The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: accountability

  • Mia Mingus Advocates for Accountability

    Mia Mingus Advocates for Accountability

    Personal accountability paves way for future of transformative justice

    Writer, educator and community organizer for disability and transformative justice Mia Mingus attended Humboldt State University March 6 as the keynote speaker for the Social Justice Summit. As a queer, physically disabled, Korean, transracial, transnational adoptee, Mingus faces adversity in all major facets of life and advocates for dignity and the end of violence, harm and abuse.

    Mingus took the stage for an hour, discussing everyday transformative justice and how to achieve transformative justice on a societal level. Transformative justice is about finding alternative solutions to violence, harm and abuse outside of our punitive system.

    “The system that we have is so based in, ‘You’re a bad person, so bad things deserve to happen to you,’” Mingus said. “Rather than, ‘We are all human, and human beings make mistakes, and we are all flawed, and we are all living in incredibly violent conditions.’”

    “If you’re not proactively building accountable relationships in your life, you’re proactively building an unaccountable life.”

    Mia Mingus

    Instead of focusing on big picture questions, like what will replace our current system and how to end violence, Mingus insisted to focus on the ways that transformative justice can improve our own lives, and in return, impact the world.

    “We can start small, because it’s just like building a muscle,” Mingus said. “You don’t go into the gym and start bench pressing 400 pounds immediately, or if you do, you’re gonna get really hurt.”

    Mingus walked the audience through her four steps of accountability.

    “If you’re not proactively building accountable relationships in your life, you’re proactively building an unaccountable life,” Mingus said.

    “It doesn’t matter how good of an apology you gave or how well you repaired the relationship. If you keep doing the harm, what does it matter?”

    Mia Mingus

    For the first step of accountability, Mingus said we must possess self-reflection, without which you can’t achieve any transformative justice.

    Second, we must be capable of genuine apology, demonstrating our remorse and understanding of our improper actions.

    Third, we must be willing to repair and mend broken relationships and earn back trust.

    Finally, we must change our behavior.

    “It doesn’t matter how good of an apology you gave or how well you repaired the relationship,” Mingus said. “If you keep doing the harm, what does it matter?”

    Transformative justice operates under the belief that acts of violence are deeply connected to the conditions that helped create and perpetuate those incidences of violence.

    “That violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Mingus said. “They are connected to the conditions that we live in, and we all participate in creating those conditions, and we all have a collective responsibility for ending violence, harm and abuse.”

    “It’s not enough just to change the systems that we’re up against. We also have to change ourselves, and I really appreciate that.”

    Mia Mingus

    As a society, Mingus said we need to practice preventative actions, rather than respond with punishment.

    “When we publicly shame people, or when we shame and blame people in general, it doesn’t actually get the violence to stop,” Mingus said. “It usually just teaches people how to hide the violence or harm better. It doesn’t actually make the kind of deep fundamental change that we actually want.”

    After her lecture, Mingus elaborated on fundamental change in an exclusive interview with The Lumberjack.

    “It’s not enough just to change the systems that we’re up against. We also have to change ourselves, and I really appreciate that,” Mingus said. “And vice versa, you know, it’s not enough just to change yourself. You have to also help change the world too because I think that’s where the magic lives.”

    Mingus said transformative justice focuses on the fundamental improvements that must be made along the way.

    “We’re working on a micro level but we’re doing it with a macro perspective because we’re actually trying to interrupt generational cycles of violence and harm,” Mingus said. “That’s the goal.”

    Mingus gave a final piece of advice for helping with world progression.

    “Learn as much as you can, give as much as you can,” Mingus said. “But like, generally, just start from where you are, with what you have, and don’t get overwhelmed by trying to change the whole world.”

  • HSU Student Slashed in Arcata

    HSU Student Slashed in Arcata

    Arcata incident renews doubts of local safety and transparency

    A black 18-year-old HSU student reported being slashed with a knife near 14th and G streets in Arcata on Aug. 26, according to a Humboldt State University press release sent out Friday, Sept. 27.

    The incident occurred more than a month ago, but students are only just hearing about it. Associated Students President Yadira Cruz wished HSU had notified students to avoid feelings of mistrust.

    “To avoid that, just send out an email as soon as it happens,” Cruz said. “Just develop that transparency.”

    The press release went on to summarize the events after the student fled Arcata and returned to HSU.

    “Paramedics were called, and they were taken to Mad River Community Hospital where they were treated for the injury,” the press release, written by HSU Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether, said.

    Cruz said the student has reported being physically fine as of Monday.

    The incident, which largely flew under the radar until reporting from Lost Coast Outpost dug it up for a story published on Thursday, Sept. 26, is now under investigation by the Arcata Police Department.

    The HSU press release noted multiple media narratives and sought to clarify the situation. On the night of the incident, HSU determined that no threat to the campus existed, and did not send out a notification.

    The release also noted no evidence of the incident being a hate crime, which would warrant notification.

    “If there had been an imminent threat or evidence of a hate crime, the campus community would have been alerted by text and email using HSU Alert,” the release said.

    Cruz, along with several HSU faculty and staff, reviewed and gave consultation for the release.

    Cruz first heard about the incident from a Lost Coast Outpost reporter seeking her comment. Cruz wondered whether HSU would’ve notified students if it weren’t in the midst of an enrollment decline.

    In any case, Cruz wished HSU had notified the campus, regardless of whether the incident appeared to be a hate crime.

    “Saying it’s not race-related is not a valid excuse,” Cruz said.

    The press release emphasized Humboldt’s close-knit community and called HSU the “Humboldt Family.” However, Cruz doubted the sincerity.

    “The campus tells us they care about us only when something bad happens,” Cruz said.

  • Hold Those in Power Accountable

    Hold Those in Power Accountable

    We all need to be aware of the consequences of our mistakes. And that means owning up to them, too. 

    You learn by your mistakes. This doesn’t mean you intentionally make mistakes in your everyday life, but it means that you learn from them and try your best to own up and do better the next time around. We must take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves and others accountable.

    The Mueller Report was recently released, detailing Donald Trump’s campaign involvement with Russia. But instead of holding himself accountable to his actions, he has instead chosen to go back to his original tactic of tweeting and vocally voicing his denial of the report and the related evidence. Trump has intentionally diverted attention away from the Mueller report by calling it “politically motivated,” and painting himself as the victim.

    Despite the years of investigation that went into the report, many are in denial of its authenticity. Some supporters have gone as far as writing the report off as “written by Angry Democrats and Trump Haters” while they downplay the damning evidence that says otherwise.

    It’s important to acknowledge those who are in denial of the mounting evidence and to acknowledge those who claim the report is incorrect or untrue despite the evidence proving the opposite.

    With Lisa Rossbacher’s departure looming and the announcement of the next Humboldt State University president, we want to highlight some of the issues brought up when it comes to those not taking into account the effects of their actions. On the president’s webpage, it claims that she wants to focus on key areas, “supporting student success, providing a welcoming environment for our diverse community, ensuring we have the resources needed to fulfill our mission and expanding partnerships, both on- and off- campus”.

    While that may be the case, there are multiple things that President Rossbacher has done that show otherwise. She had significant involvement in shutting down the football program, there has been a complete lack of acknowledgement of the racism in the school and campus community and the majority of anti-immigrant rhetoric on campus. To top it off, Rossbacher and the committee decided to gut KHSU without warning and the Arcata community isn’t too happy either.

    We are all human. Every day we make decisions and their consequences may not be immediately known to us or others. There can be immense pressure on an individual to make a decision in the heat of the moment, but when the consequences of that decision come to reality, it is important to acknowledge any mistakes, own up to them and work to rectify the issues.

    A bit of modesty can go a long way, because mistakes and failures are a natural part of life. As editors, we see and make plenty of small, seemingly irrelevant mistakes: misplaced commas, poor grammar and spelling errors. When a writer at the Lumberjack hands in an article, they have tried their best to catch their own mistakes but it is a show of modesty to allow us editors to mark up their work so the final presentation is handsome and polished. Even then, mistakes slip through the cracks and we try our best to see to them all.

    We should hold those in power to the same standards. If we at the Lumberjack expect our writers and editors to edit their work and try their best to catch their mistakes, then the Humboldt State community needs to hold Lisa Rossbacher accountable for her inaction just as much as the country needs to hold Donald Trump accountable for his. People in power should not get a pass simply because of their position.

  • Universities should model accountability

    Universities should model accountability

    The sudden retirement of HSU Athletics Director Daniel Collen raises unanswered questions of accountability. How did administrative oversight fail to anticipate and mitigate Athletics’ budget crisis threatening the football program? Did Mr. Collen’s political campaign and election to the Northern Humboldt School District Board interfere with directing the athletics department? Did Mr. Collen hold appropriate academic credentials for a top university post? (Does his replacement?).

    Did Collen negotiate a secret settlement to immediately retire after facing lawsuits alleging misappropriation of donations for his fishing trips to Ketchikan, Alaska with two other HSU executives; or, the lawsuit by long-term HSU athletics employee Dan Pambianco alleging he was demoted for exposing Collen’s extravagant university-funded travel; or, Collen’s termination of 25-year track coach Dave Wells resulting in a $250,000 settlement?

    Apparently, no reforms were enacted since the infamous $15 million fraud committed by HSU executive John Sterns in 2001, and the secret settlement from the class-action lawsuit filed by Education Department professors. Following these scandals, former HSU President Alistair McCrone negotiated a retirement settlement by accepting a temporary “consultant” position at his full president’s salary. Sterns’ immediate supervisor, Vice President Don Christensen, became a university administrator in Oregon. (CSU auditors concluded that HSU’s fearful workplace enabled Stern’s financial fraud and embezzlement to continue for 3 years!).

    Humboldt County has extraordinary recreational resources: rivers, forests, shoreline, parks, trails, lagoons, harbor and wetlands, yet, McCrone and former HSU president Rollin Richmond authorized hundreds of millions of dollars over 2 decades on new and remodeled facilities for recreation, leisure, entertainment and sports, requiring more staff, faculty, management and maintenance while simultaneously cutting academics. Expanded leisure activities attracted wealthier students despite high participation fees… until a declining economy persuaded families to rediscover the value of academics closer to home, leaving HSU today with fewer students and a fully funded “resort.”

    Divesting in HSU academics produced overcrowded classrooms; elimination of numerous courses and entire degrees in nursing, industrial technology and German language; early retirement of the most experienced professors; the highest athletics fees in the CSU system; and three decades of relentless tuition increases culminating in debilitating debt for graduates. HSU’s high-security “campus resort” with pretentious locked-gate housing, rock climbing walls and library lattes are the LAST things needed by hundreds of homeless students (and thousands more working-class) who rely on administrative leadership to focus on relevant academic resources required to succeed.

    The public deserved to hear responses to unasked questions of accountability from Collen, Richmond, McCrone, Christensen and many others.

    Prioritizing accessible academics over a class-centered resort is essential in preparing graduates for the looming realities of environmental, economic and social crises from climate change and perpetual wars for foreign oil, minerals and oppressed labor. Achieving carbon reduction and full employment from a green, U.S.-made economy would require prerequisites in urban planning and social, political, economic and environmental activism tailored to every degree. These include prerequisites in citizenship, labor history, contract law, diplomacy and negotiation that are fundamental in developing confidence and assertiveness within student’s chosen career; in demanding accountability at work, school, community and personal relationships, or in signing countless contracts for housing, employment, transportation, credit cards and healthcare.

    Accountability at HSU requires transparency. For example, administrator’s academic credentials, compensation and pensions are not being reported. In fact, HSU cancelled publication of its annual directory listing everyone working on campus and their titles. Incompetence, nepotism, favoritism, fraud and corruption, like mycelium, thrive in darkness and costs millions!

    The Bay Area firm Strategic Edge Consulting, hired by HSU last year, noted communication problems between former HSU Athletics director Collen and other departments raising broader questions about campus leadership and professionalism. Few ironies are more astonishing than a public university led by administrators lacking advanced degrees in public administration or communication who are charged with promoting and governing “academic excellence” for teachers and students. A credible vision for academic excellence could come from administrators recruited from hundreds of adults graduating with honors on U.C. campuses each year with advanced degrees in public administration, public finance and human resources; individuals more capable in avoiding budget chaos and recurring failures to integrate due-process employment rights into personnel practices. Until then, HSU’s lack of vision and its history of unaccountable multi-million dollar scandals, lawsuits and secret settlements will continue.

    Without basic skills, experiences, and responsibility in demanding accountability where we live, work and learn, every community’s local government, university and media will continue to cooperate, legitimize and empower this nation’s fascist drift that Donald Trump’s reelection and “Alt-Right” policies rely on.

     

    Sincerely,

    George Clark

    HSU Liberal Arts graduate 1982,

    (My debt-free education met the requirement for an “accessible public education” guaranteed under the U.S. Education Act of 1965).

    HSU Center Accounting Technician 1979-1989