APD asks witnesses to come forward on third anniversary of David Josiah Lawson’s death
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOSIAH LAWSON HOMICIDE OCCURRED THREE YEARS AGO
On this day three years ago HSU Student David Josiah Lawson was murdered in Arcata. This case remains under investigation and the Arcata Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance during the on-going investigation. On April 15, 2017, while attending a house party on Spear Avenue, Josiah was stabbed during an altercation. Josiah was pronounced deceased shortly thereafter at Mad River Community Hospital.
Witnesses described upwards of 100 people in attendance at the house party. Many of those who were present have not been identified nor have they been interviewed by Detectives from the Arcata Police Department. The completion of this investigation is dependent on a number of factors including interviewing all people who were present at some point during the party or who have information that can corroborate what occurred that night.
The Arcata Police Department established a 24 hour confidential tip line for community members to provide information relative to this investigation. The phone number is (707) 825-2590. Community members can also call the APD’s Dispatch Center at (707) 822-2424.
Keeping Josiah’s memory alive is paramount to this case. The Arcata Police Department will continue to investigate this case and will continue to work all investigative leads until justice prevails.
Attached in a separate email is a Public Service Announcement developed in partnership with DJ’s Mother, Charmaine Lawson, the Arcata Police Department, the Eureka Broadcasting Company and the City of Arcata’s IT Department. The PSA link is Facebook compatible. All are encouraged to share this link with anyone in order to never forget DJ and to encourage community members who have any information at all regarding who else was in attendance at the party and/or the events that led to DJ’s death, to come forward.
Public service announcement video reposted by the North Coast Journal:
I woke up on St. Patrick’s day—my birthday—to sobbing. My roommate was curled up on her bed, across the room, crying her eyes out. She cried for half an hour, if not more, because she’d just received the Humboldt State email canceling our graduation and asking students to leave campus if they were able. An achievement she has been working toward for seven years and one I have been busting my ass off for four years was all taken away in seconds.
Instead of celebrating and going to the bars—in true St. Paddy’s day fashion—I spent the day in quarantine having to tell my family to cancel their plane tickets and Airbnb reservations because I wasn’t going to be able to walk.
As one of the students left on campus, it’s strange, to say the least. When my roommate and I go for walks or head to get food from OhSNAP!, the university looks like a nightmarish scene from some dystopian novel. Usually, the only people you’ll find walking around campus are construction workers, nurses or other essential HSU staff. Every once in a while there’s the odd student or two, using what little resources are left available on campus.
In front of the health center, a tent is set up to greet all students where they sanitize their hands and grab a face mask before being allowed to enter the building—even students who just need to pick up medication from the pharmacy.
The only students allowed to be seen at the health center are those who show severe symptoms like a fever, sore throat or difficulty breathing. But for those of us who need regular prescriptions through their pharmacy, be it for anxiety medication, emergency inhalers, birth control pills or other medications they offer, we can still access the pharmacy during their posted hours.
In my opinion, this is one of the most concerning aspects of COVID-19. Students and community members cannot be tested through campus for the illness unless they are extremely sick, which leaves carriers with less severe symptoms to go untested.
Before campus was closed, my roommate and I came down with a cough and fatigue that wouldn’t seem to go away so we decided to visit the health center to see what was wrong, maybe a bit paranoid that we might have contracted the coronavirus somehow. But who isn’t a little paranoid during this pandemic?
We were seated outside and only admitted into the entrance of the health center one-by-one. A blood pressure monitor, thermometer and other equipment were set up in the hallway, with two nurses wearing masks and gloves. We were given masks, examined and told that, unfortunately, if we did not show severe symptoms, they were unable to test us.
In my opinion, this is one of the most concerning aspects of COVID-19. Students and community members cannot be tested through campus for the illness unless they are extremely sick, which leaves carriers with less severe symptoms to go untested.
My roommate and I were told we had post-viral infections and given medicine to treat that, but the truth is, we could very well have had the illness and not known because of arbitrary rules only allowing people very ill to access tests.
I’m still sad that graduation was canceled and I know that it’s a momentous accomplishment that I will never get back. But it’s more important to me that we keep people safe than having the chance to walk across the football field to accept a degree.
There are “asymptomatic” carriers of COVID-19, meaning there might be tons of people in the area infected with the coronavirus without any knowledge they are sick. There might be people who have mild symptoms who are unable to be tested and are unintentionally spreading illness because they think they aren’t that sick. We aren’t only putting the health of students at risk by not testing those concerned they might have the illness, we are endangering the nurses and doctors who are still working through the health center, members of the community that students might come into contact with while grocery shopping or performing essential tasks during quarantine.
But this isn’t only a concern in Arcata. The reason behind such arbitrary testing rules is because, as reported by The New Yorker, there is a critical shortage in medical equipment necessary to perform tests. This is why those who are extremely ill are being prioritized over people who don’t show as many symptoms. We simply do not have the resources to test everyone, so people infected with the illness are falling through the cracks, living their normal lives and potentially spreading the illness because they are unaware they even have it.
While those who are sick, but not sick enough, cannot get tests, celebrities who show no symptoms of COVID-19 are allowed to be tested, leaving medical professionals, sick patients and community members to wonder if their lives are less important than the rich.
I’m sitting in my dorm right now going a bit stir-crazy, still trying to find things to do to occupy my time while I practice social distancing in quarantine. Last week, my roommate and I painted canvases to pass the time. I started learning embroidery because I was that bored and today I went to my Zoom English class, then spent the day writing and watching movies with my roommate. We’ve downloaded TikTok just to pass the time.
I’m still sad that graduation was canceled and I know that it’s a momentous accomplishment that I will never get back. But it’s more important to me that we keep people safe than having the chance to walk across the football field to accept a degree.
Here’s how HSU received the trees and where you can find them
Humboldt State University has a handful of redwood trees grown from seeds that went to the moon.
In 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa brought around 500 tree seeds with his personal items on the Apollo 14 NASA mission to the moon. Roosa intended to test the seeds to see if space radiation would affect their germination. While he never set foot on the moon, he orbited the moon 34 times while his colleagues walked the lunar surface.
When Roosa returned, he sprouted most of the seeds. NASA then sent the seedlings around the world. Around 1976, HSU received a handful of redwood seedlings and planted them around campus. Some of those trees remain near the theatre arts and natural resources buildings and near the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology and Facilities Management.
Looking to the past to learn about the present pandemic
There’s a saying that goes something like, “In order to prevent future mistakes, we should look to the past for guidance.” While this current pandemic may be new to all of us, humans have gone through this before. Some of the more recent pandemics include the SARS virus, the H1N1 virus, Ebola and HIV.
The term pandemic is defined as something “occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population.” Obviously, the current COVID-19 virus fits into this category. While some of the aforementioned pandemics did not enact a devastating, history-altering toll on Humboldt County, another pandemic did.
From 1918 to 1920, the Spanish flu swept across America, resulting in an estimated 675,000 deaths according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The first official report of the Spanish flu in California was reported Sept. 27, 1918, just two weeks after an outbreak on the East Coast. By November 1918, the total cases throughout the state hit about 115,000—overwhelming doctors and government officials from north to south.
One of three doctors that helped Spanish flu patients in the Ferndale area.
Although Humboldt County sits in an isolated area protected by the “Redwood Curtain,” the area was soon amassed in its own troubles combatting the illness. Humboldt County had a population of about 37,000 people with Eureka holding around 12,000. The Spanish flu resulted in around 200 deaths (although it is thought to be much higher) and thousands grew ill.
In 2012, Humboldt State alumnus and McKinleyville native Jeff Benedetti-Coomber wrote a detailed history of the impact the Spanish flu had on Humboldt County. For it, he was awarded the Charles R. Barnum History Award by HSU’s history department. For his research he scoured through old newspaper clippings for primary source documentation. He read academic analysis on how the Spanish flu affected the entire nation and he cited Matina Kilkenny, a researcher and local author for the Humboldt Historical Society who also wrote about the impacts the Spanish flu had on Humboldt County.
What prompted Benedetti-Coomber to focus on the Spanish flu was its lack of local research. As his peers decided to look into European history, he decided to focus his attention on the effects locally.
“I was walking through the graveyard in Arcata and noticed a family of graves, not necessarily related to the [Spanish] influenza but it got me thinking about what effects the flu may have had because it was around the same time,” he told me over the phone from his place in Los Angeles. “Once I started researching it I saw how it did affect the county and I was pretty amazed.”
Benedetti-Coomber’s senior thesis, titled “Death In the Redwoods: The Effects of the Spanish Influenza on Humboldt County,” spans 30 pages and breaks down how each town dealt with the outbreak. He highlights what preventative measures seem to have worked and where officials, the public and the media went wrong and what they got right.
“It’s just like today when you tell people to do something and they kind of resist. A lot of people had that with the Spanish influenza and it was a reason a lot of people died, because they didn’t take it seriously.”
Jeff Benedetti-Coomber
Some of the highlights from his research that still stand out to him are how Eureka initially closed all schools, which flooded the streets with children. They soon changed their minds and brought the kids back into the school to try to quarantine the children. Another nugget of research that sticks out in his mind has to do with masks and the public’s initial reluctance to wear them.
“It’s just like today,” Benedetti-Coomber said, “when you tell people to do something and they kind of resist. A lot of people had that with the Spanish influenza and it was a reason a lot of people died, because they didn’t take it seriously.”
When the Spanish flu hit Humboldt, the United States was in the middle of World War I and young men from Humboldt were signing up to join the war effort. There were war rallies and large gatherings of people throughout the towns in Humboldt in the fall of 1918 as the Spanish flu began to creep in.
“Although the Great War was still the main focus in Humboldt County, more and more citizens were beginning to take notice of the spreading pandemic,” Benedetti-Coomber wrote.
Some of the newspapers in Humboldt at that time seem to have downplayed the seriousness of the Spanish flu. Benedetti-Coomber points to an ad that was in the Humboldt Standard by Vicks VapoRub that was “disguised as an article… and it assured readers that the [Spanish flu] was ‘Nothing new simply the Old Grippe and la Grippe that was the epidemic in 1889-90.’”
Benedetti-Coomber wrote that it is believed the Spanish flu was brought to Humboldt County by locals traveling to other parts of the state to help care for sick family members and then returning before symptoms started to show. By mid-October 1918, reports of the Spanish flu were starting to pop up in the local newspapers.
“The Humboldt Times also reported that there were roughly 150 cases in Eureka by [Oct. 22] and hospitals were short staffed. Doctors were so busy they did not have the time to report new cases or treat the majority of their patients.”
Jeff Benedetti-Coomber
“The Humboldt Times and Humboldt Standard newspapers offered daily accounts of what was happening,” he said, adding that they also seemed to not care about the Spanish flu at first.
On Oct. 12, 1918, four cases were reported in the Humboldt Times and those infected were quarantined in a “‘safe house’” on 8th Street where they could be quarantined and cared for,” Benedetti-Coomber wrote.
At first, the mayor of Eureka downplayed the danger to the public, but two days later, five more people were infected. By Oct. 22, 1918 there would be more than 150 cases and one death.
“According to the Humboldt Times, Mrs. Garber Dahle was the first person in Humboldt County to die from the deadly virus,” Benedetti-Coomber wrote. “The Humboldt Times also reported that there were roughly 150 cases in Eureka by [Oct. 22] and hospitals were short staffed. Doctors were so busy they did not have the time to report new cases or treat the majority of their patients.”
Action to combat the Spanish flu across the county began to take root. Arcata was the first town to pass a requirement that all residents had to wear a mask while out in public, and by Nov. 7, 1918, the entire county was required to do so. Emergency hospitals were soon established across the county with some residents offering up their homes for the infected.
Arcata escaped the pandemic with only four deaths, but the same can’t be said for Eureka and especially for the logging camps in the remote areas of the county. The number of cases grew in the urban areas, and by Oct. 23, 1918, the logging camps were left to fend for themselves.
“Logging camps and small towns were informed by the newspapers and from local physicians that they would have to face the Spanish Influenza on their own as all of the county hospitals were completely full,” Benedetti-Coomber wrote while citing a Humboldt Times article titled “Influenza Increases Alarmingly in Two Days.”
Young women wearing masks in Humboldt County.
But one logging camp was able to escape the pandemic with no cases at all. In her article, “Missing Faces,” Matina Kilkenny reported how Carl Munther set up a quarantine system for his workers who decided to go into town. (Kilkenny’s article has a number of great photographs of life in Humboldt County during the Spanish flu.)
“Munther required every person returning to camp… to stay four days in a tent he’d pitched some distance from the workers’ cabin,” Kilkenny wrote, adding that the returning workers were also required to work and eat separately from their peers. “Thanks to their boss, very few men chose to leave the Barrel Company camp and not one case of influenza occurred there.”
Sisters of St. Joseph wearing masks during the Spanish flu. The sisters helped many patients in Humboldt from 1918-1920.
Throughout her research, Kilkenny was able to find where a number of hospitals were set up across Humboldt. There was a Red Cross Hospital in Korbel, Arcata, Blue Lake and Eureka. Kilkenny also came across an interview between a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange in Eureka and a man named Brad Geagly. Kilkenny wrote the following:
“[Mother Bernard] sent [the Sisters] out in twos, in cars provided by the Red Cross. She armed each Sister with a kit containing camphor and sweet oil, castor oil, and mustard plasters. Into the homes… the sisters came, arriving at seven o’clock and leaving at the end of a 12-hour shift, to be replaced by two other Sisters. They would attend first to the adults….They would bathe the delirious victims completely, rubbing their chests deeply with the camphorated oil. Mustard plasters would be applied, and then the sisters would wrap the sick tightly in whatever woolen material they could find; then they would tend the children. Once they had been bathed and medicated, the sisters turned to washing linens or cleaning house. They fed their charges warmed milk and broth prepared from the food furnished by the Red Cross.”
Kilkenny noted that, generally, it was the poor who were admitted into the hospitals, while the more well-off were cared for in their homes. Because of this the actual tally for those infected and the deaths attributed to the Spanish flu is unknown. Kilkenny also points out how the Native American tribes were hit hard by the Spanish Flu as well.
“Of the [11] Native Americans whose deaths are on record at the County Courthouse, five were from Table Bluff, two from Hoopa, one from Miranda, one from Orleans, one from Requa, and one was a laborer at Korbel,” Kilkenny wrote. She also noted evidence that many Native Americans often refused treatment by White settlers around this time period.
Kilkenny was also able to find county death records from that time and noted that between Sept. 1, 1918 and April 1919, 175 Humboldt residents died with 91 of them between the ages of 20 and 40.
And so what can we learn from this history?
There is evidence that social distancing works by the example set by Carl Munther at his logging camp and how travel throughout the state can spread the virus. We can see how hospitals were eventually inundated with those infected with the Spanish flu and how staff were stretched thin. We can also see how it is important to get ahead of a pandemic and try to prepare as much as possible.
Humboldt County seems to be doing just that. They have recently distributed around 30,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to first responders and medical staff across the county. Humboldt State chipped in and prepared 1,250 COVID-19 test kits. Also, as I’m sure you are aware, we are in a “shelter in place” order that was enacted to help stop the spread of the virus and to give medical staff the ability to fight the virus without being overwhelmed.
Towns across Humboldt are also doing their part to help prevent an outbreak. Trinidad passed a moratorium on all short-term rentals and added some pretty forceful consequences to anyone who breaks it.
“Over the course of the meeting, council members added some teeth to the resolution with language saying that a single violation may result in the City revoking a proprietor’s short-term rental license for up to a year,” the Lost Coast Outpost’s Ryan Burns recently reported, adding that the county may consider a similar measure.
A stained glass piece by Humboldt artist Colleen Clifford.
As this thing progresses, we are all going to have to make some sacrifices, but we’ll get through it. Help out the elderly and the immunocompromised if you can. Help out each other by not going out or attending pretty much any gathering of any number of people.
Let’s all work together — but at least six apart — to help “flatten the curve.”
Blue mussels are a type of edible bivalve found in cold coastal waters. These orange-fleshed, blue-shelled mollusks are high in vitamin B and iron. Mussels and other bivalves feed by filtering water throughout their body. Bivalves, including mussels, can be deadly if consumed during red tide conditions.
You can forage for mussels along the California coast legally with a California fishing license. The legal daily limit for mussels is 10 pounds and you must carry a scale with you. Do not use tools to scrape mussels off rocks. This damages the mussel beds and is prohibited for mussel collecting. Instead, get a sturdy pair of gloves to twist and yank the mussel free from its byssal thread attachments (also known as beards) that secure it onto rocks.
Mussel gathering is prohibited in Humboldt County every year from May 1 to October 31 due to the warmer climate during this time, which facilitates the proper conditions for toxic algae blooms. Mussel quarantine may vary year to year. Always call the shellfish bio-toxin hotline before you plan on foraging.
Bio-toxin information line: (800) 553-4133 shellfish toxins/quarantine information
Editors note: This article previously stated an incorrect limit on mussel harvesting and has been corrected. We have updated information about mussel quarantine. Updated January 21, 2021
HSU, like all colleges, prepares for tough times and serious measures
Humboldt State University is preparing for an enrollment drop of around 20% for the fall and a budget cut of around $20 million by the 2022 fiscal year, according to a joint press release from HSU and College of the Redwoods.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, HSU projected an enrollment drop for total students of around 14% for the fall and had proposed a budget cut of around $5.4 million by the 2022 fiscal year.
Given the uncertainty of the next year, HSU is planning for an even larger enrollment decline and budget cut. HSU currently projects new student enrollment to drop by 30%. The specifics of what the budget cuts will mean are still being worked out.
“Many options are being looked at, including combinations of a hiring chill, spending freeze, operational changes, incentives for retirements, travel reductions, and more,” the press release said.
In a Zoom interview, HSU Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether said a worst case scenario projection might be only 500 new students and 500 transfer students admitted to HSU in the fall.
These numbers, to be clear, are projections. No one knows exactly how the next year will play out. Meriwether hoped HSU could keep enrollment and retention as high as possible.
“The sad part is, I don’t know,” Meriwether said. “There’s no benchmark. There’s nothing to project against. We could be doing all this and, you know, 1400 students show up—which would be wonderful.”
HSU is not alone. As noted in Meriwether’s Tuesday enrollment management report to the HSU Senate, colleges everywhere are facing enrollment drops amid the pandemic. The report cited articles from Forbes and the Associated Press along with some early data suggesting one out of every six college-bound students won’t attend college in the fall.
With education expected to shift to a more local focus, Meriwether pointed out that HSU already shifted to local recruitment in the last year with measures like the Humboldt First Scholarship.
Compared to an average of about 32 local students attending HSU per year in the last three years, HSU currently has 208 local students confirmed to attend HSU in the fall with the Humboldt First Scholarship.
“The good news is we’re not starting local recruitment today because there’s a problem,” Meriwether said. “That’s the best part of all this—is that we already have a really solid foundation that we built in the community over the last eight or nine months.”
The enrollment management report includes a graph of enrollment scenarios, with red lines for lower enrollment scenarios and a blue line for a growth scenario. Meriwether hoped for HSU to remain close to the blue line.
“Essentially, pray we get as close to the blue line as possible,” he said.
Meriwether pointed out that, since COVID-19 has hit everywhere, current students might not have much reason to transfer. If classes are still online in the fall at HSU, they will presumably be online everywhere.
“Let’s say a student says, ‘OK, well, you know, I want to transfer because I didn’t want this experience,’” he said. “OK. Well, the question will be, ‘What school are you going to transfer to?’ Because every school is stuck in this scenario right now.”
Nevertheless, the pandemic will likely temporarily derail HSU’s efforts to improve enrollment.
“Long term, you know, prior to COVID-19, prior to this hit, we had a plan of getting to an FTE of 7600 students [full-time students] in about four years,” he said. “So now, what if the COVID-19 environment says, well, gosh, it can make us take eight years to get there.”
Meriwether was optimistic that eventually, HSU would get through this.
“I believe that we will bounce back, and I believe we will bounce back strong if the hit is really bad,” he said. “This is a marathon. Enrollment is a marathon.”
Update 11:10 a.m.: a second email sent yesterday from College of Natural Resources Dean Dale Oliver and obtained by The Lumberjack makes similar points but does not give a specific number to the expected enrollment drop for fall beyond noting that a 15-20% drop was expected prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. We will update this story when we have confirmed the numbers below. The second email is pasted below.
Humboldt State University has issued a budget directive to take immediate action to prepare for the fall semester, including the freezing of open staff positions and the reduction of the number of academic departments, according to an email sent to faculty and staff of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Tuesday morning.
The email, sent by Interim Dean of CAHSS Rosamel Benavides-Garb, projected a freshmen class for fall 2020 of around 500 students, down from around 1,400 students five years ago and down from around 1,000 students for fall 2019.
“The scale and impact of our current predicament is grave and as a result our budgetary practice has to be reconsidered and reformulated based on the simple equation of demand and resources,” the email said. “We have become, de facto, a much smaller institution, which compels us to undertake a comprehensive reset at HSU.”
The email listed six directives, including requests to freeze all vacant staff positions, reduce the number of academic departments and develop online programs for current and transfer students to complete their degrees.
The email promised to make the process consultative and sustainable.
“We remain committed to “the student first” approach,” the email said, “and are extremely aware of the critical importance, now more than ever, of issues of social justice, equity, and inclusion in all we do.”
The full email is copied below:
Dear CAHSS Colleagues,
On April 2, the deans of all three academic colleges received new administrative directives from Interim Provost Lisa Bond-Maupin regarding the coming academic year. The directives are a call to action, issued in response to the budget and recruitment/retention reality at HSU. The Interim Provost reiterated these directives yesterday, Monday, April 6 in her Provost/VPAA Report to the senate.
As we all know, our student enrollment has been declining for several years and the institutional budget has been negatively impacted. The administration’s efforts to address the problem must now be reframed in light of new and profound challenges the current COVID-19 pandemic poses for HSU, and the CSU system in general.
We are projecting a freshmen class of 500~ students across all three colleges. Five years ago, the freshmen class numbered 1,400+ students. The scale and impact of our current predicament is grave and as a result our budgetary practice has to be reconsidered and reformulated based on the simple equation of demand and resources. We have become, de facto, a much smaller institution, which compels us to undertake a comprehensive reset at HSU.
The Interim Provost has directed the three academic deans to reduce spending and grow retention/recruitment. Her directives require our college to implement the following action areas immediately:
1. Freeze all vacant staff positions: This is indefinite or until each college develops a plan to organize staff support within colleges and across colleges.
2. Reduce the number of academic administrative units (departments): This needs to be planned immediately and be in place for this next fiscal year so we are reorganized starting fall 2020.
3. Develop online degree completion opportunities for certain existing majors in the last two semesters of their programs.
4. Develop two-year degree online completion opportunities for transfer students of certain majors beginning fall 2020.
5. Develop a partnership with CEEGE related to workforce development, responding particularly to a post COVID-19 context.
6. Integrate the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in the development and implementation of new teaching capacity.The Interim Provost has also indicated that she expects this process to be:
The Interim Provost has also indicated that she expects this process to be:
· Consultative with unit leadership.
· Consultative and collaborative across colleges.
· Sustainable by creating new retention and recruitment opportunities.
The deans of the three colleges have already begun discussing the directives. I have also initiated planning within CAHSS, in collaboration with the three associate dean fellows, and will continue to discuss budget with the chairs. We will move forward together, exploring multiple budget management opportunities to make our colleges strong and resilient in the face of present and future challenges. We can also regard these adjustments as unique opportunities to explore new and exciting programs to attract and serve our ever-diverse student population in a shifting and challenging workforce environment. We remain committed to “the student first” approach and are extremely aware of the critical importance, now more than ever, of issues of social justice, equity, and inclusion in all we do.
Sincerely and in solidarity,
Rosamel
Email from CNRS Dean Dale Oliver:
April 6, 2020
CNRS Faculty and Staff
Dear Colleagues,
Earlier today Interim Provost Lisa Bond-Maupin sent out her report to the HSU University Senate in preparation for Tuesday’s meeting. Included in her report was a call for collective action to prepare for fewer students and fewer resources in the next academic year. I’ve pasted the relevant section of the Provost’s report below my signature.
Current estimates indicate we could have 20% fewer students in Fall 2020 that we had in Fall 2019. This reduction is significant, and we must plan over the next weeks and months so that those students who start or continue with us in the fall experience high quality, engaged learning that will prepare them well for STEM professions and advanced study.
Three items from the Provost’s report that I want to highlight are personnel, administrative re-structuring, and online education.
Personnel: Although we will be finishing out the two faculty searches currently underway, and ensuring we have sufficient temporary faculty to deliver our curriculum, all other hiring is frozen for the moment, including those which are currently vacant and those which will soon be vacant due to expected retirements. Through improving business processes, realigning and reorganizing staff positions, and targeting professional development we will find a way to support our educational enterprise without hiring additional personnel. This work will be both necessary and challenging, and require collaboration with relevant unions and careful consideration of multiple factors.
Administrative restructuring: At the Dean’s level we were already planning a partial re-assignment for Associate Dean Rick Zechman to manage the marine lab while marine lab director Brian Tissot transitions from full-time director to FERP faculty. We are also being asked to reduce the number of administrative units in the college, meaning that some departments will be merged or reformed. This work will be done in close collaboration with the CNRS Council of Chairs and the other two academic deans.
Online Education: There are some programs in CNRS for which one of the following scenarios might make sense: provide an online degree-completion option for a group of students who have a year or less left to complete their degree; provide a degree-starter program for a group of first year (or transfer) students to get started with HSU from home during the fall 2020 semester, and then begin on campus in Spring 2021; provide more online sections of general education courses for undeclared students or majors from outside CNRS. For the moment, I recommend that faculty discuss within their departments whether one or more of these scenarios might be appropriate for their program.
For this week I am collaborating with the Provost’s office, with the other academic deans, and with a working group of CNRS Chairs to create possible models for administrative restructuring that can then be discussed among all of the CNRS chairs the following week. Relatively soon I will also set up a mechanism by which input can be given from across the college.
We face a significant challenge as a college and university over the next few months and years, but I am confident that we will find solutions that serve our students and the citizens of California well. My confidence rests solidly on the incredible talent, dedication, and creativity of our faculty and staff, whom I am proud to serve.
Best wishes, safety, and health to you and your families,
Dale R. Oliver, Dean
College of Natural Resources and Sciences
From Interim Provost Lisa Bond-Maupin’s report to HSU’s University Senate, April 6, 2020
Realignment of Spending with Reduced Revenue
In addition to supporting instructional continuity and Academic Master Planning, our division leadership is turning our attention to budget planning for next fiscal year and beyond. Prior to COVID-19, our enrollment picture for next academic year was apparently trending toward a 15-20% fall-to-fall (one year) student headcount decline. We were likely headed toward a reduction to the HSU budget for next fiscal year that was double that anticipated when the URPC created its annual budget recommendations to President Jackson. While the college-going enrollment impact of the pandemic is unknown for all in higher education across the nation, it is clear that the CSU and HSU will experience further decline in student enrollment. Given the enrollment challenges felt across the state, it is likely that impaction at our southern campuses will be lifted. It is highly likely that more students will choose for financial and other reasons, in the shorter term at least, to remain at home or closer to home to study.
While we await the release of up-to-date enrollment projections and budget information, Academic Affairs is implementing a few immediate strategies toward student retention and recruitment on the heels of the pandemic and toward further reducing our spending. As we do so, we are guided by the URPC principles and our own commitments to meeting the instructional needs of our students and protecting employment. In addition to continuing to adjust our academic offerings for Fall, immediate strategies also include:
• Working with each dean and director to reduce budget allocations for FY 21
• Freezing hiring in all open staff positions for now and planning to absorb staff attrition
• Working collaboratively with staff within and across colleges and budget units in Academic Affairs to reimagine and reorganize our staff support
• Working collaboratively with department chairs and faculty to condense the number of separate academic administrative units in the colleges
• Working within the Office of the Provost to realign and reorganize staffing
• Identifying academic programs ready to continue to offer upper division major courses online into next year and beyond to: a) help students in their final semesters to study from home and complete their degrees, and b) offer new transfer students an opportunity to complete their degrees online
• Identifying a COVID-era retention specialist in Academic Affairs who will support the continued offering of all existing retention efforts in a virtual format and will work in collaboration with ODEI to implement inclusive retention practices at a distance.
Each one of us will be implicated in and needed for this work. It is tough and unavoidable at this time. Each one of us has a very important role to play, now, more than ever in maintaining close connections with our students, helping them to problem-solve their educational needs and connect to resources and to stay connected to HSU. We need our students. And I think we are finding in their response to our transformed instruction – they need us. This powerful connection will ultimately move HSU through and beyond this tough moment in our collective history to the future we envision. Thank you.
A reminder of the few things we know that help prevent the spread of COVID-19
I received a text from a housemate recently recommending we all drink hot liquids and think happy thoughts to get us through the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, happy thoughts and hot liquids won’t save us.
In the midst of a pandemic, it makes sense that people will seek home remedies—they can give you actionable measures to take to try to inoculate yourself against COVID-19. But peddling bunk medicine like a medieval plague doctor only makes things worse.
Random herbs, hot liquids and happy thoughts do nothing against COVID-19 (neither does weed). What can help stop the spread of COVID-19 are these much less sexy things you’ve probably already heard, adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Social distancing. Hang out with yourself for a while. The crushing introspection may seem scary, but who knows, maybe you could learn something about yourself. The CDC gives suggestions on how to cope in this stressful time.
Frequent hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Sanitize doorknobs in your home. Sanitize your debit or credit card if you’re grocery shopping. You might even go so far as to ask to scan your own groceries at the checkout stand.
Don’t touch your face. According to disease expert Michael Osterholm, the virus behind COVID-19 chills out in the throat and lungs, and it likes to get in your body through your eyes, nose and mouth. Your hands provide an Uber ride for the virus straight into your system.
Also, cover your face. The CDC have shifted course and now recommend people cover their face with a cloth mask in public, especially in high-risk areas like grocery stores or pharmacies. If you have a sewing machine, here’s how to make your own mask. If you don’t have a sewing machine, the CDC provides a video on its site on how to make a mask out of any old cloth and a couple rubber bands.
Keep your body healthy. Eating a well-balanced diet, getting enough sleep and exercising all maintain a healthy immune system.
Find a new hobby. Don’t allow depression to set in from all the time spent indoors. Netflix is nice, but it’s not a hobby. Try reading, painting, knot-tying or bread-making. Blogger Matt Gilligan compiled a list of 19 inexpensive hobbies for self-quarantining.
Connect with your friends and family. Don’t gather with people in person. (No group hugs.) Instead, take advantage of your phone and call up your friends and family. For a more socially stimulating experience, use FaceTime or Zoom to have a video chat. Invite all your pals and make it a virtual party. If you happen to be posted up in a house with a friend, try to hang out with them rather than hiding away in your room.
We have no cure for COVID-19. A vaccine, by all accounts, remains a long way off. If you end up with the coronavirus, we only have treatments that can relieve symptoms as suggested by the Mayo Clinic, like Tylenol, cough syrups, rest and fluid intake.
I’m no stranger to distrusting authority or being suspicious of science—I grew up in Southern Humboldt and wasn’t vaccinated until I was a teenager. But for the sake of yourself and the rest of the world, put your suspicions aside and have a little faith in the only proven measures we know against COVID-19.
Alpha Psi Omega attempts a comeback with new students and adviser
Humboldt State University’s theatre fraternity is trying a comeback to campus (or it was, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak). Alpha Psi Omega intends to allow students to increase funding for competitions and student-directed shows.
Rae Robinson, the faculty adviser for APO, said the return of the fraternity excited her.
“The first chapter was like 1919 or 1920,” Robinson said. “There have been a few different departments as long as there has been Humboldt State.”
Robinson said APO was reinstated when she arrived at Humboldt State 14 years ago. APO had a few years of club work, but the group of students interested in the fraternity graduated. APO went dormant.
“We want to pull all of our performing art students together so we can all support each other better.”
Jaiden Clark, APO president
“Those kids graduated, the MFA was dissolved by the university, and it went under the radar for a while,” Robinson said. “Last year we had a new group of incoming students and they said, ‘We want a theatre club again,’ and I said, ‘We have Alpha Psi Omega.’”
APO President Jaiden Clark said they’re passionate about creating change within the theatre department by unifying performing arts students through APO.
“We want to pull all of our performing art students together so we can all support each other better,” Clark said. “We want to make more connections with more clubs around the school like the improv club and the circus club.”
APO’s fundraisers will allow students to determine how the money is used instead of the theatre department allocating funds. The fundraiser money will allow for student competitions and student-operated shows.
“School-wide enrollment is down, and as far as I understand, the school can’t afford to hire another faculty member to the theatre department. We need the students to feel empowered to do more.”
Jaiden Clark
“They don’t give us the money that we need in this department,” Clark said. “Neither have any schools in any theatre department that I have ever been to. So the students are going to pick it up.”
Clark said the theatre department is low in faculty members, and having a more unified body of performing arts students would better support the students.
“We lost a lot of faculty all at once,” Clark said. “School-wide enrollment is down, and as far as I understand, the school can’t afford to hire another faculty member to the theatre department. We need the students to feel empowered to do more.”
Professor Patrick Ulrich, assistant adviser for APO, looked forward to working with the students to reach their goals.
“I would like to work directly with the students,” Ulrich said. “Making money for their goals, serving their community, getting our name out to everybody and really just having an avenue for an honors fraternity.”
APO would give the students freedom to advertise themselves how they see fit.
“It really is in the hands of the officers,” Ulrich said, “who are all students.”
A moderate rainstorm will make its way through Humboldt County
A storm is hitting Humboldt this weekend will bring a considerable amount of rain.
Jonathan Garner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Eureka, gave us a preview of what to expect.
“All in all, maybe up to two inches of rain over the weekend,” Garner said. “I’m also expecting accumulated snow across the mountains for elevations mainly above 3500 feet. We could get a little bit of small hail and stronger showers and perhaps a thunderstorm as well.”
The rain is mainly forecasted to fall on Saturday but will linger in showers on Sunday. Expect high temperatures to be in the low to mid 50s with lows in the lower 40s.
“It will put a very small dent into our deficit. We’re about 10 or 11 inches below normal right now.”
Jonathan Garner, meteorologist for National Weather Service in Eureka
Garner said the storm won’t resolve our rain deficit for the year.
“It will put a very small dent into our deficit,” he said. “We’re about 10 or 11 inches below normal right now.”
Emily Read, a junior environmental studies major, is still around in Humboldt amidst the coronavirus outbreak. With the rain looming, she planned on not doing much this weekend beyond trying to learn a new program for an engineering class.
“I typically am fine with rain,” Read said. “I like it most of the time—but right now, since we’re stuck at home anyway, I kind of just am tired of it and I just want it to stop raining so it can be nice and warm.”
Jared English, a junior film major, also planned to remain indoors this weekend even though he was initially looking forward to getting outside and doing the one thing he can do in Manila—frisbee golf.
“It does kind of make me a little sad,” English said. “Because that means even more time inside and even more time isolated in this quarantine, and the rainstorm kind of takes that one thing away.”
Photographer and Sports Editor Thomas Lal captured these scenes from around Arcata on March 21 at the end of spring break at the beginning of Humboldt County’s shelter in place order.
The storefronts on the Arcata Plaza look out on mostly empty streets.An employee sits at a computer while a sign advertises that the business is still open during the first week of a shelter in place order.The shelves in the Arcata Safeway.The Humboldt State Library.A lone person walks through the mostly empty parking lots at Humboldt State University.The Humboldt State Library.The Humboldt State Library.A single person works at the Humboldt State Library.A carton of eggs sits on the shelves at the Arcata Safeway.A lone person stands just off of the Arcata Plaza.An employee puts up a sign in the door of the Jitter Bean on the Arcata Plaza.
The Weeknd’s fourth album, “After Hours,” has arrived
The R&B villain, better known as The Weeknd, has returned with his fourth studio album, “After Hours.” In this album, The Weeknd revisits the same themes of drugs, lust and heartbreak found in previous releases, but this time, with a different approach. In the past, his music has come off generally unapologetic, but “After Hours” brings a mix of emotions on his lifestyle.
After nearly a decade of partying and coming onto the scene in 2011, The Weeknd reveals on track eight, “Faith,” that he’s spent the last year sober. Still battling the urge to return to the fast life, The Weeknd comes to terms with the choices he’s made in “After Hours” and the mental war he’s fighting to avoid making those same mistakes.
Coming into this project, The Weeknd set the tone by dropping two pop singles at the end of November, claiming the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his lead single, “Heartless.” His follow up, “Blinding Lights,” is currently peaking at number two on the Hot 100 chart in the wake of the album release. He followed up in the second half of February with the title track, “After Hours,” as an unofficial single. The song is slow to build, but is equal parts patience and pop, making it clear that the pop-star style is here to stay.
“I will always prefer his earlier stuff. It’s just a sound you couldn’t have found anywhere else at the time.”
Alexa Noperi, HSU film major
Alexa Noperi is a film major at Humboldt State University, and she hasn’t been happy with The Weeknd’s direction since he dropped “Starboy.”
“I will always prefer his earlier stuff,” Noperi said. “It’s just a sound you couldn’t have found anywhere else at the time.”
The Weeknd’s gradual transition to pop music has left some of his day-one fans behind in the darkness of his mixtapes. Made official by his 2016 album “Starboy,” the style shift can be attributed to the success of his biggest single, “Can’t Feel My Face,” along with other pop efforts on “Beauty Behind the Madness,” including “Earned It” and “Angel.”
When he released his first EP, “My Dear Melancholy,” in 2018, the day-one fans that were left behind were delighted by the return of a dark Weeknd. With his latest release, The Weeknd is likely to disappoint hardcore fans again, as he mostly leaves behind the dark, moody atmosphere of his earlier music to make room for the pop sound that generated so much success with “Starboy.”
“After Hours” is a rollercoaster of indecisiveness. The Weeknd’s desires constantly clash with one another on his quest for true happiness.
The album begins with chilly instrumentals that build into their own pop section. The Weeknd flaunts his typical unremorseful attitude, claiming, “It’s too late to save our souls,” on the song “Too Late.”
“After Hours” is the most consistently solid project The Weeknd has dropped so far.
Track four, “Scared To Live,” marks the first shift in his approach. He begins to express remorse for his actions, as well as an authentic desire to leave the fast life behind on the stand-out track “Snowchild,” reinforced on the next song, “Escape From LA.”
Unfortunately, The Weeknd relapses, back to the fast life on his song, “Heartless.” This marks the beginning of the pop-star section that dominated the sound of “Starboy,” this time, with a heavy ’80s electro-dance influence.
“After Hours” then enters its final section, returning to the slower, chilly instrumentals that opened the album on the “Repeat After Me” interlude. The Weeknd concludes his fourth album, echoing a desire to leave the fast life behind and asking for one last chance at a normal life.
Though it may be missing the unique, dark sound of The Weeknd’s early music, found on songs like “D.D.” and “The Hills,” as well as the beauty and optimism found on “True Colors” and “I Feel It Coming” from “Starboy,” “After Hours” is the most consistently solid project The Weeknd has dropped so far.
“It’s not bad background music to try on jeans to. But I don’t think I will be playing it again.”
Isabelle Eddisford, HSU political science and dance major
This album marks a growth in his discipline, but also in experimentation. Following the massive success of “Starboy” and the widely-positive reception of “My Dear Melancholy,” the less-than-spectacular “After Hours” might just leave all of his fans a little disappointed.
Isabelle Eddisford, an HSU student studying political science and dance, felt disappointed that the new songs sounded the same. She described the album as something that would be playing in an Abercrombie and Fitch store.
“It’s not bad background music to try on jeans to,” Eddisford said. “But I don’t think I will be playing it again.”
With predicted first-week sales of 400,000 units for “After Hours,” The Weeknd’s continued success in the pop genre may mean the death of his dark times.
More Humboldt State students are electing to stick around, but there’s still work to be done
Corrections: a previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Casey Park as saying “We’re absent as an institution.” The quote should have said “We were absent as an institution.” The story also wrongly included “interim” in Jason Meriwether’s title.
Humboldt State revealed more students were staying on its campus rather than taking off for other schools or ventures in a Jan. 31 press release.
Tracy Smith, the director of the HSU Retention through Academic Mentoring Program, said she was proud of the work she and her peer mentors have accomplished over the years.
“I think Humboldt sincerely believes that whether students decide to stay at Humboldt or not is really a product of our entire campus community and off-campus community,” Smith said. “RAMP really is designed to support incoming students and them finding a place where they feel a connection.”
“85 percent of new first-year students said if they were given the option to choose a college again, they ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ would attend HSU again.”
National Survey of Student Engagement, spring 2019
A study done in conjunction with HSU by the National Survey of Student Engagement in spring 2019 provided some data on student perceptions of HSU.
“85 percent of new first-year students said if they were given the option to choose a college again, they ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ would attend HSU again,” the study said. “And 89 percent of first-year students said their overall experience was ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, compared to an overall CSU system rate of 84 percent.”
Jason Meriwether, Ph.D., vice president for Enrollment Management, said a few things have contributed to the increased retention rates, including Enrollment Management staff and related faculty streamlining the registration process and connecting students with support services—all in an attempt to create a sense of belonging for students.
“It’s the experience but it’s also the listening and packaging it into one,” Meriwether said. “So, all of that is about looking at the students and giving them what they’re asking for first, and using the resources that we have to create an experience for the student.”
Meriwether said his staff’s hard work has paid off by meeting student needs.
“We have to be aligned with what students are expressing that they need and putting ourselves in a position to support students,” Meriwether said.
“There wasn’t attention given to the most affected and traumatized students. And those are the students who went back to where we recruit from and said ‘Humboldt is not a place for me,’ and ‘Humboldt is not a place for you.’”
Casey Park, HSU alumna
He noted a growing trend at HSU of transfer students outnumbering first-time freshmen. HSU has needed to move around campus resources to accommodate the influx of transfer students.
“It’s about being nimble and seeing where the student population is going and meeting those needs,” Meriwether said.
Meriwether added that in recent months, the Student Disability Resource Center and cultural centers have received major face-lifts, which, in turn, have opened up more doors for students.
Casey Park, an HSU alumna, was glad for the rising number of retained students, but said the campus administration’s past actions around retention shouldn’t be ignored as a new wave of measures are enacted. Park is an Associated Students coordinator, but gave her perspective only as an alumna.
“We are still going to need to reconcile the years where we were neglectful of students,” Park said. “It’s going to take a lot of really good decisions to hold ourselves accountable for that and kind of be like, ‘We were absent as an institution.’”
Park said the HSU administration’s inaction regarding the Josiah Lawson case and other events affected previous student perceptions of HSU.
“There wasn’t attention given to the most affected and traumatized students,” Park said. “And those are the students who went back to where we recruit from and said ‘Humboldt is not a place for me,’ and ‘Humboldt is not a place for you.’”
I wasn’t prepared for the school year to end so abruptly
I’m no good at saying goodbye. Give me no time to prepare, and I think I’m even worse. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden end of the rest of my in-person senior year in college, I’ve had to say goodbye to several friends and colleagues with little warning.
This abrupt ending has thrown me off. I hate to whine, but I wasn’t ready to part ways with so many people. It takes time to reflect on others and consider what I want to say when I might never see them again.
No goodbye is easy, and no goodbye ever feels adequate. But it takes a while for the reality of a goodbye to settle in. The natural buildup of expectation over the course of the last semester of college, which Dan Chiasson wrote about for The New Yorker, helps to ease the transition between college life and post-college life.
Of course, not getting to say a proper goodbye is small potatoes compared to more serious issues people are facing right now, like losing jobs, homes or loved ones. Those things are awful, but they don’t make the little things suck any less.
Of course, not getting to say a proper goodbye is small potatoes compared to more serious issues people are facing right now, like losing jobs, homes or loved ones. Those things are awful, but they don’t make the little things suck any less.
In day-to-day life, it’s easy to let the specifics of what you appreciate about someone go unnoticed. Saying goodbye, for me, requires a bit of excavation into those little things. With some time, I can at least have a couple words to say. Even if what I say is inadequate, something is better than nothing. A couple words can signal a greater appreciation I might be trying to articulate.
In my most recent goodbyes, I’ve tried to give thanks to the person for whatever they’ve done that has made them worth a goodbye in the first place. I try to let them know what I think of them. Then I probably wish them luck. And finally, I might just say “bye,” which is too small a word to encompass all the emotion in a parting of ways.
There’s nothing wrong with any of that. It just hasn’t felt adequate. And it hasn’t helped that we’re supposed to be avoiding getting too close to anyone. Hugs or anything like them are off the table.
Maybe all I’m really getting at is that saying goodbye is one hell of a difficult task, and doing so right now almost feels cruel. Being a true digital age child, I browsed the internet for tips on saying goodbye and got some vague ideas and a suggestion to give the person a memento—which, again, doesn’t seem smart right now.
But no matter how much you prepare, goodbyes are always going to hurt.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations, you get my cliché takeways: if you have the chance, make your goodbyes worthwhile. Take time. And if you don’t have to say goodbye to someone yet, treasure them, and let them know how much you appreciate them as a friend or colleague or whatever else.
You never know when the world might be struck by a pandemic and you have to say goodbye without warning. Be grateful and appreciative and let those that matter know it. Oh, and wash your hands and stay the hell home as much as possible.
Mirage of safety causes mask supply to plummet and xenophobia to reemerge
The emergence of everyday people using surgical masks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass misinformation and the perpetuation of xenophobic ideas.
Myth: Surgical masks make you immune to COVID-19
Typically found on hospital workers and sick personnel as a safety barrier, surgical masks are almost regarded as invincibility devices, protecting the body from outside pollutants and threats. The implied purpose of surgical masks is to protect patients from the secretions of a doctor’s mouth or nose during surgical procedures or to protect doctors and nurses from infected patients. Either way, a basic surgical mask prevents the exchange of bodily fluids, not air particles. Surgical masks are often mistaken as invincible shields against all viruses and bacteria.
Surgical masks show no evidence of prohibiting the inhalation or contraction of the virus that causes COVID-19. The COVID-19 virus particles are too minuscule to be stopped by a surgical mask barrier. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “most facemasks do not effectively filter small particles from the air and do not prevent leakage around the edge of the mask when the user inhales.” In no way do surgical masks prevent or obstruct contaminated air.
While surgical face masks are virtually pointless against COVID-19, N95 filtering facepiece respirators are different. These masks are personally fitted to the face and “filter out at least 95% of very small (0.3 micron) particles, capable of filtering out bacteria and virus particles,” according to the CDC. These masks are typically worn by hospital and treatment personnel that come in direct contact with infected patients. N95 masks prevent the inhalation of micro-particles.
Truth: Surgical and N95 masks are running low
Due to the personal fitting of each N95 mask, they begin to degrade overtime depending on their usage, storage and environment. The assigned expiration date and high demand due to the current pandemic has resulted in an unexpected shortage in supply. Doctors are now reusing their masks, but they risk contamination due to degrading components affecting the protection and performance of the mask. Government administrations are requesting N95 donations as well as demanding some occupations to give up their assigned mask for medical workers.
While N95 masks are needed most, surgical masks are running low as well. Infected patients wearing masks benefit surrounding parties by limiting exposure of emitted particles into the air. The pandemic panic has misinformed the public to go buy surgical masks when patients and medical workers need them most.
Myth: DIY masks provide reliable protection
YouTube and social media platforms are advertising do-it-yourself face mask tutorials in response to the shortage in surgical mask supply. The misinformation has continued as people attempt to protect themselves with faulty protection materials. Bras and bonnets to sandals and plain cloths are being cut and trimmed to replicate surgical face masks. But, as previously mentioned, surgical face masks provide no protection against COVID-19 virus particles. Any alteration of store-bought or recycled material will have the same, if not less, protection against COVID-19 than a surgical mask.
Truth: Mask usage has reignited xenophobic ideas
Surgical masks provide zero protection from contracting COVID-19, but they have effectively reignited xenophobia. It’s completely normal for the mind to want to assign a face to an infected COVID-19 individual or picture what a threat would look like out of caution. Assuming someone wearing a face mask has the virus and extending that assumption past the mask, to their race or ethnicity, is disgusting, racist profiling. In a time of crisis, people should be exercising neighborly behavior and picking one another up, not perpetuating racist, profile-based assumptions on others in an attempt to accuse others of the chaos. It’s unproductive and invasive.
All classes to go online for the rest of the semester and other plans, plus a translation
Humboldt State University informed its students March 12 through email that classes would be going online following spring break. Concerns of spreading COVID-19 led the California State University system to suspend face-to-face instruction. HSU initially said it would be shifting to online classes March 26 until at least April 17. But in a March 17 message from President Tom Jackson, HSU announced classes would be taught online for the rest of the semester.
Jackson’s message said all exams, labs, field trips and in-person meetings are canceled. HSU encouraged students living on-campus to return home if possible. However, HSU promised it would not displace students living on campus.
Other notes from Jackson’s message included: non-essential student employees will work from home. Campus will close to the general public. Most of campus will close, with the exception of the Student Health Center, the University Center and the library, all of which will remain open with reduced staff. Finally, HSU said it will review alternatives to celebrate commencement.
HSU has also launched a web page with resources for working from home. HSU plans to provide laptops for students without computers and internet hotspots for students with no internet at home. Programs like the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite and SPSS are expected to be available on HSU’s remotely accessible virtual lab and for downloads to personal computers. Multiple phone and internet companies have also agreed to waive late fees, not cutoff service and open up internet hotspots.
HSU began updating students and staff through emails starting Feb. 24, when it informed them of the single case of COVID-19 confirmed in Humboldt County. They continued to provide updates weekly on how HSU would be handling a potential pandemic. The week before students were meant to head home or hunker down in Humboldt, HSU ramped up its online communications.
HSU suspended all international and non-essential domestic travel March 10 for the remainder of the spring semester. In a March 11 email, they defined essential domestic travel as travel for academic credits that are necessary for graduation and cannot be postponed or substituted.
Through several emails on March 11 and March 12, HSU canceled all instruction from March 23-25 to allow faculty to prepare for online classes. HSU then canceled all intercollegiate and club sports.
HSU canceled non-essential events on and off campus March 13. Essential events—following HSU’s previous definition of essential—are any events done for academic credit necessary to meet a graduation requirement that cannot be postponed or substituted.
On March 15, HSU noted the closure of local K-12 schools, and how that may affect staff and faculty. HSU later advised faculty aged 65 and older, or those with underlying health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, do not come to campus. HSU will arrange telecommuting for adaptable positions, but anyone not able to work remotely will be placed on administrative leave at their current rate of pay and for their normally scheduled work hours.
Humboldt State University President Tom Jackson’s March 17 Message to Campus:
Message from President Tom Jackson on Plans for the Semester
Dear Campus Community: Over the last week, I have had the privilege of observing the amazing work of so many people in their efforts to assist others. The work by all of you to not only protect yourself, but to care for your family and our students is beyond remarkable. We are a very caring Lumberjack Family and I thank you.
Things are changing rapidly and these updates are subject to change based on the fluidity of this situation. Every day, nearly every hour it seems, we are asked to pivot and address a new challenge in our efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Our guiding light remains the health and safety of our Lumberjack Family while also helping our students to progress in their education. At times these efforts may appear in conflict, but they are not. At the root of all we do is our humanity and our underlying willingness to do what must be done.
The time has come for HSU to implement a number of additional contingency plans and bolster our COVID-19 precautions. While there are no known active COVID-19 cases in our County at this time, and there have been none on campus, these additional precautions are consistent with recent federal and state health directives. In short, we must now do more to protect the health and safety of our campus and local communities.
HSU will operate virtually through the end of the semester.
Beginning today, we will shift as quickly as possible to virtual operations. Non-essential employees, including student staff, are to work remotely (telecommute) once they have received direction from their supervisor. Please continue to work with your supervisor on your work assignments and technology support needs.
It is important we reduce the number of people on campus. We encourage students who can return to a home off-campus to do so. We will not displace students who are facing housing insecurities or homelessness. More information will follow.
From Monday to Wednesday, March 23-25, the faculty will prepare for a complete shift to virtual instruction by Thursday, March 26. All professional development and preparation activities will now occur remotely. For the remainder of Spring 2020, all instruction is to be virtual and the primary operational state of campus is to be virtual. There will be no face to face meetings, events, instruction, exams, instructional labs, field trips, live performances, or small group seminars.
We have closed all access to campus facilities to the general public.
Most campus facilities will be closed to the campus community, including all sports and recreation facilities. We have also suspended all intramural and recreational activities for students. Any services remaining open for students – such as the library, student health center, and university center – will be operating with reduced staffing and must implement social distancing.
As a campus we must continue to carefully practice social distancing techniques for those essential individuals who remain on campus, including students in our residence halls who truly have no other place to reside, and the food services and other staff who are supporting those students.
Lastly, and sadly, we must review other ways to celebrate degree recipients instead of the traditional Commencement. We are a very creative campus and we will find alternative ways to celebrate our students’ success.
There are many questions to be answered, and we will do our best to answer them in a timely way. We will share more information soon as we prepare campus to shift to virtual operations.
We are resilient. From the Marching Lumberjacks doing what they do, to alumni making a difference in the world, to hiking in the Redwoods, to kayaking in the great Pacific ocean, we are Humboldt. This pandemic is challenging us but it will not break us. We are Humboldt, and while we may be socially distant for now we remain close at heart.
Thank you for all that you are doing. I ask you to be flexible and understanding as we work together to protect the health and safety of the campus community. You are appreciated.
Respectfully,
Tom Jackson, Jr. President
El Mensaje en Español:
Mensaje del Rector Tom Jackson sobre los planes para el semestre
Estimada comunidad universitaria, durante la última semana he tenido el privilegio de observar el increíble trabajo y esfuerzo de tantas personas que quieren ayudar a otros. El trabajo de todos ustedes, no sólo para protegerse, sino que también para cuidar a su familia y a nuestros estudiantes es notable. Somos una familia muy cariñosa de leñadores y se los agradezco.
Las cosas están cambiando rápidamente debido a la fluidez de la situación. Todos los días, parece que casi cada hora, se nos pide que viremos y abordemos un nuevo desafío en nuestros esfuerzos para reducir la propagación del COVID-19. Nuestra luz guía sigue siendo la salud y seguridad de nuestra familia de leñadores y, al mismo tiempo, el apoyo necesario para que nuestros estudiantes progresen en su educación. A veces, estos esfuerzos pueden aparecer en conflicto, pero no lo están. La raíz de todo lo que hacemos está nuestra humanidad y en nuestra voluntad fundamental de hacer lo que sea necesario.
Ha llegado el momento de implementar en HSU una serie de planes de contingencia adicionales para reforzar nuestras precauciones acerca del COVID-19. Si bien no hay casos activos conocidos del COVID-19 en nuestro Condado en este momento, y no ha habido ninguno en el campus, estas precauciones adicionales son consistentes con las recientes políticas de salud de nivel federal y estatal. En resumen, ahora debemos profundizar nuestros esfuerzos para proteger la salud y seguridad de nuestro campus y comunidades locales.
HSU va a funcionar virtualmente hasta el fin del semestre.
A partir de hoy, pasaremos lo más rápido posible a operar virtualmente. Los empleados no esenciales, incluyendo el personal estudiantil, deben trabajar de forma remota (teletrabajo) una vez que hayan recibido instrucciones de sus supervisores. Por favor continuar trabajando con su supervisor en sus tareas de trabajo y apoyo técnico.
Es importante que reduzcamos la cantidad de personas en el campus. Alentamos a los estudiantes que puedan regresar a sus hogares fuera del campus que lo hagan. No desplazaremos a los estudiantes con inseguridad de vivienda o falta de vivienda. Proveeremos más información sobre este tema.
Del lunes 23 al miércoles 25 de marzo, los profesores se prepararán para un cambio completo a la instrucción virtual, a comenzar el jueves 26 de marzo. Ahora todas las actividades de capacitación profesional y preparación se realizarán de forma remota. Durante el resto de la primavera del 2020, toda la instrucción será virtual y todo el campus funcionará de forma virtual. No habrá reuniones presenciales, eventos, instrucción, exámenes, laboratorios, excursiones, presentaciones en vivo, o seminarios de grupos pequeños.
Hemos suspendido todo acceso público a las instalaciones del campus.
La mayoría de las instalaciones del campus estarán cerradas a la comunidad del campus, incluyendo todas las instalaciones deportivas y recreativas. También hemos suspendido todas las actividades extracurriculares y recreativas de los estudiantes. Cualquier servicio que permanezca abierto para los estudiantes, como la biblioteca, el Centro de Salud Estudiantil y el Centro Universitario, funcionará con un personal reducido y se deben implementar distanciamiento social.
Como campus, debemos continuar practicando cuidadosamente técnicas de distanciamiento social. Esto se aplica a aquellas personas en roles esenciales que permanecen en el campus, incluyendo a los estudiantes en las residencias universitarias que realmente no tienen otro lugar donde ir, y proveedores de servicios de comida y otro personal que apoya a estos estudiantes.
Por último, y lamentablemente, debemos explorar otras formas de celebrar a los nuevos licenciados ya que no podrán tener una ceremonia de graduación tradicional. Somos un campus muy creativo y encontraremos formas alternativas de celebrar el éxito de nuestros estudiantes.
Hay muchas preguntas por responder y haremos todo lo posible para responderlas de manera oportuna. Compartiremos más información pronto, a medida que preparemos el campus para cambiar a operaciones virtuales.
Somos resistentes. Desde la banda de los “Marching Lumberjacks” que hacen lo que saben hacer, y los egresados que hacen una diferencia en el mundo, y las caminatas en los bosques de los gigantes rojos, hasta el paseo en kayak en el gran océano Pacífico, somos Humboldt. Esta pandemia nos desafía, pero no nos romperá. Somos Humboldt y aunque es posible que estemos socialmente distantes por ahora, seguimos estando cerca en el corazón.
Gracias por todo lo que están haciendo. Les pido que sean flexible y comprensivas/os mientras trabajamos juntos para proteger la salud y seguridad de nuestra comunidad universitaria. Todos son apreciados.
Ask Evergreen is an advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
Dear Evergreen,
How do I live in this pandemic?
Dear Concerned Citizen,
We’re living through history right now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many ways you can prevent potential exposure while still leading a balanced life.
Educate yourself. Learn about the causes, symptoms and preventative measures of this respiratory virus. The California Department of Public Health has pertinent information you should read up on. While Humboldt County is not on the list for community transmissions, it is offering lab testing for suspected cases of the illness. The CDPH news updates page offers consistent updates.
Isolate yourself. Don’t go out unless it’s necessary. While you may want to see your friends during spring break, don’t expose yourself to others who may not be practicing precautionary measures.
If you’ve traveled home for break, be mindful of where you go out. It’s OK to not do normal spring break activities. Avoid going to clubs, restaurants, bars and breweries. It’s unlikely someone diagnosed with COVID-19 will be out in these places, but for the benefit of the doubt, you never know if they’ve been in contact with someone who has.
Protect others. You may not realize how vulnerable certain age groups are to infectious diseases. Young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to become ill. These groups are also less likely to be able to fend off illnesses, so limit interactions with the outside world for the sake of those near you in these populations.
Prepare yourself. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Practicing all of the former will help you better understand this illness and prevent further spreading. Just like after any natural disaster, awareness is heightened and preparedness begins for the next event. We shouldn’t wait for something to happen to be prepared for it the next time.
Instead, we should always be ready for anything—cautious, but not panicked. Take this time to assess your emergency plans and supplies. Don’t stock up on unnecessary items like toilet paper. Do gather important survival gear to assemble a go-bag if you haven’t already. Ensure you have enough non-perishable food to last a potential quarantine or even a self-isolation period. Make sure you have your prescriptions filled, disinfectant stocked and all other daily necessities.
Advocate for yourself. Perhaps your work has shuttered its doors and you’re worried about your next paycheck. Speak to your boss about what this pandemic means for your employment. Conserve your finances. With the stock market as unstable as it is right now, it’s wise to curb your spending. Don’t waste money on another bottle of hand sanitizer—instead, invest in the necessities.
Relieve yourself. Don’t forget to take your mental health into account during this chaotic time. Reach out to loved ones and check on their well-being while updating them about yours. Find some stress relieving activities for you to do as you practice social distancing. Paint something, start meditating, study a new language or even do your taxes. There are plenty of things to occupy yourself with that are both peaceful and productive.
We’re in this together.
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Students react to in-person class cancellations due to global pandemic
As spring break arrived and the COVID-19 pandemic continued its tear across the globe, many Humboldt State University students wondered what to do as HSU canceled face-to-face instruction until at least April 17. Some students stuck around while others went home. The pandemic, directly or not, has affected all students.
“I feel like it’s a very serious outbreak and people need to take it seriously. I do think it’s getting blown out of proportion in some ways and people are panicking before they need to, but it’s just something I’m kind of trying to roll with, essentially.”
Ashley Bailey, molecular biology major
Ashley Bailey, a junior molecular biology major, planned to travel home. She admitted feeling stressed.
“I feel like it’s a very serious outbreak and people need to take it seriously,” Bailey said. “I do think it’s getting blown out of proportion in some ways and people are panicking before they need to, but it’s just something I’m kind of trying to roll with, essentially.”
Kiera Price, a junior journalism major, also said she would travel home. She thought both academic and national leaders should be more vigilant.
“I feel like instead of limiting social interaction, they should do more to prepare for it,” Price said. “Like, for example, the fact that there isn’t more of a stricter way to limit survivors from coming in.”
Price recognized there isn’t a lot to be done, but still expressed a longing for something more.
Tim Arceneaux, a senior English major, looked forward to staying in Humboldt. With a sigh, Arceneaux said he understood the measures taken by HSU.
“I think the precautions that the University is taking here and all around the country make sense, but at the same time, I find them to be really frustrating,” Arceneaux said. “I hope that this issue will bring the global community together and allow people to realize the importance of universal healthcare.”
Journalism major Kiera Price on March 13. | Photo by Gabe Kim
Film major Norbert Rodriguez on March 13. | Photo by Gabe Kim
English major Tim Arceneaux on March 13. | Photo by Gabe Kim
Arceneaux said there was one key thing HSU could do to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“They could try to alert students more about the health resources on campus,” Arceneaux said. “Because I feel like at this point, it’s almost an inevitability that someone is going to contract the coronavirus, and I’m not sure exactly what health resources are going to be available to students that contract the disease.”
Norbert Rodriguez, a junior film major, had planned to travel to Southern California to visit family, but decided to stick around once the coronavirus broke out. He said he thought HSU took too long to respond to the pandemic compared to other universities.
“At the moment, there aren’t any test kits [in Humboldt], so there’s really no way of knowing that there are any confirmed cases,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like it should’ve been a bit more proactive.”
Editor’s note: St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospitals have set up screening tents for patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
Mike Bloomberg is just another billionaire with outdated views looking for attention
We’ve all seen the campaign ads. “Mike will get it done,” they profess. What exactly has he done? He’s had 64 sexual harassment cases brought against him. He’s expanded the infamously racist stop-and-frisk policy in New York. He’s spied on the Muslim community. And he has bought his way into the primary.
Not to bring everything back to another bigoted New York billionaire who got bored with having too much money and went into politics, but Mike Bloomberg certainly does remind me of someone.
Were it not for the mark on the ballot calling him a Democrat, people would assume based on his fiscal policy and social track record that he was at least a centrist-Independent, if not a conservative-Republican.
Despite being a registered Republican from the beginning of his political career up until 2007, and an Independent until 2018, he chose to run as a Democrat. Presumably, to gain the support of both Republicans and party-line Democrats.
He’s an authoritarian, plain and simple. Party isn’t the real issue here. He cares about power.
Bloomberg has a long history of bigotry. While his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, first implemented stop-and-frisk, it was under his watch that the program grew to the widespread excuse for police brutality and racial profiling.
When it was brought up by critics that New York police officers were disproportionately targeting black and brown communities, he gave the rationale that, “That’s where all the crime was.” In addition, he justified having undercover officers stalk Muslim New Yorkers as preventative measures against another 9/11.
“We had just lost 3,000 people at 9/11,” Bloomberg said in an interview with PBS Feb. 27. “Of course we’re supposed to do that.”
If anything, Bloomberg is a more dangerous version of Trump. He’s smart. He knows that putting up a polished front and playing up the establishment card will make him look like the opposite of the current president.
Aside from his dubious past, Bloomberg’s current policy proposals are anything but progressive. While his website claims that Bloomberg will defend equal rights for LGBTQ+ Americans, he has stated as recently as 2019 that he considers transgender individuals as just “some guy in a dress,” or “he, she, or it.”
On his website, aside from a reference to overturning the military ban, he has nothing to say on transgender rights. By considering equal rights for the transgender community to be reaching too far, he betrays the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Being progressive is about supporting the oppressed and the marginalized. No ally insults the people they claim to stand with behind their backs and considers the value of their identities negotiable.
According to his website, his plan for climate change is to “restore America’s leadership in fighting the global climate crisis, propel the United States toward a 100% clean energy future, make environmental justice a national priority.” These promises are all incredibly vague, and his campaign has been silent on the specifics of how they’d achieve any those goals.
General promises of somehow solving climate change aren’t going to help us. If we want this planet to be livable for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren, we need to take serious and quantifiable steps to ensure it. The science says we need ambitious action. All he offers are glossy advertisements.
If anything, Bloomberg is a more dangerous version of Trump. He’s smart. He knows that putting up a polished front and playing up the establishment card will make him look like the opposite of the current president.
I’m not afraid that he couldn’t defeat Trump in an election. If Bloomberg wins the Democratic primary, the general election won’t matter. It’s a self-serving billionaire in office either way.
Natural hairstyles are often shunned, but these hairstyles keep hair healthy while representing cultures
“You would look so pretty if you straightened your hair,” is something I heard a lot growing up. So much so that for two years I straightened my hair everyday. It took three years of haircuts and deep conditioning treatments to get my hair back to normal.
That comment along with others like, “Your hair gets in the way,” seem small but take a toll on an individual’s self esteem. A lot of care goes into textured hair. Someone tearing it down hurts.
“It’s discouraging to know that there are not a lot of people that like or can handle your hair,” Humboldt State University student Dimitri Mark said.
There are still some schools in the United States that ban natural hairstyles such as braids or dreadlocks because they violate dress codes. I’m not sure how they violate dress codes—these hairstyles keep your hair back and can even keep your hair healthy.
In 2018, a video surfaced on the internet of a 16-year-old boy crying as his dreadlocks were cut off for him to participate in his wrestling match—it was either that or forfeit.
Hair comes in many different textures, lengths and colors, and should always be taken care of and accepted. Hair doesn’t get in the way. Get over it and stop trying to pick on people of color.
At the 2015 Oscars, Zendaya sported dreadlocks to go with her hairstyle. Giuliana Rancic, a host on “Fashion Police,” wasn’t a fan of Zendaya’s locks, which she said smelled “like patchouli oil and weed.” This comment almost led to the end of Rancic’s career. Rancic’s prejudiced words hurt, and they caused a riot against her.
The reason natural hairstyles such as big curly hair, afros, dreadlocks, braids and twists are a problem is because they’re considered dirty. Things like accents are considered dirty too, unless they’re coming from a blue-eyed, white boy. Many places in Africa, Italy, and Greece once considered braids to be a sign of wealth. Braid-making hairdressers were worshiped and highly trusted.
It’s understandable why schools have certain dress codes, but hair shouldn’t be part of them. If a school said I had to have my hair in a ponytail everyday, I’d probably fight it everyday and then get kicked out. Hair comes in many different textures, lengths and colors, and should always be taken care of and accepted. Hair doesn’t get in the way. Get over it and stop trying to pick on people of color.
National Police Foundation identifies issues and makes recommendations
By Grace Caswell and James Wilde
The National Police Foundation assessment team reviewed the first 72 hours of the Josiah Lawson homicide case and released a 65-page review on Feb. 20. The report included NPF’s response to the case and feedback for the Arcata Police Department.
NPF said APD responded professionally to the crime scene at 1120 Spear Ave. on April 15, 2017, but the crime scene lacked proper security and management.
“Many basic tenets of crime scene security and management were not followed in this case,” NPF said.
The Arcata City Council commissioned the report in September 2018 for $30,000. NPF is an independent, nonpartisan organization that analyzes police cases.
From August 2018-2019, NPF conducted 24 interviews and reviewed reports, transcripts and court procedures, including 50 hours of recordings and 6 hours of APD dashboard camera video. Due to the ongoing status of the case, NPF couldn’t interview any witnesses or partygoers other than first responders.
NPF said APD personnel weren’t trained or given access to necessary equipment, which are common issues in small law enforcement teams. As a result, APD couldn’t sufficiently manage the crime scene and investigation.
NPF recommended APD do more to communicate and build relationships with the Arcata community.
“The APD chief has an opportunity to institute a culture of ongoing evaluation of the department’s performance—especially in critical incidents or unusual responses,” NPF said. “This is how organizations grow, evolve, learn, and improve.”
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