The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: HSU student body

  • A.S. President Finley impeached in unanimous vote

    A.S. President Finley impeached in unanimous vote

    by Matthew Taylor

    Former A.S. President Jeremiah Finley was impeached Sunday, Feb. 20, after an almost seven hour trial. All members of the Board were present, many providing their testimonies and evidence against Finley. Impeachment was under the violations of A.S Government Codes Section 9, subsections F, J, L, M, and O. He was voted guilty on four of these five charges.

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Social Justice and Equity Officer Lizbeth Cano Sanchez crying at the Associated Students meeting in Siemens Hall on Feb. 5.

    “In order to effectively serve students, we must eliminate fear,” said Social Justice and Equity Officer Sachez, the opening speaker for the trial. “Fear that we will not be allowed to speak our minds without retaliation and fear that, despite mediation, nothing will change.”

    Under subsection F, overstepping the bounds of their office without the advice or consent of the Board of Directors, Finley was found guilty of unilateral decision-making, violation of California Law AB 361, and violation of the Gloria Romero Open Meeting Act of 2000.

    College of Natural Resources & Sciences Representative Tashenae Burns-Young gave testimony towards these violations. She stated that President Finley refused to give her Zoom access to Feb. 4’s meeting unless she divulged personal reasons to her non in-person attendance. At the time, only Parliamentarian Kate Bourne was given Zoom access by President Finley.

    “I would like to start as being a black woman on Associated Students,” Burns-Young said. “I have never felt [more] oppressed by my former BIPOC peers, than by our current president.”

    While Burns-Young was able to attend the meeting thanks to Bourne’s own decision to give the Zoom link to all other members, Finley did not count her as quorum and ignored any votes she made during that meeting.

    Under subsection L and M, President Finley was found guilty of conduct that was deemed to be causing distress to the Board as a collective whole and continuous displays of disrespect aimed at students of the association. Resigned A.S. member Malluli Cuellar gave testimony to this section.

    She gave examples of her many conflicts with President Finley as an A.S. member. In the summer prior to fall 2021, during an agenda prep meeting, Finley had requested that she include a talking point within the agenda that he wished to speak on. She expressed discomfort in allowing this agenda item to be added purely in its state as it wouldn’t allow for a debate between the Board, instead she offered similar alternatives.

    “He expressed to me that if the chair was unwilling to work with him,” Cuellar said. “He would simply amend it on to the agenda [in the state he wanted it in].”

    This incident caused her immense embarrassment and a growing panic towards speaking with President Finley. While she explained that they later spoke one-on-one and he apologized for his actions, his disrespectful words and actions continued up again not long after.

    Lastly, the violation of subsection o. negligence to thoroughly communicate with fellow board members, was testified by both Executive Director Jenessa Lund and College of Natural Resources & Sciences Representative Mark Bulgara.

    “When I would support the President in putting agendas together,” Lund said. “I always encourage, like ‘hey can we link it here it’s always best to provide things ahead of time, so people have time to review it and digest it.’ I always got denied.”

    Bulgara stated that Finley had neglected to properly educate him on important legislation and his voting rights when he appointed him to his current position. In the end, this ignorance often led him to blindly follow President Finley’s own words on any matter.

    “Seeing [this] now, I regret every second that I voted yes for him,” Bulgara said. “Because he has done nothing but betray our trust and he abused my ignorance in being a new member.”

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Student Affairs Vice President Chase Marcum and Social Justice and Equity Officer Lizbeth Cano Sanchez speak to President Jeremiah Finley at the Associated Students meeting in Siemens Hall on Feb. 5.

    Throughout the entire trial President Finley expressed that all accusations against him were refutable and that he never did anything to break any legal laws nor did he mean to hurt any member with purposeful intent. While he did extend apologies when explicitly asked to by Bulgara, he also expressed himself as a victim to these accusations. He believed many of these accusations to actually stem from personal disagreements and opinions to his own past decisions.

    “I don’t see anything in here that results in the punishment that this board is wanting to pursue,” Finley said. “In fact, I feel as though I am being retaliated against for a lot of the ways that I’ve advocated for our students.”

    The impeachment trial ended with a unanimous vote by all Board members to impeach Jeremiah Finley from his role as A.S. president.

  • AS President Finley’s refusal to resign leads to more conflicts

    by Matthew Taylor

    Prior to the AS meeting last Friday at Siemens Hall, President Finley received a letter by the collective student body calling for his resignation that evening. If he failed to do so, actions would be taken towards impeachment. This letter was written in part due to his actions at the previous AS Meeting on Feb. 5th, which can be read about here.

    “I have come to understand that recently there are many that felt disrespected,” Finley said, in response to the letter during the meeting. “Reduced to only a vote to count as opposed to the valued team member they are throughout the year by my unintentional behavior.”

    The president continued in offering apologies to any members he may have unintentionally hurt over the past months. He pleaded with the student body to talk personally with him and to allow him to end his final semester, both as a student and president, without burnt bridges. He explained that the extra weight of responsibility expected of him as a Black leader in a predominantly white university may have also gotten the better of him.

    “I cannot leave till I have had a chance to put in order what is out of place for those that are hurt and be your champion once again,” Finley said, ending his speech and thus refusing to resign.

    No members present at the time had further comment. Conflict between Board members and the president continued later on in the meeting, however, as Finley attempted to appoint a new student for Legislative Vice President.

    “First, I want to apologize to you,” At-Large Representative Gio Guerrero said, to the new candidate. “Our Associated Students are in a really big hurdle at the moment, internally. I don’t feel confident that we can support an additional new member on this Board until we get through [this] storm.”

    All other Board members, excluding Finley, concurred with this sentiment. Members expressed that they did want the candidate to be appointed but only once internal conflicts had been figured out. Finley accused the Board of allowing personal opinions of him to cloud their decision. All members present disagreed and appointed Student Affairs Vice President Marcum and Guerrero to keep in contact with the candidate. Plans to properly vote in this appointee are scheduled to happen at the next AS meeting.

    The next AS meeting will be held on Friday, Feb. 18, at 4 pm in Siemens Hall 117.

  • Tears, power-grabs, and calls for resignation

    Tears, power-grabs, and calls for resignation

    by Matthew Taylor

    The first of this semester’s weekly Associated Students (A.S.) meetings ended in frustration, tears, and calls for the president’s own resignation.

    Conflicts between members arose when President Jeremiah Finley refused to hold the official meeting. His own requirements mandated that the group make in-person quorum; he stated that the student body members which attended the meeting via Zoom would not count. Most members of the present student body and the guest speakers at the meeting voiced disagreement.

    “It’s not fair to place the blame on us,” Kate Bourne, Parliamentarian, said through Zoom. “You just won’t make this hyflex, you can’t just force people to come here. The quorum is met, we’re just not in person, we are all members of this.”

    It was only due to the arrival of Social Justice and Equity Officer Lizbeth Cano Sachez moments later that the meeting was allowed by President Finley to properly take place.

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Student Affairs Vice President Chase Marcum and Social Justice and Equity Officer Lizbeth Cano Sanchez speak to President Jeremiah Finley at the Associated Students meeting in Siemens Hall on Feb. 5.

    Multiple different issues were discussed regarding the amount of power that President Finley has been exercising during his period of presidency. Issues such as his sole power as the Chair to pick and choose what goes on the agenda of meetings, and to choose which representatives may go to the A.S. & CPH Leadership Meetings.

    An expressed lack of communication and ignored emails towards the R.O.S.E House were also present. Director Payton Wills of the organization stated they had been trying to get in contact with A.S. for over 2 months. Members anxious about the eventually demolish of their house and subsequent subpar relocation adding more stress to the tense meeting.

    Emotions ran high when Sachez had to leave to host an event for El Centro, another important student-run organization. She explained that she would continue to participate via Zoom, but under his own ruling on in-person quorum not being met, Finley attempted to end the meeting prematurely.

    Due to the collective stress of the meeting, Sachez began to break down and pleaded with the president to allow her participation through Zoom.

    “I hope I’m not failing any of the members-” Sanchez said, holding back tears.

    “You should be allowed on Zoom. There’s no reason for that to be other than preference.” Kate Bourne said.

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Social Justice and Equity Officer Lizbeth Cano Sanchez crying at the Associated Students meeting in Siemens Hall on Feb. 5.

    Vice President of Student Affairs Chase Marcum also offered his support, pleading with Finley to make an exception for Sanchez. Still, the president refused.

    “Everyone on Zoom wants this meeting to continue and meet the quorum,” said guest speaker Payton Wills, adding their own opinion. “Lizbeth wants it to meet quorum. All of the people sitting here want it to meet quorum. You are the only person, sitting here, against continuing this meeting. It makes no sense.”

    “Seeing as I’m not leaving, we can continue our meeting…” she said, sitting back down.

    Arguments between members continued to escalate, both Bourne and Sachez accused Finley of refusing to accept not only their previous work experience at A.S. but specifically their roles as female leaders. The angry scraping of chairs could be heard across the room as almost all people present begin to leave the room.

    Unofficially the meeting was adjourned only halfway through the agenda. Only members Marcum and Finley were left, tidying up the room in complete silence.

    In the aftermath of the meeting, Vice President Marcum and President Finley had very different takes on what had occurred.

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Associated Students President Jeremiah Finley at the Associated Students meeting in Siemens Hall on Feb. 5.

    “Being Black and in this leadership role I bear a weight that many will not understand,” President Finley said. ”Still, I know the work must get done and solutions to issues must be given. So, when my fellow board members and cabinet members won’t show up in person not because they are not able, but because they have something better to do, I still make sure students’ requests are fulfilled because that is why I do what I do and where I find joy.”

    On the other hand, Marcum accused Finley of abusing his power as President and personally apologized on behalf of the A.S. to students and staff members who have suffered hardships under the organization’s current leadership.

    “I truly believe that [Finley] should step down in a dignified fashion,” he said. “Embrace humility, be humbled. It is the most important of all characteristics to carry with you once it is obtained.”

    The Associated Students’ next meeting is planned to take place this Friday, at 3 pm in the same location of Siemens Hall 117.

  • Racist Social Media Post Leads to Student Suspensions

    Racist Social Media Post Leads to Student Suspensions

    Two Humboldt State University Students are Suspended from Campus Organizations

    A video depicting three Humboldt State University students using the N-word multiple times and bullying a student’s skin was posted to Instagram. HSU’s administration released an official statement suspending two of the students from participating in their campus organizations.

    The video was posted to an Instagram account run by HSU student, Victoria,“Vicky,” Ah-You. She posted the video June 3, the day it was sent to her from a friend, who preferred to remain anonymous. Ah-You stated that the video was recorded prior to her post and hesitated when originally sent it.

    “I can’t reveal my source but a friend of mine sent it[the video] to me to use my platform to speak. She was too afraid to use her own platform,” Ah-You said. “I believe the video was made at the end of 2019 but it was never spoke on because people felt uncomfortable.”

    Ah-You’s intention behind posting the video was to expose the behavior occurring towards people of color in Humboldt County.

    “I released the video because I am tired of being silent myself and I know a lot of my brothers and sisters, Black and of color, out here at Humboldt University are afraid as well,” Ah-You said. “So I released the video to make a solid statement that we won’t stand for it no longer.”

    Marley Peri, William Blohm and Vincenzo Jardino were the students shown in the racist video. Peri and Blohm participated in extracurricular activities, such as HSU Spirit Squad and the Chi Phi fraternity. Both were suspended from further participation.

    After the video was posted, Peri and Blohm deleted their social media accounts after being tagged and identified as the people responsible for the racist behavior.

    “If I’m being honest, I understand why the students took down their social media accounts. It caused a lot of outrage,” Ah-You said. “They received a lot of threats and I didn’t put that out there for them to receive threats. I put that out there for them to be checked. I think it was very cowardly to take down their accounts because if you’re going to make a creative video stating those racial slurs, you should be willing to stand behind it and stand on it.”

    Ah-You stated that Peri posted an apology on Twitter but believes that’s not enough. Ah-You and her friends have also reached out to HSU Spirit Squad and Chi Phi fraternity but got no response from them either.

    The current consequences for the students is suspension from campus activities. Ah-You believes the students deserve harsher punishment. She feels that HSU needs to do more to show their support to their students of color.

    “Their actions send a statement out loud whether they know it or not. They do not stand with us in solidarity and they do not support my Black brothers and sisters out here.”

    Victoria Ah-You

    “If you’re asking me if I think the students should be expelled, I do,” Ah-You said. “This is not the first rodeo. I don’t know these students but I can understand a mistake but just as my Brown brothers and sisters and my Black community has to stand behind our mistakes, they need to stand behind theirs too.”

    Ah-You is disappointed in HSU administration’s efforts to combat the social media post. She believes the current handling of the situation is not enough and doesn’t justify the severity of pain this video has caused the community.

    “Their actions send a statement out loud whether they know it or not. They do not stand with us in solidarity and they do not support my Black brothers and sisters out here,” Ah-You said. “It’s been an ongoing issue. This video is just part of it. It’s been going on forever. I’ve been out here going on seven years and it’s just been going.”

    HSU Vice President of Enrollment Management Dr. Jason Meriwether commented on the issue stating that the recent response from the student body and Arcata community is acknowledged by administration especially due to the current Black Lives Matter movement happening within our country. However with the investigation still ongoing, not much can be said.

    “I understand the deep sense of hurt and pain caused by racist systems, language, and behaviors,” Meriwether said in an email. “Our students and campus community feels this right now due to the current national landscape, the very real history of racism, and even more from having this happen within our campus community. I cannot address the specifics of the current investigation or ongoing conduct process beyond the statement.”

    Currently, the two students remain suspended from campus organizations. Micaela Harris, an HSU student athlete, unhappy with the current consequences, organized a petition on Change.org demanding the students be expelled from school. A week after the petition was created, more than 21,000 people have signed. That’s more than double the size of HSU’s student body.

    “The goal behind it[the petition] is to show HSU that this type of behavior should not ever be tolerated,” Harris said in an email. “High schools are expelling their students for doing the same thing, yet a university isn’t? Humboldt is one of the cheaper universities to go to so this means it is extremely diverse. It should be a safe place for students of color and this type of behavior should not be tolerated.”

    Meriwether has confirmed that HSU administrators are aware of the petition and are taking it into account with the ongoing investigation.

    HSU AS President Jeremiah Finley responded to the recent incident, acknowledging the petition and expressing his outrage and sympathy with fellow HSU students who feel the suspension is not enough of a consequence.

    “I would say I’m outraged as well, and their outrage is valid,” Finley said in an email. “As the Leader of the Student union, I often try to understand the diverse opinions of our students before inserting my own, but so for me, it is clear from the outcry and petition going around that the vast majority of students will not tolerate this type of behavior here at HSU.”

    Finley elaborated on the enhanced responsibility and duty of students who partake in extracurricular campus activities and organizations, stating that students are held to high standards when they choose to participate.

    “Students in organizations around campus are held to a higher standard,” Finley said in an email. “From clubs to our Greek Orgs, sports teams and Associated Students. Still, these students and their situation exceed the internal workings of their organization, and the final outcome needs to be resolved at the HSU level.”

    Finley believes that the responsibility of the Spirit Squad and Chi Phi fraternity is to keep their participants and members in check. Such as monitoring their behavior and attitude towards others, as it not only represents their organization and its values but HSU’s as well, both on and off campus.

    “The responsibility that falls on them[HSU organizations] is not condoning it in any way, as well as ensuring that the atmosphere they have doesn’t make it possible for that type of behavior to occur,” Finley said in an email. “Finally calling out any type of microaggressions and racist remarks where they can.”

    Both HSU Spirit Squad and the Chi Phi fraternity failed to respond to requests to make a comment.

    The recent social media frenzy has also stirred up racial tensions happening within HSU and the Arcata community, specifically the memory of the Josiah Lawson case. Protests, public demonstrations and marches have been the community’s response to the exposure of the racist behavior.