The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: crime

  • University releases annual security report

    by Jake Hyslop

    Cal Poly Humboldt made its annual Security Report under The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act public. The report details crime statistics that have occurred during the past three years, from 2020 to 2022. 

    The Jeanne Clery Act was signed into law in 1990. The act is a consumer protection law meant to provide transparency to the public around campus crime policy and statistics. Nicki Viso became the Clery Director in February 2022, heading up the Clery Compliance Team which is composed of representatives from many Cal Poly Humboldt departments. 

    The crimes reported are sorted into four categories based on where they happened. These include reported incidents on the general campus, on campus residencies, non-campus locations affiliated with the school, and public property near or adjacent to the campus. 

    There were no hate crimes reported during the three year stretch of 2020 to 2022 in the report. While there were no reports of murder or non-negligent and negligent manslaughter, there was a large increase in rape cases, from two incidents in 2021 to 11 in 2022. There were also increases in incidences of fondling, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, arson, and other crimes. Some were small increases (like robbery from zero to one case) and some were larger (like weapons law violations from three to seven). 

    The Clery Compliance Team noted these increases in the report. August 2022 was the point that campus opened fully, with an increase of people on campus and returning to in-person classes as the reasons. Another change the team cited was that Comfort Inn in Arcata, currently housing students, was included and classified under “Non-campus Property.”  

    It’s important to clarify that any allegation that fits the criteria of a specific crime and occurs within the geographical locations specified by the Clery report are included. Not every crime statistic included in the report is proof that a crime definitively happened. Furthermore, crimes are recorded under the year they’re reported, even if they occurred a previous year. 

    The Clery Act Report is available on Cal Poly Humboldt’s Clery Act Compliance webpage, as well as information to help understand it.

  • Give Me More Than Vague Emails on Campus Crime

    Give Me More Than Vague Emails on Campus Crime

    HSU notifications lack conviction or specific plans of action

    If you’ve checked your email at all within the past couple of months, you’ve most likely read one of the several notices Humboldt State University sent to the campus in regards to incidents of vandalism, racist messages or off-campus crimes.

    Just this semester, HSU notified students via email of numerous instances including racist graffiti on Dec. 7, racist vandalism in a residence hall restroom on Nov. 13, anti-Semitic flyers put up around the campus on Oct. 25 as well as on Sept. 17 with an email notification of a stabbing that happened off campus.

    • An HSU notification sent out Dec. 7 regarding racist graffiti found on campus.

    The emails for the first three incidents listed came a day or less after the occurrence and after the police department had found and cleaned up the perpetrators’ messes. However, the notice about the off-campus crime was sent out a month after the crime itself, which was the stabbing of a student on Aug. 26. HSU seemingly weighed in to clarify because, “recent media accounts and headlines about the incident were filled with many different narratives.”

    Each message HSU sends follows a general formula.

    One paragraph is what the University allots for all of these incidents of crime on or near campus. They follow it up with multiple paragraphs about how the University has no place for racism or violence, and provide the usual list of resources students can take advantage of if they need support.

    But aside from erasing the evidence of the crimes and repeating where students can go ad nauseam, they have never taken any direct action to combat the trend that is clearly going on.

    The messages claim that the University Police Department is investigating these issues, but they have not given any further information as to what they actually plan to do to prevent any further instances of hate speech or vandalism in the future.

    Students have a right to get their education at a school that strives for active protection, not just passive written defense.

    Benjamin Zawilski

    El Leñador reported that “the NAACP penned a letter in April of 2018 condemning HSU’s administration for failing to take an active role in addressing racism and safety concerns in the City of Arcata and Humboldt County, thus endangering the lives to whom it extends acceptance letters.”

    HSU students ought to be able to trust the administration of their school to communicate with them in these situations. But the administration’s lack of vigilance and initiative extends even to direct threats to the safety of students. Last April, they took almost a full 24 hours to send a message that a student had committed assault on campus.

    The administration will not show any sign of actually protecting the safety of the students like they claim to until they take real steps to improve their transparency.

    Students have a right to get their education at a school that strives for active protection, not just passive written defense. The first step might be for administration to disclose crimes that have happened before they have absolutely no choice but to do so.

  • HSU student dies after stabbing

    HSU student dies after stabbing

    By | Andrew George Butler

    3:14 p.m. 4/19: The District Attorney’s office said Kyle Zoellner’s case is still under review, and a decision has not yet been made. Arcata police are urging that the author of an e-mail giving an eyewitness account of the incident come forward to APD.

    9:24 a.m. 4/17: Arcata police have arrested Kyle Zoellner, 23, in connection with the killing of 19-year-old David Lawson.

    1:01 p.m. 4/16: The victim’s name was David Lawson, a 19 year old sophomore attending HSU. The incident occurred on the 1100 block of Spear ave in Arcata, CA.

    A HSU student died early Saturday morning after a stabbing that took place at an off-campus location in Arcata. Arcata police have taken a suspect into custody. The name of the victim is being withheld until the family is notified.

    The Lumberjack will update as more details become available

    1:44 pm 4/15:

    The student was 19 years of age. The suspect detained by APD is not a student at HSU. The stabbing took place at 3 a.m. Saturday morning, during a fist fight at a house party (source: The Journal).

    HSU President Lisa Rossbacher released the following statement:

    “Dear University Community:

    I am deeply saddened to share news with you that one of our students has died after a stabbing last night. I have no words to adequately describe the sorrow of this loss. This tragedy is heartbreaking for all of us, and most especially the family and friends of the victim. Our thoughts are with them and we extend our condolences.

    We are reaching out to provide support and counseling to members of our University community. We will also be in contact and offering support to family members.

    The student’s name is currently confidential while his family is being notified. Because the incident occurred off campus, the investigation is being led by the Arcata Police Department with significant assistance from University Police.”

    HSU Marketing and Communications released the following: “Students who are in need of support during this time are encouraged to contact the Dean of Students office at 707.826.3504 or visit that office in Siemens Hall 211. For after-hours assistance, students can contact Counseling & Psychological services at 707.326.3236. Staff or faculty seeking additional support may utilize the Employee Assistance Program at 707.443.7358.”