Tag: HSU
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Freshman athletes adjust to college sports
Ali Deeb, freshman forward for the soccer team just finished his redshirt season. 
Kellen Gerig, freshman guard just started his first game for the Lumberjacks against Cal State Dominguez Hills. 
AJ Mintz, freshman quarterback for the football team just finished his redshirt season. By Curran Daly
Freshman basketball player Kellen Gerig had yet to start a college game. In his first start of the season he played for 17 minutes. In high school, Gerig scored 26.1 points per game and lead his team to a 24-3 record. So far for the Lumberjacks, Gerig has scored 1.1 points per game and averaged 6.9 minutes per game.
“The hardest part is the change of competition and not playing as much,” Gerig said. “All of us were the stars of our high school and then we all get together and only five can be on the court. So it’s kinda tough to sit on the bench sometimes.”
Gerig did not play much for the Lumberjack in the early parts of the season, but he felt a strong bond with his teammates and the fans.
“Everyone’s really close together and we’re like a family,” Gerig said. “All of our fans get pretty into it, we know everyone on campus and in the gym.”
Teams spend a lot of time together while playing, practicing, and studying. Ali Deeb is a freshman redshirt, who plays for the men’s soccer team. Deeb can often be found with his friends and fellow teammates, but that doesn’t stop him from missing home.
“The hardest part was missing my family and missing my city,” Deeb said. “I think that’s just the hardest adjustment, but eventually you get used to it.”
Deeb is from Garden Grove, Calif. Growing up he loved nature, that was one of the factors that lead to him deciding to come to Humboldt.
“I always really liked nature and soccer,” Deeb said. “I really wanted to play on the soccer team here because the coach showed a lot of faith in me.”
The opportunity to play also led freshman AJ Mintz to Humboldt State. Mintz just finished his redshirt season for Lumberjack football team. He came to Humboldt State for the opportunity to learn about football but has learned more off the field.
“I’ve probably learned more just in life,” Mintz said. “like a lot of life lessons in general, in the first six months of being here.”
Mintz says these life lessons stem from living alone for the first time. He had an easy time adjusting to his dorm and got along with his roommate, but had to get used to 6 a.m. practices.
“All through the season when our team was playing, the redshirts were lifting at 6 a.m. before practice. I would say that was the hardest, and not playing on Saturday,” Mintz said.
In the future all three hope to feature predominantly for their teams. Right now they are more focused on practicing and growing as individuals. Even if that means practicing without playing.
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What to wear in the cold and rain at Humboldt State University
By | Curran Daly
People have many clothing options to choose from on cold and rainy days. So do dogs. Teus is a dog who rocks a sweatshirt on a cold and rainy Humboldt afternoon.
Kiara Pineda and her dog Teus. Teus’ outfit caused many people to laugh as he and Pineda walked across campus on a cold and rainy Humboldt day. Photo by Curran Daly While walking between classes Teus gets many smiles, stares and the occasional pet. When it is raining, Teus wears a sweatshirt to stay dry so he doesn’t get his owner’s apartment wet.
Teus’ owner, Kiara Pineda, is a junior child development major. She learned a few tricks over the years for the cold and rainy Humboldt weather. Warmth is important while walking between classes. When she’s not dressing Teus, Pineda has her own go-to clothes to stay warm and dry.
“I put rain boots on and a rain jacket,” Pineda said. “I’d recommend just like a turtle neck and rain boots and any warm pants that you have.”
Layers work especially well to stay warm when it’s wet and rainy. Desteny Gutierrez, a Freshman from Los Angeles, knows how important it is to be warm. She feels that layers work perfectly for cold weather. When you’re outside you can be bundled up and when you’re inside you can take it all off to enjoy the heater.
“You definitely need layers ‘cause, you don’t want to get wet and have nothing to take off,” Gutierrez said.
According to the National Weather Service, Eureka has already had 40.94 inches of rain so far this winter. That is 7 inches more than at the same point last year and 16.4 inches more than the historical average for this time of the season. This increase in rain also affects Humboldt State students. Students must walk through the rain to and from classes. Gutierrez doesn’t worry about the rainy weather.
“If it’s raining, definitely just throw on a rain jacket and anything under with some jeans and boots,” Gutierrez said. “If it’s just cold, I’d pull on a pull-over sweater with jeans and shoes.”
The shoes you wear are also important in wet weather. When it’s cold and rainy some elect to wear boots to keep their feet warm and dry while others, like freshman kinesiology major Conner Chappel, just wear regular tennis shoes.
“I need my jacket and then an umbrella, jeans, and some not nice shoes,” Chappel said. “Why would I want to ruin nice shoes?”
Chappel moved to Humboldt from Rocklin, Calif. He hasn’t dealt with much rain in Rocklin for the past few years due to the drought. Moving from a drier climate to Humboldt can make for a hard transition, but Chappel found the move easier than he expected.
Conner Chappel rocking some “not nice shoes” through the wet winter’s day. Photo by Curran Daly “It was pretty easy to transition, especially compared to my roommate,” Chappel said. “He came up to school without a rain jacket, like he didn’t even have a rain jacket.”
Desteny Gutierrez came to Humboldt at the beginning of this school year. In the cold wet weather Gutierrez uses layers to stay dry and warm. Photo by Curran Daly -
International Education Week at HSU
- Free food, films, and lectures from professors working internationally.
By Morgan Brizee
International Education Week is back at HSU. During International Education Week students, staff, and the community can listen to speakers address what is going on around the world from those doing research and work across the globe.
The International Education Week events are being held Feb. 13 through 17 from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m. in room 209 in the library fishbowl (unless otherwise noted on the schedule).
Ariana Hendren, a 22-year-old HSU International Studies major, is the president of the Global Connections Club at HSU and is responsible for managing the volunteers that work at each event.
“The lectures of International Education Week are both motivational and helpful for those who are interested in gaining more information about traveling and working abroad or studying international issues,” Hendren said.
Most of the speakers of the event are professors who work at HSU and do international research. Other speakers who are not HSU professors are the key note speaker which is Dr. Marga Gual Soler who is the project director at the Center for Science Diplomacy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dorothy Ngutter who is a diplomat in residence, Erik Jens who is an instructor at the Department of Defense, and Sarah Sedlack who is an HSU alum and founder of a sex education program in Kenya called “What’s Not Said”.
Dr. Alison Holmes, HSU assistant professor of politics and program leader of the international studies department, said that school usually gets the guest speakers by anyone who is interested usually because it is hard to get people who are available to come up to HSU.
“Who we can get is often the first criteria,” Holmes said. “I’ve been working hard in the last two or three years to ensure CPS [College of Professional Studies] and CNRS[College of Natural Resources ] also have speakers and are engaged and having the keynote seemed like a good way to make sure that our colleagues in CNRS were also really involved in International Education Week.”
Holmes is also speaking during International Education Week on Feb. 15 at 9 a.m. in room 209 in the library fishbowl. Her lecture is called Global Diplomacy: Upside Down and Backwards.
International Education Week this year will have a different impact than past years because of President Donald Trump’s “Muslim” ban.
Mathew Derrick, HSU assistant professor of geography and co-organizer of the International Education week, said that international education is of most importance now because of what is going on politically.
““International education is always important, but it is especially important at this point in time,” Derrick said. “In short, it is critical that HSU students–and the broader citizenry–develop higher levels of geographic-global literacy.”
The definition of geographic-global literacy from National Geographic is the ability to use geographic and global understanding and reasoning to understand far-reaching decisions.
During International Education Week students can enjoy food, music, and films from around the world to fully submerse themselves into learning about the different cultures.
Celicia McLean, a 22-year-old HSU International Studies major, said that she is going to go abroad for work after she graduates in May so she is excited to listen to related speeches.
“International Education Week has a wide variety of discussions on issues and other aspects about our world presented by incredibly knowledgeable and experienced scholars,” McLean said. “The evening events are especially great locations for cultural exchanges through food, film, and music and are a must for a culture enthusiast, like myself.”
Even after graduating HSU, some students still feel connected and feel a want and need to give back to the school in some way. Sarah Sedlack graduated from HSU in 2013 with a BA in Psychology and was excited to be able to share her progress of the campaign, What’s Not Said, with the school during International Education Week. She will be giving her lecture on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. in room 209 in the library fishbowl. Her lecture is called Let’s Talk Sex (In Kenya). Her lecture is talking about her campaign with teaching people to normalize talking about relationships and sexual health.
“It also feels amazing to be sharing a passion project and receive so much positive feedback from the community here, both on and off campus,” Sedlack said. “Because when communities benefit from international prevention efforts in the face of major sexualized violence and public health issues, all communities everywhere, benefit because we are all connected.”
Whether students are wanting to travel abroad for fun, work, school or just want to learn about what is going on around the globe, International Education Week will go over all of these and more.
Christiana Frye, HSU coordinator at the International Center, said that students should choose a couple of interesting lectures that are being given whether it be educational or just for fun.
“There’s all different kinds of things from all over the world, information about Africa, information about food justice, teaching abroad,” Frye said. “I also encourage people to attend one of the fun things in the evening because there is free food, on Monday night, there is good international food.”
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HSU looks at the big picture for enrollment
By Charlotte Rutigliano
The days of generalizations may be in the university’s rear view as various department’s throughout Humboldt State aim to start writing personalized letters to prospective students due to a drop in enrollment this past term.
This is part of a plan the university has created to start focusing more on prospective students who applied and turning them into current students. Director of Admissions Steven Ladwig said every student needs to have a relationship with someone on campus before attending to make them feel more comfortable once they’re here.
This plan has been put into place with the hope that it will boost enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year. According to Nicholas Conlin, coordinator for Orientation and New Student Programs, enrollment only dropped this last year. There were about 200 to 250 fewer students than the university was hoping for.
Graphic by | Charlotte Rutigliano The drop in enrollment was not a drastic one, and HSU was not the only California State University to see this drop.
“There were six CSU’s who didn’t meet enrollment numbers this term,” said Ladwig. “Chico, Fresno, Monterey Bay, San Bernadino, San Francisco, and Sonoma.”
The slight drop in enrollment last term didn’t affect the number of impacted majors [majors that have more students than the program accepts.] Additionally, the number of visitors to campus was not impacted.
HSU is known for its science programs with the most sought after majors being biology, botany, environmental resources engineering, wildlife and zoology. This past year however, both the social work and environmental management & protection departments became impacted as well.
John Panting, lead admissions counselor, said that there hasn’t been a decline in the number of tours given but the number of visitors does depend on the time of year, saying that November through January typically have less visits.
“In the beginning of February is when the number of visitors really starts to ramp up,” Panting said.
HSU, in an attempt to identify the contributing factors hired John Capaccio as Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management. Carpaccio’s role is simple — to increase enrollment without lowering admissions standards.
Graphic by | Charlotte Rutigliano -
Planned Parenthood supporters gather outside Humboldt County Courthouse
By | Ali Osgood
Hundreds of people rally on the steps of the Humboldt County Superior Courthouse on Saturday afternoon to support Planned Parenthood. Women, men, children and dogs clutch signs with Planned Parenthood logos and personal statements as they encourage honks from the cars passing by Fifth Street.
Rallies erupted across the United States on Saturday in opposition to defund Planned Parenthood. Member of the former Six Rivers Planned Parenthood Board, Carolyn Hino-Bourassa, helped organize the local event in just under a week.
“Hearing that they were targeting our own clinic in Eureka, we wanted to draw attention away from that,” Hino-Bourassa said.
#PPprotest, an organization that opposes abortion rights, helped organize 225 demonstrations in 45 states according to its website. They are urging for government defunding of Planned Parenthood. The Eureka clinic was not on the list of the 42 demonstrations scheduled in California.
Johnathan Desoto stands with his friend as they encourage drivers to honk in support of Planned Parenthood on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Ali Osgood. The nationwide rallies prompted counter protests across the United States. Many in the local humboldt community felt it was important to stand in solidarity with the non-profit organization.
Johnathan Desoto was one of the supporters in the crowd in Eureka. Desoto has volunteered with Planned Parenthood as a registered nurse.
“I believe [Planned] Parenthood is an integral part to not just women’s health but community health in general,” Desoto said. “Health education is something that really works. Planned Parenthood is really something I believe in.”
The event organizers estimated up to 300 supporters on Saturday. Carolyn Hino-Bourassa was one of the event organizers.
“[I feel] overwhelmed, to say the least, for putting it together in under a week. It’s amazing,” Hino-Bourassa said. “One of the goals today was to make more connections and be very good at mobilizing several people very quickly, and I think we’ve proven we can do it.”
Abortion services account for less than 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services nationwide according to their annual report from Oct. 1, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014. 45 percent of its services go toward testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases with 31 percent going toward contraceptive services.
Their largest single source of money comes from the federal government which makes up for nearly half of the organization’s funds. The other half comes from private contributions and other nongovernment sources.
Republican lawmakers across the United States are working to propose bills that cut public funding to all organizations that offer abortions. According to ABC News, House Speaker Paul Ryan has pledged “that Republicans will complete legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this year and that he expected legislation to defund Planned Parenthood would be included.”
Dave Turner attended the Saturday rally in Eureka in support for Planned Parenthood. Turner is on the Board of Advocates as well as the Northern California Planned Parenthood Board of Directors. He is prepared to work hard to protect the local clinic and the organization.
“Many of our efforts are going to be focussed on working with our local government officials both at the state and federal level, because the funding of Planned Parenthood is a critical issue for us.” Turner said. “We are trying to appeal for some common sense in keeping Planned Parenthood funded and operating.”
Over 25o Planned Parenthood supporters hold up signs as cars beckon honks of support. The organizers were please with the attendance on Saturday. Photo by Ali Osgood. -
Check out the Mr. Humboldt Pageant
Video by | Race Blackwell
Humboldt’s 4th annual Mr. Humboldt Pageant was held at the Arcata Theater Lounge on February 11, 2017. Mr. King of Outer Space lost the popular vote, but won the electoral college.
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Mellow out with meditation
By Morgan Brizee
Learn to de-stress with the One Breath meditation group class
HSU staff psychologist with a residential life focus, facilitating the One Breath meditation with students. Photo by Morgan Brizee A long light grey table split the Recreation and Wellness Center room in half. Students and a staff member were on one side and the facilitator on the other during the One Breath meditation group class on Feb. 1.
Every Wednesday at 5 p.m., Craig Beeson teaches those who want to learn to destress and wind down. The group is run by Counseling And Psychological Services and is open to the HSU community including students, staff and faculty.
Beeson is a staff psychologist with a residential life focus and does workshops like One Breath in the resident halls on HSU campus.
“I noticed when this [One Breath Meditation workshop] was on my mind, preparing for it, I was getting stressed about it,” Beeson said. “This is counterproductive, I’m getting really stressed about a mindfulness presentation.”
With a new semester starting up again, and most students being far from home, it can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Karen Zurdta, a 23-year-old English grad student, talked about how coming to this class has taught her to love herself more.
“I was going through a tough time with school last semester and I got really sad and emotional,” Zurdta said. “I was having problems showing myself love and that I am worthy of good things.”
Beeson is using the book, “The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion” by Christopher Gerner, to teach the class about not fighting the feelings you have but instead accepting them. The class goes over how to cope with issues from anxiety to insomnia that many students can relate to.
Matt Cunningham, a 25-year-old senior English major, has been meditating for five years and even went to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, Calif. last spring to help with his practice of mindfulness.
“It’s kind of taught me to think of my thoughts and feelings as senses and to react to them like I would to any other sort of negative stimuli,” Cunningham said. “Mindfulness has helped me address those things more directly in a lot of ways.”
The class begins with a group discussion of feelings and how to address them in a positive way. After about 30 minutes, Besson directs the group to close their eyes and focus on their individual breathing. He then moves on to telling the group to focus on one body part at a time, relaxing each body part individually, until the group feels their body and mind is calm. Beeson ends class by checking in with each member of the group on how they feel afterwards.
“We talk about things like how to connect to yourself and live a more present, relaxed life,” Beeson said.
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Word on the Street: Valentine’s Day
By | Liam Olson
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to show your significant other how much you love them. You can get them chocolates, watch their favorite movie, or make them a nice dinner. However, there are some people who don’t care about Valentine’s Day and think that it is not important enough to celebrate. This day has different meanings depending on the people you talk to. Here are some opinions on Valentine’s Day from Humboldt State students.
Why do you celebrate or not celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Photo by Liam Olson Left: “I celebrate Valentine’s Day because it’s a day to remind myself and others of the love that is important in my life.” -Simone Rani McGowan, Freshman, Environmental Science
Right: “It doesn’t make sense to make a national day for love when love should be celebrated everyday.” -Nicholas Lara, Junior, Social Work
Photo by Liam Olson “I like to celebrate Valentine’s Day because it is the one time a year I get to go out to a nice restaurant.” -Cassady McLaughlin, Junior, Psychology
Photo by Liam Olson “Me and my partner have been together for six years and at this point it has become just another day for us.” -Alleigh Sullivan, Senior, Art History
Photo by Liam Olson “I celebrate Valentine’s Day because it is a day dedicated to love, which I think is pretty neat.” -Alex Ballesteros, Junior, Environmental Science
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Announcing the 89th Academy Awards
The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards have been released. There are nine titles nominated for the Best Picture category.
The Best Picture nominees are strong this year, including “Hacksaw Ridge”, a movie about a WWII US army medic, and “Hidden Figures”, a historic drama about the African American female mathematicians that put astronaut John Glenn into space. Other nominated films include “Moonlight”, a unique coming of age story, and there is possibility of a modern day musical, titled “La La Land”, winning best picture.
“La La Land” has 14 nominations, tying with “All About Eve” and “Titanic” for the record of the most Oscar nominations. It has two nominations in the category for Best Original Song.
This year, “Arrival” and “Moonlight” both have eight nominations. Both are unique films in their own respect. “Arrival” is an intelligent sci-fi film about communicating, not fighting, with aliens. While “Moonlight” follows the journey of a young African American individual. The movie shows emotions with subtlety and compassion.
A few of these oscar nominated films are still in theatres. You can catch them while they’re still playing. If you missed any of these films on the big screen, Richard’s Goat Tavern is featuring several nominated films in their miniplex.
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Inked Hearts 8th Annual Tattoo Expo
By|Carlos Olloqui
The hum of tattoo guns buzzing in unison, human canvases waiting to get ink, and tattoo lovers browsing through binders full of artwork. Add stale casino smoke to that and you have a tattoo expo.
The eighth annual Inked Hearts Tattoo Expo was held this past weekend at the Sapphire Palace in Blue Lake Casino. This four-day event began on Feb. 2 and featured tattoo artists from all around the area.
Ted and Amy Marks of NorCal Tattoo host the convention which features pinup contests, tattoo contests, live entertainment, and more.
Local tattoo artist, James Kerr from NorCal Tattoo, was one of the many people in attendance.
“I met my mentor about 11 years ago, this guy named Otto who owned a shop named Ink Addiction in Eureka,” Kerr said. “After my apprenticeship, my mentor moved back to southern California and sold me the shop. I went from apprentice to owner overnight.”
Inside the expo, people filtered through the crowded rows checking out the newest tattooing technology, artist merchandise, and artwork on display.
Joe Elliot, owner of Tattoo Joe’s in Vacaville, Calif., was another tattoo artist present at this year’s expo.
“I started tattooing almost eight years ago, but I’ve been drawing and painting since I was a kid,” Elliot said. “I’m tattooing this weekend, but I also have some of my sharpie art with me. To practice I paint on watercolor paper, using just sharpies.”
Anything from a small arm tattoo, to a full-on chest or back piece, could be done at the Inked Hearts Tattoo Expo. The convention brought together world class artist together make possible these lifelong ink memories.
Lucas Eagleton is originally from Denton, Texas, and he has been tattooing professionally since 2012. He is currently working at Artful Dodger Tattoo in Seattle, Washington.
“I went to art school prior to tattooing; I began with just print,” Eagleton said. “I had a friend who was a piercer and she asked me if I’d be interested in tattooing and I just took the chance. Now here we are here.”
Tattoos have been around for thousands of years and have a vast list of meanings. For some people with tattoos, it’s religion, for others it’s simply art.
“It’s okay if you don’t like my tattoos,” Kerr said. “They don’t like you either.”
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Jacks Pass
By Keaundrey Clark
Jacks Pass
Men’s Basketball
Malik Morgan his 1,000th point as a Lumberjack as Humboldt State men’s basketball lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 66-64 Saturday in Lumberjack Arena.
Morgan accounted for nine of the Jacks’ last 11 points, including a bucket that tied the game at 64-64. He had a team-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go with three assists.
Toros Senior Justin Sadler shot over the outstretched arms of Calvin Young II with two seconds left in regulation to seal the Toros victory. Sadler led all scorers with 24 points.
HSU hosts Holy Names in a non-conference showdown Monday at 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Double figures from from Ashlynn Cox and Tyra Turner helped Humboldt State women’s basketball snap its three-game losing-streak and top Cal State Dominguez Hills, 70-57, Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cox and Tyra Turner in the final two minutes of the third quater helped HSU cling to a 46-45 advantage heading into the fourth quater.
Turner was the game’s top scorer and finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. She went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and dished out a team-high five assists. Cox added 18 points, including four 3-pointers and a game-high four steals, and Lynnzy Troxell finished with 11 off the bench.
The Green and Gold host Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Fans are invited to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness, and the game will also be Family Fun Night.
Softball
The Humboldt State softball team closed out the Desert Stinger Tournament with a 6-1 victory over Minot State en route to a Tournament title.
The Jacks scored a combined 55 runs in the tournament and ace Madison Williams was dominant with a complete game, allowed just one run and had nine strikeouts. Williams finished the tournament 3-0 with 21 strikeouts.
Williams and Illa Haley were both named to the All-Tournament Team, and Tiffany Hollingsworth was tabbed the Desert Stinger Tournament MVP. Hollingsworth finished with 9 runs batted in and 3 Homeruns. Haley had 10 RBIS.
Senior Kalyn Paque went 2-0 with 11 strikeouts. Junior Winona Vigil had 2 home runs and 9 RBIS. Senior Breonna Bejaran recorded 2 home runs and 7 RBIS in the desert.
HSU returns to the North Coast and is scheduled to host Chico State in a four-game series beginning Friday. The first pitch for the home opener is scheduled for noon.
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Editorial: Securing sanctuary for our undocumented students
By The Lumberjack Editorial Board
Undocumented students have a right to an education and a safe place to foster that education. Students shouldn’t have to worry about being prejudicially profiled and deported. The new Trump administration’s policy on immigration is threatening to do just that.Fear for the well-being of our undocumented students has existed at HSU throughout Trump’s campaign and has only increased since his inauguration.
President Rossbacher released a statement Jan. 31. Reassuring the HSU community that the administration stands in support with our undocumented students and is exploring options, but with our cities of sanctuary under fire we want to know what concrete actions HSU can take in protecting our community.
Trump’s executive order, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, threatens sanctuary cities and school campuses. The order states that sanctuary jurisdiction ‘willfully violates Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens. Under the new administration, any place maintaining sanctuary status is to be denounced. Punishment for not cooperating with this directive is the removal of federal funding.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, introduced legislation that extends this consequence to sanctuary campuses that do not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This affects University federal funding through the financial aid program and student loan debt forgiveness. The law calls for 100 percent compliance with federal immigration requests.
If the threat of the withdrawal of funds is credible, how does HSU plan to take care of not only the undocumented students but students who can’t handle the fiscal burden this executive order could levy?
Hearing the words of support from administration is always comforting. Undocumented students only want the opportunity of higher education and a chance to make their way just like American citizens. This attempt to create a safe haven is more than appealing but under federal law, what are our real options? The Lumberjack urges HSU’s administration to do more in the way of making our student community feel safe and secure during their time at HSU.
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LeDesma twins strive for greatness
By Keaundrey Clark
We all know about sibling rivalries. We’ve all felt like we had to compete with our brothers or sisters. It’s apart of life.
Juniors Catie and Andie LeDesma are twin long distance runners for the Humboldt State’s Track and Field team. The sisters exemplify what it means to have a sibling rivalry. The amazing thing about these sisters is that they are actually apart of a set of triplets. Their other sister is attending college at Sacramento State.
“It’s great we’ve been running together all our lives,” Catie LeDesma said.
The sisters started running at the age of five. Their father, who ran track in college at San Diego State, has been a big help along the way.
Catie didn’t start out at HSU, she transferred from Minot State University in 2015 after deciding she wanted to add a second major on top of Applied Math and a grueling athletic schedule.
“The school didn’t offer physics as a major,” Catie Ledesma said. “I knew HSU did, also I knew my sister was here, so after to talking to coach (Pesch) I ended up running at HSU.”
Catie isn’t just double majoring; she’s also minoring in Chemistry. Catie recently competed in the International Mathematical Contest in Modeling. Catie does off the track, she’s just as amazing on it. Catie has one of the top ten best times in the 5,000 meter run at HSU.
Andie LeDesma, not to be outdone by her sister, is excellent in her own right. She has the third fastest 3,000 meter steeplechase time in HSU history.
As long as she’s been running, she has had her sisters running with her stride for stride.
“It was nice running with them, having someone to run with,” said Andie LeDesma.
The LeDesma sisters share a bond that is deep. Running is apart of that bond. So is the competitive nature they share on the field.
“When we were little we were running a road race, and I passed Catie up. She tried to tackle me when I went by her,” said Andie LeDesma. “She said never again, and I’ve only beaten her a few times ever since.
They have helped the Lumberjack Track and Field program since they’ve been on campus with top 10 finishes at CCAA Championships since they’ve been here.
Head Coach Scott Pesch knows he has two great athletes on his hands.
“Overall the success of being a student athlete is being great on and off the field,” Pesch said.
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Q&A with “Bread Talk’s” Sandwich Kid
By|Bryan Donoghue
Albert Bernales in the studio to record a Bread Talk. Sandwiched between school and life, Albert Bernales makes time to record podcast’s on his talk show called “Bread Talk”. Topics range anywhere from food to money, encompassing the word “bread”. Before the interview, Bernales, the host of Bread Talk, sat me down and made me a grilled cheese sandwich with my favorite type of bread, sweet Hawaiian rolls. Bernales made “Bread Talk” because he wanted to create a show of his own. Using it as a creative outlet, his voice now goes out to the Humboldt community.
Q: To start us off, what’s your name and major?
A: My name is Albert Bernales, my alias for Bread Talks is “Sandwich Kid”. I’m a business major with an economics minor.
Q: What’s your favorite type of bread and why?
A: It would probably be sourdough, because as you dip it in soups, it tastes really good. Not all things are going to be sweet, there will be some sour things that will happen. I think sourdough represents life.
Q: So you could be the “Sourdough Sandwich Kid”. Why did you decide to make a podcast and call it “Bread Talk”?
A: I decided to make a podcast just for fun. I was listening to people like Jimmy Fallon and all those late night talk shows. They kind of inspired me, because they’re just talking to somebody, but it’s still really fun and interesting. That’s one reason why, and as soon as I started listening to podcasts, I realized “this is pretty easy, I can do this”. I called it Bread Talks because it grabs your attention. I’m pretty interested in business, but it lets me talk about other things. I can just pull up some articles I’m interested in and talk about them.
Q: What is Bread Talk? Do you talk about bread, money, or everything in between?
A: Definitely about all things bread, like the physical bread we have here, this sweet Hawaiian bread. It also goes into money, that’s where the business aspect of this podcast comes in. A lot of rappers inspired me, like E-40. He said, “I choose to get money, I’m stuck to this bread,” in his song “Choices”. Definitely talk about the rap culture and community, since they tend to rap about money, and stuff, like bread. But there’s definitely another meaning, such as bread as in food, because I love food and cooking as well.
Q: Food and money seem to be two universally appreciated topics. Everyone wants to talk about, and listen into both of these subjects. In your fifth podcast, one topic you were talking about was the change in iPhone headphones from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 7, and how that’s affecting people today. Which subject does that fall under?
A: That’s pretty business related. They took a risk in their products, and I think people need to take more bold risks. It’s really appreciated for when they take those risks. It takes a lot of guts to do that.
Q: Where do you record?
A: First time we recorded in an actual studio in Gist Hall, but for the second and third time we got a headphone microphone that comes with the iPhone and put it on top of an empty water bottle, and spoke into the bottle. We literally had no options for episode 2-4. You can hear the difference on Soundcloud, it’s either really loud and clear, or not.
Q: Is Soundcloud the main media outlet you use to put out your podcasts?
A: Yeah, definitely, it’s the first thing that popped up to me, and it’s a great way to get your voice out there.
Q: And Bread Talk is a continuing series. You have your own following of listeners.
A: Definitely always shout out to the listeners, we love them. We at Bread Talk definitely have come a long way, from a recording standpoint, from iPhone microphones, to studio microphones, and I now record on the library microphone. So, shout out to the digital media lab too. They have all the snowball microphones I use. I can just plug it into the computer and record a podcast whenever I need to.
Q: When does the new Bread Talk come out?
A: It was originally supposed to come out every single week, but we were really busy, so it eventually became every month. Then every month became every couple of months. But I have extra podcasts stored on my laptop, I just have to add the intro music and I’ll be able to upload it. For the show, I made the intro music Entertainment Tonight, but on a keyboard.
Q: You still have a few episodes in a storage vault, but they’re ready to come out?
A: We have number 2, but that’s a lost episode, since we don’t know where to find it. It was on my friends flash drive but I didn’t get the file. But since it’s a lost episode, let the idea of it marinate in your mind for how good it’s going to be. This is a comedy type of show, you know. It is super spontaneous, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know what’s going to happen in the next Bread Talk.
Q: It’s really interesting that you decided to take that approach.
A: I have an article here to highlight the next Bread Talk actually. Here’s the teaser, it’s about a “master pickle tester.” Basically, there’s a person who eats pickles for a living to determine the quality. That’s the article that I chose to talk about in the next podcast.
Q: You have plenty of guests on your show, but in terms of subject matter, is it just being spontaneous? How do you prepare before for what questions you’d want to ask?
A: Definitely, in my head, I find an interesting topic. So I go on the internet, and find a couple of articles that are interesting. We’ll talk about it, and do an analysis on that article. For the questions that I ask, they’re typically solid but typically the same through every episode. And at the end, I have quick fire questions, where it’s like fill in the blank. I switch those up every single episode.
Q: I noticed you have your Bread Talks listed by number, but some are also categorized by words, how do you come up with these?
A: They are the focus, and central theme of each episode. Like the one that’s under “ninja—no income, no job”, that originated from a friend of mine who works on these with me. He had a finance class, and ninja was a term they discussed. So I asked if he just wanted to leave it as Bread Talk Number 5, and he said to add ninja.
Q: Ninjas and economics together, that’s an unusual combination. Do you know what ninja means?
A: Ninja pretty much means no job, or no assets. So pretty much if you don’t have any money, you won’t have a job or anything valuable. And vise versa.
Q: You have a sandwich, or just any meal that involves bread with your guests before or during an interview. For my last question, a spontaneous one on my part, why do you eat with your guests along with the bread talk?
A: Well I try to always have bread. This is Bread Talk after all. You’re going to want some bread, and eat it with your guests. That’s a true Bread Talk.
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A review on “Tickled”
When I first read about “Tickled” on a random online movie list, it sounded so unusual that I knew I had to see it. What I didn’t know when I bought my tickets at the Richard’s Goat Tavern’s Miniplex was that the film is a strange conspiracy thriller about a fetish.
David Farrier, a journalist from New Zealand, is the director of the film. Farrier usually covers lighter stories. He has interviewed young Justin Bieber, Trent Reznor and has made a small documentary about the national anthem of his home country.
Farrier came across a video on Facebook about competitive endurance tickling. The video featured men in Adidas jerseys tickling a clothed man strapped to a repurposed doctor’s chair. He is then shown being tickled with an electric toothbrush in slow motion.
Farrier immediately messaged the tickling talent agency responsible for the video, requesting an interview in hopes of procuring the next great story. However, he was quickly met with homophobic slurs and a request to stay away from the company and its participants. He later received multiple lawsuits and threats. This only fueled Farrier’s curiosity about the history of tickling fetish videos and who the talent agency truly was.
Lawyers from the tickling talent agency were aggressive and told Farrier that he could not film them in the New Zealand airport even though it was legal. The only person who was willing to talk about the tickling industry seemed to be mildly off-putting.
The documentary doesn’t necessarily focus on the people being tickled because it was very difficult to find interviews of the participants due to their fear of their mysterious bosses.
Many of the participants responded to the tickling talent agency’s ads in hopes for quick cash and paid travel expenses. However, these people were later humiliated and threatened in their outside lives by the same company who hired them, similar to the threats and lawsuits Farrier received from the tickling talent agency. One ex-participant, a former high school football coach, was threatened by the tickling talent agency to have his tickling videos sent to his family and his workplace. The tickling agency later sent the video to the school the man was working at anyway, causing him to lose his job.
Seeing this movie in a full theatre of about 20 people highlighted the audience’s reactions to each twist of the film.
“Tickled” is the perfect movie to show your friends if you’re looking for something a bit different with hints of thrill, peculiarness, comedy, and uncomfortableness.
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Who Knew? At HSU: OhSnap!
In this installment of Who Knew? At HSU, we take a look at OhSnap!. This program offers free food and cooking classes to students as well as other services. Find out about all the hidden gems Humboldt State has offer by watching Who Knew? At HSU every week.
Video by: Alexandria Hasenstab
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The Moodle to Canvas switch
By | Sarahi Apaez
Humboldt State University’s 11 year long relationship with Moodle is coming to a close with the introduction of a new learning management system. During the past few years issues have arisen with Moodle and Canvas is stepping in to bring some stable change.
In an evaluation done in Spring 2016, HSU found many immediate benefits to switching to Canvas. No system is perfect but Canvas’ benefits include mobile support, not being down for several days at a time, saving grades as they’re entered, and cost.
Susan Glassett Farrelly, the new director of academic technologies, would call the costs a trade-off. Canvas is cheaper by about $35,000 to operate and run every year according to HSU’s Canvas evaluation report.
Canvas is a system run in the cloud, a key difference from Moodle which is run on hardware. With Moodle, more maintenance is required to install and support the hardware.
“The real difference, is the technical manpower that is necessary to run Moodle,” said Farrelly.
Since the start of this semester, Farrelly has been working to make sure everyone knows that our campus will no longer be supporting Moodle this coming Fall.
It’s very hard to get the word out because HSU has a reputation of saying they will switch to Canvas but not following through.
During this transition period from Moodle to Canvas, Information Technology, commonly known as IT, is stretched very thin. The IT team are supporting both systems. According to Farrelly, they’re still looking for the exact percentage of Moodle and Canvas users on campus, but says it’s about half and half.
Raul Romero, a humanities and international studies major, works in the Moodle/Canvas IT office on the third floor of the library. Romero is a student assistant doing double the work by supporting two systems at the same time. In Romero’s experience, learning these programs involves a lot of self-teaching and watching video tutorials. Romero says he loves his work but sometimes finds it to be chaotic.
“It’s very difficult to convey what you see on the screen and turn that into words,” Romero said.
Recently, Romero dealt with a call from an upset math professor who is having difficulties with a plug-in on Canvas that does not have the same features as it did on Moodle.
“I thought, well, why doesn’t it work better and the bottom line is, it just doesn’t,” Romero said.Before the decision to switch to Canvas was made, some members of the Math Department reported issues that are exclusive to their needs. This is an area that is still under development.
When it comes to third party tools and plug-ins, the version for Canvas is not as diverse as the version for Moodle.
“There’s really no way to break that to somebody without striking their nerve,” Romero said. “Especially as a student telling that to a professor who wants to give their students the best.”
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A master plan for free tuition
By Charlotte Rutigliano
Can California follow in the footsteps of many European countries and offer free tuition for students?
While CSU students across the state are currently protesting a 5 percent tuition hike, in Sacramento Governor Brown reaffirms his commitment to protect access to higher education, and of a plan for free tuition across the state of California. As of now, it’s just talk.
Most current students and prospective students have not heard about this plan, and some have mixed feelings about it.
Jake Morrison a 21-year-old senior communications major said he thought it would be both a good and bad thing.
“It would be good in the sense that it would make knowledge and education more accessible,” Morrison said. “But bad in the sense that it would probably cause a rise in Americans immigrating to California, and we already have a population and housing issue in the state.”
Alyssa Buie a 21-year-old junior business marketing major said it greatly benefits many people in the state though she doesn’t think the state could afford something like free tuition.
“It would be beyond beneficial for students of all ages in all walks of life,” Buie said. “But it’s a little economically unfeasible.”
Even people that have thought about going back to school like 22-year-old McDonald’s general manager, Lindsey Blood, said it seems great and she would be more inclined to go back if tuition were free.
“It would encourage people to invest in themselves,” Blood said. “And it would give a lot of people opportunities they would otherwise not have.”
The idea of free tuition it brings up many questions such as, would students take it just as seriously and go to classes as when they had some type of financial investment? Would they be more likely to choose passion over job security? Would they be more likely to further their education and go on to graduate school or get a doctorate?
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WRRAP up some school supplies
By | Kelly Bessum
A map showing where compost bins, water refill stations, electronics recycling and the WRRAP office are located on campus. Data from Humboldt State University and WRRAP, Map by Kelly Bessem. School can be a mental and monetary struggle, but doing your part to reduce waste on campus doesn’t have to be. If you haven’t yet happened upon it, WRRAP is Humboldt State’s student-run Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program that’s been in operation for almost 30 years.
The campus services they maintain are free to all students. These services include campus compost bins, water refill stations, zero waste supplies, events such as the clothing swap and the ROSE [Reuseable Office Supply Exchange] House, where students can find 100 percent free school supplies such as notebooks and writing utensils.
Environmental science major Crystal Singletari was glad to find out that the ROSE House was there to provide an option other than paying expensive prices for new school supplies.
“The first two weeks of school I didn’t have enough binders to reuse and was super unorganized so I went to the bookstore, but they’re so expensive,” Singletari said.
Rangeland resources major Ishmael Guerrero believes helping to reduce waste is good but it is often difficult to keep track of waste reduction programs on campus.
“I’m usually focused on school, work or sports,” Guerrero said.
WRRAP is set up to direct students toward reducing waste on campus, and in the rest of their lives, in simple ways rather than having to figure it out alone. Isabel Sanchez, a business major and natural resources minor who has been working for WRRAP for more than two years, explained how WRRAP can make waste reduction easier for students to understand.
“It’s a network that allows for exchanges of waste reduction methods,” Sanchez said.
Need some encouragement to live a less-wasteful campus lifestyle? According to a 2015 estimation, Humboldt State University students collectively dispose of 266,314 pounds of waste on campus each year. That’s about the mass of four humpback whales. Though HSU students always seem to strive for improvement, there is still a whale of a problem.
Humboldt State University student waste disposal totals. Data from CalRecycle, Graph by Kelly Bessem. Check out WRRAP’s website at http://www.humboldt.edu/wrrap or email their student staff at wrrap@humboldt.edu. The program is there so that reducing waste doesn’t become another daunting school task on your checklist.
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Jacked up
Losing Headphones and the Headphone Jack
By | Liam Olson
Graphic by Joe DeVoogd Headphones are an essential for every college student, and it is the worst when you lose them. Without them, you would not be able to listen to music while doing your homework or watch a video without annoying the people next to you.
You could leave them at home to only forget where they are or leave them at the library on accident.
But you’re not alone, many others lose their headphones all the time.
Library Circulation and Student Assistant Sineva Hosea, is an environmental science major in her junior year. She finds lost objects all the time around the library while she is working, but headphones seem to be the most common.
Earlier in the week, she even found a pair of earbuds along with the iphone that they were attached to. Luckily, the owner was able to retrieve their phone and earbuds from the lost and found. But others are not so lucky and have to go buy a new pair of earbuds. “Some don’t get returned, but when I do my rounds, I mostly find earphones,” said Hosea.
In the near future, wired earbuds and headphones could be a thing of the past. Apple removed the standard 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and soon other companies, such as Samsung, may follow this model.
This change forces customers to switch to small, wireless earbuds. The new design could lead to more earbuds getting lost since there are no wires to keep it from slipping out of your pocket.
When asked about this new design, students are not fond of the idea that would have to change to wireless earbuds and headphones.
Brittany Heller, an international studies major in her senior year, is used to the normal wired earbuds. She finds that it is easier to keep track of wired earbuds over wireless earbuds since the wires help her hold on to her earbuds so she would not lose them.
“I wouldn’t know where to put them,” she said.
Amber Norwood, a zoology major in her junior year, keeps track of her earbuds, but her friends seem to lose theirs often. She says they have to go buy new a new pair about every month. She thinks that wireless earbuds would be easier to lose with their small design. It would also become expensive to replace them often.
The thought of having two separate earbuds makes you appreciate how they have always been connected by a wire, so that one earbud is never lost. “It would suck to lose one and still have the other,” Norwood said.
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Getting swol in style
HSU students sport fashionable workout gear
By | Alexandria Hasenstab
Humboldt State is not known as one of the most fashion-forward universities out there. However, if you’re looking for current fashion trends around campus, you might want to check out the gym. Students head to the Student Recreation Center to hit the weights, but with current athletic clothing available in endless colors and styles, they look ready to hit the runway.
Junior environmental science major Andie White is one of the students who regularly goes to the gym in stylish attire. She choose to wear blue patterned leggings with a blue athletic long sleeve top to work out in.
“I prefer to wear things that motivate me,” White said. “I like to wear bright colors because it makes me feel good.”
The cliché, look good, feel good, is certainly applicable to the gym.
Senior psychology major Miranda Beach, works out in style at the Student Recreation Center on campus. | Alexandria Hasenstab Psychology professor Mary Bockover believes our outward appearance can affect our confidence.
“When people feel like they look good, then on psychological grounds, they may believe others see them in a more favorable light,” Bockover said. “Conversely, when we feel like we don’t look good, it can negatively affect our self esteem and the willingness to be in front of others.”
Indeed, working out in such a public space requires a certain level of comfort. For students like Andie White, a choice of clothing means the power to be comfortable and motivated to work out in front of others.
White says some of her favorite brands are Nike and Adidas. B oth of these brands are sported by many students in the gym.
Marjani Ellison is a junior environmental engineering major who can be seen wearing bright green Nikes while working out.
“They’re a little brighter than the green of Humboldt,” Ellison said. “But as a player of the football team I feel like I should come out and represent Humboldt State every day.”
Junior environmental engineering major Marjani Ellison sports green nikes while working out at the Student Recreation Center. | Alexandria Hasenstab Athletic clothing has become so fashionable that many people wear it as normal street clothing. However, many students don’t feel the need to pay the high prices that are common with popular athletic brands.
Senior psychology major Miranda Beach says she doesn’t usually dress stylish when she works out.
“You caught me on a good day, this is what was clean,” Beach said of what was she was wearing. “I think it does give you a confidence boost when you think you look good, but most of the time I’m pretty in the zone.”
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The Lighthouse Grill: a review
The Lighthouse Grill
By: Bryan Donoghue
If you find yourself getting hungry after a long day of wandering through Trinidad and are looking for something that hits the spot, consider setting your sights on The Lighthouse Grill.
The Lighthouse Grill’s philosophy is all about using fresh, local ingredients and serving homemade recipes to a community that has grown to love the restaurant. Bread is made in-house every day; homemade ice cream and sodas are at your fingertips to order. Employees pride themselves in the fact that nothing is processed or artificial in any of the restaurant’s recipes.
The atmosphere can be compared to that of being in a cabin by the sea. Gentle gusts of wind grazed my cheeks as I stood outside; I breathed in the fresh scent of seawater. Inside the establishment, I felt as though I was standing under the sea, surrounded by various murals depicting marine wildlife.
The organization behind the counter was impressive. The employees were all very friendly and helpful.
I focused on the scent of rosemary and chives being infused into a waffle cone before I decided on what to order. Thankfully, there wasn’t a long line.
I first ordered a homemade lemon mint soda. The lemon syrup is crafted beforehand and club soda is poured over the top before being garnished with mint leaves. There wasn’t any sugar added to the drink, giving it a tart and bitter taste at first. Take advantage of the carbonation and pour in about a teaspoon of sugar if you’re looking for a bit of sweetness to balance out the overall taste. All in all, the drink was immensely refreshing and complimented each meal I ordered. The lemon mint soda costs $3.
I then had a mashed potato cone with everything on it, earning it a name in the restaurant as an “all the way” cone. The waffle cones are crafted by pressing fresh cornmeal, garlic, rosemary and chives and then rolling them around in a mold the shape of a cone. Mine was packed to the bottom with a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon bits and mushrooms. The top of this ensemble was garnished with beef brisket that had been roasting for 12 hours and smothered in gravy, melted cheddar cheese and more bacon bits.
I know a heart throb when I see one; this is one dish that may have captured my heart. Everything comes together perfectly, with the gravy encapsulating each ingredient and melding each taste together. The price for this “all the way” waffle cone is $6.
The “All the Way” Waffle cone of the Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad, California. Photo by | Bryan Donoghue The “All the Way” Waffle Cone of The Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad, California.
The last dish I decided to try was a beef brisket on a waffle cone on a sandwich. Though this barbecue beef brisket sandwich was delicious, the bun was cut unevenly with a large top bun and a smaller bottom bun. Due to this, the sauce the meat had been soaking in eventually got absorbed by the bottom bun, completely saturating it. I couldn’t eat it as a sandwich, so I picked apart the sandwich using a fork. The beef was complimented by pickles, onions and a single leaf of lettuce. It’s delicious and slightly soothing since you will melt along with the tenderness of the meat. The price of the beef brisket sandwich is $8.
The Lighthouse Grill is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Whether you’re heading to the beaches of Trinidad at dusk or dawn, The Lighthouse Grill will always be a beacon of culinary light offering a savory experience.
