The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Domanique Crawford

  •  Enough talking, time for action

     Enough talking, time for action

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    It should not have taken the murder of David Josiah Lawson for the City of Arcata and the HSU community to take the threats of safety to our students of color seriously.

    City of Arcata, HSU, Lawson is not your only failure. For every year students of color are denied simple amenities like housing based on their skin tone, for every semester a minority student feels ostracized and forced out by the community, and for every day a minority student is afraid to walk down certain streets, the City of Arcata, and Humboldt County, and HSU have all failed.

    The community has a tendency to ignore concerns deemed uncomfortable, like discussing racial tension. Sure, we talk. At HSU we have many race talks, annual social justice summits, and quarterly forums addressing racial discrimination. But talking is not enough.

    The Lumberjack is calling upon HSU to institute new offices devoted to community integration and student safety within the community. It is time to act, not again wait to react.

    Talking, alone, doesn’t address the problem. It does little more than create a short-term unresolved conversation about an issue that continues from one generation to the next.

    Racial discrimination in our community is recorded, protested, and still left unchanged. We have been conversing for years now. It is time for HSU and the community to stop shying away from the real struggles people of color in the community face. We must call out discrimination when we witness it and make a firm stance against discrimination.

    Despite eye-witness testimonials, Josiah’s killer Kyle Zoellner is not charged with a hate crime. Zoellner does not need to be crucified as a radical white supremacist, but we can at least stop ignoring the systematic racisms that corrupts police departments and communities.This was no simple assault. This was a racially motivated attack.

    Too often change follows tragedy, instead of the other way around. Murder shouldn’t have been the cause that made the community pause and realize the harsh reality of living as a minority in an isolated region, low in diversity. The bubble HSU has long fought to exist in has been irrevocably popped.

    *Updated 4/27/2017

  • A procrastinators guide to research

    A procrastinators guide to research

    Mastering research papers

    By|Domanique Crawford


    We are about two weeks from finals and despite your major, I know you have a research paper of some sort due. Your professor has been warning you for weeks now that the paper is due soon and like the typical procrastinator, you have decided to wait the last minute to write four or more pages of research.


    But hold on, you realize you can’t BS this paper like you have done all of the others. Research papers have built-in BS detectors. Parentheticals, citations, works cited, and those pesky little things called annotated bibliographies keep even the sturdiest of procrastinators on their toes.  To those of you who think you still have time to finish the complete, grammatically clean research paper, you are fooling yourselfs.


    Have no fear; I am going to share my secret tips with you that well help you at least BS as much as you can before actually having to dig deep and produce real work.
    You know how the professor will casually mention the librarians and how they can help your research? And then they actually bring in a librarian to show you how to use the database and answer any questions you may have.


    You go through this every semester.  You sit there, half listening to the conversation, wondering why you have to go through this same presentation in every class that requires a research paper.


    Well… that’s cause you need to pay attention. No. No. Actually, listen. My number one tip is to utilize those Liberians. They really know what they are talking about. Not only will they help you refine your topic to perfection, but they will also introduce you the library database. The database pops up legitimate sources instantly. Usually with the citation already laid out on the side in MLA, ALA, and Chicago, which you need to take advantage of because these new budget cuts to the library are no joke. These lazy boy tactics might not be so readily available in future semesters.
    I don’t know why people always hype up noodle bib as the go to citation generator. Yes, noodle bib provides a template, but you have to type in the information manually. Don’t nobody have time for that.

    Let me introduce you to tip number two. Eat, drink, breathe Son of Citation Machine. Lets face it, nowadays most of our sources come from the World Wide Web. Son of Citation Machine lets you put in the URL and will generate the source for you. If you don’t actually know that a parenthetical is, don’t worry Son of Citation Machines has your back on that as well. For the old school book users, it’s all good. The site includes all forms of media citation. Just plug in the ISBN number and Wala! A citation is made.


    Do you get confused about fragmented sentences, overuse of commas, or which, which, is witch? Don’t even waste your time trying to figure it out. Tip number three is a free handy tool called Grammarly.com. If you are anything like my brother who can comprehend the most complex mathematical formulas but is stuck taking a GRE class for credit that requires grammatical proficiency that just seems to escape him, then Grammarly.com will be your best friend. Not only does it point out the mistake and how to fix it, but it explains the error and how to correct it in the future.   


    Ummm … Who was it that said think smart, not hard?

  • HSU cultivation 

    HSU cultivation 

    More than a 4/20 education

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

     

    What is the first words that come to mind when you think of Humboldt State University? While it should be environmentally-conscience, often HSU is associated with marijuana culture.


    Don’t let this issue’s dedication to 4/20, the nationally celebrated marijuana day, fool you. Although Humboldt county is a main hub of cannabis production, HSU isn’t as accepting of marijuana culture as our reputation suggests.

    HSU may not actively promote this image — But HSU doesn’t do a thing to stop it either. Students come here thinking that the cannabis culture of Humboldt County will extend to HSU’s campus. Students are shocked when they get fined, suspended or even expelled for possession of cannabis.


    Sure the HSU Student Rights and Responsibilities policy states that under federal law the sale or possession of marijuana are felonies carrying prison terms of seven years or more, but hey… HSU is located in the Emerald Triangle- the largest cannabis-producing region in the U.S. HSU collects on the persona of an accepting weed culture; a culture that attracts new students.


    HSU’s conflicting views on marijuana was witnessed with the treatment of Christina DeGiovanni, a former HSU student and founder of Emerald magazine. In 2012, DeGiovanni was arrested for possession of marijuana sales, and being armed in the commission of a felony.  

    De Giovanni states in her first letter from the editor that the negative and ostracizing treatment she faced from HSU and the community during her trials encouraged her to start the magazine that embraces the stereotypes associated with cannabis users.  


    Not all look to weed culture as positively as Humboldt residents. Critics reject HSU as a serious academic university because of the casually flaunted 4/20 culture. While we are known for our Green initiatives, we are still mocked for being influenced by the marijuana industry that throttles Humboldt County.


    If we want to be taken more seriously as a top University to potential students, we have to do more to address the stereotype that HSU is only about the weed. It attracts students to an area where they feel they will be welcomed into the throws of Humboldt Counties cannabis culture, often a risky and even dangerous endeavour.

    Yes, Humboldt County heavily thrives on the Marijuana industry but HSU is more than just a community of growers, trimmigrants, and stoners. It is irresponsible and flat wrong for a university to benefit from a generalization about its campus, while simultaneously ignoring and demonizing that generalization. Weed: Either love it or hate it HSU.

  • HSU’s 4/20 Fame

    HSU’s 4/20 Fame

    Exaggerating stereotypes of Humboldt and it’s cannabis culture

    By|Domanique Crawford

    “Are you going to Humboldt just so you can smoke weed?”

    My friend- who for none-embarrassment purposes we will just call Jane- asked me when I announced what school I was transferring to.

    Jane’s reaction wasn’t surprising or even uncommon. Anyone I mentioned my school choice to immediately connected HSU with the thriving cannabis industry in Humboldt County. This became an annoying phenomenon, to say the least.

    Some people where even scandalized by my choice of schools, and would jokingly [I’m pretty sure] say that I had to be careful or else I will stumble across a weed farm in the Redwood forest and get shot. My friends and family members, had dramatic interpretations of the HSU student and community lifestyle assuming that anyone in the county is either involved in the weed industry or is a pothead.

    Before I started to attend, I carried some of those crazy misconceptions about HSU being all about cannabis with me. Outside of Humboldt County smoking marijuana was this taboo thing that you did behind closed doors. I was a little ashamed to mention that I was attending HSU just because of all of the stoner stereotypes that captivate HSU image and the quickness people immediately associated HSU to marijuana.

    I don’t know if it’s because of the 21 century’s obsession with legalizing weed, or the fact that HSU is within the Emerald Triangle, but HSU’s 420 friendly attitude pushes to pass the university’s green initiatives and its well-celebrated environmental science programs. People were not interested to hear that I was attending HSU because of its affordability and I respect the strong student force of social activism. Everyone felt the need to reduce HSU cannabis industry that surrounds HSU and not on what makes HSU a great university.

    Being inside of the Humboldt community brings on a new understanding of the marijuana industry located here. Residency of the community isn’t only a collection of people consumed with running marijuana organizations. In fact, marijuana is medicinal staple product, like talking about aspirin.

    Despite what people may believe, the county isn’t overrun with homeless stoners trying to sell weed. The industry is taken very seriously and enacted in a professional manner.  You have to get a doctor’s recommendation and everything.

    There is the occasional trimmigrant who will stop you on the street to ask you if you want to buy marijuana, but a simple no will have them moving on their way. Students shouldn’t feel ashamed of attending HSU and when someone attempts to reduce our university  to nothing but cannabis culture, correct them with whatever motivates you to attend HSU.

     

  • Defeating deficits and defunding students

    Defeating deficits and defunding students

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    When the word deficit gets tossed about in a college environment, you already know that the students are going to get the raw end of the deal once it’s time to make up for losses.

    One of HSU’s greatest marketing tools is that they can advertise affordability over other campuses. With a plan that implements a 5 percent tuition fee increase by fall 2017 and $5 billion cut to higher education in the proposed 2018 federal budget, the cost of education for the Humboldt State student is rising. Students can’t afford to handle the consequences of a $6 million budget deficit.


    There are two problems with the University Resources and Planning Committee’s [URPC] plan to balance the budget. Phase one and Phase two. Both phases are set to make students suffer.


    Phase one is an $800,000 cut from personnel. These cuts are no doubt going to start with eliminating student jobs. Outside of the Humboldt State [HSU] campus, finding a job in the small town communities of Humboldt County is near impossible.

    Student workers depend on HSU to provide accessible jobs. Dismissing student jobs will devastate the student economy. Not only are university employers more willing to accept first-time job seekers, the faculty and administration understand the stress of maintaining a student schedule that outside employers don’t.


    Although the athletics department accounts for nearly $1 million of the deficit, the UPRC hasn’t yet revealed a plan to fix athletics budget. A monitoring system for athletics has been put in place by President Rossbacher, however no concrete changes to athletics have been proposed. Colleges glorify the sports life and hesitate to make budget cuts to a department that draws in money.


    However, the athletics department carves out a big chunk of the deficit, and yet, the administration is quick to cut funds to our student financial support and academic programs. The URPC’s phase two is a tentative plan set to cut funds from instructional/academic colleges, student services, administration costs, and Information Technologies.


    We have eight years of an increasing deficit, a growing student housing crisis, and rising issues of food insecurity: And HSU wonders why there is a declining student enrollment rate.

    HSU administration may not want to comment on the challenges facing our university, but students are smart enough to do the research, and it is evident that our college is in need of a reality check.

     

  • Defunding women’s rights

    Defunding women’s rights

     

    By|Domanique Crawford

    Don’t spit on my cupcake and call it frosting, don’t urinate on my leg and tell me it’s raining, and don’t make laws restricting my access to healthcare and claim it’s to protect my taxpayer money.

    On March 30, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote on a measure that effectively defunds Planned Parenthood [PPFA]. The new legislation allows states to withhold federal funding from PPFA and other healthcare programs that provide abortion services.

    Congress first had to agree to rollback on Department of Health and Human Services rule established under the Obama administration that prohibited cutting funds from Title X family planning grants to community health centers because they offer abortion services.

    Despite what the new administration thinks, these programs are not secret baby killing factories. In fact, abortion services are only 3 percent of PPFA’s total services according to the PPFA fact sheet. Regardless of your feelings on abortion, defunding health clinics like PPFA means limiting women’s access to affordable healthcare.

    More and more the Trump administration and state lawmakers seem to be passing laws restricting women’s right under the guise of de-funding abortion services. When clearly, this is another strike against women’s right to equality.

    Even if critics of clinics like PPFA, are afraid of these programs using taxpayer money to fund abortion services, they could just as easily form greater stipulations and regulations monitoring the usage of such resources rather than then simply defunding it. As usually seen with this administration, they defunded another program without a clear plan in sight for all of the low-income people rejected healthcare services by the bill. An attitude that says the Trump administration doesn’t actually care about what happens to women.

    Lawmakers are using a highly controversial issue of abortion to push laws that subjugate women and classify us as second class citizens unable maintain our simplest values. The right to govern or own bodies.

    Pro-choice is simply your right to choose. I respect pro-lifers decision to have a child despite the physical harm the pregnancy can cause the mother, the mental and physical conditions of the baby, and the determination to have a child despite the circumstance of conception through natural conception or through sexual assault.

    I don’t condone pro-lifers forcing their ideals on the rest of us by threatening our access to healthcare. Pro-lifers are free to make that choice for themselves. However, to enforce those options on someone else is barbaric. What’s worse, is punishing women who depend on these Title X services for access to pregnancy care other than abortions, contraceptives, STD/STI testing and treatment, etc.

    If the government were really worried about protecting taxpayer money rather than restricting women’s right, then they would have installed greater measures that guarantee taxpayer money isn’t going towards paying for abortion services. That is what regulatory agencies are for.

     

  • Editorial: Promising free education

    Editorial: Promising free education

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    Hope is in sight. Despite the new Presidential administration’s barrage of legislation that raises the cost of higher education, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt). re-introduced the College for All Act.

    Sanders’ 2015 dream of tuition-free education came a step closer to reality. Along with Sanders, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) presented the bill on April 3.

    Although a glimmer of hope exists, we still have to be wary of the reality of the state of politics. The power has changed hands from Democrats to Republicans. Democrats passing legislation with a Republican House and Congress seems unlikely. Republicans are flexing their power by enacting their educational standards and repealing any policies adopted or created under the Obama administration.

    As promised, the College for All Act makes all community colleges tuition-free and offers free public tuition at four-year colleges and universities for students earning less than $125,000 a year. The bill calls for the federal government to pay 67 percent of tuition subsidies, leaving state and tribal governments to cover the last third of the cost. The bill also looks out for students already struggling with student loan debt.  The bill cuts the government lending rate for new undergraduate borrowers to 1.88 percent and refinances loans for existing borrowers at lower rates as well.

    Republican and Democratic views on our education system are counterproductive. The current GOP’s proposed budget cut of $9 billion to the Department of Education eliminates chances for low-income students to earn a college education. These policies snatch the money away from students while the College for All Act gives it back with interest.

  • Editorial: Where is our President?

    Editorial: Where is our President?

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    Oh where, oh where, oh where in the world is Humboldt State University President Lisa A. Rossbacher? President Rossbacher has been at best unavailable, and at worst dismissive and non communicative with The Lumberjack. The Lumberjack works to engage with and provide a voice for the HSU community.

    By deciding not to engage with The Lumberjack, Rossbacher is deciding not to engage with her campus community.
    As the president of Humboldt State University, Rossbacher is in charge of supporting the campus community. A key component of delivering that support is communicating with and being available to the campus media.

    Just like any governmental official, Rossbacher is held accountable to the public through the media.

    The Lumberjack has time and time again reached out to Rossbacher for comments on the ongoing athletic deficit, the recent tuition hike, and even parking with not one response.

    The Lumberjack is not only a media outlet but a mandatory class for all Journalism majors. Shutting out The Lumberjack also shuts out the 40 students who take the class every semester from having an opportunity to complete well-sourced, informative stories.

    In doing this, she fails to reinforce HSU’s mission to support its students educational opportunities.
    Failing to communicate with the media distorts the facts, it leaves people confused, and it fails to promote transparency — the chief responsibility of a community’s leader.
    On occasion, we students gather and sing, shout and even march to support the issues that are important to us; however, the one thing that has been missing during all this time is the voice of our university leader President Rossbacher.
    The Lumberjack staff would like to hear from President Rossbacher. The student body deserves a chance to hear from the president within the pages of its own, historic newspaper.
    We need a president that is present.

    One that shows up for the student body not only in making policy, but in communicating what steps, if any, are being taken to protect students and Humboldt State University’s values.

  • Editorial: Cutting College

    Editorial: Cutting College

    The Trump budget rejects low-income students

    By The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    The 2018 Trump administration budget is an utter catastrophe for college students. If you thought a 5 percent tuition fee increase was worrisome, well, look out. The cuts to the Department of Education alone will have you rethinking the decision to attend college altogether. 
    While the White House is holding up the promise to increase defense funding, the budget slashes programs that help college students. When you analyze the full impact of these cuts, things aren’t looking pretty for the low-income students.
    The budget slashes funds for the Federal Pell Grant, also known as FAFSA, by $3.9 billion. FASFA is the largest federal grant program according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The FAFSA program helps students and families making less than $40,000 a year. Because the FAFSA is a grant, students don’t have to repay the money or incur student loan debt. 
    Students count on the FAFSA to not only help with educational costs but also for their livelihood. For some, the Pell grant can mean anything from affording school supplies or food, to housing. Without the aid of FAFSA low-income students aren’t left with many options to fund their education and seek a better life. 
    If you were hoping to find help through the other programs within the educational system, unfortunately, the cuts don’t stop with FAFSA. In the Trump budget, the Department of Education stands to lose a total of $9 billion. The reductions concentrate on all of the programs intended to support low-income students. The budget eliminates the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program – another federally funded grant programs meant to help low-income students. The budget also reduces funding for the Federal Work-Study Program allocation and various college scholarship programs for both STEM and humanities majors.  These aren’t even the cuts that are going to cut funding to primary education. 
    College students with children are most impacted by the proposed cuts to federally funded after-school programs. The cut eliminates $1.2 billion from the budget allotted to the 21st century Community Learning Centers program which is responsible for before-and-after school programs. 
    On top of all of these cuts, the passing will mean that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will succeed in getting taxpayers to fund charter schools and private school vouchers. The budget adds a $168 million for charter schools and puts away $250 million for “new private school choice program.” 
    If this Trump budget proposal is an initial outline for what could be, students and future generations should worry about the affordability of higher education. Without education, the low-income are left to rot in the bottom of the barrel. America was and is made great by the ability for those without money to become educated and seek the same life as those born into privilege. Taking away the only way many low-income students are able to attain education is paramount to erasing the American dream and replacing it with chains. 

  • Editorial: What’s in your coverage?

    Editorial: What’s in your coverage?

    GOP presents the American Health Care Act

    If you are worried about obtaining health care insurance, well… you should be. After House Republicans faced a firestorm of criticisms for hiding away on the Hill to hash out their healthcare reform policies, Republicans finally introduced their version of health care reform last Monday, March 5. 
    The potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, more popularly known as Obamacare, would leave college students at a disadvantage. We are still allowed to piggyback off of our parent’s insurance (if they have it) until we are 26 years old. However, for those who can’t, this measure creates additional expenses for college students. 
    As college students working in Humboldt County earning a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour, the possibility of affording health care coverage under the GOP’s American Health Care Act is unlikely. Obamacare tried to secure affordable healthcare for all and is by no means perfect, but instead of taking the time to fix the deficiencies, Republican’s “Obama-lite” healthcare system is wasting time and money.  
    While we are waiting for the new administration to learn the ins and outs of health care law, millions of people are at a standstill wondering how they are going to get and stay covered. 
    The bill wasn’t released with an analysis from the Congressional Budget office, and even conservative republicans are worried about the negative impact the measure could cause on the economy. The bill notes four key changes that shifts the fiscal burden from the government back to the people: Refundable tax credits, health saving accounts, block grants, and high- risk pools. These fiscal policies might sound like a dream solution — to those who can afford it. 
    Refundable tax credits is money the government is willing to give back to you. The problem with these credits is that they are based on age unlike Obamacare’s income-based regulation. Age does not dictate the severity of medical care cost. A refundable tax credit is insufficient cushion for the unexpected cost. Under this new bill, young adults are considered the less in need. The bill states just $2,000 are credited to individuals under 30 years of age.
    The new bill risks denying millions in coverage with its proposed block grants that would provide a fixed amount of money to states for their Medicaid programs. A fixed block of money that doesn’t rise with inflation, meaning that states might not be able supply coverage at the amount they have in the past.
    The GOP also sliped in a provision that would defund Planned Parenthood [PPFA]. At least 60 percent of Planned Parenthood patients use Medicaid or some other type of government based insurance according to PPFA. This means that if the program is defunded, all of these women would lose access to affordable health care. 
    Although people with pre-existing conditions will still be protected under the new bill, they will potentially have to pay more if they want to be insured. Insurance agencies will be allowed to increase the premium of those with pre-existing conditions while everyone else’s insurance rates are reduced.
    On top of all these new policies that would drain young adults pockets, the new bill includes a penalty for people who let their insurance lapse. The bill allows insurance agencies to raise their premiums 30 percent. This makes it hard for people to even try to regain coverage after losing it. All of these methods have been tested, tried, and found to be lacking in effectiveness. Obamacare was enacted in the first place as a solution to these problems. 
    While Obama care extended coverage to over 20 million people, the GOP’s health care plan seems to be ripping coverage out of the average American’s hands. The new healthcare reform bill may as well read: The poor, low-income, and persons with pre-existing conditions need not apply. 

  • Editorial: Freezing tuition fee increase

    Editorial: Freezing tuition fee increase

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    At the end of January, the University of California Board of Regents approved a 2.5 percent tuition fee increase to take place in the 2017-2018 academic year. Though the University of California system said that financial aid will cover two-thirds of California undergraduates, protests against the tuition fee increase persist.

    Too many rights of college students have been under attack. There are worries about undocumented students’ access to education, the continuance of the anti-discrimination regulation safeguarding our LGBTQ community and the general welfare of our public school system under the direction of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
    The increase may seem inconsequential to some, but many students struggle with affording both higher education and the daily cost of living. Decreasing the Pell Grant to cushion the cost of inflation means reducing supplemental income that helps students pay for vital services from transportation to housing.
    California State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and the California Faculty Association fought against the tuition hike with AB 393, the Student Protection Act. The Act states that the increase in college tuition has surpassed the cost of living while student debt continues to rise. 
    AB 393 cites a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s statistic that said, “one in four student loan borrowers are either in delinquency or default on their loans.”
    The Institute for College Access and Success reports that from 2010-2014, the average student debt rose by 56 percent. 74 percent HSU of graduates had debt in 2014.  
    The rising student debt numbers indicate that students are struggling to maintain a balance between the high cost of college and necessary expenses like housing, food and healthcare. The resulting cycle of loan defaulting continues to cause an unnecessary drain on the lives of students.  
    AB 393 suspends the tuition hike and limits the increase of system-wide fees to an amount that was agreed upon on Dec. 2016.  This suspension will be in place until the 2019-20 academic year. 
    The public education system is facing a myriad of problems; now isn’t the time to force a tuition increase. AB 393 also takes into account factors beyond the primary fiscal burdens of the cost of higher education. The Act will help students breathe easier during these contentious times and alleviates at least one worry. 

  • Editorial: Betsy Devos: Public School’s Enemy Number One

    Editorial: Betsy Devos: Public School’s Enemy Number One

    Warfare on Educational Welfare

    The war on our public education system is on. Betsy DeVos’s appointment as the Secretary of Education is the first indication that our education system is in trouble. DeVos’s devastating record of promoting the deregulation and privatization of schools is the signal for all public school students to arm up with their cell phones and keep their representative’s on speed dial.   

    DeVos showcased her ignorance on running the public education system during her confirmation hearing which was only compounded by the denial of the second round of questioning.

    DeVos has never worked with or attended public school. She has no government experience or experience in running a large organization, and yet she has been deemed fit to run our nationwide education system.

    The last two decades of DeVos’s life has been dedicated to the promotion of for-profit charter schools that offer weak accountability standards. DeVos also tirelessly advocates for vouchers to redirect public funding to pay for these private and religious schools.

    The problem with this is that the money would come directly from taxpayers’ pockets. You and me. Not only would we have to pay for these new schools, but we wouldn’t have the opportunity to check their credibility or hold them to basic education standards.

    DeVos has extreme views on the way our schools should run. In a 2001 interview with The Gathering, a Christian philosophy organization, DeVos said she wants to use these vouchers to “confront the culture in ways that will continue to advance God’s kingdom.”      

    Critics of DeVos are worried about student civil rights. Devos has made it clear that she doesn’t understand the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and it is possible and likely, that DeVos may move to reverse the Obama administration’s direction on LGBTQ student accommodations and the policies dictating how to handle instances of sexual assault.

    Our public education system needs reform. Not to be gutted and replaced with an unchecked privatized corporation. 

  • Editorial: Securing sanctuary for our undocumented students

    Editorial: Securing sanctuary for our undocumented students

    By The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    Undocumented students have a right to an education and a safe place to foster that education. Students shouldn’t have to worry about being prejudicially profiled and deported. The new Trump administration’s policy on immigration is threatening to do just that.Fear for the well-being of our undocumented students has existed at HSU throughout Trump’s campaign and has only increased since his inauguration. 
    President Rossbacher released a statement Jan. 31. Reassuring the HSU community that the administration stands in support with our undocumented students and is exploring options, but with our cities of sanctuary under fire we want to know what concrete actions HSU can take in protecting our community. 
    Trump’s executive order, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, threatens sanctuary cities and school campuses. The order states that sanctuary jurisdiction ‘willfully violates Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens. Under the new administration, any place maintaining sanctuary status is to be denounced. Punishment for not cooperating with this directive is the removal of federal funding. 
    Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, introduced legislation that extends this consequence to sanctuary campuses that do not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This affects University federal funding through the financial aid program and student loan debt forgiveness. The law calls for 100 percent compliance with federal immigration requests.
    If the threat of the withdrawal of funds is credible, how does HSU plan to take care of not only the undocumented students but students who can’t handle the fiscal burden this executive order could levy?
    Hearing the words of support from administration is always comforting. Undocumented students only want the opportunity of higher education and a chance to make their way just like American citizens. This attempt to create a safe haven is more than appealing but under federal law, what are our real options? The Lumberjack urges HSU’s administration to do more in the way of making our student community feel safe and secure during their time at HSU. 

  • Editorial: Politically vocal on the local level

    Editorial: Politically vocal on the local level

    By | The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    Civic engagement doesn’t just end with the presidential election. ‘We the people’ have a duty to stay engaged in politics year round.
    The beautiful thing about a democracy is the citizens somewhat have a voice. For a democratic government to function in service of the people, the people must be more active in all levels of government, including the local level.
    Though voting in the presidential election is one of the greatest political actions available to citizens, the president’s actions alone don’t represent all the ways in which government can affect our daily lives. Local officials sign in laws that impact our day-to-day lives the most.

    The citizen’s voice is not only reflected through voting, but also through communicating with our local officials. We have a constitutional responsibility to watch over these officials and check them when they are not advocating for the people.

    While the opportunity to elect a new president may be four years away, the opportunity to affect local levels of government come and go every year.

    To live under the belief that if the president is right that the country will be right, is wrong. 
    We have seen just how much every vote matters on the national scale. It is time to think about how much they matter on the local governmental level.

    If you are upset by what is happening on the national scale then, by all means, keep protesting, demonstrating, rallying and assembling.

    However, the next time your local government has a city council seat open, try to take a step back from the global and national scene and take time to ensure that your local government is in check as well.

  • Editorial: HSU’s Responsibilities beyond academic achievement

    Editorial: HSU’s Responsibilities beyond academic achievement

    By: The Lumberjack Editorial Board

    This spring 2017 semester, the Lumberjack staff requests that Humboldt State administration take more responsibility for student welfare, beyond just recruiting students to HSU. The Lumberjack asks that HSU not only consider a student’s academic education, but also a student’s basic living needs while attending HSU.

    HSU entices students with its emphasis on environmental and social standards and opportunities for hands-on learning. Students are often charmed by the small town atmosphere and close-knit community. However, students find that finding a stable place to live and join the community for their stay at HSU to be a near impossible task. 

    Universities have more than a duty than to provide an academic education — it owes each and every student an opportunity to access a stable living situation.

    Furthermore, leaving young students to the whim of Humboldt County’s housing market creates a potentially dangerous situation. Students may end up in living situations that present very real physical and health risks for fear of being homeless. 

    We need our administration to match enrollment with the size of the housing market. It is unethical to bring students to an area they’ve never been and expect them to pay for and maintain a full load of classes, while offering no help with housing outside of high priced campus housing. 

    HSU can and should do more to assuage the pressures of student life by doing more to prepare and warn students for the particular struggles in the HSU community. We ask HSU to look harder at buying more property in the area for student living. 

    This starts with administration simply being forthright and honest about Humboldt’s housing situation when recruiting students from across California and the United States.