The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: News

  • Proposed union fee increase

    Proposed union fee increase

    The University Center is the thread that connects all students together.

    Some may say that the University Center (UC) at Humboldt State is the invisible thread that brings students together from all backgrounds. The UC manages Center Arts and Center Activities. They oversee the Student Recreation Center, The Depot, the bookstore, Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center and the Kate Buchanan Room. They also facilitate concerts, guest speakers, special events and more. They even employ more than 100 students in their centers.

    The UC is not part of the state budget, they’re an auxiliary that is here to serve the students. The UC has proposed a campus union fee increase to ultimately help maintain the student services they provide and repair their facilities.

    Casey Park is the UC board of directors chair, as well as a senior wildlife conservation and management major.

    “It’s the timing of the [$9.5 million deferred maintenance] report, coupled with this state minimum wage increase, coupled with our ability over the years to work with that study fee, and now with those things pushing us over. There’s not enough wiggle room for us to follow student need for our programs and activities,” Park said.

    Park said the proposed fee the UC is looking for is separate from the main budget problems. Park said the UC has not implemented any fee increases since the original fees were instated.

    “One of those is 30 years and the other is 15 years old. Now, our programs are at a breaking point where we are no longer going to be able to serve students well. We need that little boost to our fee because we want to serve student workers and make sure students have a safe space on campus after and before school,” Park said.

    Dave Nakamura is the executive director of the University Center.

    “The way students pay for their college education, some of it is directly for tuition, and that goes directly to supporting the campus such as faculty cost, administrative cost, facilities, all of that. Mandatory fees, students have to pay on the individual college campuses. Those fees are collected and used for different things, [such as the] health center,” Nakamura said.

    From there, Nakamura said the money gets collected, then the loans get paid off. There are two loans: one for the student recreation building and the other for the University Center building.

    “The leftover money comes back to the University Center. What happens with that money is that we incorporate it into our annual operating budget, which is approved by the University Center Board. What happens, in a nutshell, is that it gets spread between center arts, center activities and operations,” Nakamura said.

    The proposed fee adjustment will increase to $35 a semester for the first year and then increase an additional $15 each year until year four.

    “Partly the reason that finance came up with that concept was to smooth it out so that it doesn’t all hit at once. We also did financial projections on what this would look like moving forward on our budget. It mirrors the expense associated with the minimum wage increase,” Nakamura said. “If we start reducing those things, there’s less to do, there are fewer student jobs and all of these things start having an impact on whether its recruitment, retention, student employment, atmosphere… those are vital services.”

    From April 17 until April 19 there will be a ballot where the student body can vote for associate student positions, university center positions and the fee proposal.

    “If we achieved the fee increase with this proposal, we would love to maintain our programming and get some of those deferred maintenance taken care of, and keep ourselves flexible for our growing student needs, especially in the face of the budget,” Park said. “Every student who I’ve talked to about the basic details have always understood why this is a basic need for campus. When I say what we might lose, then it really hits home.”

     

     

  • Bystanders begone

    Bystanders begone

    The Check It program is hosting Bystander Intervention workshops, which provide students the knowledge and skills to intervene when they witness an act of violence in the community.

    Have you ever seen a situation that you knew wasn’t right, and wanted to say something, but maybe didn’t know how or what to do?

    The Check It program at Humboldt State is hosting bystander intervention workshops to give students the tools to step up and say something in “check it” situations. The workshops are on March 29 and April 4.

    The workshop on March 29 was hosted by two students, Adrienne Banh, 19, a psychology major, and Skye Peredeo, 21, majoring in social work. Both students are a part of the Check It launch team as a student-led movement to intervene when we see moments of harm.

    “We want to give the tools so if something does happen, we can intervene,” Peredeo said.

    The workshop had multiple portions and activities to help attendees better understand and give a language to situations with a lack of consent.

    The workshop defined consent as yes, a definite yes, which is active, collaborative and retractable.

    “A Check It moment is a situation with an absence of consent,” Peredeo said.

    The skills taught in the workshop focused on three D’s of a check it moment: direct, delegate and distract.

    Each of these terms correlate with a coping strategy to intervene in a Check It moment. The workshop also emphasized the personal barriers individuals experience, particularly the fear for personal safety and the safety of the survivor.

    Another huge focus was intimate partner and dating violence, and how individuals can best handle those situations.

    Ariel Fishkin, 26, an applied anthropology graduate student who attended the workshop, said she thought the intimate partner violence was the most important takeaway from the workshop.

    “I think that checking it and intervening in intimate partners is really important,” Fishkin said.

    The workshop also focused on support for survivors and how individuals can best be there for a person who has been a victim of sexual violence.

    Some of the main strategies for helping survivors is to get informed on the professional resources available for survivors, such as the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. The Team offers 24-hour hotlines to talk in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Another strategy for providing support is just listening to the survivor.

    “Sharing one’s story can be incredibly difficult,” Banh said.

    The workshop addressed how this is a hard subject and many people have experiences that we need to be mindful of when tackling this issue. It also addressed how marginalized communities are more likely to be victims of sexual violence, particularly the LGBTQ community, and initiated a conversation on how they are specifically targeted.

    Overall, the workshop used a variety of multimedia tools including videos, games and discussions to help students to better come to an understanding of when and how to intervene in situations involving sexualized violence, which can show itself in a wide range of manifestations.

    The Department of Justice released a study in 2016 which showed that one out of every five women in college will experience sexual assault.

    “We want to make sure it doesn’t happen for future generations,” Peredeo said.

    If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexualized violence and would like to contact a safe source, the North Coast Rape Crisis Team has 24-hour hotlines available in Del Norte and Humboldt counties.

    Del Norte: (707) 465-2031
    Humboldt: (707) 443-2738
    Humboldt Domestic Violence Services: (707) 443-6042
    HSU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS):
    * 24-hour crisis hotline: (707) 826-3236

  • Human trafficking training gives guidance on assisting survivors

    Human trafficking training gives guidance on assisting survivors

    The crowd’s eyes were glued to a projector screen. The room grew silent. A woman’s voice with a lyrical cadence played in a video called “The Making of a Girl.”

    “One day you come out of school, there’s a guy in a Cadillac telling you how pretty you are. For the first time, you realize that somebody is really interested in you. He’s asking about your dreams, your hopes and where your father is at, and he says he could be a daddy to you.”

    The video was played at a training aimed at assisting survivors of human trafficking on March 27. It was held in the fishbowl on the second floor of Humboldt State University’s library.

    The video depicted a hypothetical life of a young girl facing sexual exploitation. The founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) Rachel Lloyd narrated the video.

    “This video is triggering for some, but I think it is really important,” Tabitha Thomas, director of response services at WEAVE, said.

    The training was offered by WEAVE, International Rescue Committee and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Each one of these organizations is a part of the Greater Sacramento Partnership Against Trafficking, which provides services to victims of human trafficking in Northern California.

    “When you do this work and hear a person’s story, you start to hear that for a lot of these victims. It becomes a way of life,” Thomas said. “It becomes what they know, particularly if they have been sexually exploited at a young age.”

    A California Senate Bill 1322 bars law enforcement from arresting sex workers under the age of 18 for soliciting or engaging in prostitution. Under this law, minors won’t be treated as criminals. In the training, Thomas explained the problematic language surrounding individuals who are sexually exploited.

    “We may have heard terms such as child prostitute or criminal,” Thomas said. “A lot of these words are thrown around at youth that are in criminal detentions. When actually, we are recognizing that they are victims.”

    Thomas described a website through WEAVE, Your Clean Slate, intended to be used as a tool to help youth.

    “It is geared toward youth to evaluate whether the relationship they are in is healthy or not healthy,” Thomas said. “There is a quiz they can take, suggestions, and a 24-hour support line.”

    The recent legalization of recreational marijuana in California holds a possibility of increasing incidents of human trafficking.

    Anti-trafficking and outreach training specialist Rodger Freeman gave a presentation during the training.

    “When we think about human trafficking, we think about TV shows or movies we’ve seen. We will literally think about someone being chained to a bed or a post and treated like an animal. That has happened. But a vast majority of trafficker’s use an emotional component as a control mechanism, verbal abuse to manipulation victims.”

    Immigration attorney Laura Flores-Dixit works for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and spoke at the training, focusing on undocumented citizens and how they intersect with human trafficking, as well as labor violations.

    “We represented a family who knowingly went to work on a marijuana farm before it was legal,” Flores-Dixit said.

    Upon the family’s arrival, their documentation was taken. They were not given shelter or food, Flores-Dixit said. They were forced to live in the elements and had to work 17 hours a day.

    Flores-Dixit wanted the audience to understand that if somebody is not a U.S citizen, they should have absolutely no contact with marijuana until they’re lawful citizens.

    Timiza Wash, the anti-trafficking program manager for WEAVE, has been working for marginalized communities for over 20 years.

    “Being able to navigate the process according to the survivor is challenging, but I look at my job as rewarding. I’m not the expert, they are,” Wash said. “The main thing for our organization is to give a person options because in exploitation, they haven’t had options.”

    If a survivor has a specific need that WEAVE is unable to assist in, then they’ll refer victims to a different organization that is a part of the Greater Sacramento Partnership Against Trafficking.

    “This work is a movement for me and this can’t be done by one person. It is all a collaboration,” Wash said. “We want them to know that we are here and can support them through their process.”

  • What will you miss most about Humboldt?

    What will you miss most about Humboldt?

    Lumberjack reporter Dajonea Robinson asked graduating seniors what they will miss most about Humboldt during Grad Fair on March 29.

    Video by Dajonea Robinson.
  • Needles remain a thorn in the side of Humboldt County

    Needles remain a thorn in the side of Humboldt County

    Programs that let heroin users trade their used needles in for clean ones polarize Humboldt County and the debate around hard drug use.

    “The best way to deal with a harm reduction program is an open dialogue,” Brandie Wilson, executive director of the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction, or HACHR, said.

    Wilson has been the target of physical threats from community members for running one of Eureka’s needle exchange programs.

    “I’ve been told I need a bullet between my eyes,” Wilson said. “Someone also told me I need my teeth kicked in.”

    Wilson’s car was also vandalized outside of city hall in February.

    “I feel unsafe when I go to the city council meetings,” Wilson said.

    Holding a masters in sociology, Wilson has been advocating for marginalized groups in Humboldt for years.

    “This started because someone I’d been dating died of an overdose New Year’s Day 2012. A lot of people in my life have been dealing with Hepatitis C,” Wilson said. “That’s why I’m so passionate, this is my fight.”

    The Eureka city council met again on March 20 to re-read and vote on a needle exchange ordinance that would call for increased oversight in the programs currently running in Eureka.

    The ordinance passed on a 3-2 vote with council members Austin Allison and Kim Bergel voting “no.”

    The ordinance calls for exchange programs to give quarterly reports to city manager, Greg Sparks, about needle exchange numbers, including exchange rates, referrals made for other services and “law enforcement incidents related to the syringe exchange programs.”

    Rubber bands, condoms and other sterile supplies at Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction in Eureka on March 20. They are free for anyone who needs them. Photo by Zac Sibek.

    Citizens of Eureka are concerned the ordinance isn’t doing enough to keep exchange sites accountable.

    “If you look at this ordinance, it has no teeth,” Eureka resident Harry Wilcox said. “Where is the enforcement? What’s the penalty if people in harm reduction aren’t doing their job?”

    Eureka’s syringe exchange ordinance requires syringe exchange programs to give people that utilize the service avenues to seek treatment for substance abuse, and stick to a 1:1 needle exchange rate.

    “[HACHR’s] goal is to meet people where they’re at and affect positive change in their lives,” Wilson said. “We support them through whatever progress they find appropriate.”

    Jorge Reyes, volunteer coordinator of HACHR, challenged opponents of the city ordinance to gain firsthand experience at the facility, instead of spreading rumors.

    “I’d like to recruit you to be volunteers at HACHR to see what we do instead of just misinformed fragments,” Reyes said.

    Michelle Costantine, the leader of the watchdog group Take Back Eureka, thinks needle exchange programs need improvement.

    “I’m not against harm reduction as a whole, because I do believe in a lot of aspects of harm reduction, it’s not just about needle exchange,” Costantine said. “I think the way that [syringe exchange programs] are currently run is where the problems lie, there’s no oversight.”

    Oversight was a main concern for citizens that are tired of seeing used needles or “sharps” laying around Eureka, in parks, on sidewalks and in plain view for children.

    “There needs to be a little more medical professionalism as far as volunteers going out and doing clean-ups,” Costantine said.

    The ordinance put in place now requires weekly cleanups of needle litter around Eureka. Those numbers will be reported every three months to Dr. Donald Baird, the medical professional in charge of oversight at HACHR.

    “It wasn’t until the last couple of years where we started having these major issues with the needle litter. We weren’t seeing half of what we’re seeing now,” Costantine said.

    Nathan Edward Lockhart, a 33-year-old homeless man, uses Wilson’s harm reduction center frequently.

    “HACHR helps with cleaning up the community,” Lockhart said.

    He has been using heroin for five years and says he uses the drug on a daily basis.

    “[HACHR] allows us to have clean needles, Band-Aids and medical supplies, sanitary supplies to make our usage safer, cleaner and reduce risk for the spread of disease and infection as well as abscesses,” Lockhart said.

    Syringe exchange programs have been found to increase the chance of people using them to seek treatment for drug abuse by five times.

    The American Medical Association also supports the study of how supervised injection facilities, a place where self-provided intravenous drugs can be administered under the supervision of a medical doctor, help to reduce the transmission of bloodborne illnesses like the HIV virus.

    “We’re enabling people to be autonomous human beings, connect with other people. Enabling people to make plans to get out of chaos in their life. Syringe exchange is a part of harm reduction,” Wilson said.

    This article was changed from its original version on March 31 at 2:25 a.m.

  • Students help each other with J Points

    Students help each other with J Points

    Humboldt State student Austin Sani marches into the College Creek Marketplace with his friends and intends to do some damage. Sani has almost 2,000 J Points and he wants to buy as many items as possible for himself and his friends, because he is trying not to let his meal plan go to waste.

    “I wish I had known there was a way for me to donate these points to help other students,” Sani said. “I definitely would have done that.”

    Sani was not aware of the J Point donation program that started back in 2009. This was an opportunity for students who found themselves with extra points at the end of the semester. They were able to donate their points to be used to buy food for the Oh SNAP! food pantry on campus.

    This year, the program has been revamped by Oh SNAP!, with the help of a $77,000 grant from the California State University. This grant is part of a system-wide initiative to better address the basic needs of students across the state.

    Students will now be able to donate their points to be used by other students wherever J-points are accepted.

    “The donated points will be put into a pot that faculty and administration will be able to give out to students in $30 increments,” Raven Craig, a peer health educator for HSU’s Health and Wellness Services, said.

    Craig runs Oh SNAP!, and has a very critical role in making sure the donation program runs smoothly on campus.

    “People have been asking for something like this for years, so I am very pleased that we are able to make it happen,” Craig said.

    Students are able to visit the pantry or The J cafeteria to donate points. Already, $2,500 in points have been collected from donations and aid from the grant.

    Oh SNAP! has been collecting donations this week from students who have an excess amount of points.

    “I think this is a great program, and Dining Services really supports it,” Ron Rudebock, the Director of Dining Services at HSU, said. “It is really great to see students getting help, as well as seeing students donate to help their peers.”

     

  • Humboldt State hosts Startup Weekend

    Humboldt State hosts Startup Weekend

    Humboldt State hosted Startup Weekend, which gave locals the opportunity to launch a business. The event was held in Founders Hall last weekend.

    During Startup Weekend, each participant was given a minute to present a pitch, which is then voted on by the participants to become a group.

    Then, groups have the entire weekend to create an ideal model for that business to work and all the costs that will go into the project.

    Norman Antonio Campos is a former HSU student majoring in business administration. Campos was one of the 60 participants to come to Humboldt State for a chance to make their idea a potential business.

    Campos was eager, like many participants, to have his pitch heard, and looked forward to working with a group of dedicated students.

    This weekend was important to many participants, because they had the opportunity to have their ideas heard.

    “There are students that really want to start a business,” Campos said, “There is a lot of opportunity.”

    Seth Wasylyszyn, 23, was one of the participants at Startup Weekend whose pitch was chosen to become a group. Wasylyszyn’s pitch was Diamond Child Care, a service that offers parents a more secure and safe way to have their children cared for.

    “It should be fun,” Wasylyszyn said. “Some contacts to have should be good.”

    Another pitch that went on to become a group was RentEmber. RentEmber pitched to become a web-based app that rented out tools locally. The app helps regular people have access to tools at any time they wish. The app charges the person for the time they use the tool.

    A group that came out of all the groups was Color. Color was a pitched makeup business that would help reach all skin shades, instead of only having about three shades. This group tackled the issue of the lack of beauty supply options for people of color.

    Wesley McKee, 21, is a former College of the Redwoods student that participated in the event. McKee pitched an idea for a van repair service called Van Lyfe.

    “This seemed like a good practice run,” McKee said. “I felt a little scared. I didn’t know what to expect.”

    McKee’s pitch was changed into a new idea, which he called the Redwood Wrench Collective. The Redwood Wrench Collective was a business idea to bring a safe space for people who have an interest in cars to work on and fix up their cars.

    The Redwood Wrench Collective aims to lower the costs of repairs by giving people access to the tools they need.

    The Redwood Wrench Collective was the smallest group of the whole event.  McKee led his small group to victory when, at the end of judging, it was announced they had won.

    “I didn’t really expect to win,” McKee said. “Now I am running a business, like fuck.”

  • HSU professor Christopher Dugaw is honored for daring rescue efforts

    HSU professor Christopher Dugaw is honored for daring rescue efforts

    The story of how two men risked their own lives to save a lost girl.

    Humboldt State mathematics professor, Christopher Dugaw, Ph.D., received a Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Medal earlier this month for his assistance in the dangerous rescue of a 14-year-old girl.

    “It’s definitely a huge thing to have been able to help somebody like that,” Dugaw said. “It puts you on a real high.”

    The rescue took place during a lightning storm on Nov. 22, 2016.

    Earlier that day, a teenage girl entered the forest near Ridgewood Heights in Eureka. She called 911 when she realized she was lost.

    Dugaw, who lives at the edge of the forest, became concerned when he noticed police cars and a helicopter had been outside of his house for some time. He knew someone must be lost. With the encouragement of his wife, he decided to see what was going on.

    “Normally, I feel we can let police do what they do,” Dugaw said, “but it had been so long.”

    Outside of his house, Dugaw ran into his neighbor and friend Allan Campbell. Campbell, 37, serves in the Coast Guard Reserve and did active duty for 10 years. The two decided to join efforts with the search and rescue team.

    Dugaw and Campbell frequently go running on the trails of the forest, so they both know the area well. They knew that if the girl had wandered off of the trails, she could be in trouble.

    This map shows the area where Dugaw and Campbell travelled to find the lost girl on Nov 22. 2016, from behind their homes on Briarwood Circle, to where they found the survivor and the point where they were hoisted by the helicopter. Image courtesy of Allan Campbell.

    It was dark out and pouring rain. Campbell and Dugaw, along with the search and rescue team, searched the area trying to figure out where the girl was by following the sound of her voice.

    “Chris got the idea to have the helicopter fly away so we could hear her,” Campbell said.

    Finally, they figured out the girl’s location, though they could not see her. They realized she was in a steep ravine surrounded by thick shrubbery.

    It was late, wet and cold. They knew the girl might not live if she was left alone, so they began their descent.

    “It was getting steeper and thicker,” Dugaw said, “but we could hear her voice.”

    They crawled through bushes and mud.

    At one point, Dugaw accidentally sliced open his hand, then quickly tore off a piece of his shirt to make a temporary bandage. Campbell was surprised and impressed by Dugaw’s calm, collected demeanor throughout their journey.

    “He’s the most unassuming guy,” Campbell said. “But he had grit.”

    Dugaw and Campbell finally found the girl, huddled up in the rain. Dugaw gave her an extra sweater and Campbell gave her a rain jacket. After an attempt to crawl back up the steep incline, they realized they could not go back the way they came. It was too dark, too wet and the girl was exhausted. She was also weak and vomiting.

    Campbell called for the Coast Guard helicopter to airlift them out. They waited, huddled together for warmth, sharing stories and discussing life and faith.

    The three were finally airlifted out of the ravine around 1 a.m., at least five hours after Campbell and Dugaw joined the search. They were flown to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka.

    A Coast Guard Admiral presented Dugaw with a medal and award during a ceremony at Air Station Humboldt Bay on March 1, 2018.

    Dugaw’s Meritorious Public Service Medal. Photo by Stephanie McGeary.

    “With integrity and courage, Dr. Dugaw accomplished a daunting rescue,” the award reads. “Dr. Dugaw’s unselfish actions and valiant service reflect great credit upon him and are keeping with the highest tradition of humanitarian service.”

    Campbell, who recommended Dugaw for the award, was joyful to finally see Dugaw recognized for his efforts.

    “It’s an inspiring story in a world that needs inspiring stories,” Campbell said.

  • Lumberjack editors meet with Rossbacher, part II

    Lumberjack editors meet with Rossbacher, part II

    The Lumberjack editors met with the president of Humboldt State University, Lisa Rossbacher, on March 23. The Q&A was largely centered around budget cuts and social issues that impact the local community, especially HSU students.

    This is part II of the meeting which mostly concerns social issues. Part I, which focuses on HSU budget cuts, can be found HERE.

    On social issues:

    Lora Neshovska (managing editor): “There are students facing homelessness and discrimination. How can we address social justice issues of students beyond our financial worries?”

    Rossbacher: “I think there are a number of things the university is doing to help with those basic needs that are really the underpinning to ensure student success. There’s a whole program happening here, many of them under the umbrella of Oh SNAP! Things like the food pantry that we have [or] students having access to EBT.

    We were one of the first campuses in the country to provide that kind of access. That started in late 2016 [and] over seven million tons of food have been redistributed on campus that would otherwise have gone to waste, so that helps. Some of the community meals that are being prepared – that I know Wayne Brumfield always cooks for – that sort of thing, being able to redirect J-points that are left over to help other people. Those are some examples in terms of food security. We just got some money from the chancellor’s office that will help us do more in terms of just food security on campus.

    In terms of housing, it’s a real issue because [of] where we’re located, the limited houses in stock that we have here. We’re doing some things with that, too. One of them is, I’m sure you know, Chante Catt has been hired as a homeless student advocate. She was involved in that organization of homeless student advocates, but she’s now officially working so that students who are in need of housing can contact her. I know right after she started doing that, immediately she placed four people. So that helps, too.

    We’re looking at the possibility of building new student housing. The university is looking at new residence halls off campus, and then there’s this outside developer who’s looking at The Village. Whatever it takes to get affordable, safe [and] not-too-far-away housing for students is a good thing.

    There’s also a program that we’re starting up in conjunction with some agencies within the area. I think it might be called the ‘nest program’ or ‘silver nest program,’ where there are seniors in the community who have a bedroom [and] extra space who would really like for company, for safety [and] a little bit of help around the house, who are willing to rent those spaces to students. That becomes a real collaboration with the larger community in a way that addresses multiple needs.

    I know it’s incredibly frustrating. I mean, I’m incredibly frustrated by seeing all the basic needs that we have here at Humboldt that are not being met. It’s sort of good news and bad news that we’re ahead of the curve of the system. We get pointed to as a place where we’re doing a really good job of trying to address those needs, which is good that we’re being proactive about it and making change. But if we’re among the leaders, we look at our frustration and the problems we still have, it makes you worry about other campuses.”

    Stella Stokes (life and arts editor): “I am an ITEPP student and my parents, who are HSU alumni, were also ITEPP students. There was an article about you in the Lost Coast Outpost on Feb. 7 that said ‘Rossbacher has been appointed to lead an initiative to increase the number of students from Tribal Nations who enroll and graduate from the California State University system.’ Why were you appointed over someone who is indigenous?”

    Rossbacher: “That roll is for president in the Cal State system. In fact, some people saw that and said, ‘Wait a minute, we thought Leo Canez was doing this, because he’s our new Native Recruiter.’ This is part of an initiative that was an across-the-sea issue, and it has representatives from more than half of the campuses. Adrienne Colegrove-Raymond has been a representative at HSU to this group. I convene the meetings, but I’m not responsible for this alone. It’s with a whole group of people.

    This statewide group will be meeting here on campus on April 4. The people can come to that. [People] from all over the state will be able to participate in the California Indian Conference, which is also here on campus [on April 5 and 6]. What we really hope is they stay until [April 7], which is when Big Time is. We actually have four days of Native American events happening.

    Back to your question of why I was appointed. Ultimately, when the chancellor asked me to do that, it came down to the two presidents at the campuses that have the largest Native [American] communities around them. It was Humboldt State and San Marcus. Humboldt State has the highest percentage of Native American students of any campus in the system. It’s not the largest absolute number, but we have the highest percentage. We have strong connections with the Native [American] community. It came down to the two of us who were presidents of those two campuses. We talked together and both us said to the other, ‘If you want to do, I’ll be happy to help you.’ We were trying not to step on each other’s toes. She said, ‘I’m really overcommitted right now. I will be glad to help you, but I’d appreciate it if you would do it.’ I said, ‘Of course.’

    Also, I didn’t know this before, but Rollin Richmond, who was the president before me, was in the same role for a number of years. So there’s a history of Humboldt State being in this role.”

    Ahmed Al-Sakkaf (news editor): “Rumor has it you live in Kansas. For the record, where do you live?”

    Rossbacher: “I live in McKinleyville.”

    Megan Bender (opinion editor): “Around 2016, you had issued a statement that was taken badly by the HSU community. You also issued an apology statement afterward. How can we address that to [David Josiah Lawson‘s] situation. People are frustrated by the inadequate support of the community, as well as HSU. What are you doing to create change in the right direction, as far as racism is concerned?”

    Rossbacher: “Let me back up just a minute to talk about when Josiah was killed. The university did everything we could to support his friends [and] his family. We worked closely with the police department to be sure that they were having access to witnesses or anyone who could help solve this murder. We’ve all been frustrated by what feels like a lack of progress.

    I ask, and I know I’m not the only one, the people in the city of Arcata about what’s going on, where are we and is there anything we can do to help? It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s something that affects so many of us, myself included every day. I think about wishing there was something we could do. I sat through every preliminary hearing.

    Ultimately, right now, it’s [on] law enforcement. It’s a criminal justice case. It’s something we can’t actually do anything about. It’s not in our hands. I asked as recently as last Friday, ‘When are we going to know something?’ It’s hung up in the process. You have as much information as I do. It’s highest priority for us. It’s not necessarily highest priority for the state to process the evidence, because there’s no one being held waiting for a trial. That’s what gives other cases a higher priority. We’re living with it every day. It’s just the way the process works.

    I want to make another point. I believe deeply in justice for Josiah. I think about it in two different ways. Actually, it’s two forms of the same way.

    One of them is resolving the case, figuring out what happened and just getting closure on that. Until that happens, it’s so hard for the community, for his family and for his friends. So there’s that aspect of justice. But I look at it from a bigger picture, too. I think what justice for Josiah should also mean to us is making sure that we have, as a larger community, a situation that is equitable, just and fair. [A situation that is] devoid of any discrimination – racial, ethnic, gender inequities or injustices. I think a piece of that, which is something I’ve been committed to involves some aspect of working with people on campus or in the city of Arcata. I see that as a long-term, systemic solution to the question of, ‘Where is the justice for Josiah?’

    If we could create a just, equitable [and] fair community in this region together, that would be a fitting tribute to Josiah and what he would’ve done with his life. I see justice for Josiah in a couple of dimensions, but I think there’s a big picture where the world will continue well beyond when the case is actually resolved.”

    Neshovska: “Do you think there’s racism in Humboldt County?”

    Rossbacher: “I think that in any environment where we have such different demographics, it’s inevitable. No, it’s not. I take that back. It’s not inevitable. Yes, and I have seen evidence of that myself. Demographics of the student population of Humboldt mirrors the state of California. The student population of Humboldt is similar to the demographics of this state. The demographics of Arcata and Humboldt County are very different.”

    Neshovska: “Isn’t there more than three percent of black people in California though? There’s only three percent here.”

    Rossbacher: “I know, yes.”

    Neshovska: “So it doesn’t exactly mirror the state of California.”

    Rossbacher: “Yes, I take your point.”

    Stokes: “One of the main problems about Josiah’s death is that students of color fear for their own lives or feel uncomfortable. They stop going to parties, some are just scared. How do you keep students of color safe?”

    Kyra Skylark (science editor): “To add on to that question, you said that affordable and safe housing is one of your main goals. I personally know friends who went to that party [where Josiah was murdered] and left the school afterward. People don’t feel safe, specifically students of color, which is why they fought for the Arcata council meetings to talk about why they don’t feel safe. What do you think we should be doing as Humboldt State to better address this issue? Why haven’t you gone to more of those meetings to hear students?”

    Matthew Hable (editor-in-chief): “The one-year vigil for Josiah is next month. Do you plan on attending?”

    Rossbacher: “Yes. There are two parts – there’s on campus and off campus. What I hear is that students are more likely to feel safe on campus than they do off campus.”

    Skylark: “Personally, as someone who has lived on campus during the last election, I got to hear ‘kill the fags’ and ‘reinstate Jim Crow.’ I did not feel safe on campus.”

    Rossbacher: “I understand. And yet, we’re a campus where we have to protect free speech. You all know that more than most. One of the aspects of creating safer spaces has to do with lighting. I know Wayne Brumfield has been doing walks around campus to identify places that need better lighting. We installed some of those over the winter break. There’s an interesting conversation with the City of Arcata about that, because they have ordinances about – it’s a dark city – as a way to not create light pollution. But the negative affect of that means we have less lighting, therefore areas that feel less safe. The city is working through that.

    There’s also an interesting set of conversations about surveillance cameras. There are a couple of dimensions to that. One of them is that if the police do it, particularly in Arcata, they have to maintain some of that tape for five years. And a lot of the businesses around the plaza, they particularly like to have surveillance cameras. The city sees real value in having the individual businesses, having their own cameras, because they can control them. They only have to keep them for a week or something. That’s enough time for the police to say, ‘We want to see what happened last night or even last week without having to keep the data for five years.’

    Meanwhile, the staff on this campus do not want security cameras, because they think – and this is the unions – they think the surveillance footage is going to be used to see if they’re actually doing their jobs, [as a way] to spy on them. [We have] all of these different dynamics working. That’s not the only solution, but it’s an example of the kind of complexities we get into. That doesn’t fully answer your question?”

    Skylark: “I don’t think that fully answers my question. There are issues on a social level that are making people feel unsafe. What is the school doing to make people feel safe on a social level? What are you doing to create change on an educational level?”

    Hable: “Are you saying there’s a lack of engagement right now?”

    Skylark: “Yeah.”

    Rossbacher: “We’ve had some events that addressed that. We had a day-long session last summer that really got into many of those issues.

    Skylark: “But no one is here during the summer. Those events are missed by the majority of the people.”

    Neshovska: “I think it’s also important to note that, not only as a president of our university, as a university as a whole, how do you make yourself available to these people who genuinely fear for their lives and want to be heard by somebody of power? They want somebody like you to hear them out and for you to say, ‘I’m here for you and I understand.”

    Rossbacher: “I seek out those stories. I listen to them carefully. I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I can share my recent readings with you, both books and articles on it.

    I made sure back in January, the leadership of the university went through micro-aggression workshops. It’s about awareness, how to counteract and keep that from happening. It started out [by] asking faculty and staff. I knew the way to bring credibility to that is to not only say that ‘I’ve done it,’ but that the senior leadership team, vice presidents and all the deans went through that. It was taught by Christine Mata and Roger Wang. It touched on micro-aggressions and white fragility. So I, as Lisa Rossbacher, also participate in the community dialogue on race. I learned a lot from those opportunities, too. I make it a point of going to sessions I know are going to make me feel uncomfortable. They say you should do it at least three times a week. You put yourself in uncomfortable situations.

    In a larger context, we are a place that’s about education. One of the things I value most about the opportunity to work in the university is the chance to learn. I’m around smart people who have a lot to teach me. There’s a lot I can learn. If I’m not putting myself in the kind of position that you as students, where you’re being asked to put stuff out there and being evaluated on it – that’s why I write as much as I do. You write, you’re putting it out there and people are going to criticize it. It’s just a reminder of what students do every day. I’m a student, too.”

    Bender: “Is there anything you think we missed that you would like to share with us?”

    Rossbacher: “We have spent literally years building up to the visit that we had this week.”

    Bender: “So that exit interview is a summary and they’ll be giving you another report later?”

    Rossbacher: “It was an oral summary. They said we’ve got some things we want to – [they provided] accommodations and recommendations. There are some things we’re doing really well and some things that we need to work on. Diversity was one of those [things we need to work on].

    Al-Sakkaf: “People were banging on the door at Siemens Hall during the WASC meeting. How did they feel about that?”

    Rossbacher: “They were a little worried. They are all experienced people, and they work on campuses where student feel strongly about issues as well. They said, ‘We were surprised, but we weren’t surprised.’ They took it in stride.”

    Bender: “Do you think some budget suggestions will come out of this report?”

    Rossbacher: “I think what they will say is the university needs to have a sustainable budget. We need to balance our budget and figure out how we’re going to move forward. I’m sure they’re going to say that.

    Neshovska: “How long can we go with this budget deficit? What happens if we don’t solve the budget?”

    Rossbacher: “We will solve it.”

    Gabe Rivera (sports editor): “Is there a person you normally contact to inquire about Josiah’s case? Who is that person?”

    Rossbacher: “I talk to lots of people. I talk to Tom Chapman, the chief of police of Arcata.”

    Neshovska: “In 20 years, is my degree going to be useless? What’s going to happen if the budgets cuts aren’t resolved?”

    Rossbacher: “We’re going to solve this problem. One of the things we haven’t talked about is the need to increase enrollment. That’s not going to solve all of our problems. It’s going to help with a lot of them. I want to assure you that this is not a limited growth. I’ve done an analysis that’s still being worked on, that’s still very much a draft. I want to know what the carrying capacity is for the campus for enrollment, taking a lot of different dimensions. In the big picture, what that tells us is 8,000 is probably about the right number, [which] is a little bit more than what we have now. Our goal is to grow back up that size, but not way beyond that. The goal is to have 15,000 students, and that is not the case.”

    Neshovska: “That sounds complex. We want to increase enrollment, but we don’t have student housing. We need more money to increase safe and affordable housing, but we need to increase enrollment to solve the budget crisis.”

    Rossbacher: “Increasing retention rate is probably the most important thing you can do for enrollment right now. Partly, it’s bringing in new students. Even more important is keeping the students who are here.”

  • As a woman, what are you passionate about?

    As a woman, what are you passionate about?

    “As a woman, what are you passionate about?”

    Name: Kianna Rodriguez
    Age: 22
    Hometown: Temecula, California
    Major: Communication

    “I realized what I want to be doing is working with people. I want to start off working in a social atmosphere. You bring an aspect of your life to people. The way I live my life is by being happy and helping others be happy. I’m always hoping to spread some positivity to others and [communication] really helps you with that. It’s an intersectional way to understand people.”

    Name: Estrella Corza
    Age: 21
    Hometown: Riverside, California
    Major: Economics

    “I’m passionate about people, connections [and] being supportive. That’s why I became an economics major. I feel like if I understand money, I can help people. Money speaks. I want to be able to know what to do with it and give it to the right people.”

    Name: Sarah Rich
    Age: 20
    Hometown: Mountain View, California
    Major: Kinesiology

    “I love moving around. Playing is really important. I would love to help others love moving. I happened to find this wonderful community of hardworking women that are like me and like to hit people, but not in a malicious way, in rugby. At the end of the day, you have to look within yourself and find what you truly enjoy, regardless of any kind of oppressive factors you’ve experienced in your life.”

    Name: Christi Molina
    Age: 21
    Hometown: San Luis Obispo, California
    Major: English

    “I volunteer for a Y.E.S. House program, Step Up and also work with Scholars Without Borders, a safe space program centered around providing for undocumented or DACA students. These have opened a lot of leadership roles for me and helped me get in touch with this activist and resistant side of me. I’m on the teaching pathway. I think there’s a lot of institutional racism in our education system and I want to be in the system to teach kids, specifically girls, how to embrace their culture.”

    Name: Jazmin Sandoval
    Age: 22
    Major: Film
    Hometown: Los Angeles, California

    “As a film major, I like to document a lot of events. I want to incorporate film with my activism. I’m in MEChA and I want to be part of the change they fight for. I also volunteer for the Women’s Resource Center. By being more active, I felt like I have more of a voice. It’s about finding that strength that you can express yourself and be heard, as opposed to keeping quiet and thinking you cannot make a difference.”

    Name: Marleen Woelke
    Age: 18
    Hometown: Hanover, Germany
    Major: Undeclared

    “I once had a very inspiring female doctor, she was very strong and kind. Then, I had another doctor who made me feel so uncomfortable. I want to be there for women, make them feel comfortable to share their story. I want to have my own career, accomplish something for myself, independent of men. I’m in the pre-med club at the university and in the summer, I’m doing an internship in a hospital in Germany.”

    All photos by Lora Neshovska. 

     

  • Lumberjack editors meet with Rossbacher, part I

    Lumberjack editors meet with Rossbacher, part I

    The Lumberjack editors met with the president of Humboldt State University, Lisa Rossbacher, on March 23. The Q&A was largely centered around budget cuts and social issues that impact the local community, especially HSU students.

    This is one of two transcriptions of the meeting that revolves around HSU budget cuts. The second half, which focuses on social issues, will be published on March 28.

    Matthew Hable (editor-in-chief): “What is a typical day like for you?”

    Rossbacher: “When I get to campus, I take a few minutes to check in with people – the provost office, the Vice President of Student Affairs office – checking in on where I know there have been issues.

    Then I usually have a series of meetings. They will often be back to back until six or seven o’clock. I guess what’s significant is what those meetings are about. I meet with all the vice presidents at least every other week, some of them every week. It’s a combination of them telling me what’s going on, getting advice or, in some cases, decisions [on], ‘What should we do about this?’ or ‘I haven’t a clue of what to do. What kind of advice do you have?’ We talk through it.

    Some of it is information, some of it is problem solving and some of it is decision making. And that goes in both directions, because I ask them for advice, too.

    Some of [the meetings] are with groups. Today, we had a three-hour meeting with the cabinet, which is the vice presidents [and] senior leadership at the university. Before that, I did a debrief with all the people involved in the logistics of having [WASC] here to see ‘How did that go? What worked? What didn’t work? Let’s take some notes for ourselves.’ So when they come back in three, five, eight or 10 years, we remember what worked or didn’t.”

    Lora Neshovska (managing editor): “Do you mind elaborating on what worked or didn’t work with WASC?”

    Rossbacher: “Yes. Some of the biggest issues were the communications with the person handling the logistics of the visiting team weren’t as strong as they could’ve been. So [they] assumed we knew some things we didn’t, like the team room was the conference room over at Siemens Hall. That was supposed to be the working room. We still had a lot of meetings in there, which was inappropriate because they had all of their confidential materials. They covered up the big conference table with notes, and it wasn’t appropriate to have a meeting with groups in there. So, we had to scramble.

    Similarly, they got here and said, ‘Did we mention to you that the chair of the visiting team needs to talk to the chancellor?’ No. The chancellor was in a meeting with the board of trustees. So we had to scramble around and find a few minutes for the chair to talk on the phone [with] the chancellor. So a lot of issues were just that kind of miscommunication. [WASC] took it all in stride. We dealt with it.

    We thought we had all the contingency plans in place to get them here, because they all heard about how difficult it can be to fly into Humboldt County. The closest ones were coming from the Bay Area, but there were people coming from Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii. Four of the six team members flew to get here. None of them arrived in the flight they were originally booked on. Two of them arrived in the later flights and the other two ended up driving from San Francisco. So one of the weird things about the exit meeting is that we knew that was an issue, but they didn’t believe it when we told them how difficult it would be. But by the time they got here, they understood that. They were all scheduled to fly out at 11 a.m. from Arcata today, but yesterday and the day before, that flight was cancelled. They were really worried about getting out. That’s why the meetings this morning were so early. Originally, the public meeting was going to be at eight, and they pushed it to 7:30 a.m. so that they could hit the road at eight [and] drop back to San Francisco. They didn’t want to take a chance.”

    Hable: “As you know, HSU students organized a walkout protesting the budget cuts on March 21. Students are having a hard time believing the ‘Students First‘ agenda. My two-part question for you is, where were you during the protest? How would you respond to not just students, but staff and faculty who are frustrated with this institution?”

    Rossbacher: “I was in a series of meetings, ranging from the theatre arts building, to the library, to the arts building [and] to the student services building.

    I understand the frustration people have for all of us to wrap our minds around the budget. This is something that did not happen overnight. It’s not because of misuse of funds. It built up over a number of years. The pieces of the budget problem come from spending more money than we have, basically, and [it] happening year after year. Historically, when we’ve overspent, we have had reserves. We can then get through the year.

    On the one hand, that’s a wonderful thing, because it meant that we can protect the areas being impacted by the budget reductions. But we’ve used up the reserves. We can’t keep doing that. For those of you who have been in the budget meetings, someone pointed out that the reserves is about $6.2 or $6.3 million. That’s less than one month of payroll, so we can’t keep spending it down.

    Let me mention one other reason. One of the reasons why we [shouldn’t] draw down reserves, [but] to build them up, is that a couple of years ago, the Cal State system was given the authority by the state legislature to issue bonds. That’s good news, because that means we don’t have to compete with other state agencies for building projects. The board of trustees can issue their own bonds. When they ordered for them to do that for a campus, the campus has to be able to come up with at least 10 percent of the cost of the project.

    If we want a new science building, we might have to come up with [up to] $10 million just to put in our piece of that to be able to get additional money for the project. So we’re motivated not just to have some reserves to protect us against overspending, but those reserves are what we need to be able to get new buildings on campus.”

    Hable: “Where do those reserves come from?”

    Rossbacher: “Internal funding. Money we don’t spend. Half of our money comes from our state allocation, which goes from the governor, to the state legislature, approved by the state governor, to the chancellor’s office [and] to the campuses in the Cal State system. Think of it as coming from the state allocation.

    Neshovska: “Where does the rest of the money come from? What can be done to build up those reserves?”

    Rossbacher: “The other half comes from tuition. Right now, in the [CSU] system, about half the operating dollars come from the state allocation and the bounty of the other half comes from tuition.

    Neshovska: “If you can’t increase funding from the state allocation, would the solution be to increase the tuition?”

    Rossbacher: “Or spend less.”

    Gabe Rivera (sports editor): “Scholarships of Humboldt State student athletes have been cancelled. Why were they taken away?”

    Rossbacher: “The scholarship money for student athletes primarily comes from fundraising – donors who give money specifically to athletics. Because athletics this year is running about a $900,000 deficit, [which] has to be picked up by the state, we’re trying to channel as much of the fundraised dollars toward the operational aspects of it rather than going directly into scholarships.

    Rivera: “Would the programs be cancelled if the scholarships stopped coming in?”

    Rossbacher: “I see how you make that connection, but I wouldn’t do it quite that way. It’s operational dollars that are really needed to continue to offer the athletics program. If you want to talk about athletics in general, we can do that.

    Rivera: “Were you aware of coach Rob Smith’s retirement before you made the decision to keep the football program? What affect would that have had in your decision?”

    Rossbacher: “I was not aware that he wasn’t thinking about that. I was surprised when I heard the announcement.”

    Ahmed Al-Sakkaf (news editor): “Associate Director of Housing Facilities Steve McKenzie also planned to retire, but his position was eliminated early. Dean of College of Natural Resources and Sciences Richard Boone resigned, effective June 30, but was let go early. Why was Boone’s resignation sped up?”

    Rossbacher: “When you resign, you can suggest a date, but you can’t always pick it.”

    Al-Sakkaf: “WASC pointed out how there’s a lot of interim positions in the university. Now you hired an interim dean to replace Boone.”

    Rossbacher: “One of the ways to look at this is, ‘Why are people in interim positions?’ In some cases, it’s because we’re in the middle of a search. For example, we have an Interim Vice President of Student and Administration. We’re in a search that we’ll come to a conclusion very soon. It’s just a transitional thing. The Vice President for Student Affairs, Brumfield, has ‘interim’ in the title, but he’s going to be here next year, too.

    Interim implies that we have a lot of turnover. When you look at every individual case, everyone makes sense and provides more stability than we would have otherwise.

    There are some other people right now who have ‘interim’ in their title, but it’s because we had a vacancy. We look around on campus and thought, ‘You know what, we have someone really good for this position right now.’ It’s a growth opportunity. We want to put that person in this job for now. We can’t just appoint someone without ‘interim’ in the title unless we do a full-scale search. It’s a matter of equity and fairness.

    We have some people who have ‘interim’ in their title, because we have confidence in them and that job right now. That’s a limit of two years. We can have people with ‘interim’ in their title before we do a search. Sometimes it’s because we got the right person. We want them doing that right now.”

    Kyra Skylark (science editor): “There are professors within the sciences who are retiring soon. Apparently, some of their positions are not going to be filled. What is happening to those classes after they retire? Also, you said that a new science building might be built in the near future. If there’s money being cut within the science department, why are we spending money to construct another building?”

    Rossbacher: “If you’re a science major, you know what the science buildings look like. No matter what, they need to be at least renovated, upgraded or preferably replaced. Whether we’re able to build an entirely new building or if it’s a matter of knocking one down is a separate set of questions. But the deans of all the departments have been charged with looking at the courses that we’re offering for next year, and taking a really hard look at what the courses are, students’ needs and making sure those are being offered in the most efficient way possible.

    There’s a wide range of ways that’s happened. Part of it is looking into DARS. That’s going to be a critical tool for being able to project what classes students need. It’s an incredibly important tool to match up student demand, students’ need for courses and what the departments offer. It’s looking at how many students are interested in a class and matching the size of the class with space available.

    Obviously, there’s a point beyond which it doesn’t make sense to grow, and you need to have multiple sections. [We need to make] sure we are being efficient [and] offering courses frequently as we need to for students to be able to get them. In some cases, that may mean we’re offering some of the required courses more frequently than some of the elective courses less frequently.”

    Skylark: “How are you deciding what classes are needed for the students?”

    Rossbacher: “I am not directly involved in that. It’s department chairs working with deans who are also working with the provost office.

    I want to be careful that we are not getting rid of courses, options or programs without doing a thoughtful analysis of what they are, what the student interest is in that. We have many years of data in enrollments and things like that.

    Over the next year, we are planning to do an assessment of every program at the university. That’s just not academic programs, that’s administrative programs, too. That’s my office, too. We have the data that helps us understand how effective they are, how well they’re meeting the needs of students and then we’ll be able to make some informed decisions about whether we need to consolidate, shrink or expand.

    One of the goals of the budget planning process [is] not just to cut the budget down to, ‘We’re only studying what we have.’ We’re also trying to put the university in a position where we can strategically invest in strong and new programs. It’s not just chopping to be able to maintain what we’ve got. It’s also making sure we have the resources to be able to invest in the future.

    I know that a number of years ago we went through what was called ‘program prioritization,’ which I think got a bad reputation. It’s a way of figuring out which programs need to be eliminated, decreased in size, maintain the way they are or invest in. I want to be sure that this university is a place where we can invest in new programs and growing the programs.”

    Skylark: “How are you able to do that with the budget cuts?”

    Rossbacher: “By continuing to be strategic about how we reduce in reallocating money. You’ve all been to the website of URPC? One of the things they look at is the strategic budget and strategic investments. In some cases, it’s a matter of finding efficiencies. It’s a matter of identifying ways to realize additional money. In some cases, it’s additional revenue and figuring out how to invest that into new programs.

    First, we have to balance the budget. As additional resources come in, you can start strategically thinking about where to invest them.”

    Neshovska: “So essentially the first step is trying to balance the budget from all these places in order to build it back up and increase revenue.”

    Rossbacher: “Yes, that would’ve been a better way for me to say it in the first place.

    You can think about it from your personal checkbook. If you’ve overspent, first you need to get the spending under control. But as you get your next paycheck, you got the basic needs covered. Then you have to think about what you’re going to do with that extra money, where you’re going to invest in it.”

    Neshovska: “Once we do balance the budget, where can we rely on external resources?”

    Hable: “Going off of that, I realize your salary is public records, but you approximately make half a million dollars per year, including benefits. The provost makes roughly a quarter of a million dollars per year. How much of that money do you invest into the university?”

    Rossbacher: “The salary is right. The other pay, I’m not sure where that number comes from. Some of it is housing allowance. Half the president in the Cal State system, houses are provided for them. I don’t get free housing, I get a supplement for that. But the benefits part, that’s my healthcare.

    Hable: “Your salary was part of the frustration at the protest. While you make that much a year, students are upset that they are walking away with a large debt.”

    Rossbacher: “One of the things that I think is real special about Humboldt State is the focus that we have here on environmental and social justice. Students at Humboldt State are committed to making a change in the world. Our graduates literally do that all over the world.

    I think that’s something really important that this university does something valuable for our graduates. I worry that we’re not following the continuum that gets us to effective change in the world. It begins with protest, and that form of activism. Being a change agent moves from that to dialogue, discussion, collaboration and collective problem solving for a collective impact. And that moves to the actual change.

    I worry that we’re not serving students well by having all of that change process stuck in the protest part. It’s something that concerns me about the protest that we had on Wednesday. It doesn’t move from the protest to the discussion, the collaboration, problem solving and then effective change.

    What I see, and what I think is important for this university, is to model how we follow that whole process.”

    Al-Sakkaf: “How do you feel about having ‘shame’ written across your face on a flyer and distributed around campus?”

    Rossbacher: “Disappointed and frustrated. At some level, I understand, but I’m not sure what the point of that is.”

    Al-Sakkaf: “The point is your paycheck.”

    Rossbacher: “So if I work for free, it doesn’t solve the university’s budget problem.”

    Hable: “Students walk away with $20,000 to $40,000 in debt. Personally, I am walking out of here with $22,000 in debt when I graduate in May. There are parts of this university where I feel frustrated, where I did not get my money’s worth.”

    Rossbacher: “Can you give me an example?”

    Hable: “I’m an example of a student where we have that knowledge of how much you get paid per year, but students are going into debt. People are getting fired, let go or what have you. That’s where the frustration comes from. I was at Siemens Hall on Wednesday. People were angry and there was a dialogue. It was a protest, but there was also a dialogue.

    Rossbacher: “There was?”

    Hable: “Yeah, but it was an angry dialogue. Students were pretty outraged. I know it’s not the most diplomatic way of handling it, but people feel that way. I think that’s where the ‘shame’ comes from.”

    Rossbacher: “I graduated from college with debt. I spent my first year after I graduated – I lived under $2,000 the whole year. [My parents said] we can help you some as an undergraduate, [but] not completely. When I graduated they gave me a backpack, a jackknife, a subscription to Science magazine and they said, ‘Good luck.’ I’ve been there, too. I understand.”

     

  • “It was infuriating to see that the Arcata Police Department did not show up”

    “It was infuriating to see that the Arcata Police Department did not show up”

    City of Arcata supported a Dialogue on Race forum at the D Street Neighborhood Center on March 22.

    Mayor of Arcata Sofia Pereira attended the forum in hopes to create a space for the Arcata community to discuss racial discrimination.

    “There’s a lot of pain in this community based on what people of color have experienced here. It’s not going to be overnight, ending that pain,” Pereira said. “The more we have a space for these conversations and concrete actions, we can take [those] as individuals and as a community. I think that can get us to place of healing.”

    Pereira wanted to absorb everything that was discussed in the forum in order to get a sense of the right direction to take moving forward.

    “As for the next steps, I heard the feedback for making sure that we have representation from the Arcata Police Department, along with making sure we’re inviting Humboldt State’s administration,” Pereira said.

    Arcata mayor Sofia Pereira attends the monthly forum on race and public safety at the D Street Community Center on March 22. Photo by Nick Kemper.

    The City of Arcata gave Pastor Roger Williams the opportunity to facilitate the discussion on race.

    “I’m here because it’s a heart condition of mine, where I want to see people come together. I know it’s not easy, but it’s a passion of mine,” Williams said. “In a potentially charged environment with potentially angry people, with city hall here in the same building and in the backdrop of an unsolved murder, it went well.”

    Williams said that the point of the forum gue was to make people more aware of the fact that we live in a community where racism exists. He wanted to make those unaware of it to address racism in their community.

    “It’s not so much about black folk standing up and talking about race because we’ve been doing it forever,” Williams said. “It’s white folks taking some responsibility for themselves and not just not taking responsibility for being woke, but trying to wake other people. Come with an open mind and with the intent to understand [than] just reply. That’s where grassroots change happens.”

    Community member Paula Jones speaks at the D Street Community Center forum on race and public safety on March 22. Photo by Nick Kemper.

    Community member Erik Rydberg went to the forum, because he felt that the subject of race in this country needs to be talked about everywhere, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes people feel.

    “We need to understand the construct of race,” Rydberg said. “What it means historically in this country and why it was developed by the elite ruling class in this country in order to keep a select few people in control of the apparatuses of society.”

    Rydberg said this discussion matters to him, because he has experienced the injustices people of color have endured in this country, particularly in California.

    “As an indigenous person, the legacy of genocide and the holocaust of the American Indian, especially here in California, is an erased history,” Rydberg said. “[It] makes people who are really proud to be American extremely uncomfortable to talk about what’s transpired here in California, as far as the colonization of my continent.”

    Rydberg was one of the many people who decided to speak out at the forum. He decided to share the realities of racism, because he felt that it would be helpful to hear from an indigenous person’s point of view.

    “It was infuriating to see that the Arcata Police Department did not show up,” Rydberg said. “You’re in a position of authority. You need to be the most educated on this. You’re holding people’s lives in their hands every time you put [on] that belt buckle with your gun in it, every time you hop in your car with your shotgun [or] every time you have an AR-15 with you, with the legal authority to use that force.”

    Rydberg has a message for people who didn’t attend the forum.

    “You can’t stand in solidarity with somebody if you don’t know anything about their culture or their people,” Rydberg said. “Authority figures need to be [the] ones packing these kinds of events to learn about the people whose lives you hold in your hands.”

     

     

  • Upset students storm WSCUC open forum

    Upset students storm WSCUC open forum

    Cold and wet students gathered in the lobby of the Native American Forum at Humboldt State on March 21 for the WSCUC student open forum.

    The WSCUC, or Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College & University Commission, is a team of multiple administrators from different colleges across the country. This agency is given the task of reviewing an institution’s accreditation every 10 years and compiling a report that shows the results of this review.

    The open forum was for HSU students to share their input with WSCUC, and students were not happy. While this was not an opportunity to have questions answered, or problems addressed, it was a chance for students to tell WSCUC what concerns them about HSU.

    The issues that were brought up to WSCUC concerned student homelessness, financial issues, racism in the surrounding areas and, most commonly, the lack of communication between the students and administration.

    “Many of the students were informed of your arrival through this screensaver on all HSU computers,” HSU student Jessa Anderson said as she presented the Star Wars-themed flyer on the computer that informs viewers of WSCUC’s visit.

    Other students said they were not aware of the open forum until the budget cuts walkout that occurred in the UC Quad and Siemens Hall on the same day.

    Rita Cheng, the president of Northern Arizona University, is a member of WSCUC and mediated this open forum.

    “We are just peer reviewers, and it allows us to get a better look when we look from this perspective,” Cheng said.

    Students continued to speak of the pattern of poor communication between administration and students. Students also expressed how the stresses of not knowing what will be cut might affect their lives.

    Toward the end of the forum, the conversation shifted to the ignored racism problem in the university and surrounding areas.

    “I don’t feel safe and I don’t even know how to begin to feel safe here,” HSU student DaMon Thomas said.

    While HSU’s administration was not at the open forum to hear these grievances directly, many students were able to have their voices heard by WSCUC.

  • Community doubles down on McKinley statue

    Community doubles down on McKinley statue

    Community straightens out Arcata City Council on removing McKinley statue.

    The Arcata City Council held a meeting at the Arcata Community Center on March 21 concerning the McKinley statue on the Arcata Plaza. Over 200 community members attended.

    The Arcata City Council voted 4-1 with one abstention on Feb. 21 to remove the McKinley statue from the plaza.

    The March 21 council meeting was an attempt to invalidate the recent vote and years of community protest against the statue in the town square.

    Council member Susan Ornelas put the ballot item on the March 21 council meeting agenda as part of a “no project alternative.”

    “I felt I could trust the citizens of Arcata to see this issue deeper than people have been projecting they would see it,” Ornelas said. “I thought I could trust people [to] see why [the statue] should be there.”

    Council member Paul Pitino spoke on the subject of a public ballot.

    “In reality, it is not going to be an option to have the statue remain in the middle of the plaza,” Pitino said. “I see we have this thing handled already. We don’t need a vote.”

    Mayor of Arcata Sofia Pereira also commented.

    “Given that we have already made a vote to move the statue, I believe that putting this to a vote doesn’t give us the information we need in a public process,” Pereira said.

    When Pereira opened up the public comment, 121 people were signed up to give a three-minute comment on the McKinley statue removal. Public comment lasted for over three hours.

    The first speaker during the public comment, Claudia Johnson of Arcata, said that the only people who should determine if the statue should be removed are the voters.

    “That statue was a gift to the citizens of Arcata and the city council is responsible for caring for it,” Johnson said. “Right now, [the city council is] not taking care of it.”

    Arcata resident Rob Hepburn has been the gardener at Veterans Memorial Park in Arcata for 15 years.

    “I’m a Vietnam combat veteran and that is why this is really important to me,” Hepburn said. “I know what happened in the Philippines. That started under the watch of McKinley. It started with an ideology called ‘manifest destiny,’ which in essence says that white men are determined by a God-given right to take the lands of non-white peoples and civilize them into imitation white men.”

    Hepburn ties the Philippine-American War to Vietnam War.

    “The results in the Philippines were 250,000 civilian deaths. Massacres in the Philippines were precursors to the My Lai Massacre and other massacres in Vietnam,” Hepburn said. “That is why I feel so strongly that this statue should not be in a place of honor in the center of Arcata. The legacy of imperialism and racism needs to stop here. It needs to end with us.”

    Arcata resident Joanne McGarry stands for peace on the Arcata Plaza.

    “McKinley invaded the Philippines and Hawaii,” McGarry said. “He does not stand for peace. I want a peaceful plaza.”

    McKinleyville resident Maureen Kane also made a statement during the public comment.

    “If we are to have peace, we must openly and knowingly acknowledge all of our wrongdoings so we can ask to be forgiven,” Kane said. “Atrocities occurred in our town square.”

    Allison Lundahl, a Humboldt State student pursuing a masters in social work, spoke at the meeting.

    “I encourage [the city council] to include historical trauma [and] the impact of the symptoms of colonialism in your CEQA report,” Lundahl said.

    CEQA, or the California Environmental Quality Act, is a California environmental statute requiring state and local governances to comply with environmental guidelines.

    Tia Oros Peters of the Seventh Generation Fund in Arcata spoke next.

    “I request that the city council open every council meeting recognizing that we are on Wiyot territory as a right of indigenous peoples, recognizing the sovereignty and determination of the Wiyot people,” Peters said.

    Peters also requested the council to stand firm in their decision.

    “We should not be having this meeting,” Peters said. “You already voted to remove the statue.”

    At the end of public comment, the council agreed to honor their earlier decision to remove the McKinley statue from the plaza.

    “At this point, I’m saying I would just continue with what we’re doing,” Ornelas said. “I’m sorry we took all of this time.”

     

  • CNRS students want answers

    CNRS students want answers

    Humboldt State students from College of Natural Resources and Sciences, or CNRS, gathered for a talk on Thursday, March 8 to address the CNRS budget crisis. The talk was facilitated by Stephany Salgado, a biology major. Both the interim dean, Steve Smith, and associate dean of CNRS, Rick Zechman, attended the talk.

    “I want to make sure CNRS is getting the students involved,” Salgado said.

    The CNRS is facing $2 million in budget cuts and students are concerned their fall 2018 semester classes will be cut.

    Smith is filling the position that Richard Boone held until March 5. Smith was the dean of CNRS between 2010-2016. Being back from retirement for only two days prior to this talk, Smith revealed some ideas of possible solutions to the CNRS budget deficit. Smith mentioned possible changes, but would not go into any specific details.

    Smith explained how the department spending works and, how in the past, the reserve would take care of expenditures exceeding the budget. There is currently little reserve funds and the CNRS department spending is required to stay within the budget.

    “For a long time, the university has been deficit spending and we have to turn that around,” Smith said.

    Smith expressed the most important factor of all is to meet the students’ academic unit demand.

    “We are going to meet the academic demand for student courses. What might change is who is teaching the course,” Smith said.

    Smith did not go into details about allocating teaching modes.

    Smith assured the students the same courses will be available this fall, but he doesn’t know when or if he can solve all of the budget deficit problems.

    “This is the short version of a very complicated problem,” Smith said.

    A student asked Smith if professors could teach more and spend less time on research. Smith responded that it would be up to the tenure-line faculty.

    Smith also reminded students that professors belong to a labor union that directs their hours, and that tenure-line faculty are expected to do research.

    A student asked if graduate student programs will be adversely affected.

    “Graduate funding will increase, if anything,” Smith said.

    Another student asked about a fall class that is listed as unavailable. Smith assured the student that will change before registration. He also assured that all classes will appear on the schedule for registration.

    One student asked about reductions in programs. Smith didn’t think there would be reductions.

    “I don’t see anything along the lines of downsizing, probably elimination,” Smith said. “I don’t see that in the cards. Please don’t rush out and say we are going to cut programs.”

    Zechman pressed on the importance of having students’ degree audit reports, or DARS, planned out for three semesters ahead of time.

    “It is critically important to have your DARS planned out for three semesters ahead so CNRS knows how many seats it needs to offer for that class,” Zechman said.

    President Lisa Rossbacher reassures students the administration is working to guarantee them the classes they need to graduate.

    “We are doing everything possible to make sure students get the classes they need to make progress towards graduation and graduating on time,” Rossbacher said. “We still have one of the best science departments in the country with our natural resources and outdoor labs.”

  • HSU professor Kevin Murray exits race for California’s 2nd State Assembly district

    HSU professor Kevin Murray exits race for California’s 2nd State Assembly district

    “Politicians are owned by corporations and businesses.”

    Humboldt State political science professor Kevin Murray announced that he is exiting the race for California’s 2nd State Assembly district on March 18. It’s Murray’s third year of lecturing political science at HSU and his 27th year of teaching in total.

    Campaign donations play a big role in winning an election, and the majority of the people in the 2nd State Assembly district live in Sonoma County. The 2nd State Assembly district stretches from north of Santa Rosa and ends at the Oregon border.

    Murray’s opponent, Jim Wood, lives in Healdsburg, which is a city located in Sonoma County.

    “Politicians cannot afford to run for office unless they raise money,” Murray said. “Politicians raise money from the traditional contributions of [businesses] and corporations.”

    Murray said that the Democratic Party has turned into “Berniecrats” and “Corporatecrats.”

    “Politicians are owned by corporations and businesses,” Murray said.

    Murray chose to only accept private campaign contributions and no corporate or business campaign contributions.

    “If I were to take business contributions, I would be obligated to [vote] for those business contributors’ interests,” Murray said.

    In Murray’s press release about stepping out of the race, he talked about the need for publicly financed campaigns.

    Murray has keen insights into the social, political and capital interests prevailing in America.

    “The marketplace of Ideas is a fallacy and a farce until we have publicly financed campaigns,” Murray said. “It takes any candidate at least two years to raise enough money to run for office, and that is no guarantee the candidate would have raised enough money.”

    Murray believes in single-payer healthcare, where the California State Health Care Commission receives healthcare benefits and the commission would, in turn, pay the doctors. This eliminates the insurance companies with public stock.

    “Health care should never be surrendered to the marketplace,” Murray said.

    Murray is for farmworkers receiving overtime pay, as Murray’s mother was a farmworker.

    Murray is for corporations that don’t hire personnel from overseas at half the salary of an American citizen and those that don’t have a negative impact on the environment. He also measures corporations and businesses on how well they treat their employees.

    “Arcata has no rent control. Every student at Humboldt State will see their rent increase at least once in the time they spend at school,” Murray said. “What if their rent doubled? It could happen without rent control.”

    Murray said that our society is based on special interest groups funded by the wealthy and powerful.

    “We cannot elect progressive members who are not beholden to corporate and business interests to pass policies to provide the majority with more money, time and a higher quality of life,” Murray said.

  • Students v. admins: frustrated conversations at the budget cuts walkout

    Students v. admins: frustrated conversations at the budget cuts walkout

    “Students’ rights! Students’ rights!”

    “Where the fuck is Lisa? Where the fuck is Lisa?”

    “Cut her pay! Cut her pay!”

    Video by Bailey Tennery.

    HSU students could be heard storming through Siemens Hall yesterday, demanding the school’s administration to face students’ anger surrounding the budget crisis.

    Trevor McDowell, a wildlife major at HSU, was among the crowd of student protestors.

    “We are marching to find President Rossbacher, wherever she is meeting with WASC,” McDowell said.

    WASC, or the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, is a reviewing body that determines whether a school is capable of preparing students for the next steps in their careers.

    Dr. W. Wayne Brumfield, interim vice president of student affairs, explains the significance of a WASC approved institution.

    “WASC accreditation happens all across the country, and is important to a student’s degree. Having the accreditation is a sign of a healthy institution with good academics,” Brumfield said.

    Interim VP of Student Affairs Dr. W. Wayne Brumfield listens to student demands in Siemens Hall on March 21. Photo by Philip Santos.

    David Alvarez, a student protestor, wanted Brumfield to know that HSU is not healthy.

    “Why is there a lottery to live on campus? That’s not healthy,” Alvarez said. “I am scared to be homeless. We are not healthy.”

    The students’ protest, led by Moxie Alvarnaz, started in the UC Quad.

    “How do you feel about the budget cut? The administration just got another raise,” Alvarnaz said.

    A collective “boo” swept through the crowd.

    Dr. Alexander Enyedi, HSU’s provost and an administrator, was in attendance at the protest.

    “I think we should keep the focus on the budget structure,” Enyedi said. “A deficit is different from a budget cut. The colleges’ budgets are mostly untouched, but we are asking them to not spend more than what they are given.”

    Enyedi was certain that using the school’s degree auditing system, or DARS, to gather an idea of what classes students need will ensure that students have the right classes to graduate on time, in spite of the deficit reduction effort.

    Tents in the UC Quad at Humboldt State during the student-organized event to protest budget cuts on March 21. The walkout was organized by Students Coalition for Organized and Direct Action. Photo by Matthew Hable.

    As students marched into Siemens Hall from the UC Quad to find President Lisa Rossbacher, they confronted Enyedi in front of his office. William Cooke, a student protestor, disagreed with Enyedi on the class offering strategy.

    “If you think that we should be prepared for the rest of our lives, then why offer only the classes we need?” Cooke said. “I pay so much money for my education. Why can’t I take the classes that I want to take and experience college fully?”

    Footage by Garrett Goodnight. Edited by Bailey Tennery.

    David Alvarez, an undeclared major, expressed concerns for students’ ability to explore different majors.

    “I am undeclared. What if I want to become a biology major? Are you going to cut biochemistry [and] botany classes?” Alvarez said.

    Kelsey Meusburger, another student protestor, explained what students are seeking from administrators.

    “We are asking for an income cap to make HSU a more equitable place,” Meusburger said. “Is that something you’d be open to?”

    “Always, always,” Enyedi said.

    Ben Gorham and other HSU students ensure they are heard while WASC reviewers meet in Siemens Hall 222 on March 21. Photo by Philip Santos.

    Brianna Allen, who was missing a capstone class to be at the protest, expressed frustrations with the responses Enyedi has given to students’ questions.

    “I need to see you take action,” Allen said. “I need to know if you will advocate for us, on the board of admin, to take budget cuts through your money.”

    “I will advocate for you,” Enyedi said. “I will discuss with the cabinet about the ideas that are being put through.”

    Dixie Blumenshine, a biology major, brought up the recent firing of CNRS’s dean, Dr. Richard Boone.

    “Why did Rich Boone leave early? His resignation isn’t effective until June,” Blumenshine said.

    “He wasn’t interested in doing his job anymore,” Enyedi said. “If he was committed, he wouldn’t resign.”

    Kylie Brown, a general biology freshman student, was watching the protest from the UC Quad.

    “I am here today because I heard that some classes, which I’m hoping to take, will be cut,” Brown said. “I hope to become an endangered species biologist. If the [budget deficit] cuts botany classes at HSU, I will not be prepared for my career. This makes me angry. I haven’t been able to experience all the classes I want to take, and they’re already taking it away.”

    Lizzie Phillips (left), one of the members of Students Coalition for Organized and Direct Action who participated in the HSU walkout on March 21, stands in front of a makeshift mural where students air our their grievances on the budget cuts at Humboldt State. Photo by Matthew Hable.

    Hana Watanabe and Kotaro Kawakubo, international students, were present at the protest in the UC Quad.

    “We heard about this protest through our professor, who told us to come see the cultural differences,” Watanabe said.

    “We’re also here because we’re worried about the office of international programs,” Kawakubo said. “Our boss has already been fired. We don’t want the office to close. Losing this program would be like losing a home for us.”

    Students are encouraged to attend the Associated Students budget forum on Monday, March 26th, from 5-6:30 pm in the KBR for further questions.

    See what the HSU budget looks like at URPC.

    Information on HSU’s WASC accreditation can be found here.

  • Humboldt State faces healthcare shortage

    Humboldt State faces healthcare shortage

    One part-time psychiatrist working six hours a week.

    Students at HSU are facing a healthcare shortage. Brian Mistler has been the director of the Student Health and Wellness Services for two years.

    “I spent the first week on the job really understanding it,” Mistler said. “Students have been telling me weekly how the wait times are increasing and how we need more staff.”

    There is one part-time psychiatrist working six hours a week on HSU’s campus.

    “Students have trouble getting their medication,” Mistler said. “They have to wait two or three months to see the psychiatrist. Right now, it’s March and he’s booked for the rest of the year.”

    Mistler says local hospitals and open door clinics are backed up, and they do not have extra capacity.

    “When we send a student off campus often times that means the student just doesn’t get care and then they are forced to leave school,” Mistler said.

    There is no Kaiser facility within five hours of Humboldt County.

    “We’re isolated,” Mistler said. “Other universities solve this is by sending students off campus to a local hospital.”

    Delays in regular facilities maintenance are affecting the current state of the health center. Mistler said the temperature inside certain areas of the facility overheat.

    “The lab where we do our blood tests overheats, because the heating doesn’t flow right in the building,” Mistler said. “The temperature gets too hot and we have samples that have to be stored at a specific temperature in order to test.”

    Mistler said the student health center building is 20 percent over capacity.

    “There is not enough room to hold the staff,” Mistler said.

    There are multiple solutions to the healthcare shortage being discussed. One option is telepsychiatry. Telepsychiatry is a video conference with an outsourced psychiatrist in a different location.

    “Students would come in the health center, sit in front of a large screen and have a conversation with a psychiatrist who is somewhere else in California,” Mistler said.
    “The psychiatrist will work with our team on campus. The student will be able to walk down to the pharmacy and pick up their prescription.”

    Health Education and Clinic Support lead Mira Friedman supervises the clinical peer health educators on campus. The peer-to-peer service helps with the clinic’s wait times.

    “It allows our medical providers to see more students with complex issues,” Friedman said.

    The clinical peer educators are not physicians. They are paired up with a medical provider if they have medical questions. Each peer educator is paid minimum wage.

    Clinical peer educators work a minimum of 10 hours and a maximum of 20 hours a week. Friedman holds weekly staff meetings as well as an individual weekly check-in with the clinic’s peer educators.

    Kelsey Meusburger, a clinical peer educator since August of 2017, says she feels empowered helping students.

    “I only talk to students who are not showing signs of symptoms,” Meusburger said. “When they show signs of symptoms I refer them to the Gold Clinic.”

    The Gold Clinic is reserved for more urgent matters.

    The state of the student health center building was designed 60 years ago and has not been updated. The building needs to have repairs made in order to function.

    “The front of the building where the roof is rotting,” Mistler said. “We had to replace a beam, [and] that’s why there is construction outside.”

    There are two separate fees that go toward health services. One fee is for the physicians, the second is for the health center facilities. Both fees are being proposed to increase in order to improve the current healthcare conditions.

    “It would cost about $66 per student per semester to repair. For another $10, a brand new health center could be built,” Mistler said. “It seems like a much better idea than spending a lot of money fixing the current health center.”

    The Student Fee Advisory Committee is helping to decide the best way to adjust the health fees and increased funding.

    “We can’t provide better service in the current space, [because] we’ve outgrown it,” Mistler said. “Part of the reason we’ve outgrown it is because health services aren’t just the services we provide. Other things that are tied to health is physical, mental and other basic needs.”

  • Pro-life protest through positivity

    Pro-life protest through positivity

    The sun streaks through the patchy white clouds and the breeze blows cold off the bay against Moriah Nelson’s face as she sits alone on a corner in Eureka. Next to her are white signs with black lettering stating the message of her protest.

    “Pray to End Abortion,” the sign reads.

    Nelson, 25, has been involved in anti-abortion activism for three years now, working with the Eureka branch of the 40 Days for Life.

    This is a protest that goes on throughout the length of Christian Lent, where protesters sit outside of Planned Parenthood in a peaceful demonstration.

    “It is compassion and Christ-like love that will change and help these women,” Nelson said.

    Nelson said that when she first found out about abortion, she was horrified.

    “I had a lot of misplaced anger as a teenager,” Nelson said.

    Nelson began her anti-abortion activism, as well as volunteering, at a local Pregnancy Care Center in order to initiate change. The center provides clothing and supplies to women and children in need, as well as hosting a medical facility equipped with volunteer nurses.

    “I like being able to serve in a tangible way,” Nelson said, “Women say to us that they are so thankful.”

    Nelson is the oldest of her eight siblings, the youngest is four. They all live together in their Eureka family home, and all of the children are part of a strong homeschool community.

    The family is involved with activism in the community. Nelson said her grandfather was heavily involved in solving the homeless issue up until his passing in 2016. Her brother Courtland, 20, is continuing the legacy.

    “We’re hoping we can build a relationship with the homeless and try to get them to a better place,” Courtland said.

    Every Friday night, Courtland goes out with a group of his friends and some sandwiches to talk and pray with the homeless in Eureka. He is also involved with a pregnancy clinic, painting for them and serving at the annual banquet.

    Courtland is not as active on the issue as his sister.

    While Nelson’s family and service is a huge component of her life, another big focus is her future husband and upcoming wedding in September.

    Her boyfriend Johnny Wisan, 25, is also a Eureka local currently working with at-risk children for an internship at a church in Wales. The program involves mentoring, praying and activities every night.

    The couple met at the age of seven through the homeschool community and she said they immediately knew they would get married.

    Nelson has been to Wales twice, and after their marriage, the couple plans to relocate if he is able to acquire a paid position at the church.

    Though she has never left her childhood home and family, Nelson said that through prayer, she and Wisan realized that Wales was where they could best serve the children.

    “How can I say I am pro-life if I don’t step up and make a change?” Nelson said.

  • Provost speeds up dean’s resignation

    Provost speeds up dean’s resignation

    “I couldn’t compromise the values of CNRS and my own.”

    Richard Boone, the former dean of College of Natural Resources and Sciences at Humboldt State, was let go before his resignation came into effect. Earlier this month, Boone formerly announced his resignation, effective June 30. But Alexander Enyedi, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, informed him in a meeting on March 9 that his resignation was accepted and effective immediately. Steve Smith took office as the new interim dean for CNRS, replacing Boone.

    Boone planned to remain dean of CNRS until June 30, as he said to the provost when he resigned. He was surprised during the meeting that he didn’t have the time to continue working on the things he planned out.

    It was important for Boone to carry out his plans leading up to the initial June 30 resignation. He and his staff were in the process of finalizing the steps to reduce the budget for next year.

    “Having the remaining time was important for me, personally and professionally,” Boone said. “Also for the college and my role in the college, I was looking forward to working in Humboldt until the end of June.”

    Boone said he doesn’t know why he was asked to leave office four months before his initial resignation date.

    “I had conveyed to [the provost] my resignation was effective June 30 and he had not rejected the date when I met with him,” Boone said.

    The Lumberjack reached out to the provost to comment on Boone’s resignation, but was directed to HSU’s public relations team. Humboldt State communications specialist, Grant Scott-Goforth, responded about why the provost adjusted his resignation date.

    “Unfortunately, because it’s a personnel issue, the school can’t release anymore details about the resignation,” Scott-Goforth said. “We have a duty to protect individual privacy in these kinds of matters. I’m sorry I can’t help more.”

    Boone left the area and is now in the process of relocating to Fairbanks, Alaska.

    “I’m leaving Humboldt with a great deal of sadness,” Boone said. “I loved Humboldt and I really loved Arcata. This is a part of me and it will always be a part of me.”

    Reflecting on his time at HSU, Boone said he really enjoyed his time working as dean.

    “It was an honor to serve as the dean,” Boone said. “It was really a joy to work for the CNRS faculty, staff and students.”

    According to Rick Zechman, associate dean of CNRS, Boone was respected across HSU and concerned about CNRS.

    “He was very concerned about the health and vitality of the college, its students, faculty and staff,” Zechman said.

    Why did Boone resign?

    Boone and HSU provost Enyedi had conflicting views regarding the depth of the cuts to the CNRS budget.

    “I decided to resign, because it became clear the provost and I had irreconcilable differences over the depth of budget cuts and priorities for CNRS,” Boone said. “I couldn’t compromise the values of CNRS and my own.”

    Boone said his strength is in building new programs, developing interdisciplinary teams, integrating research in teaching and graduate education. With the current budget crisis HSU is facing, there’s going to be some downsizing. In such an environment, Boone thinks he can’t put his skills to practice.

    “I felt that I couldn’t utilize that experience and skill set sufficiently to make me satisfied and to help the college as much as I wanted to,” Boone said.

    Boone said he is proud of the work he has done as the dean of CNRS.

    “I think I did good work in my time there and would have continued doing good work through June,” Boone said.

    Though Boone is proud of his work as dean, he said he could’ve done better if not for the current budget cuts.

    When he joined HSU on July 25, 2016, Boone was aware of CNRS budget deficit, but not the university deficit.

    The cause of CNRS deficit wasn’t clear to Boone at first. Last year, he spent time understanding the budget for CNRS and the university.

    “It wasn’t clear to me initially why there was a mismatch between the budget and the expenditures in the college,” Boone said. “I learned the mismatch is primarily due to the under-budgeting of lectures in college.”

    Boone started the CNRS strategic planning committee. One of the goals of this committee is to find ways to achieve a balanced budget.

    “I took my responsibilities seriously to eliminate the deficit,” Boone said. “I believe that the strategic planning process we started this year would’ve led to recommendations for a balanced budget.”

    According to Zechman, the strategic planning committee is one of Boone’s major initiative during his short time as dean for CNRS. This initiative will guide the college for coming years.

    “[Boone] has a collaborative leadership style that was reflected in one of his major initiative during his brief time as dean of CNRS, a strategic planning effort involving faculty, staff and students that will guide the college over the next several years,” Zechman said.

    Over the last eight years, the college grew in terms of majors and number of full-time students. To accommodate the growth, the college hired around 57 lecturers. Costs for most of those lecturers were not added to the college budget.

    “Last year, if the money for the lecturers that we employed was in the budget, there would not have been a deficit,” Boone said.

     

  • Students return to campus by Homeward Bound bus

    Students return to campus by Homeward Bound bus

    Humboldt State students from Los Angeles and San Francisco take the long journey back to HSU with the Homeward Bound buses.

    The trip takes about 14 hours for those who board the bus in Los Angeles, while it takes eight hours for those who board the bus in San Francisco. The buses travel approximately 650 miles to get back to Arcata. There are occasional pit stops within the commute.

    Ana Vazquez is one of the many students who took the bus from Los Angeles.

    “I had a nice break,” Vazquez said. “I got a chance to sleep more than I did when I was at Humboldt, so that’s a plus.”

    Another student, Jason Barnes, said he prefers traveling on the Homeward Bound bus.

    “I like to take long trips like this,” Barnes said. “On Amtrak, there’s weird people, but here it’s easier to sleep throughout the ride.”

    Students like John Martinez come prepared for long trips.

    “My phone kills a lot of time when it comes to taking trips like this,” Martinez said. “I’m either listening to music or texting to friends and family when I have cell service.”

    Even with the long hours students endure when traveling by bus, the Homeward Bound services have proven to be a better alternative for students to travel out from Humboldt.

  • Protest for gun control leads Arcata High students to walk out

    Protest for gun control leads Arcata High students to walk out

    Arcata High School students joined a nationwide walkout on March 14. The walkout was in reaction to the recent shooting in Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a man with a semi-automatic rifle took the lives of three faculty members and 14 students.

    Arcata High sophomore Fiona Murphy left her class to join the rest of the students and faculty participating in the walkout last Wednesday morning. The destination was the Arcata Plaza.

    The walkout was led by Arcata High sophomore Skaidra Pulley and freshman Maddie Lankarani. Pulley compiled a six-page list of victims of semi-automatic weapons. The names were read during the 17 minutes of silence.

    “During those 17 minutes I went through a range of emotions,” Murphy said. “I went from crying to pure anger that this is happening, to crying again.”

    Jennifer Rosebrook teaches American history at Arcata High. She stayed on campus during the walkout. Rosebrook graduated from Humboldt State and has been teaching at the high school for 22 years.

    “I stayed on campus during the walkout as per my contract,” Rosebrook said. “It’s just like if you worked in a factory, you don’t just get up and leave in the middle of it.”

    The administration found a teacher who wasn’t teaching in order to cover for those who wanted to be part of the walkout.

    “That allowed those teachers who really wanted to go down with the kids and keep them safe,” Rosebrook said.

    The Trump Administration’s proposal to provide school personnel with firearms and training brought criticism from Rosebrook.

    “I’m not a big fan of any weapons to be honest. It doesn’t matter if they’re a rifle, a gun or nunchucks,” Rosebrook said. “I would never consider carrying a gun on [campus]. I think it is a reaction to what’s going on, not a proposal to fix it.”

    Not all high school students attended the walkout. James Manion, a senior at Arcata High, chose to stay in school and go to class.

    “I was thinking about going, but at the same time, I didn’t really want to get involved with something like that,” Manion said. “I stayed in my English class, but everyone in the English class left. I just sat in the parking lot waiting for my next class to start.”

    Murphy went around writing the words “Who’s next?” on people’s hands with a Sharpie as they held their hands up.

    “Our arms started to cramp, because we had to hold our hands up while all the names were read,” Murphy said. “We didn’t have to hold our arms up, but we wanted to.”

    Murphy said that Pulley told her the list of names originally compiled was going to be a list of every student and teacher who had been killed in a school shooting by a gun. The list was 11 pages long and hadn’t been completed.

    “People are dying. We have to remember the names of the victims and not the shooter,” Murphy said. “You feel like you’re in a bubble when you just see it on the news, but participating and hearing the names of all the people who died makes it real.”

    In the last two minutes of the silence, someone in a pickup truck drove around the Arcata Plaza two or three times blasting music out of their car.

    “It turned out to be a McKinleyville student,” Murphy said. “I think he was doing it to be antagonistic and break up the memoriam.”

    When the memorial for the Parkland victims ended, Murphy didn’t go back to school. She stayed in the plaza with a small group until 5 p.m., writing letters to Congress.

    “We packed pens, pencils and papers to write to Congress,” Murphy said. “Throughout the day, different moms were bringing us food, tea and cookies,”

    Students wrote the letters to Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and others, asking for more restrictions on AR-15 rifles. They also sent thank you notes to congressman Jared Huffman for lobbying for gun control.

    “Since it is national, it is putting more pressure on the government to do something,” Murphy said. “Even if our little walkout doesn’t directly affect it, it’s making a ripple. It’s laying a foundation for getting something done.”

  • Zero to Fierce Festival for womanhood

    Zero to Fierce Festival for womanhood

    Celebrating the matriarchy and raging grannies.

    The Arcata Playhouse hosted the Zero to Fierce Woman’s Festival last week. More than 30 events took place from March 5-11. Events ranged from musical performances to movie screenings to meditation.

    On March 8, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom organized their seventh annual women’s day celebration inside the Arcata Playhouse.

    An activist organization called the Raging Grannies made an appearance. The organization is composed of elderly women that mock the granny stereotype by dressing in mismatched clothes.

    Sandy Lynn has been a Raging Granny for five years. She grew up in Palo Alto and has been in Humboldt since 2001.

    “I like that we are not polished. When you are older, people give you slack,” Lynn said. “When old ladies sing protest songs, it makes it easier for others to hear hard issues, like rape or violence.”

    The Grannies sing well-known songs, but change the lyrics to add a political message. During the performance, Lynn played a ukulele.

    “The ukulele is easy to cart around and very granny-like,” Lynn said. “I have been performing since I was 12. I don’t get nervous.”

    An audience member, Angela Davis, said she loves to sing.

    “The older I get, the more I want to celebrate life,” Davis said. “Here, we breathe together. You can’t feel desperation or be depressed in a place like this.”

    Sue Hilton, member of Women’s International League, has been celebrating Women’s International Day since 1973.

    “We need to value women more than we do now in our society,” Hilton said.

    Humboldt State lecturer of women and Native American studies Sara Obenauer spoke on stage at the Arcata Playhouse. She grew up as a first-generation Filipino American woman, and was raised in a matriarchal society.

    “I was raised by women,” Obenauer said. “However, like many women across the world, I experienced masculine imbalance.”

    Obenauer spoke about the idea of masculine imbalance, meaning power is disproportional and is taken away from woman

    “I find it vital that we need to embrace and celebrate womanhood, since we live in a really sexist and misogynistic society,” Obenauer said. “I don’t think I need to stress how necessary this is for us, especially in our cultural-political climate.”

    Obenauer said we need to believe in ourselves and our abilities in order to put an end to self destruction.

    “Nothing new will be created until women collectively take the lead and heal within themselves,” Obenauer said.