By Sadie Shields 

In the world of wildlife photography, Krisztina Scheef approaches the art with the mindset of patience, ethics and education over the pursuit of aiming for the perfect shot.

Appearing as the Keynote Speaker for Godwit Days on Saturday April 18, Scheef discussed how she built her career in wildlife photography across the globe while also mentoring and encouraging young photographers to advocate for conservation. 

Her interest in photography began with a broader love of nature. Over time, her passion evolved into a career centered around sharing these photography experiences with others.

“I want to share with people who might or might not be able to see it themselves,” Scheef said.

Scheef believes that wildlife photography has the power to shape the way people view the environment and encourage them to protect it. 

“The more you see and fall in love with nature, the more protective you’re gonna get,” Scheef said.

In addition to having her photos featured in many magazines, Scheef mentors young women through Girls Who Click, a nonprofit focused on increasing representation in nature photography. 

Through workshops and the mentorship program, Scheef works with students to develop both the technical skills and understanding of ethical practices required to be a wildlife photographer.

Ethics play a critical role in the work Scheef creates. She serves on the ethics committee for the North American Nature Photography Association, where she promotes responsible wildlife photography.

“We are playing in their home, in their world, “Scheef said. “We need to be ethical and nice to them.”

One of the most common mistakes beginners make is expecting immediate results. New photographers often assume they will capture multiple high quality images without understanding animal behavior or the time required to hone their skills. Scheef points out how important it is to learn how animals behave, and how to approach without disturbing the wildlife they are photographing. Scheef discourages chasing animals, disturbing nests or using repeated playback calls to attract birds.

“These are things that can stress the animal,” Scheef said, noting that such behavior can disrupt feeding patterns and leave young birds vulnerable.

While capturing a strong image can take days or hours, the process itself is part of the reward.

For Scheef, some of the most meaningful moments come not from her work, but from teaching others. Watching young photographers become successful and develop an appreciation for wildlife is one of the most rewarding parts of her career.

“Seeing in their eyes… ‘I got a good photo,’” Scheef said. “Those are rewarding moments.”

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.

Compiled by Jasmin Shirazian

Jacob Christopher 

Political Science Junior

I’ve been going a bit crazy during the second half of this semester, so I found a particular kind of relief in making these images. RETROSPECT ON INTELLECT is a mixed-media series using digital photography that engages with seemingly obsolete technologies and methods to resurrect an early 2000s nostalgia into a post-postmodern expression of emotional accumulation online. I shot with a camera from 2002, worked with a small crew of friends, went to a party, layered in recycled colored plastics and moved files through different software and two phones. The workflow was deliberately impractical, an act of resistance against frictionless and disposable image-making. I think of the project as a kind of proclamation on the state of elysium, about memory, and how it entangles with whoever is in front of the subject. Drawing on the texture and layering inspired by the aesthetics of frutiger aero, I hope to have turned what could have been a photo of a stranger into a figure of imagination and projection. In that sense, the collection is as much about how we remember images as it is about the subject in them.

Sage Fowler

Psychology 

Junior

@imgonnadigahole on instagram 

I often find myself enjoying the process: entering a dissociative state that allows me to entirely devote my attention to each element of the piece. I’ve been focusing on developing my technical skills and becoming more familiar with various mediums before I try and explore a more consistent theme in my work.

That being said, I’ve noticed that I’m particularly drawn to portraying everyday moments and using color to take the tone in a different direction. I love painting those who aren’t what first come to mind as the conventional subject. I’ve been delighted to find out that I can create something that people emotionally resonate with!

Roland Asch

21

Psychology with a minor in fine arts and Indigenous Studies

I make art that, in a way, reflects my life. I think I can’t really make art without being sorta autobiographical. It’s really kind of like a visual diary in a way and therapy; if I don’t do it, I get kind-of ornery. It just feels like something I need to do. I love making art, and if you wanna see more, follow me on Instagram @Found_a_job.

Hayden Hilscher

Theatre Arts

Senior

I’ve been drawing and doodling since I was a kid, and it’s just stuck with me after all these years. I create because I just have to sometimes, even if it just leaves me with a bunch of unfinished projects. It has to get out somehow, and I’m glad when I’m able to use that to create something for my loved ones.

Mia Kelm

She/hers

Art History 

Senior

The Blue Heron was for a class assignment for my Drawing 2 class with a focus on drawing animals and the natural world. 

The Blue Herons sometimes represent the concept of being “resilient,” thus the bird represents me and the internal turmoil I’ve faced with personal issues concerning my mental health. I am becoming not just better despite my issues, but also finding resilience within them. The ribbon is still there, it just doesn’t define me…

Crowe Connolly

Wildlife major

Freshman

I don’t really have much to say about this piece other than I really hate losing my lighters, and I thought this would be a cool way to stop that from happening.

Jasmin Shirazian is the award-winning, curly-headed copy editor of The Lumberjack. Her beats range from breaking news to covering local performances. In her free time, she enjoys leaving the country and spending time with her cat. Inquiries can be sent to js760@humboldt.edu.

By Ariana Wilson

Sitting in the cockpit of the flight simulator, staring down the tarmac of Arcata Airport, the engine roars to life. We lift off, soaring thousands of feet above the Humboldt skyline, all from the confines of the library’s second floor. Meg Godlewski, Humboldt class of 1987 and journalism major, carved out a career and found the elusive balance between passion and profession as a writer and editor for Flying magazine.

Writing and aviation may not intersect on paper, but when “Death by Timebuilder” was published in Oct. 2023, her words circulated across the country and inspired change that is evident in today’s flying safety standards. “Death by Timebuilder” was a controversial article published in Flying magazine by Godlewski following the unprofessional conduct of an instructor, shaming a student and knowingly flying into severe weather cataloged on Snapchat resulting in two preventable fatalities.

“That story is now up in frames around the country, in different flight schools. It’s required reading because I said things that other people were afraid to say,” Godlewski said. “I threw it out there and said, ‘We have a broken system. We have these time builders who don’t want to be there, they pass the test, but they don’t have teaching skills that just come with time.”

Beneath the canopy of the Redwood Bowl, Godlewski recalls her days with the Marching Lumberjacks and the sense of found family that shaped her years at Humboldt. 

“Close your eyes for a minute,” she said. “Think of your best birthday, the thrill of your team’s big win, the pride of your graduation — that’s what solo flight feels like. It’s incredible. You feel 15-feet-tall, walking on a cloud.”

Godlewski remembers a time before information was just a click away. 

“[Artificial Intelligence]  slows me down. It just gets in the way,” Godlewski said. “It’s a tool, but like anything else, it can be misused. I compare it to a Swiss army knife. My father, before giving me one, made me learn what each tool was for — because you shouldn’t use a fish scaler to cut wood. AI is the same way: you have to know how to use it properly.”

Godlewski has always believed that humans are creators.

Surrendering the process and mental frameworks of creation to machines threatens humanity’s imagination and wonder.

Continuous learning has always defined her approach, even before her aviation career took off. 

“I study pretty much every night,” Godlewski said. “Once a year, I read the manuals for each airplane I fly to refresh my knowledge.”

Mentors from her early career shaped the leadership style she now brings to teaching. She walks her students through every inch of a flight pattern as they prepare for their first solo flights. 

“I give all my students call signs, even though not everyone finishes. I want them to remember the experience,” Godlewski said. “I am helping someone do something they’ve wanted to do their whole life, because someone will come to me, and [say] I’ve always wanted to be a pilot and I ask, ‘Why not?’ [And they say] ‘well, I’m 40.’ It’s doable. If you can find your butt in the dark, with both hands, a map and a flashlight, I can probably teach you how to fly. And if I’m not the right instructor for you, I’ll find you one.”

Reciprocity has defined her career, serving as a catalyst for a life of meaning. “Honestly, I don’t see myself at the end of my career, because I turned two hobbies into careers,” Godlewski said. “If I can help someone, I want to. Sometimes I’m not the right instructor or mentor, and that’s okay — there are others who are a joy to work with, and I hear from them later.”

Godlewski believes there’s a beautiful emptiness as we walk through life as wayfinders, charting our own course of self-discovery. “Recognize that you are leaving a bubble,” Godlewski said. “[Humboldt] is insular, but when you move on, nobody’s going to care where you came from. It’s about what you can do.” 

Ari is a senior journalism major and the science editor this semester with an adoration for the environment and conservation. She is currently pursing her scientific diving certification and plans to meld her journalistic passions with scientific research in the future. For any inquiries please contact ajw167@humboldt.edu.

By Kaylon Coleman

Within the confines of Cal Poly Humboldt, many a-student choose to express themselves in a multitude of ways. For senior ceramics major, philosophy minor and clay club president Socks Lucas, ceramics is their expressive outlet of choice. 

Lucas got into ceramics around the time of the pandemic at age 16.

“I was taking classes at a community college instead of going to a traditional high school. I just wanted to do something at home that used my hands, and that wasn’t staring at a screen,” Lucas said. “So, I signed up for a hand building ceramics class.”

At first, Lucas hated the class — but after another attempt in-person the following semester, they grew to love the medium and have stuck with ceramics ever since.

“I’ve done [ceramics] every semester since I was 16,” Lucas said. “I think I had one semester off, but I snuck into the ceramics studio here-and-there to touch clay.”

Lucas is heading to the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Arts (CCACA) this weekend, April 24 and 25 in Davis, Calif.. Lucas plans on bringing three pieces to showcase as a triptych — a term that refers to a three piece work of art showcasing a specific theme or concept.

“One of them is a cat with two apples on its head. It’s kind of reminiscent of my childhood cat who passed away last semester,” Lucas said. “And then a giant pile of apples with a little mouse in it. And then a pile of mice with an apple core.”

Lucas delved into the significance of the pieces. Naming the cat piece, “keeper,” the apples, “hold them close, pile them high” and the mice, “surrender.” 

“My work explores themes of childhood memories, comfort, grief and nostalgia. Personal experience, the emotions of my past, and my ongoing consideration of who I am drive the ideas I materialize into clay,” Lucas said. “These sculptures are a monument to all memories I have held onto: the good, the bad and the rotting.”

Lucas explained their creative process and how they get inspiration for their pieces. 

“Probably laying in bed, having an idea pop in my head and not being able to sleep for a few hours,” Lucas said. “And then, scribbling down a few circles on a page, coming in the next day and just having this extreme urge to just make something… the 3D nature of clay for me really allows me to just fully manifest it physically into reality.”

This process isn’t without its caveats though. Lucas explained the tribulations of ceramics and what inspires them to keep with it.

“It’s a tough-ass medium to stay in. There’s constant failings and disappointment,” Lucas said. “I crashed out about my pile of apples last week because they were too dark of a color than I wanted them to be… what keeps me going every day in the studio, though, is my friends in it. It’s a community.”

Lucas has no concrete plans for after graduation and remains a bit weary of having no studio space next semester, but wishes to go to grad school in either Alfred, New York or Boulder, Colorado with long term goals of teaching.

“I want to go to grad school, do some residencies and eventually teach at a four-year, just so I can sustain my art practice,” Lucas said.

Lucas also shared where their drive of teaching originates from. 

“I love sharing what I know about ceramics with other people,” Lucas said. “I think that process of sharing information is so beautiful, and I would love to share that with the broader world and also get paid for it. I think that’d be really sweet.” 

Lucas’ main passion around ceramics, however, is how it allows them to express emotion.

“I make my work to share the joys of my life with others and provide a space to hold their sorrows,” Lucas said. “Much of what I create is not intended to affect others directly, but to help me understand myself and how I move through life’s peaks and valleys. Through my work, I show you my old bruises that refuse to disappear, alongside the sweet reality I have built.”

Kaylon Coleman is a senior journalism major with a concentration in news and a minor in communications. He is the Life & Arts editor for LJ, Marketing and Communications lead for the Umoja Center and a part-time radio DJ and merch manager for KRFH. If you have a topic you want him to discuss, email him at kc403@humboldt.edu.

By Jasmin Shirazian

A dish served to distinguished lecturer Maral Attallah of the department of critical race, gender and sexuality studies at a Palestinian restaurant in the Bay Area, and a conversation with the owner in Arabic, brought her to tears. When community is limited, sudden access to cultural connections, like a meal and communication, can be incredibly emotional. The constant feeling of isolation that is so abundant in Humboldt County is amplified for minority communities. 

“My father passed away in June of 2024, so I don’t speak Arabic to people — I don’t hear Arabic, people don’t speak Arabic up here. It’s not a part of my daily life anymore, and that makes me really sad,” Attallah said. “[The owner] basically told me in Arabic, to enjoy your meal — and I lost it, because the last time I heard someone say that to me was my dad. My dad used to say it every time he’d bring me my meal.” 

Students of color who choose Cal Poly Humboldt often leave behind communities more diverse and supportive than what can be found in Humboldt County. According to 2025 U.S. Census Data, out of 131,647 residents in Humboldt County, 82% were white, with the second largest demographic being Hispanic or Latino at 14.6%. As of now, there is no categorization available for those of North African or Middle Eastern descent to differentiate from or collect data on, which can make it even more difficult to connect and form communities. Though some minority groups are able to find a semblance of similarity to what may feel like home through established groups and organizations, for students with Middle Eastern, North African and West Asian ancestry, cultural connections can be much harder to find. 

Attallah is of Armenian and Assyrian descent on her father’s side. She has made it her life’s work to tell the facts and stories of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, which includes her grandfather. Through her work, she connects with her heritage; she keeps her father and grandfather’s experiences alive, refusing to let their stories be told for them.

Food in many cultures serves as a pillar of community; it can provide an opportunity to sit, relax and take time to connect with loved ones. For Attallah, language and food are key components of her connection to her roots. However, enjoying a West Asian, Middle Eastern or North African dish, like the Kafta bil Saniyeh that brought Attallah to tears, often means venturing outside of Humboldt County. Though there are a handful of establishments that serve Mediterranean foods and inspired dishes, the selection is limited. Attallah, when able, will leave Humboldt County specifically to get back in touch with diversity. 

“Any opportunity I get to leave Humboldt, I do,” Attallah said. “I have to leave — I need the food, I need the language, I need to see people who look like me. Not even like me, but just different.” 

The simple act of shared words over a dish can have unexpected impacts on minority communities that have limited access to their culture. When going out is not an option, learning to cook at home is something many diaspora, like fisheries biology major Neshwa Rabie, must  do to reconnect with their roots. Rabie, of Jordanian descent on her father’s side, lived in Jordan until she was six years old. Like Attallah, she finds that speaking Arabic, especially with her family, is what helps her feel most at home. 

“I have my old pictures from Jordan that I have in my room,” Rabie said. “But, mostly, it’s just speaking to my family, because that gives me a chance to speak Arabic and that makes me feel really connected to my roots.”

Rabie also stays connected with her roots through her pride of being Arab. The comfort and joy she has in her identity are undeniable aspects of her person. 

“I like to think that every room I go into, I want people to know I’m Arab, I’m Jordanian,” Rabie said. “This is who I am. This is a very big part of my identity. This affects how I do everything, and everybody should know that that is who I am.”

While food and language can serve as the connection for many, other students like Leyla Craven use art and art history to reconnect with their heritage. 

Craven, a double major in art history and art education, is Iranian on her father’s side and has based her thesis on Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. Craven also incorporates traditional Iranian motifs into her art as a way to reclaim and reconnect with her heritage. One of her main reasons behind her art is her insistence that Iranian voices must be heard. She believes that through art, Iranian voices can be amplified to show the nuances that are often pushed aside due to distance, misinformation or propaganda. 

“Obviously, especially here in Humboldt, but just in the whole Western world in general, there’s not a lot of Iranian representation,” Craven said. “So, we should make as much stuff and get our voices out there as much as possible, especially to avoid [being] turned into a monolith.” 

For Craven, creating Iranian-inspired art also further connects her to other Iranian diaspora. The act of creation can feel like the connection that has been fractured from both civil wars and foreign intervention. For diaspora, it can be one of the few ways to form community. The disconnect felt being removed from a home that housed generations of a person’s family can be slightly remedied through the connection found within the diaspora. Through these connections, Middle Eastern, West Asian and North African diaspora are able to rebuild their community.

“I think a lot of Iranian artists are about being a part of the diaspora, about being disconnected from their cultures and from their families,” Craven said. “We’re all connected internationally through the act of making art and communicating with each other as a way for us to sort of reclaim a sense of heritage or belonging. Because for so many of us, our families are so fractured and traumatized, it’s a way to find connection.”

Jasmin Shirazian is the award-winning, curly-headed copy editor of The Lumberjack. Her beats range from breaking news to complaining about minor inconveniences. In her free time, she enjoys leaving the country and spending time with her cat. Inquiries can be sent to js760@humboldt.edu.

By Kaylon Coleman

Over the weekend, I attended the last show for Bat Boy: The Musical hosted by the Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Dance, Music and Theatre. To fully immerse myself in the experience, I decided to channel my inner bat and walk in blind. I know it’s in the name, but it wasn’t until I was smack-dab in front of the Van Duzer that I realized I was attending a musical. 

Now, it’s been a minute since I’ve basked in the theater arts, ironically six or seven years probably — but I believe this is the first time I’ve ever witnessed a musical live. The play itself lasted about two-and-a-half hours, with an intermission included. For those unaware, Bat Boy is about… well, a bat-boy. Bat Boy, later dubbed Edgar, is stumbled upon by some cave explorers while spelunking. After getting captured and brought to the surface, Edgar is caged as the townspeople decide whether to string him up as entertainment or to put him down via the town doctor, Dr. Parker.

The first act of the musical consisted of Edgar getting accustomed to human life, learning how to walk the walk, talk the talk, so on and so forth. This presented itself through 13 different songs sprinkled throughout the first act. I know musicals get a bad wrap a lot of the time, but I think the fact that I was watching this live immersed me more than a traditional movie-musical. I need to give props to Rylan McClain, a.k.a Dr. Parker. Everybody who sang did a great job, but McClain’s vocals stuck with me. He was belting up there like his rent was due. 

The play, while more serious leaning, did indulge in some bouts of comedy. One moment that made me laugh was when Edgar was showing off his progression as a civilized individual, and replied to someone with the term, “indubitably.”

  It took me some getting used to, but by the end of act one, I was fairly brought on board the Bat Boy train. All this changed during act two however. After a brief intermission, the play resumed with Edgar attending the revival service they chose to hard launch his progression at. After some snafu’s, Edgar flees into the wilderness, with the townsfolk hot on his tail. This is where the play started to lose me, to no fault of the performers. It just seemed as though the story completely flipped from where I thought it was going. There was a plot twist that I assumed would be the case, but did not end how I thought it would. 

Bat Boy: The Musical is one of few productions I’ve seen that have left me speechless for the most part, which might just be a symptom of live theater, who knows. I applaud the performances of each cast member, and extend my applause to the band as well, which did an amazing job of immersing the audience. Keep live theater alive!

Kaylon Coleman is a senior journalism major with a concentration in news and a minor in communications. He is the Life & Arts editor for LJ, Marketing and Communications lead for the Umoja Center and  and a part-time radio DJ and merch manager for KRFH. If you have a topic you want him to discuss, email him at kc403@humboldt.edu.

by Nick Escalada

Cal Poly Humboldt’s highest rollers, many of whom were under 21, arrived at the Student Activities Center (SAC) lounge dressed to the nines for an evening of non-monetary gambling. Student employees at the center appeared as the house’s dealers, hosting games of poker, roulette and blackjack across a U-shaped arrangement of tables in the familiar hall bathed in red light.

The event drew swaths of students living in the on-campus dorms to what many saw as a flicker of night life at a university with a usual nine-o-clock bedtime. Amanda Kachevas, programming coordinator of the SAC, was excited to provide residents with the opportunity for after-hours recreation for the fourth year in a row.

“There’s so many people who live on campus and don’t necessarily have things to do in town. Not everyone’s 21 or has a party to go to on the weekend,” Kachevas said. “This event kind of fulfills that party atmosphere. And we used to always get requests to stay open late for events, and we found that this event specifically has like the big draw all the way into the night, almost more so than concerts sometimes.”

As fun as it would be, the SAC does not have a gambling license under the State of California, so its tables were open to all ages and dealt in imaginary cash. Guests were each given a Santi book, named after Operations Coordinator Santiago Menjivar, which granted them a starting total of $10,000 to play with throughout the night.

“It’s really low stakes, and we just teach people how to play so that they can have poker nights at their house and stuff like that,” Kachevas said. “At the end of the night, whoever has the most chips at the end can win a poker set.”

The idea for Casino Night came about when staff looked at events held in the student centers of other universities, and some version of a dapper gambling function seemed to always pop up.

Professional dealers were hired for its first outing, but after slashes to funding and requests from SAC student workers, attendees now receive their hands from decks shuffled by their peers.

“There’s a lot of tiny, nitty gritty things, like getting our student staff together and asking them, ‘Okay, do we want student dealers this time? Do we want to bring in a professional dealing company?’” said Events and Media Lead Riley Hemenober. “But, the students always want to just deal themselves, because it makes it more fun. You can go sit at a table and your friend is the dealer, and I think it makes it fun.”

Guests were encouraged to dress their best to match the lounge’s glitzy atmosphere, and a ‘best couple’ fashion contest was held at the end of the night and decided by the cheers of the surrounding crowd. Clad in black and red blazers and dresses, the congregation of high rollers seemed worlds apart from their casual daytime appearances.

“Students love the opportunity to dress up and dress fancy, because there’s not really events [like this] that happen on campus,” Hemenober said. “Students also love some free giveaways, and so we always try to do that too. We hand out little gifts and [hold] different competitions. So, that way, students have that opportunity to get something on their way out.”

Student workers are eager to bring more opportunities for late night fun to the SAC in the future. The Kate Buchanan Room in the lounge was formerly a venue for frequent musical performances, which included student bands. The room has since become a reservable space for on-campus organizations, but the push for the return of live concerts continues.

Nick is the news editor at The Lumberjack, and studies wildlife and journalism with the goal of spreading his love of nature through media. Chat with him at ne53@humboldt.edu!

By Jacqueline Zuniga

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more present across different majors, students in art, journalism and English share similar thoughts about how it will affect creativity. While some may see AI as a helpful tool for brainstorming or drafting, some think it could weaken the originality of people’s creativity. On April 10, Journalism Professor Yumi Wilson at San Francisco State University led a discussion at Humboldt’s 2026 Media Day where local high school students could learn from fellow journalists about the field. Wilson explained how she sees AI used in her daily life and work, and that it should be utilized rather than ignored. “AI is being used, whether we talk about it or not,” Wilson said. “We need to talk about it… and maybe even set guardrails in place.” 

Rather than replacing core reporting skills journalists have, AI is being used as a tool in the newsroom. Wilson explained that journalists can use AI to help generate story ideas, proofread drafts and analyze information they have gathered. But, she does emphasize that it shouldn’t be replacing core skills journalists have. She emphasizes that journalists still have to use AI responsibly and not allow it to do all the work. 

“I think we need to be open about the usage, and maybe even set guardrails in place,” Wilson said.

Wilson thinks that the process of using AI tools is like being in a newsroom. You’re not working alone, you’re getting help from editors, photographers and others to help improve your story. They provide feedback and fix errors they might see. She made the argument that AI could help support some of those processes. 

“If we could think about AI tools doing some of that work, but not replacing what we do, might it be a good application?” Wilson said.

The conversation and concern surrounding AI impacts many fields. Another area where AI usage is heavily debated is within the arts. Adrian Conner, a studio arts major, feels that because AI isn’t part of their coursework at Humboldt, it hasn’t had an impact on their education or artistic practice. He feels that art students’ work is more physical and requires hands-on activities, whereas AI is all digital. Within that, Conner worries about people using AI for creative work.

“Art, for me, is the human mind and the human experience, and if you’re using a chatbot to come up with ideas for you, maybe your ideas aren’t good enough to be shared,” Conner said.

Some art students see AI as a tool that must be used carefully.

Studio arts major Jennifer Flores said that AI can be helpful in certain situations, but it can’t replace human work. Flores added that while AI may continue to grow and have its useful moments, it cannot replace the value of human expression. The AI conversation continues to impact a wide range of students and fields, with varying stances. Junior English major Riley Torres feels that AI can actually hurt people’s writing creativity and voice. 

“It may reduce a person’s creativity and make them rely on technology instead of developing their own ideas and voice over time,” Torres said. 

Fellow English major Nathan Casey shared his  perspective on AI. He acknowledges that there are risks when it comes to using AI for writing, but he also sees the potential in using tools to help generate ideas. He still thinks students should be responsible for what they write and not let AI do all the work. 

“AI can help students explore ideas more easily, but it’s often used inappropriately,” Casey said. “If you give all your writing to AI, you’re not improving — and you won’t get better.”

. 

Jacqueline is a journalism major, a news manager for KRFH and she aspires to be a sports journalist one day.

By Sadie Shields

An idea formed by clubs and organizations 25 years ago has finally come into fruition as the LGBTQ+ center opens its doors. The Q Center aims to provide coordinated support, resources and advocacy which was originally unable to be provided.

It all began with one man, Eric Rofes, an openly gay professor at Humboldt who tragically passed in 2006 of a heart attack. Before he passed, Rofes served as director of the Los Angeles LGBT center and as executive director of the Shanti Project, a non profit AIDS service organization.

For many queer representing students, faculty and staff at this institution, his loss was heavy.

“He passed away unexpectedly… and he was a pretty strong presence here,” said Loren Cannon, a professor and author at Cal Poly Humboldt.

In remembrance of Rofes’ work and contribution to the university in 2006, one of the first queer spaces created on campus was named the Eric Rofes Center (ERC) in his honor. After its creation, the ERC became a foundation for queer community-building on campus — but while meaningful, the space was confined.

Efforts to establish a fully funded Queer Center have been ongoing, but repeatedly stalled over the years.

“There have been more than a few attempts to have an actual queer center,” Cannon said. “Most schools have had queer centers for 20 to 30 years.”

Constant administrative turnover was believed to be the main obstacle preventing the center from opening. 

“Typically, they stay around for three to six years…and then you’re kind of back to the starting place,” Cannon said.

Another roadblock was the lack of clear data on LGBTQIA students, due to long standing stigma around identity disclosure.

“When I was here in ‘06, I was the only out trans faculty member,” Cannon said. “Now, we have many more students identifying.”

Elias Pence, coordinator at the Q center, also noticed the shift and how more students are openly identifying as LGBTQIA members today.

“People are identifying openly, which helps us get an idea of our population,” Pence said.

Since then, Cal Poly Humboldt has taken steps towards inclusion, including gender-inclusive housing, restrooms and tracking of LGBTQIA student data.

“I think we certainly have a more accepting place,” Cannon said. “But, it’s kind of mixed. Sometimes it feels like the tide’s coming in, sometimes it feels like the tide’s going out.”

Despite this progress, it is very evident that the rising political tensions, especially around transgender rights, have created a major concern within the community. One of these ways is scapegoating, which is a process of blaming a person or group for problems they did not cause.

“What we’ve seen now looks like classic scapegoating,” Cannon said. “You have a relatively small group, and then, you conjure the monster of trans people.”

This type of scapegoating has not decreased the queer population that is now coming out, but has created signs of anxiety. 

“I have not seen any decrease; what I have seen is a lot of fear and a lot of distress,” Pence said.

Still, no matter the environment, students will continue to be who they desire to be.

“We’re still gonna transition, we’re still gonna change our names,” Pence said. “We’re gonna do all of it.” 

The Queer Center marks the first step on a long journey, and the work is still ongoing.

“We have to realize this is a marathon, it’s not a sprint,” Cannon said. “We might have to be involved in this work for a long time.” 

After 25 years of advocacy, setbacks and most importantly persistence, the Queer Center does not just stand as one of the newest resources available for Queer students on this campus, but also as a symbol of a community that, now more than ever, refuses to be invisible. 

“Let’s fight back, let’s resist dehumanization, let’s protect each other,” Pence said. “Let’s build beautiful things.”

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.