gently.

    Top with your cheeses and let it melt.

    Side note: It’s totally okay to cook your meats separate from the potatoes as well as the veggies of your choice. Mushy is not pleasing.

  • Get Thrifty

    Get Thrifty

    As social media influencers take over fast-fashion brands, those over by the Lost Coast may prefer to sift through bins to curate their closets. Thrifting, upcycling, and donating gently or rarely worn clothing and goods is one way to reduce your footprint and stick it to capitalism.

    The owner of Brainwash Thrift, Kiki Angus, is building a community around fashion and inclusivity. Brainwash Thrift has been open on the corner of 40 Sunnybrae Center in Arcata since June of this year, and they are just getting started.

    “Self-worth is stemmed from how you express yourself, so fashionable clothing should be accessible,” Angus said.

    Psychology major Clara Lenihan found Brainwash Thrift through HSU.

    “I discovered Brainwash from my sex diversity class. My professor had invited them to be a guest speaker in our class and I loved everything they stood for,” said Lenihan.

    The donation-based thrift store is composed of two locations side by side and plans to open another one a few doors down for a queer-inclusive event space. If you are looking for more than a thrift store, Brainwash is here to bring you a sense of community. As an Indigenous woman herself, Angus is aware of her role as a business owner.

    “On a macro scale to me [Brainwash Thrift] is representative of my personal life philosophy,” Angus said. “The idea of challenging your perspective, decolonizing the mind, freeing yourself of these shackles inflicted on us via settler colonialism.”

    Angus, a transplant from the Bay Area, says when she moved up here she was surprised by the lack of queer bars and other queer spaces. Angus hopes to bring some much needed representation into the area. The walls of Brainwash are filled with photographs Angus takes including women of color, queer motifs, and inspirational quotes.

    Brainwash Thrift is currently only donation-based because Angus wants to keep the inventory accessible and size-inclusive. On top of donations, Angus also travels for inventory.

    “I always make sure we have a diverse array of clothing and make sure we have plus size clothing,” said Angus.

    When you donate your clothing or goods, the process becomes what Angus calls a “community trade.” In the future, the store has plans to move into a buy/sale/trade system.

    But Brainwash Thrift is not only taking donations for themselves. Angus is incorporating Brainwash into the community by doing work with non-profits and local artists. Brainwash works with organizations like Queer Humboldt, Justice for Josiah, and Arcata Mutual Aid to help with donations, fundraisers, and food drives. Local artists that utilize the space to create their work, can expect a 20/80 split as opposed to the typical 40/60 split that many consignment artists are used to.

    HSU students can look forward to upcoming college student promotions, skate nights, brown bags sales, and the expansion of the event space. Keep up with Brainwash Thrift on Instagram @brainwashthrift.

    Angus, an Indigenous creative herself, has created a safe haven for herself that she is extending to other like-minded individuals in the area. When you enter Brainwash Thrift you can expect to feel welcomed and inspired. Her aim is to create a space where people can express themselves and love themselves.

    “Those are the things we should value the most because they bring the most joy and love to our lives,” said Angus.

  • HSU shares its Annual Security Report

    As part of The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, Humboldt State University has once again released its Annual Security Report (ASR).

    Colleges and universities that receive federal funding are required to release a report on crime statistics that occurred on the school’s campus each year. This year’s report covers the start of January 2018 through December 2020.

    “We share this information in a spirit of openness and with a deep commitment to fostering a safer environment for teaching, learning and living,” President Tom Jackson said in the report.

    This year, HSU’s report noted that the previous Clery Director and Clery Coordinator retired at the end of 2020. Allan Ford, the interim Title IX Coordinator and DHR Administrator, filled in as Clery Director and Nicki Viso, the Program Analyst in the Title IX & DHR Prevention Office, filled in as Clery Coordinator.

    “This has given us an opportunity to review our procedures and ensure we are up to compliance with the Clery Act,” Viso said. “I appreciate the efforts of the Clery Compliance Team, especially Housing, Dean of Students, and UPD, to complete this internal review.”

    Ford commended Viso for establishing the Clery Compliance Team and for taking the lead role in compiling statistics.

    Despite the pandemic, Viso said that there were no major changes in the report due to COVID-19. There were, however, adjustments to procedures like establishing Clery geography. What this means is the geographic area for which an institution is responsible for disclosing crime statistics.

    A notable observation was that there were no hate crimes reported in 2020. There were however six reported offenses of rape and five reported offenses of fondling both on campus and in campus residences.

    Ford stressed the difference between a crime and a report. Any allegation that fits into specified criminal criteria and allegedly took place within clery geography can appear in the report.

    “I want to make a distinction between what has been reported to UPD and what has not,” Viso said. “The Clery stats and our actual crime stats are different. There has not been an increase in crimes reported to UPD.”

    Viso also clarified that the ASR records offenses when they were reported, not when the situation occurred. For example, if an incident was reported in 2020, but occurred two years ago, it would still be counted in the 2020 statistics.

    University Police Department Chief Anthony Morgan said that he hopes that victims of sex crimes feel like there’s a reporting channel that they can count on.

    “These things need to be reported and I would encourage people to report to us, but I also understand that sometimes people don’t feel comfortable and I hope we get to a place where they do,” Morgan said.

  • 2020 Security Report Revisits Cannabis Policy

    2020 Security Report Revisits Cannabis Policy

    Changing campus dynamics over the last two years have left permanent changes to many of Humboldt State’s policies and procedures. One such change came with the release of the Annual Security Report, a three-year analysis of crime statistics.

    The reports are led by the Clery Compliance Team in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, otherwise known as the Clery Act.

    In 2020, both the Clery Director and Clery Coordinator retired. Allan Ford filled in as director and Nicki Viso acted as coordinator. In their new roles, Ford and Viso revised campus requirements to report cannabis policy infractions.

    “Our understanding of what constitutes a Liquor Law referral for disciplinary action and Drug Law referral for disciplinary action evolved, which has resulted in a decrease in our statistics between 2019 and 2020. These three factors contributed the most:

    • Residence halls are considered private residences once a locked door is encountered.

    • Individuals who are 21+ can have possession of up to 28.5g of cannabis.

    • Individuals under 21 must have possession of a usable amount of cannabis to count as a statistic,” the Annual Security Report reads.

    These new requirements allow the campus’ security report to reflect California’s cannabis restrictions as well as focus on underage use of controlled substances. In previous years, “drug law referrals” made up a majority of crimes reported. Last year’s report identified an approximate average of 133 referrals per year from 2017-2019. This year, the report listed only 21.

    Previously, security reports would overwhelmingly reflect drug referrals that did not violate state law. Now, the reports will more accurately reflect encounters with illicit substances or quantities, and underage possession.

    The university has made it clear that possession and use of cannabis remains prohibited at Humboldt State. However, efforts made by Humboldt State administrators along with University Police allow our campus to more accurately report on student safety. Humboldt State Chief of Police Anthony Morgan responded to these changes.

    “Nothing has changed in the way we respond to [drug and alcohol] incidents on campus. One of the things I think the campus does a good job of is trying to administratively handle these incidents versus make them a law enforcement issue,” Morgan said.

    The annual safety report is a reflection of the security of the student body. For many prospective students and their families, this report is the best way to understand the quality of life on campus.

    As Humboldt State adapts to a rapidly changing world, current and prospective students need to be informed about the safety of their community. This change in the annual security report is one more step campus administrators have taken to respond to that need.

  • Cleaning Up Our Act

    Cleaning Up Our Act

    California’s Coastal Clean Up Month, formerly Clean Up Day, is upon us. This beloved California tradition is dedicated to cleaning up our cities and streets, as well as focusing our attention on one of our prized ecological areas, the beach.

    The California Coastal Commission (CCC), established in 1972 and made permanent in the California Coastal Act of 1976, is responsible for, “the biggest, single day volunteer event on the planet” according to the Guinness Book of World Records. This momentous day has evolved from a single day to a month-long volunteer extravaganza with 74,000 volunteers collecting nearly a million pounds of garbage from our waterways in 2019. As the movement has grown, efforts have turned inland where the majority of waste originates.

    Data collection has been a central force in the decades of trash clean ups. Throughout the years, the CCC has found that up to 85% of trash collected on beaches originates on land.

    Eben Schwartz is the Marine Debris Program Manager and Outreach Manager for the CCC.

    “If the trash is coming from land then we should try to stop it where it starts, so we started spreading our cleanups inland. We’re now at the point where we’re cleaning just about everywhere in California,” Schwartz said.

    Through data collection, the CCC has found that the worst polluter is cigarette butts, an incredibly toxic form of plastic pollution. Don’t be fooled, although the material that makes up cigarette butts is known as cellulose acetate, this is not a plant based product. Cellulose acetate is a plastic, primarily a mixture of rayon and paper. Cigarette butts make up the largest category of collected items next to food and beverage containers.

    “When you look at categories of debris that’s out there, by far the largest category is food and beverage packaging. Basically you take a convenience store and shake it upside down, and anything that falls out is what we’re finding in our environment,” Schwartz said.

    Schwartz is primarily responsible for public education to get people involved in coastal stewardship, mostly through large volunteer events like Coastal Clean Up Day. Unfortunately, the pandemic has taken its toll. Data, although less robust than past years, shows that pandemic trash and single use items such as plastic bags have impacted our beaches and waterways. Since the 2014 plastic bag ban, plastic bags slowly receded down on the list of the top trash items. During the pandemic, when the ban was lifted for just two short months, bags jumped right back to the sixth position on the top ten list.

    “It really did show what an impact the pandemic was having on our environment,” Schwartz said. “The other interesting tidbit was that PPE – masks and gloves, but mostly masks – came in as the twelfth most picked up item in 2020, which is shockingly high for an item that has just recently been introduced to our society.”

    Along with the pandemic’s uptick in production and discard of plastic products, Schwartz points out that producers of these products need to take more responsibility for the trash they introduce to the public.

    Locally, the North Coast Environmental Center (NEC) also points to producers to take more responsibility for the garbage they produce.

    Ivy Munnerlyn, the Coastal Programs Coordinator for NEC said, “Preventing [trash] from being created in the first place is a lot more effective in the long run.”

    NEC has worked with the city of Arcata for their single use plastic ban. Statewide, groups have been working to create extended producer responsibility bans which would tax those actually responsible for creating the waste. Caroline Griffith is co-executive director and EcoNews journalist for NEC, these extended producer responsibility acts raise the money to implement local and actual recycling programs instead of shipping plastic waste to developing nations. These bans also incentivize consumers and producers alike to utilize other products.

    Statewide beach clean ups started in 1985, but the city of Arcata predated statewide efforts by over ten years with the Arcata Recycling Center, boasted as the birthplace of beach clean ups. This noble effort, unfortunately, was diverted as the nature of recycling fell to a capitalistic venture.

    “Slowly, recycling became an industry. That really shifted how things worked,” Griffith said. “They wanted to recover materials versus actually making things into new materials. There’s that financial incentive that really changed it.”

    Although the history and current reality of plastic is a highly complex issue, there are ways for beach lovers and climate activists alike to get involved this month. Local cleanups are scheduled every weekend in September, and people can sign up through the NEC website, www.yournec.org, to attend cleanups in their neighborhoods. September is a wonderful month to get involved but, as Griffith puts it, cleanups should be much more common practice.

    “We should be doing this all the time,” Griffith said. “It’s fun to have one big event where we all do it together, but really making a habit of it and doing it regularly is the most effective. Then you actually do see those waste patterns in your neighborhood – you know where that waste is coming from.”

    Armed with information, you can go to local businesses responsible for making waste and let them know what the problem is. Hopefully, these businesses will be responsive and work with you to make changes.

  • HSU’s new Student Activities Center

    HSU’s new Student Activities Center

    The old University Center at HSU has been transformed into a three-story Student Activities Center where students are able to relax, study and enjoy each others company. There are a number of amenities that students can enjoy, from new food places such as Bigfoot Burgers and a variety of spaces to congregate to play board or video games with friends.

    Jason Meriwether, Vice President of Enrollment Management, said that almost everything that students envisioned last semester for the new center was implemented.

    “The student activities center is built from feedback from our students and fulfills our vision for an improved student experience at HSU,” Meriwether said.

    They said that the SAC is also designed to be a more centralized space for all student needs.

    In addition to the large spaces dedicated to study and leisure, the first floor also contains a Student Life and Event Services desk where students can go to find out anything about student life on campus. From purchasing tickets for events to finding out information about campus clubs, in addition to a number of other services.

    Wendy Sotomayor, SAC director, said that students are really going to benefit from this more coordinated and improved service.

    “With the merging of the Student Life and Student Activities Center areas, we now have a one stop shop for student focused services,” Sotomayor said.

    They also said that everything in the center, apart from locker rental, is free for all students. Sotomayor also said that all the furniture in the center is refurbished from across campus. The only additions are the arcade games, video games and board games that were added to the space for students’ entertainment.

    Sotomayor encourages students who visit the SAC to provide their feedback because the center is going to continue to adapt to the needs of the campus community.

    “We’ve started here and we’ll be asking: What would you like to see next?” Sotomayor said.

  • Uncomfortable Conversations

    White people are scared to talk about whiteness. Trying to have conversations with my family members about race is like pulling teeth. If confronted, they either get mad or do/say something racist and refuse to acknowledge what they just did. I am white and I used to say things like “I don’t see race I see people,” which, looking back, is a load of bullshit because I didn’t know how to talk about my whiteness and race.

    It’s incredibly invalidating to people’s experiences and lives to say “I don’t see race.” Saying that means you don’t see their culture, you don’t see the pattern of violence People of Color (POC) are confronted with every day, and you’re not seeing the racial injustice that happens every day.

    I grew up not having to acknowledge or even know that the white experience is completely different and unequal to those that aren’t white. When I started forming my own opinions and seeing things without input from my family and community, I realized that my version of feminism was really white feminism. It didn’t specifically include nonwhite people. Sure I could see the injustice against women, but I was practically blind to racial injustice.

    Having racial anxiety isn’t the same for POC and whites. POC experiencing racial anxiety is from discrimination hostility and hate crimes, while for white people it is from the possibility of being seen as racist. It’s not an excuse to not have a conversation about race. If you say something racist, listen to the people telling you so. Own up to it. Don’t use your own ignorance as a weapon powered by centuries of institutional power.

    Being uncomfortable isn’t an excuse either, it’s something white people need to face. When white people say ”Ugh, I hate white people,” it’s them trying to separate their experiences from other white people’s experiences like they are two separate things. However, they are the same. Those saying “I hate white people,” while being white are almost more damaging, because they are using their white privilege to deny it.

    Not talking about race is screaming your answer of where you stand and what you choose is to be ignorant. Silence is an answer and it’s not a good one. Fellow white people, please have conversations about race. Feel uncomfortable, be criticized, and stop saying you’re sorry. That doesn’t move the conversation past your own feelings and misplaced guilt, it just stops the conversation from having an actual meaning that matters.

    It is not the job of POC to educate whites or to talk about race. White people – myself included – need to take initiative to do better, to admit fault where there is a fault, to start a conversation about race, and to be a vocal ally through your actions without speaking over the people we claim to support.

  • I Hate Cows

    I Hate Cows

    Students learning in the face of a climate crisis are posed with the awkward situation of being informed of impending doom and possibly feeling helpless to do anything about it. It is not uncommon to feel climate anxiety. So often it can feel like too little is being done too late. With UN Climate reports literally calling out red alerts it’s hard not to direct your anxiety somewhere. Personally? I’ve been fostering a growing hatred for cows.

    The beef and dairy industries have a reputation for high carbon output and environmental degradation. With a convenience based society that thrives on overconsumption it is easy to see how. When you begin to look at cattle as a reminder of greenhouse gas emissions you might start to feel resentful. I mean sure, they are cute, but at what cost?

    To a spiteful vegetarian it can be frustrating to see the accessibility of beef and the inaccessibility of more eco-friendly diets. Picking up a menu and looking for a veggie-friendly meal is like a dismal game of Where’s Waldo.

    Many Americans don’t have access to produce due to food deserts, areas of intersection between low accessibility and low income. For many that live in food deserts, beef is the easiest and most affordable meal. Long term health issues and inefficient proteins are easy to obtain in Anytown, USA.

    Cattle emit a whopping 99.48kg of carbon dioxide per kilogram of food product. Which is 60 kg of carbon dioxide more than other veggie and meat alternatives.

    To put it frankly, it’s cows that are pushing us over the edge, a cow tipping point if you will. Their greenhouse gas hoofprint does not just account for methane production. It also involves the grain produced to feed cattle, processing, and transportation of beef products. Cattle also require a great deal of land. I can’t think of a road trip I have been on without seeing cows, cow fields, and feedlots.

    I do not hate cows or have an actual vendetta against them, I am just a young person grappling with a climate crisis that creates an uncertain future. It is easy to feel helpless in the face of the climate crisis. Individual action will not solve the climate crisis, but it helps me cope.

    Cutting meat out of my diet and having a vendetta against cows themselves makes me feel a little better about the situation. I do not even wish to see an end to beef and dairy industries, I understand that my diet is not for everyone. All I wish for is more ethical and conscious consumption.

    Fortunately, there is a silver lining. Here in Humboldt we have access to local beef farms, with sustainably sourced and ethically raised cattle. Solutions like changing livestock diets to reduce emissions within livestock lives can also help.

    Yes, this means fewer cow farts and less methane emissions. According to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, reducing meat consumption in any capacity, will help to reduce negative environmental impacts overall.

    “Decreasing meat consumption, primarily of ruminants, and reducing wastes further reduces water use, soil degradation, pressure on forests and land used for feed potentially freeing up land for mitigation. Additionally, consumption of locally produced food, shortening the supply chain, can in some cases minimise food loss, contribute to food security and reduce GHG emissions associated with energy consumption and food loss.” (IPCC, 2019)

    There is still hope and fewer reasons to hate cows, especially here in Humboldt. Holding our systems accountable and consuming mindfully can help us mitigate our climate crisis.

    It is time we reevaluate our beef consumption and sources. If we are to make it through the climate crisis we need to become more aware and hold our system accountable.

    I hope that maybe you hate cows a little more after reading this, just enough to go meatless for at least one day a week, or to check out our local farmers’ market on Saturday and pick up some better beef.

  • Lumberjack sports update

    Lumberjack sports update

    Men and women’s soccer began their season last week with two home games for the women’s team and two away games for the men’s team.

    The women’s team tied their first match Friday 0-0 against Dominican University. The game went into double overtime but neither team took home a W. Sunday, however, the women’s team won against the University of Hawaii 2-1.

    Senior center back Claire Bareilles believed this weekend’s matches will help the women’s squad going forward.

    “I’m super proud of the performance today,” Bareilles said. “We definitely had a few slow starts in the season with our exhibition games, but we really turned around last game and we carried that momentum through this game.”

    Senior forward Kendall Spencer also said she feels the makeup of this year’s squad prepares them for more success later this season.

    “I feel like we have a really strong team,” Spencer said. “We have a lot of energy. We’re young, which is good, because they [the younger players] bring a lot of energy for us older players. I think it’s just a really good step forward for us.”

    The men’s team played two matches in Salt Lake City, Utah to kick off their season. The men’s team beat Westminster College for their season opener Thursday and took home another victory Friday against Northwest Nazarene University whom they beat 4-0.

    Men’s soccer will play two matches in Hayward, California this coming Friday and Sunday while the women’s team will be traveling to Monmouth, Oregon to play against Central Washington University on Friday and Western Oregon University Sunday.

  • Outdoor sports enthusiasts urge students to be mindful while sending

    Outdoor sports enthusiasts urge students to be mindful while sending

    One of the greatest aspects of Humboldt is access to public lands, something that any student can appreciate. There are many ways to enjoy the outdoors in Humboldt by taking a mindful moment between classes in the Community Forest, enjoying a day off at the beach, or hiking one of the many trails that adorn the Lost Coast.

    Humboldt offers great coastal climbs, bike trails through redwoods, hikes with views, and more. As students return to Humboldt, or even experience it for the first time, it is important to be courteous to public lands.

    Humboldt County was established on Wiyot land, a Native American tribe. Tribes and Nations in Humboldt County include Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, Wiyot, and Yurok. It is important to acknowledge this and to act on that acknowledgement with intention and respect as we appreciate the outdoors.

    Taylor Kibrick, a senior attending HSU majoring in ecological restoration, discovered Humboldt’s beauty throughout the pandemic. He frequented Humboldt beaches to climb and hiked the dunes. He found his people outside through activities like hiking and climbing. He does his best to leave no trace and packs out anything he packed in, but he still runs into discourteous outdoors-goers.

    “The most at Moonstone. I’ve seen people hogging the wall, chucking ropes down from the top of the wall without calling out first. It’s stuff that seems small but can be annoying in such a communal space,” Kibrick said.
    As an ecological restoration major, Kibrick looks at interactions between people and the environment with a trained eye, noting how erosion or just plain litter impacts an ecosystem.

    “Hiking has become more and more popular, natural areas are seeing more social trails as a result of increased foot traffic, causing habitat degradation and intense erosion. If we still want natural areas to recreate in, it’s our responsibility and in our own benefit to care for our natural parks by respecting the land and following established trails,” Kibrick said.

    It is easy to think that individual impact will not amount to much, but it all adds up.
    Try and stay on trail to prevent trails from being ruined and disruption of local ecosystems. According to Leave No Trace, a non-profit dedicated to conserving the outdoors, there are seven principles to help minimize impact as outdoor goers enjoy nature:

    1. Plan ahead. Planning ahead helps understanding impact to prevent damage to any resources. It is also important to ensure the safety of everyone on the trip. For some, that means to be aware of what areas are culturally significant. Climbers in Humboldt need to be aware of what spots are okay to climb and which are not. For example, a few rocks near the mouth of the Klamath look like a great spot to send, but are culturally significant and should not be climbed.

    2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces. Stay on trail. Humboldt trails see a lot of foot traffic and that has an impact over time. The best way to minimize erosion and keep trails enjoyable for all is to stay on them. Going off trail can lead to ecosystem degradation and poorly impact waterways.

    3. Dispose of Waste properly. This one is easily summarized as pack it in, pack it out. Leave nothing behind and take all trash. This also means to properly dispose of human waste, to prevent water contamination or the unfortunate case of letting it ruin someone else’s hike. Either dig a six inch deep hole at least 100ft away from any water source or pack it out.

    4. Leave what you find. Keep the ecosystem intact, take only pictures, and leave only footprints. Humboldt has lots of great finds, but leave them for others to enjoy.

    5. Respect wildlife. It’s for the safety of yourself and wildlife. This also extends to feeding animals, which can cause an unhealthy dependency on humans that could put the animal in further danger. If you see an animal give it some space. If you think it needs help, reach out to the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center. Lastly, keep pets leashed to prevent any unfortunate animal encounters.

    6. Minimize campfire impacts. Most wildfires are caused by people and with dozens of fires already active in California, it is important to reduce impact. Campfires should be completely extinguished before moving on. Avoid parking cars in dry grass. Pay attention to local fire regulations and be informed.

    7. Be considerate of others. Try not to create negative impacts for others’ experiences. Public Lands are important places of access for everyone.