What students think of the 2020 presidential candidates on offer
The 2020 presidential campaign season has been in full swing for months. Candidates have risen and fallen. Media coverage of the race has been pervasive. Scandals, conspiracy theories and online warfare have all grabbed media attention. Headlines are filled with heart attacks, race-faking and corruption allegations. Voting begins in earnest this February with the Iowa caucuses. So, who will Humboldt State University students support going into election season?
“I really have no idea what’s going on right now,” HSU student and competitive rower Travis Wills-Pendley said.
The Lumberjack’s presidential poll from Oct. 2019.
Wills-Pendley is one of the many students choosing to let the dust settle before making any decisions. Californians don’t vote until March 3, so students will have a chance to see how candidates perform in other states before voting.
Although most students stayed away from the chaotic primary coverage, the majority said they would likely vote for the more left-wing candidates. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was frequently mentioned, along with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
“I care a lot about education. I have a bunch of younger cousins and I really want to make sure they get a good education.”
Elise Guerrero
Elise Guerrero is a wildlife major who focuses on climate change policy and progressive advancement in education.
“Currently I’m definitely voting for either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren,” Guerrero said. “I care a lot about education. I have a bunch of younger cousins and I really want to make sure they get a good education.”
Meanwhile, biology major Nathan Johle thinks there is a lack of effective climate policy among the democratic candidates.
“I care a lot about environmental policies,” Johle said.
“This will be the first time I can vote in a presidential election, so I might as well use my right.”
Nathan Johle
Johle previously supported the climate action-focused campaign of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. However, Inslee dropped out of the race in August 2019.
“If I’m going to support a politician it’ll be Tulsi Gabbard,” Johle said. “This will be the first time I can vote in a presidential election, so I might as well use my right.”
Johle doesn’t identify with a certain political party. Instead, he chooses candidates based on their individual positions.
“I have beliefs,” Johle said. “I don’t like to put them between two labels.”
He expressed concern that students vote for candidates without doing their research, a sentiment echoed by fellow student Kitty Quintrell.
“I don’t like making a conclusion until I’ve got my own research,” Quintrell said. “That’s one of the main things I’m going to be doing before I submit my vote.”
In the short time before California votes, some states will have already decided. The popularity of the candidates will be much clearer. Momentum will be gained by some and lost by others. Due to the shifting field of the democratic primary, students are resorting to a tried and true method—waiting until the last minute to cram.
Philosopher, activist and intellectual Dr. Cornel West visiting Humboldt State University
Dr. Cornel West will be at Humboldt State University Friday, Feb. 7 to celebrate Black Liberation Month as the keynote speaker of a series of events.
West advocates for race, gender and class equality. West’s social and political activism goes back to his days at John F. Kennedy high school where he marched for civil rights and protested against the lack of diversity and black studies classes offered at the school.
West went on to become class president of his high school before attending both Harvard and Princeton Universities. He is known for infusing the world with academic inference, intelligence and philosophical reflection.
The event is hosted by HSU’s African American Center for Academic Excellence and HSU Brothers United.
West’s lecture will focus on topics from his 1993 book, “Race Matters.” Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room.
The first 100 students through the door with an ID will receive a free copy of “Race Matters.” Additional copies can be found at Northtown Books at 947 H St. in Arcata.
Tickets are free and available at the University Center Ticket Office at HSU, which can be reached at (707) 826-3928.
A press release from the HSU Formerly Incarcerated Students Club
Full press release:
Humboldt State University’s Formerly Incarcerated Student’s Club and Student Legal Lounge in conjunction with Clubs and Activities, Black Liberation Month and Associated Students will host a week long event titled Reentry Forum: Let’s Talk About Mass Incarceration. The event will be from Feb. 3-7 at Humboldt State University with nearly two events a day. Our goal is to provide support for students and community members who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. This event will provide education around transforming the system, inform our university and community on the pervasiveness of the criminal punishment system in our everyday lives, and build support in reversing the school to prison pipeline. Attendees will receive resources pertaining to record expungement, child custody, licensing, and other tools that help folks with the re-entry process.
Schedule: Feb.3-7
Day 1: February 3, 2020 [Monday]
❏ Nube Brown, Liberate the Caged Voices; 12-2 p.m. @Goodwin Forum (NHE 102) ❏ Judge Abby Abinanti, Chief Justice of the Yurok Tribe; 5-7 p.m. @KBR
Day 2: February 4, 2020 [Tuesday]
❏ Root and Rebound (Training/Clinic); 11-1 a.m./p.m., 2-4 p.m. @KBR
Day 3: February 5, 2020 [Wednesday]
❏ Tory Eagles, Pelican Bay Scholars Program Director/ William Feather, Ukiah Inmate
Scholars Program Director talk about scholars programs in locked facilities; 12-2 p.m.
@Goodwin Forum (NHE 102)
❏ Jimmy Santiago Baca, Chicano-American Poet & Writer from New Mexico; 5-7 p.m.
@KBR
Day 4: February 6, 2020 [Thursday]
PANEL DISCUSSION: @Green and Gold Room (FH 166)
❏ Andrew Winn (Project Rebound Sacramento), Joseph Osario (Anti-Recidivism Coalition), Mike Bishop (Children and Family Services Counselor), Mark Taylor (Anti-Recidivism Coalition), Jason Bell ( Project Rebound Director San Francisco), Mike Bishop (Children and Family Services Counselor) Working in Re-Entry Panel Discussion; 5-7 p.m.
❏ Joshua Meisel, (Moderator) Working in Re-Entry Panel Discussion; 5-7 p.m.
Day 5: February 6, 2020 [Friday]
❏ Movie: 13th; 11 a.m. @ Siemens Hall 108
❏ Collaboration; AACAE Presents: Cornel West @ KBR
For more information or concerns contact fisc@humboldt.edu
The Humboldt Office of Sustainability reports good news for HSU’s Climate Action Plan
Humboldt State University’s 2019 Climate Action Plan Progress Report revealed positive impacts for the Climate Action Plan.
Morgan King, HSU’s Climate Action Analyst, explained how the Climate Action Plan divides campus emissions into three scopes, each categorized by how much control HSU has over reducing them.
“We’re striving towards reducing our scopes one and two,” King said. “Scope one, the majority of that is natural gas so what we need to do is start weaning ourselves off natural gas.”
“We’ve completed almost half of our strategies. But the most expensive ones that also have the greatest impact are the ones that we’re still lagging a little bit behind on.”
Morgan king, HSU’s climate action analyst
Scope one emissions are from burning natural gas on campus and the fuels fleet vehicles use. Scope two emissions are from electricity use. Scope three emissions are from commuting, business air travel and solid waste management.
The report said we are on track to meet the 2020 emissions reduction goal. The Climate Action Plan set a course for the campus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, to 80% below 1990 levels by 2040, and to become carbon neutral by 2050.
To accomplish these emissions goals, the CAP includes 55 strategies that lay out the short and long-term goals necessary to achieve these goals. According to the progress report, 45% of the strategies have been completed.
“We’ve completed almost half of our strategies,” King said. “But the most expensive ones that also have the greatest impact are the ones that we’re still lagging a little bit behind on.”
There are three projects in the works for 2020. First is a faculty learning program intended to teach professors how to incorporate sustainability in their lesson plans. Second, over spring break, King is co-facilitating a student leadership institute in climate resilience. King is also developing a sustainability minor to enable students to better understand the methods behind creating a sustainable environment.
“Within our initial climate action plan we saw it was critical to have an engaged campus population that are making decisions and engaged in actions to improve sustainability for the campus,” King said. “That’s potentially as important as changing out all the lights.”
The United States men’s national team has not made much progress since failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup
The lowest moment in recent history for the United States men’s national soccer team was on the night of Oct. 10, 2018, on a rain-soaked pitch in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago.
The U.S. was on the cusp of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and only needed a draw against the Trinidad and Tobago national team, who were dead last in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football qualifying standings and had not won in their last nine matches.
Even if the U.S. were to lose this game, a failsafe existed in the form of either Mexico or Costa Rica winning their respective game, which would send the U.S. to their eighth straight World Cup. It seemed like a sure thing.
On that fateful night, everything that could have possibly gone wrong for the U.S. men’s national team went haywire.
I believe it was one of the worst moments in American sports history.
An own goal that was deflected off the leg of U.S. defender Omar Gonzalez somehow found its way past goalkeeper Tim Howard in minute 17. Trinidad would add another goal in minute 37, and while the Americans would add a goal late, it would not be enough.
The United States lost 2-1 to the worst team in the final round of qualifying. To make matters worse, Mexico and Costa Rica, who were two of the best teams in the region, managed to lose both of their matches. For the first time since 1986, the United States would not be in the World Cup. To say this was an embarrassment would be an understatement.
I believe it was one of the worst moments in American sports history. For the United States to fail to get a tie against a team that was 1-8 previously in qualifying was a national embarrassment. Missing out on the World Cup would deal a massive blow to the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Fans across the U.S. would miss out on seeing their national team play on the world’s biggest stage, and subsequently, the up-and-coming players on the national team would miss out on a valuable experience that would strengthen their development. To make things even worse, qualifying for the next World Cup does not begin until 2021, leaving us a long time to think about what happened.
Since then, the U.S. Soccer Federation has fired their head coach, Bruce Arena, and after many months of interim coaches at the helm, Gregg Berhalter was selected to lead the long journey back to the next World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. Many of the players that were a part of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup squads are now gone, leaving a lot of young and talented but unproven players to develop at the international level.
A lot of the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was years in the making. The U.S. had an aging roster of players that were on the back end of their international careers. Players like Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, who were a huge part of past World Cups, were just not producing at the same level as in the past.
Now that the U.S. has an almost entirely different roster, it looks like the team has no sense of direction. An embarrassing loss to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League in October highlighted the fact that the U.S. still has a long way to go to reach the next World Cup. The U.S. roster is currently highlighted by budding superstar Christian Pulisic, who is the best scorer for the team and plays club soccer for Chelsea in one of the top soccer leagues in the world. Other than Pulisic, the U.S. roster is a rotating door of names.
If the U.S. has issues competing with teams on our own continent, then being able to someday compete with the top European or South American nations is going to be a daunting task.
It all comes down to a complete lack of talent within the U.S. Soccer Federation. One problem is finding talent and developing it, but the main problem is dual-national players committing to other nations. If you’re a young player and you have the choice of playing for the United States or Mexico, right now I would bet that player is going to choose Mexico.
While the men’s team is trying to find their identity on the field, I would like to shout out the U.S. Women’s National Team for winning two straight World Cups and continuing to make this country proud. They are setting an example for how American soccer should be played and I look forward to their continued success.
How memes provide comedic relief in times of conflict
When a war with Iran suddenly seemed imminent in early January, the people of the Internet reacted the only way they knew how—they made memes. The memes, whatever you think of them, helped people approach a difficult discussion through humor.
President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3. When Iran retaliated by attacking United States Army bases in Iraq with missiles, talk of World War III went on the rise.
Many of the resultant memes revolved around the idea of men between the ages of 18-26 getting drafted to go to war.
If the United States did go to war, there is a possibility that a draft could take place. In World War II, about 20% of men were drafted.
While serving in the United States military has been voluntarily since 1973, an act of Congress could call for a draft. Male U.S. citizens between the ages of 18-26 and immigrants who are living in the U.S. still must register for the Selective Service System.
Of course, no one wants to think about a draft. Instead, people address the issue through jokes. This might not be ideal, but at least people are talking about it.
Should we joke about the hundreds of thousands of people who might die going to war? No, but we should be talking about it and this is a start.
Using humor and memes to talk about what’s going on in the world isn’t a bad thing. Choosing to only laugh and failing to educate yourself on the issue you’re laughing at is where people go wrong.
The memes could even be deemed as parody news. From what I learned in a parody news class last semester, people use humor to talk about serious topics without making them sound as serious, so that people can digest what’s going on. Parody news is often described as taking real subjects and making a joke out of them to get people laughing and thinking.
The draft memes ranged from how women were going to try to get out of the war by being a housewife, to men offing themselves before they got drafted, to how to distract Iranian soldiers so your friends can get away. There were even meta memes about these memes that went something like, “Me laughing at war memes even though it’s probably going to happen.”
Memes are as prevalent as ever. There seems to be a meme regarding every aspect of this possible war, and for almost every bit of modern life. If it makes news, the memes will follow. Everyday on social media you see memes regarding the upcoming presidential election, climate change, health care and more.
Often times, I see memes about current events before I even see news coverage. I found myself laughing at the memes about WWIII before I even knew what was actually going on. When I saw the memes, I decided to research why people were saying we were going to war. The memes were my first point of contact on the events with Iran—they informed me.
Using humor and memes to talk about what’s going on in the world isn’t a bad thing. Choosing to only laugh and failing to educate yourself on the issue you’re laughing at is where people go wrong. The problem isn’t on the people making the memes. It’s on the audience failing to educate themselves and do more with a meme than laugh.
Keep your commentary to yourself and let me have a laugh, please
Sitting in the audience of a comedy show, I expect laughter. After dealing with long shifts at work, assignment deadlines that are past due and staggering grades, that’s what I want.
After living in Humboldt County for a little over a year, I was ecstatic to hear about Savage Henry Comedy Club from my former classmate and local comedian Peter Nelson. Never would I have imagined such a beautiful place to exist and to remind me that it’s okay to laugh at anything.
It became my mission to attend more comedy shows and try out some material for more open mic nights at Savage Henry. In November I was blessed with attending my first late night comedy show featuring Kyle Kinane. The night started off perfect as the air filled with laughter. But the mood changed when some audience members felt the need to be included in the comedian’s routine.
It’s not a rare occurrence for audience members to disrupt a comedy show.
If I had a dime for every time a movie theater reminded me to silence my phone and exit the area with my non-existent crying child, I would have enough for another movie ticket.
Unfortunately, comedy shows have always faced problems with talking audience members. Common sense seems to vacate the premises when it comes to comedy. Who thinks that just because they paid money to see an act, they’re entitled to becoming the most hated person in that venue?
Thankfully, comedians are usually experienced with enduring this kind of behavior, with the exception of Seinfeld star Michael Richards.
However, for Kinane it was a cake walk dealing with a dreadlocked couple and their redundant responses during his routine. My mood the entire night was a mixture of laughter, anger and finally relief as the obnoxious couple got up and left (but not without loudly announcing that they had a baby at home).
Had I known this earlier, I would have called Child Protective Services to alleviate the audience of this comedy sabotage.
Kinane was a trooper and finished strong. He received an applause not just for his resilience, but also for putting on a late show since his Friday and Saturday night shows sold out.
It’s not a rare occurrence for audience members to disrupt a comedy show. I’ve been present when these atrocities are committed and I’m relieved when they’re dealt with. My favorite distractions are people texting during a comedy show and getting called out, especially since the responses are usually ridiculous.
When I saw Al Madrigal live a couple summers ago, I sat next to a woman who couldn’t seem to put her phone down. When she was finally called out by one of the opening acts, she tried justifying her actions.
“My friend is having a baby right now and she’s keeping me updated,” she said.
Instead of showing sympathy, the opening act trashed her for the remainder of his set.
If you can’t fathom the idea of someone else speaking, perhaps you need to reevaluate yourself and forego the comedy show.
I will never understand why people feel they have the right to interrupt a comedy show. Standup comedy is my way of taking a breath of fresh air from a rough week. For it to get obstructed by someone that doesn’t respect the art of making people laugh is just blasphemy.
How planting trees can serve as one branch of a climate action plan
In the face of climate change, all scales of society, from government to corporations to individuals, are looking for ways to emit less and sink more carbon. The internet latched onto the tree-planting solution, but it’s important the right trees are planted in the right place at the right time.
The climate crisis is the dominant issue of this decade. According to Robert H. Socolow and Stephen W. Pacala, who wrote the article “A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check” in 2006, the world must avoid emitting about 200 billion tons of carbon over the next 50 years.
To make the problem manageable, Socolow and Pacala turned the required reduction into one-billion-ton “wedges.” The paper contained strategies that could be scaled up by 2050 to reduce carbon emissions by one million tons per year. For example, a wedge would be achieved if the number of miles traveled by the world’s cars was cut in half or if global deforestation was halted within 50 years.
Tree planting has become one of the most popular solutions in popular culture. Ecosia and Team Trees are two internet campaigns working to plant millions of trees.
A consistent goal in climate science is net zero emissions. In other words, the volume of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere needs to equal the volume coming out. With a record 37 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 2018, that’s a daunting task. To achieve this goal, society needs to emit less carbon and increase nature’s carbon sinking, or the natural process of turning carbon dioxide gas into solid matter.
Top minds of the world are putting their heads together to come up with solutions, ranging from modernized public transportation to alternative energy technology to lifestyle changes toward less consumption. Beyond that, policy makers and scientists are working closely with everyday people to educate, inspire and solve the crisis.
Locally, Humboldt State University, the City of Arcata and Humboldt County have prepared climate action plans. In the spring of 2019, five public workshops were hosted by the county to get ideas from community members on an action plan. The primary goal of these plans is to reduce emissions to pre-1990 levels by 2030.
2030 is the nearest milestone in climate policy. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming, global emissions will need to fall 45% from 2010 levels by then to be on track for the net zero emissions goal for 2050. This ideal timeline would limit global warming to the best-case 1.5 degree Celsius increase in average temperature, a goal which still brings with it real climate change.
Trees in Patrick’s Point State Park in Trinidad, CA on March 16, 2017. | Photo by Collin Slavey
Tree planting has become one of the most popular solutions in popular culture. Ecosia and Team Trees are two internet campaigns working to plant millions of trees. A number of science-based YouTubers have published videos explaining the project, including SmarterEveryDay, Mr.Beast and Aspect Science.
Trees are a valuable ally in the battle against climate change because they sequester carbon. A tree’s bark is made out of carbon. During photosynthesis, plants turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into glucose. The glucose molecule, along with other essential nutrients, turns into plant matter like leaves, branches and roots, effectively storing carbon in a solid state.
For this ordeal to be successful, it’s essential the people planting trees understand the silvics of those trees. Silvics is the study of the life history and characteristics of forest trees, and without understanding it, the newly-planted trees are more likely to die.
With the Earth at a critical time in its life history, the top minds of the world are opting for some deep breaths, planning and deliberate, well-informed environmental action.
Affordable art supplies with environmental consciousness in mind
Doohickeys, thingamabobs and whatchamacallits galore. One local craft store has it all and does so with purpose to provide a community with creative inspiration and affordable art supplies while reducing, reusing, recycling and repurposing.
SCRAP Humboldt is a craft supply store with hundreds of items available for creative reuse. The store started as a temporary holiday season shop in 2012 at the Jacoby Storehouse and later became an established organization aimed at repurposing items that society would typically deem as waste.
Malia Matsumoto first began volunteering her time with SCRAP Humboldt and later became the director of the organization in 2017.
“As an artist, I taught classes at Scrap and volunteered my time to come take care of the store,” Matsumoto said.
The storefront counter of Scrap Humboldt in October 2018. | Photo by Chelsea Wood
Shelves stocked with various sorted trinkets and supplies in the storefront of Scrap Humboldt in October 2018. | Photo by Chelsea Wood
Shelves stocked with various sorted trinkets and supplies in the storefront of Scrap Humboldt in October 2018. | Photo by Chelsea Wood
Shelves stocked with various sorted trinkets and supplies in the storefront of Scrap Humboldt in October 2018. | Photo by Chelsea Wood
As director, she coordinates events, reaches out to similar organizations for cross pollination and manages staff and volunteers at the center. SCRAP Humboldt also works with other local organizations for mentoring programs like the Humboldt Area Foundation.
SCRAP Humboldt relies heavily on donations and receives items for reuse from community members, businesses and even Humboldt State University. Steady donations also come from partnerships with local businesses that aim to reduce their product waste. Local donors include Los Bagels, Kokatat and the Humboldt Bay Coffee Company.
Donations are sorted into respective categories and then placed on the store’s floor. SCRAP Humboldt has supply sections for sewing, painting, scrapbooking, holidays, jewelry-making and crafting.
“Because everything is donation-based, it’s a really low price point,” Matsumoto said. “As an artist or a maker you’re able to get more materials than you would if you went to a traditional brick and mortar store like Michael’s or JoAnn’s.”
The variety of conventional and unconventional up-cycled items SCRAP Humboldt has to offer gives locals access to affordable art supplies. The organization also hosts weekly tutorial classes to teach the community how to complete projects with repurposed materials.
Matsumoto and the crew at SCRAP Humboldt have a passion for diverting reusable waste from landfills by finding creative ways to repurpose items that typically wouldn’t be thought of as art supplies.
Matsumoto said that once people start making things on their own, they begin to see the hard work it takes to create something. Matsumoto said people also learn to give more value to scraps while seeing the potential for an old thing to become new.
The SCRAP Humboldt team spreads this message and their passion for waste reduction and art creation with the community by offering summer camps for kids, creative reuse classes and a space for an artist-in-residence program.
New study links smoking cannabis with testicular cancer
Those attending Humboldt State University who smoke marijuana regularly may want to rethink their habit.
Marijuana is the most widely used drug in the United States, and a large part of its popularity as a recreational narcotic comes from the perception that it has very few, if any, long-term health effects. There are, in fact, several positives that are associated with the drug, such as help with depression or anxiety, easing of muscle soreness and a reducing of the number of seizures experienced by people with epilepsy.
“When you combust any plant, you’re creating significantly more carcinogens.”
Dr. Jeffrey Chen
However, despite its positive effects, a recent study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association has identified a link between marijuana use in people with male reproductive organs and an increased risk of testicular cancer. The study explained that burning marijuana (which is necessary to smoke it), like burning any plant, triggers the release of carcinogens, which, in this case, may lead to testicular germ cell tumor.
The study also analyzed potential connections between recreational marijuana use and lung cancer, oral cancer and head and neck cancer. However, JAMA did not find any connections to any of those cancers.
The meta-analysis in the data collected by JAMA is specific to white men, leaving out a large part of the global population. Many of their findings also date back as far as 1973.
There also isn’t a direct causality from marijuana to cancer over a wide range of the population. The American Association for Cancer Research has identified many of the victims of cancer as having used marijuana heavily. However, there is still no evidence of other variables, who else might be at risk or other drugs that might increase or minimize said risk.
These studies so far are limited in the information they provide, and should not be taken as the final word on any and all links between cannabis and cancer. However, it does contribute to the ongoing discussion of the health effects of the drug, and those who do use it may want to sit up a little straighter and take some notice.
Three methods of thought going into the new year reveal a time of dedication and hard work
Three different pseudoscientific approaches, including astrology, numerology and the Chinese calendar, investigate information both singularly and as a whole. Together, these pseudosciences may predict what the new year and decade may bring.
Astrology is the study of celestial movement and positioning. This ancient method of predicting and explaining is most commonly associated with horoscopes.
The astrological movements for 2020 are even more significant than in other years because it’s not just a new year, but a new decade. The birthing of the new decade will cause pain, discomfort and confrontation resulting in struggle and challenges. However, this endurance will allow for active change and role assertion coming into the new year. This is important, as the beginning of a new decade and astrological era comes with growing pains, challenge and a call to overcome.
Celestial movements predicted to impact 2020 most intensely involve the interactions between three planets: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.
Jupiter and Saturn are social planets that rule in opposition. They command two different branches of thought towards social interaction and understanding.
Using the three pseudosciences above, 2020 supports a year of hard work and challenge.
Jupiter is one of two social planets. Jupiter controls development and knowledge towards self-growth and understanding. Saturn, meanwhile, is in control of responsibility and judgement toward creating boundaries and restrictions as well as wisdom.
Pluto, although found at the very end of the solar system, rules forcefully, bringing both rebirth.
The interaction of these three planets will most heavily affect social structure and reform. The initiation for change and reform will become most dire towards the end of 2020. The defining celestial movement of 2020 will be Dec. 21, where the conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn will unite air signs until the year 2159. This conjunction will challenge society, affecting it in all ways: structurally, fundamentally and economically.
Numerology, or the study of numbers, looks into the meanings and relationships with coinciding events. Numerology focuses on the divine number, which is the sum of information in numerical form. This number is then compared to a list of fixated numbers ranging from one through nine with attached meanings.
Dates are easiest to calculate due to the numbers already being assigned. For example, last year 2019 was 2+0+1+9=12. However, because the list ranges from one to nine, 12 is broken down further to 1+2=3. 2019’s divine number was three. The divine number for 2020 is broken down by each digit in the year, 2+0+2+0= 4. Therefore, four is the divine number of 2020.
Four symbolizes masculinity and strength with a focus towards responsibility, hard work and discipline. Four is a stagnant and comfortable number basking in dedication and consistency, rather than imagination and creativity. While Four sounds bland, the value is on hard work and finishing the job, making 2020 a year of drive and dedication.
Lastly, the Chinese New Year zodiacs. There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals corresponding with specific years. The last year of the Rat was 2008 and has cycled around again to 2020.
The Rat is the first zodiac sign in the zodiac chart and symbolizes fortune and personality. Rats are witty, quick thinkers who can accomplish great things and live contently and peacefully. However, the Rat is also considered too feeble and, at times, overly conservative.
Along with a corresponding animal, a new year is also assigned an element. The five elements are Metal, Wood, Fire, Water and Earth. 2020 is a Metal year. Metal symbolizes determination, hard work and persistence.
Collectively, 2020 is the year of the Metal Rat and will be a year of work and persistence. The drive to accomplish will come to those who remain patient, dedicated and loyal in the process of great reward for great work.
Using the three pseudosciences above, 2020 supports a year of hard work and challenge. A time for reform will become evident in the year that demands patience and control. The beginning of 2020 may seem challenging and overbearing, with constant need to troubleshoot and refocus on finishing the job. Though difficulty so early in the year is distasteful, the hard work will reveal rewards. Dedication will reap benefits if one can endure the hardships.
Several administrative changes at HSU suggest high turnover
In the last three months, three Humboldt State University administrators jumped ship. A game of musical chairs has since taken place as staff have shuffled around to fill the gaps.
Since November, HSU has appointed a new interim provost, interim college dean, Title IX coordinator, Student Health Center director and Human Resources staff recruitment manager.
While it’s unclear how the changes will affect HSU, the shifts appear in line with data suggesting high turnover rates among college administrators.
The changes began in November, when Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Alex Enyedi left HSU to become the 11th president of the State University of New York, Plattsburgh.
Enyedi served as HSU’s provost and vice president of academic affairs since 2015 after leaving Western Michigan University, where he served as a biology professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Enyedi left WMU amid controversy as his contract expired despite a petition of support with 1,300 signatures, according to reporting from the North Coast Journal. Enyedi said he believed his contract was not renewed due to his requests for raises for female college employees. WMU pointed to enrollment declines and budget adjustments—familiar phrases for HSU—as the cause of his departure.
“The turnover rate for deans or directors of education topped the list at 22%, while the rate for provosts sat second-highest, at 21%, according to the analysis. Presidents or chancellors came in third, at 18%.”
Data from Higher Education Publications
HSU announced Dean of the College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Lisa Bond-Maupin as interim provost on Nov. 26. While Bond-Maupin serves, HSU said it would search for the next provost.
“There will be a national search for a new Provost, with opportunity for input and participation from individuals across campus,” the Nov. 26 announcement said. “Details of the search plan will be shared when they are finalized.”
HSU then appointed Spanish Professor Rosamel Benavides-Garb to take Bond-Maupin’s place. Benavides-Garb previously served as associate dean of CAHSS and chair of the World Languages and Cultures program.
On the same day as the Enyedi announcement, Nov. 20, HSU announced Executive Director of Student Health and Wellbeing Services Dr. Brian Mistler had resigned and taken the job as Chief Operating Officer of Resolution Care in Eureka.
In Mistler’s place, Associate Vice President of Student Success Stephen St. Onge now leads the Student Health Center alongside Dr. Karen Selin and Dr. Jen Sanford. The Nov. 20 press release noted that the plans for the future of the SHC’s leadership would be revealed in January. In the meantime, the release made a promise to students.
“In honoring HSU’s commitment to our students, we are looking into opportunities to expand hours and services for students starting the Spring 2020 semester,” the release said.
“Marcus has been an invaluable team member and has served HSU, with his many years of experience, during a time of great change and uncertainty for Title IX departments across the country,” the release said.
Taking Winder’s place is Human Resources Staff Recruitment Manager David Hickcox. Hickcox worked for HR and as an investigation officer for the Title IX Office for the last two and a half years, according to the release.
Recruitment Manager Nicole Log, who, according to the release, has served HSU for five and a half years in the HR department, then took Hickcox’s place.
Finally, Interim Director of Academic Resources Holly Martel got to remove the “interim” from her title on Nov. 18. Martel, who served as the interim director since 2017, has worked at HSU for 24 years in a variety of roles, from financial planning to personnel management.
According to 2016 data from Higher Education Publications, a company that publishes college data in its online Higher Education Directory, college administrators experience high rates of turnover compared to other administrators.
The turnover rate for deans or directors of education topped the list at 22%, while the rate for provosts sat second-highest, at 21%, according to the analysis. Presidents or chancellors came in third, at 18%.
A summary of the analysis gave a variety of possible causes for the high rates.
“When compared to other administrators, the cause for such high-level turnover can be linked to many diverse issues such as growing financial, faculty, Board and political pressures,” the summary said. “Also, traditionally colleges and universities have made leadership selections from within, minimizing risk.”
However, the analysis did not list the administrative turnover rates with which it compared college administrative turnover rates. The Lumberjack has reached out to Higher Education Publications and will update this story online when we receive a response.
The Lumberjack has also reached out to HSU for comment. We received word that HSU Associate Vice President of Human Resources David Montoya and his team are gathering turnover data and will have a comment at a further date. We will update this story online when we receive said comment.
An HSU memo sent out Jan. 21 revealed results from a spring 2019 Great Colleges to Work For survey conducted at HSU. The national survey, intended to inform institutions about workplace culture, sheds some light on the status of the HSU administrative staff.
Across 15 categories, the HSU results came back most positive in the job satisfaction, compensation, pride and supervisors or department chairs categories. The results came back most negative in the senior leadership, policies and faculty, administration and staff relations categories.
HSU will hold two presentations in Goodwin Forum, one on Jan. 24 and one on Feb. 4, to further discuss the findings with faculty and staff, according to the memo.
Living in a community full of love, fear and a growing void of justice
Thirty-three months after a black HSU student was murdered in the city of Arcata, a circle of family, friends, students and community members huddled together, clasped hands and shouted his name.
“Justice for David Josiah Lawson,” the group said loud and clear over and over from the steps of the Arcata City Hall. The sun had set hours ago, and a winter wind was biting at those gathered in attendance, but weather wouldn’t stop the crowd.
“The vibe itself is very upbeat considering the weather,” said attendee Andre Ramos, who wore a heavy winter coat and a beanie pulled over his ears.
Every month since the murder of David Josiah Lawson, a crowd has gathered around Charmaine Lawson, the mother of Josiah Lawson, and together they demand justice for Josiah. Lawson remains steadfast in her belief that justice will happen. She makes the journey all the way up to Humboldt from her home in Southern California to remind those in power that she will make it happen.
“It will happen,” Lawson said. “I serve a mighty god. As long as I have breath in my body I will continue to be here.”
“There are beautiful, amazing, wonderful, compassionate people here. There is love within this community, but there is evil and darkness here.”
Charmaine Lawson
To Lawson, this was an open and shut case. The original suspect, former Mckinleyville resident Kyle Christopher Zoellner, was apprehended the night of the murder. Lawson said the murder weapon was also found. She said DNA evidence should presumably solve this case.
“Why we’re still here? Dumbfounded,” Lawson said.
As the months go by, more and more students move to Humboldt to attend Humboldt State University. Yet Lawson is concerned these students don’t know the situation they’re moving into.
HSU has a much higher population of people of color than the surrounding community. Most HSU students come from Los Angeles or the Bay Area and the small-town culture of Humboldt is different from what they’re used to. Lawson wants to ensure that all students who start the next step of their lives in Humboldt make it out again, but she feels that students of color simply aren’t welcome.
“If you’re a student of color, be careful,” Lawson said. “There are beautiful, amazing, wonderful, compassionate people here. There is love within this community, but there is evil and darkness here.”
Kwame Achebe, a San Diego native, agreed. Achebe has attended every vigil since the murder, but his voice still shook when talking about what happened. He chose his words carefully but spoke with a grim humor when recounting one of his first experiences in Humboldt.
“What’s funny is in San Diego I’m pretty light skinned,” Achebe said with a laugh. “In San Diego I’d have to be convincing people I was black. I didn’t need to convince anybody here. My first day at Arcata High I was greeted as ‘the nigger,’ OK? I was greeted as ‘the nigger.’”
Achebe said his experiences in Humboldt have told him that this isn’t an aberration.
“For us not to have justice 33 months after the murder of a young black man? It’s not out of the norm at all,” Achebe said.
Achebe said the elected leaders of Arcata don’t care about what happened to Josiah Lawson, so it’s up to the people.
“I’ve been out here from the very beginning. I see the look on their faces when they’re addressing us. They have no souls in their eyes,” Achebe said. “They don’t care.”
Part of the goal of the Justice for Josiah movement is justice in the form of political change, not just for Josiah Lawson, but for the whole system. Lawson vowed to keep working to elect people who she thinks will be able to uphold justice.
“I will continue to call people in power out that are elected officials who are not doing their jobs and make sure we get people with integrity and love and compassion in seats,” Lawson said.
Over the course of the almost three-year history of this case, it has faced numerous setbacks. The case against Zoellner was dismissed in 2017. In 2019, a criminal grand jury decided not to indict anyone for the murder of Josiah Lawson, and the California Attorney General declined to take the case.
“Justice for me is having Kyle Christopher Zoellner arrested for the murder of my son David Josiah Lawson and held accountable for his actions,” Lawson said.
The history of the case shows that a system that could bring about the justice that Lawson wants is not the one Humboldt has, but Lawson is convinced it will one day. Until then, Lawson is concerned for the students of color in the here and now.
“Don’t go anywhere alone in this town,” Lawson said. “Stick together so someone can tell your story if you’re not able to.”
Winter storm moving in Wednesday evening may cause power outages
Residents of Humboldt, Mendocino and Lake Counties should prepare for possible power outages during the winter storm rolling in Wednesday evening, according to a press release from Pacific Gas and Electric.
“PG&E meteorologists are expecting the cold front to move into Humboldt County tonight and will work southward into Mendocino and Lake Counties,” PG&E Spokesperson Deanna Contreras said in a press release sent to The Lumberjack. “We are expecting power outages due to wind and rain and also on Thursday due to snow accumulation in the upper elevations.”
The release said PG&E will mobilize crews to remain on-call throughout Wednesday night to respond to any outages. The release also noted that PG&E plans to activate its Operations Emergency Centers.
The release went on to provide a number of safety tips during the storm, which is forecasted to last at least into Thursday, with “unsettled weather” possibly lasting into next week.
Tips included not touching downed wires, avoiding the use of candles and turning off appliances to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. See the press release copied below for the full list of tips.
PG&E Alerts Customers: Have a Plan for Cold, Wet and Windy Weather
Potential Outages Are Possible Due to Approaching Weather
EUREKA / UKIAH / CLEARLAKE, Calif.—With unsettled weather expected to return to its service area this week, PG&E is asking customers to have a plan for inclement weather and be prepared for unexpected power outages.
PG&E meteorologists are forecasting a change in the weather pattern over Northern and Central California later this week. The most impactful storm of this pattern will start on Wednesday afternoon with wind, rain and mountain snow and last into Thursday. Unsettled weather may continue over the weekend and into the following week.
“An impactful winter storm is on the way and we’re asking customers to have a plan to keep themselves and their families safe. Our team of meteorologists is closely tracking the weather system and working with our employees in the field to stage resources and ensure we’re prepared to restore power safely and quickly,” said PG&E senior meteorologist Evan Duffey.
PG&E is closely tracking the weather system and will be mobilizing crews and materials into areas expected to feel the brunt of the storm, so they can get to work and restore service to impacted customers more quickly.
PG&E’s meteorology team has developed a Storm Outage Prediction Model that incorporates real-time weather forecasts, historical data and system knowledge to accurately show where and when storm impacts will be most severe. This model enables the company to pre-stage crews and equipment as storms approach to enable rapid response to outages.
Storm Safety Tips:
Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, pets and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.
Have fresh drinking water, ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.
Secure outdoor furniture: Deck furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items should be secured as they can be blown by high winds and damage overhead power lines or property.
Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.
Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 811 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.
Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of the Lumberjack.
Each week we answer anonymous questions sent in by readers about anything and everything.
Dear Evergreen,
Is driving to Eureka for Costco gas worth it?
Dear Fretful Fueler,
Gas prices in California are some of the highest in the nation, with prices often spilling over $4.00 a gallon, but Costco offers some of the cheapest gas.
Costco is a popular gas supplier, and here in Humboldt we are fortunate to have one locally. But although Costco gas is an option in the area, it’s not accessible to all.
To get gas from Costco you must have a membership or a Costco gift card. As someone who doesn’t have a Costco membership, I can’t say for certain that Costco gas is the best alternative.
For those who can afford the $60 yearly subscription, it makes sense to go to Costco if you’re already using their other services. However, if you plan on getting a membership just for a gas discount, I wouldn’t suggest it.
If you aren’t a heavy commuter then Costco gas definitely isn’t a good source for fuel. According to Business Insider, the price of a membership won’t be paid off with your gas savings until you gas up around 37 times.
Costco gas stations are also notorious for having chaotic waiting lines and times. If you do consider Costco gas, be mindful of the time of day you head over, as rush hour times are often busier. It would be counterproductive to wait upwards of 10 minutes for gas while idling in your car wasting fuel.
If you aren’t inclined to fuel up at a Costco gas station, there are other places you can gas up at. You can find local gas prices with the site and app GasBuddy, which can help you shop around for the best option.
In Arcata, the cheapest gas can be found at the Patriot station for $3.87 a gallon on Giuntoli Lane. In Eureka, the most affordable gas is from the Costco station which is currently $3.49 a gallon.
Happy gassing!
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Humboldt State students partner with Campaign One At A Time to raise money for a child’s dream
Lecsi Prince, Brittney Odion and Cameron Calder will be up and early Saturday morning breaking a sweat and hoping to see the community support their goal of raising funds for a child in need.
Humboldt State University students Prince, Odion and Calder are organizing a group workout called FUNd the Good that starts at 10 a.m. at HSU’s Student Recreation Center Field House on Dec. 14. The three students are fundraising for a national nonprofit called Campaign One At A Time.
“Their mission is to provide positive experiences and fulfill the dreams of children fighting life-threatening illnesses, one child and one campaign at a time,” Prince said. “They do this by trying to help create normalcy for the child at a time when life is anything but.”
“A lot of these kids don’t get to live a normal childhood due to treatments, but this organization helps their dreams come true.”
Lecsi Prince
FUNd the Good is working with Campaign OAAT in sending 6-year-old Joshy and his family to Universal Studios for Grinchmas. Joshy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2017, and since then, his normal has become hospital stays and treatments.
They are hoping to raise $1,500 before the end of December. Kinesiology majors Prince and Odion and finance major Calder worked with Campaign OAAT in the past, and still continue volunteering for the children.
“The first event I volunteered at, I got to meet some of the kids and it’s cool seeing the direct effect our support has on these children’s lives,” Prince said. “A lot of these kids don’t get to live a normal childhood due to treatments, but this organization helps their dreams come true.”
Prince said FUNd the Good will consist of a circuit training workout and will be set up for anyone to participate, no matter their athletic skill level.
The students are asking for a minimum of a $5 cash donation for Saturday, but hope more people will donate and get Joshy and his family to Universal Studios. Both groups are also accepting any donations online.
“People should come because they will get a great workout and affect real children’s lives,” Prince said. “Everything helps. We have a fundraising page up where people can donate however much money to the cause.”
Inside the multi-pronged battle against declining enrollment
Enrollment numbers are down and Humboldt State University is looking for ways to keep them stable. With just 6,900 students enrolled in 2019, administration and faculty are exploring recruitment strategies and program changes to stimulate growth on campus.
Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether is on the front lines of the enrollment situation.
“We’ve lost well over 2,000 students in the last four or five years,” Meriwether said. “It’s a symptom of a few things. We’re graduating larger classes and our graduation rate has gone up. So that does have an impact. Part two is from a recruitment standpoint. There have been a number of things in place that have changed this year to get us to be a viable recruiting option.”
Humboldt State University enrollment has declined to around 6,900 students in 2019. | Graph adapted from HSU Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Meriwether divided the recruitment efforts into three elements. First, the school got rid of barriers to campus visitors like fees for preview day, parking and lunch. Second, the Division of Enrollment Management is focusing its efforts to draw students from local communities to the campus. Third, the school is using data-driven strategies to make enrollment and engagement decisions.
“We’re using data analytics to mine our top feeders and where we’re getting most of our applications,” Meriwether said. “And we’re using that type of data to make decisions about where we put our time and our energy for the maximum benefit for HSU. We want the community to know HSU is a first-choice university.”
“I think that budget component has overshadowed the fact that we still have students here to serve.”
Casey Park Former chair of the University Center Board of Directors
Historically, HSU regarded low enrollment in a more negative light. A decrease in student enrollment was correlated with a decrease in campus revenue, and campus policies reflected the budget deficit. Casey Park, former chair of the University Center Board of Directors, offered some insight.
“I think that budget component has overshadowed the fact that we still have students here to serve,” Park said. “And the narrative for the last two years was that we just didn’t have enough.”
To help staff make decisions based in reality rather than through hypothesis and conjecture, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness provides data and information to faculty and staff. Lisa Castellino, the associate vice president of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, acknowledged student resources being out-of-date with the current demographic.
“We have a student demographic that has changed over the last five to seven years,” Castellino said. “It has become more diverse. There are more first generation students. It’s more low income. It’s the institution’s responsibility and priority, and it has been the last five to seven years, to help students, because going to college is complicated.”
Thus, on-campus resources are evolving. With low enrollment, Molly Kresl and the Clubs and Activities office said they are being more deliberate and intentional with campus programming by engaging students in a way they prefer.
Meriwether and Enrollment Management said they are promoting HSU’s educational experience to potential students in Humboldt, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties as a first choice rather than a backup. Beyond administration, academic departments are attempting to provide quality education for their students, regardless of enrollment numbers.
“Often during times of change is also our greatest opportunity for growth,” Kresl said. “We stop doing things that really aren’t working that we’ve just done forever because we’ve always done it that way, and we start saying, ‘Okay, then why are we doing this?’”
Why HSU should bring back baseball in the post-football era
It has been over a year since the Humboldt State University football team played their final game ever, leaving local sports fans wondering how we are going to fill the void the HSU football team left in its wake.
Now that I’ve had some time to get used to a fall semester without the green and gold jerseys at the Redwood Bowl, it’s begun to feel more normal for HSU to be a school without a football team.
I know that bringing back the football team, at least in the near future, is an idea that seems like a pipe dream. Once you cut a program that was as much of a financial strain as the football team was, it is really hard to justify bringing such a program back. I think we need to explore alternatives of bringing back other, less expensive sports to HSU, and I know exactly what sport it should be.
Humboldt State needs to revive its baseball program, and I know that HSU baseball would be very well supported by the community.
For one, sports fans in Arcata and the rest of Humboldt County love baseball. There is no bigger example of this than the support that Arcata’s summer collegiate baseball team, the Humboldt Crabs, receives every summer from June until early August.
“From a baseball perspective, an HSU baseball team would be a huge benefit to both the athletes that would play here and the Humboldt Crabs organization.”
Liam Warner
Experiencing a Crabs game is one of the purest forms of Arcata that you will ever experience. From the world-famous Crab Grass Band to the unique heckling coming from the fans, thousands of people pack the Arcata Ballpark every summer to watch the Crabs play. Unfortunately, this is when most of the student population is home for the summer.
Another reason why an HSU baseball team would be easy to start is because finding a facility to play at won’t be a problem. The Arcata Ballpark, which is located right next to Arcata City Hall, is considered to be one of the best ballparks on the summer baseball circuit. For a Division II baseball school, I’m sure we would have one of the best baseball facilities on the West Coast.
Having an HSU baseball team that plays at the Arcata Ballpark would also give fans a lot more opportunities to watch baseball in downtown Arcata. Typically, college baseball season runs from February into late April. The Humboldt Crabs season starts in late May or early June, meaning that we would have six months of baseball with a gap in May between the seasons.
I’m sure extending the season of high-level baseball in Arcata would provide a boost to the economy downtown, as it would allow the opportunity for more people to watch quality baseball at the ballpark.
From a baseball perspective, an HSU baseball team would be a huge benefit to both the athletes that would play here and the Humboldt Crabs organization. The Crabs draw quite a few of their homegrown players from the College of the Redwoods baseball team, so an HSU baseball team would naturally become a feeder of players to play on the Crabs during the summer.
HSU Jacks players would have the opportunity to continue their season on a well-established summer baseball club, and the Crabs would have a local pool of baseball players they could pick from.
Ultimately, it’s up to HSU athletics to make the decision to bring back a sport. But I think all of the factors are there to make an HSU baseball team a successful part of the community.
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.
Cast and crew of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” shed light on complexities of immigration
The story starts in the blue and red lights that bathe a replica-sized model of a wall. Not just any wall, but The Wall, the most southern one that separates country from country, family from family and the hopes of migrants for better opportunities and life.
In that obscurity, bodies shift and take steps until they’re center stage and in full view. They face you, you face them and under the spotlight, the stories of immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients begins.
“Some of these scenes will break your heart because they show so much humanity,” Co-Director Andrea Carrillo said. “Humanity is such a great big theme within this story. You can’t help but connect and feel compassion for these individuals.”
The Humboldt State University Theater Arts, Film and Dance Department presents “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá.” The script was written by Andrea Caban, her students, and a collaboration from source material provided by Armando Vazquez-Ramos and the California-Mexican Studies Center.
Andrew “AJ” Hempstead, who plays Danny, Papa and Ximena’s dad, folds his arms across his chest during a scene of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” in Gist Hall Theater at Humboldt State University. | Photo by Jose Herrera
Actors on stage during the final dress rehearsal of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” in Gist Hall Theatre. | Photo by Jose Herrera
Students in the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program, DACA recipients and immigrant community members gave testimonials and interviews for the script.
Troy Lescher, co-director and HSU associate professor, came upon the script in spring 2018 when Caban emailed the script to all 18 California State Universities in hopes they would produce the show.
“I was blown away by the humanity of the story,” Lescher said. “As soon as I read it I said to myself, ‘We have to do this show at HSU.’ I mean, because of our social justice mission, commitment to minority voices on stage, how timely this issue is and this play had HSU written all over it.”
The play follows the memories and lived experiences of immigrants and DACA recipients who then obtained advance parole, which gave them opportunity to travel to Mexico and reconnect with their culture and families.
Carrillo said that they go through time jumps and include the audience as they break the fourth wall in various scenes from start to finish.
Alejandro Torres as Francisco, Wendy Carranza as Ximena and Victor Parra as Mateo raise their fists. | Photo courtesy of Michael Thomas
However, circumstances prevented the play from happening until fall 2019. Lescher reached out to theater arts graduate students Carrillo and Amy Beltrán via email. They said that they were overjoyed about directing the play.
“For me the biggest thing was to evoke empathy within the community because a lot of the community, as well as in Humboldt County, can be either on the middle ground or can be very conservative,” Carillo said. “These are human beings with their own experiences, their own love, their own families, and that was a big thing for me to show that to them.”
But just as the directors were compelled to tell this story, so too were the actors.
Business marketing major and theater arts minor Victor Parra, who plays Mateo, said he knew it was important for him to get involved when he heard about the script.
“As an actor and artist this is the kind of stuff that catches my attention,” Parra said. “This is the kind of work that I want to do personally.”
Parra said it’s important to remember that the play is a cumulation of many stories, real stories, and that these are real people who struggle everyday. These were stories close to him because he experienced similar struggles back home.
“We have to keep working to give spaces for minority voices to be heard, especially voices that aren’t heard very often.”
Troy Lescher Co-director
“I brought a lot of personal past into this and it was my own decision,” Parra said. “Nobody asked it of me, but because I relate to this.”
Parra plays Mateo, who in the play fears being deported and leaving his child and mother behind. He said that is what happened to him when one of his parents was deported not too long ago, and he brought those feelings into the production.
“I envision my own family,” Parra said. “That’s what I just had to bring to the table because it’s so important. We need to say this. We need for our voices to be heard and something needs to happen.”
Lescher knew that he wanted to encourage and open the production to more students, so he reached out to El Centro Académico Cultural Coordinator Fernando Paz, Interim Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Edelmira Reynoso and Multicultural Center Coordinator Frank Herrera.
The result was that out of 11 cast members, six of them were non-theater majors and four of them performed for the first time.
“This story hits differently,” Carrillo said. “It resonates differently with people. It’s such an immediate connection with a lot of Latinx people and people of color. It made sense that we had so many new faces in the theater.”
Lescher said that the challenges DACA recipients struggle with is a big part of the conversation, because their voices are often unheard or aren’t highlighted in the news.
“We have to keep working to give spaces for minority voices to be heard, especially voices that aren’t heard very often,” Lescher said.
HSU administration cannot tell student media what to publish
Press at any capacity in the United States is protected by the First Amendment against federal censorship of speech. The government cannot make editorial decisions, retractions or content suggestions. Student press publications in California are protected not just by the First Amendment, but also by the California Student Free Expression Law of 1977, or California Education Code 48907.
When a government entity such as a state university interferes with the press by policing publications on what is appropriate to publish, it inhibits the independence of the press.
Recently, Humboldt State University administration sent out a school-wide email regarding material printed in a student parody newspaper, called The Dumberjack, found in an insert in the Nov. 20 issue of The Lumberjack.
The public announcement accused the students in the parody news class that produced The Dumberjack of reinforcing rape culture and gender-based discrimination through a photo that depicted a “sexist ‘riddle’” which was displayed on a sign in a window of an all-female room at the College Creek Apartments.
The school administration held The Dumberjack staff responsible for a joke on a sign they did not create nor stage. A student-journalist outside of the parody news class observed and documented campus culture with this photograph. The parody news class simply featured it in the paper and in no way amplified any perceived gender-based discrimination with the story that ran alongside the photo.
Parody facilitates the palatability of relevant information through comedy.
No one in The Dumberjack class or on The Lumberjack staff supports gender-based discrimination or wants to reinforce rape culture. But journalism, of any kind, is not public relations. The publication of a photo of a sign on campus does not represent endorsement of what the sign says. Journalism draws attention to troublesome realities by documenting them and showing them to the public. When a publication reveals a sign that a university finds offensive, the university’s focus ought to be on the sign, not on the journalists who documented it.
Administration officials invited the class to have a conversation to “discuss the impact and implications of the cover photo.” The meeting was intended to be an open dialogue surrounding the development of “critical lenses.”
Instead, on Thursday, Dec. 5, the class became the site of a direct act of administration intimidation.
Two school officials—only one of whom had been momentarily invited—came to the class and lectured journalism students on how to make editorial decisions. Chair of the Sexual Assault Prevention Committee Kim Berry and Dean of Students Eboni Turnbow, both of whom are government employees, reprimanded a class of students educated in journalism ethics.
The administration is demonstrating unprofessional behavior of questionable legality by attempting to contain this incident and filter what student press can and cannot print. The administration cannot tell student media what to publish.
Parody writers take real world situations and use a critical lens to highlight a topic in a juxtaposed way. These satirical pieces can sometimes be offensive, but the key is that the subject matter is still being discussed.
The goal of parody is to create a dialogue on topics that are either overshadowed or too controversial to be discussed openly. Parody facilitates the palatability of relevant information through comedy.
The First Amendment protects speech, including satire and parody. Satire and parody are used as impressionistic language that aim to create commentary on sensitive issues through the use of humor, absurdity and exaggeration. Utilizing these writing tactics serves as a more approachable way of tackling uncomfortable yet prominent issues.
Journalists aim to relay information in the most accurate and concise manner as possible. Censorship defeats that purpose. The government censoring the media is illegal and obstructs the transparency of journalism. It creates bias and subjectivity, as journalists become fearful of backlash for what they print.
When censorship appeases a specific group of people, it’s a domino effect. Censoring one thing for a single group leads to censoring all material to please everyone. That defeats the purpose of journalism as an independent eye intended to expose overlooked issues.
In today’s political climate, journalists are constantly under fire. The fourth estate, journalism, is as vital to uphold as the fifth estate, non-traditional media like parody news. When federal figures undermine the editorial freedom of a publication, even a parody news publication, a slippery slope follows in which government infringes upon the freedom of the press.
Mental health grant seeks to address adverse childhood experiences in Humboldt
A new $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be placing Masters of Social Work students at Humboldt State University in Eureka City Schools and Del Norte County schools as stipend workers.
“The grants themselves are funding positions at Eureka City Schools and also the Del Norte Unified School District,” Director of Field Education at HSU’s Department of Social Work Yvonne Doble said. “It’s actually a full time benefited position that’s being brought on at the school side to support our students.”
Announced Nov. 20, the funds will come from the U.S. Department of Education Mental Health Service Professional Development Program.
Nearly $1 million of the grant will be going to Humboldt State to help support the students and get them prepared for applying for the Pupil Personnel Services Credential, which is necessary for social work students to be hired by schools.
“A large portion of that is coming specifically for the stipends for the students,” Doble said. “We plan to offer a class for stipend recipients, where they will receive faculty guidance and support regarding school social work practice.”
The grant will be placing Masters of Social Work students at HSU in varying levels of schools throughout Del Norte and Humboldt Counties.
“It looks like we are going to have eight students this next fall, maybe more, and that will move up to 13 to 15 students by year four of the grant,” Doble said.
“Our region, for a number of reasons, has California’s highest ACEs rates in Humboldt and Del Norte County,” Jack Bareilles, the Northern Humboldt Union High School District grants administrator and an author of the grant, said. “You’re looking at approximately a third of all kids are being raised in families with four or more of the ten ACEs. So there is just a real need for that here, and I believe that’s one of the reasons we got funded.”
A graph taken from the HSU California Center for Rural Policy Sept. 2017 report on adverse childhood experiences.
ACEs can include things like alcohol and drug use or violence in the home, housing insecurity and food insecurity.
“Locally, there is a real need for support for students and support for families,” Bareilles said. “Social workers are uniquely qualified to provide, and that being said, we actually have a real shortage of social workers in the schools. It’s just something that we haven’t had before.”
Bareilles said the shortage comes from the lack of PPS credentials for students, and also because social workers, which are different from counselors and school psychiatrists, are mainly used in larger cities. Now, the PPS credential will be offered at HSU.
“Kids and schools and families will be helped, and when push comes to shove, that is the most important thing.”
Jack Bareilles
“The role of school social workers is to really help address social and emotional needs of our students,” Doble said. “It’s not just about academic counseling. It’s about providing resources to children and families. It’s about providing opportunities to developers, opportunities to repair harm that’s occurred.”
Bareilles said doing social work in school systems differs greatly from social work in other categories because the public schools operate under different processes than normal organizations.
“Having these interns work two days a week for a whole year working in a high school or middle school or elementary school, they will emerge from their MSW program with a real sense of, ‘Oh this is how schools work,’” Bareilles said. “So whether or not they are employed as a school social worker or some other child-serving social worker, they will really have a better ability of connecting the dots and getting kids what they need.”
Bareilles said the grant is a huge win for mental health support in Humboldt County and will help provide many troubled youths with the resources and personnel that they need.
“Kids and schools and families will be helped, and when push comes to shove, that is the most important thing,” Bareilles said.
The students behind the sign comparing Humboldt to genitalia discuss their curated material
Humboldt State University has been abuzz in the last few weeks with speculation about a photo of a joke written on a sign by women. This photo, taken by myself, was printed in a parody newspaper, The Dumberjack. The Dumberjack, while produced as parody of The Lumberjack, is created as part of a separate class.
The stated intention behind the sign was to poke fun at the Humboldt County climate by relating the rainy weather to female genitalia. Six girls, Caroline Voorhees, Marian Porter, Rashell Martell, Sabrina Ott, Shannon Coburn and Whitney Burns, live in a College Creek apartment together. The original creator of the sign was Caroline Voorhees, but all of the girls have their own take on the sign’s meaning.
Question: What are your feelings toward the sign?
Marian Porter: “I personally thought it was funny. There definitely were no negative intentions for the sign. Before Caroline puts out a new sign, we all give our consent to what is being represented to our dorm.”
“I guess I am sort of happy the school takes things seriously, but they should focus on other things because there are other things more important than a dorm sign.”
Rashell Martell
Caroline Voorhees: “I felt bad that I might have hurt someone’s feelings and hurt their day. Being the person who wrote the sign, I never would have thought about it as being non-consensual. I wouldn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or make them feel like I was making light on their bad situation. That wasn’t what I was trying to do, I was trying to talk about sex culture and have fun.”
Whitney Burns: “I also think anyone can read anything and take it in a wrong way which shouldn’t stop people from making jokes.”
Rashell Martell: “I was actually the one to find out our sign was the one being talked about in the email and I mentioned it to everyone in our group chat. More or less I found it funny. Even though I didn’t make the sign, I gave consent for the sign to be put out. I guess I am sort of happy the school takes things seriously, but they should focus on other things because there are other things more important than a dorm sign.”
Shannon Coburn: “I didn’t think anything of it and I thought we had so many worse signs. I could see how you can take it that way if you wanted to, but it was weird that they focused their time on a sign and not things that are actually happening on campus.”
Sabrina Ott: “It seems like they blew things out of proportions and it doesn’t seem like something people are focusing so much on. I also felt really bad for the newspaper. We were more worried that the newspaper took fault for something we did.”
Question: Did you think the sign meant what HSU administration decided it meant?
Caroline Voorhees: “When you are in a frame of mind to read something negatively you will. Whoever misinterpreted my joke must have been having a bad day, or had a friend that had a bad encounter, and that wasn’t the purpose of the sign. I feel bad for those people who are going through something in their life in order for them to think that statement was negative, because it was a positive statement.”
Question: How did you personally come up with the joke?
Caroline Voorhees: “It started off as just a joke living in Humboldt where it is raining all the time, but the other part came about because I did a paper on sex positivity and culture about sex and how it is not talked about often. It is definitely shamed, for women especially. So I tried to incorporate that with the weather and being sex positive and how you should enjoy yourself before you have sex with someone and how everyone should be happy all the time.”
A message from the whole dorm: “We do take people’s opinions and complaints seriously and we are sorry that we hurt anyone’s feelings, but that is not going to change our sense of humor and we will try to be more mindful in the future.”
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