The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Humboldt State University

  • First Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Humboldt

    First Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Humboldt

    Press release from Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Branch

    Press release:

    The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services Public Health Branch has received confirmation from the California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of one case of COVID-19 in a Humboldt County resident. A close contact who has symptoms is being tested as well.

    This marks the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in Humboldt County. Presently, the ill individuals are doing well and self-isolating at home, while being monitored for symptoms by the Public Health Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control Unit.

    Close contacts of these individuals will also be quarantined at home and monitored for symptoms by Public Health staff. With the amount of foreign travel by county residents, including travel to China, it is not surprising that a case has emerged locally. Additional cases may occur either in returning travelers or their close contacts.

    “It’s important to remember that the risk to the general public remains low at this time,” said Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich. “Despite the fact that Humboldt County now has a confirmed case of COVID-19, there is no evidence to suggest that novel coronavirus is circulating in the community at large.”

    Frankovich added that transmission in the U.S. to date has been among close contacts and not among the general public.

    Public Health suggests the following precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and all infectious diseases, including common illnesses like colds and flu:

    • Stay home when you are sick
    • If you have a fever, stay home or go home if you are already at work or school, and stay home for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).
    • Wash your hands frequently and particularly before eating or drinking.
    • Promote good hand hygiene in your home by educating household members and making sure soap, hand sanitizers, and tissues are available.
    • Avoid touching your face, particularly your eyes, nose and mouth.
    • Encourage proper cough etiquette. Cough or sneeze into a tissue, sleeve or arm. Do not use your hands.
    • Perform routine surface cleaning, particularly for items which are frequently touched such as doorknobs, handles, remotes, keyboards and other commonly shared surfaces.

    The county’s Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control Unit will continue to provide updated information about COVID-19 to health care providers, hospitals and schools, as well as the general public.

    The county’s Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control Unit will continue to provide updated information about COVID-19 to health care providers, hospitals and schools, as well as the general public.

    For updated information about COVID-19, please continue to check the https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/.

    If you are ill and in need of medical care and have been in China within the previous two weeks or have been in contact with an individual who has COVID-19, please contact your health care provider or emergency department before presenting for care. Arrangements will be made to have you evaluated in the safest manner possible for health care staff and other patients.

  • Sovereign Bodies Brings Awareness

    Sovereign Bodies Brings Awareness

    Activist creates new database to track violence against Indigenous women

    Accounts of violence and murder toward Indigenous people are lost in history or left unrecorded. This became an even bigger problem for Indigenous women in places occupied by white men, such as mining or gold rush communities.

    The Sovereign Bodies Institute was founded about a year ago by Annita Lucchesi, a Native American and activist. Lucchesi realized the need for a database of violence and murder against Indigenous women after needing one, and it not existing.

    “It really bothered me because at that time in my life, I had just escaped a really abusive relationship that almost killed me,” Lucchesi said. “I also was being trafficked through that relationship, so I had a number of experiences where I almost was one of these missing and murdered Native women, so for me it was really personal and it really bothered me that if that had happened to me there was no guarantee that my story would be used to make sure that doesn’t happen to other women or girls.”

    Four years ago, Lucchesi created her own database for missing and murdered Indigenous women, which eventually became the kickstarter idea for the Sovereign Bodies Institute.

    “Humboldt County is amongst one of the highest counties of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.”

    Chelsea Miraflor Trillo

    Sovereign Bodies Institute’s website says SBI is a home for generating knowledge of how Indigenous communities are impacted by gender and sexual violence and looking into how they can continue to heal and find freedom from such violence.

    Lucchesi has acquired around 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women cases in her database. Lucchesi founded SBI with the help of the Seventh Generation fund, an international organization for Indigenous peoples.

    Chelsea Miraflor Trillo, an Indigenous woman and participant of SBI, received her masters from Humboldt State. Trillo continues to work with SBI and families of missing and murdered Indigenous women to advocate awareness towards these issues.

    “Humboldt County is amongst one of the highest counties of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples,” Trillo said. “Students are usually in the area where community awareness and political action happen.”

    According to Lucchesi, Humboldt and Del Norte County hold a third of missing and murdered Indigenous women in California. Lucchesi said the justice system contributes to missing and murdered Indigenous women and the lack of action taken. Lucchesi said Indigenous women are considered non-human, and the justice system refuses to hold non-Native perpetrators responsible.

    Tammy Carpenter is a member of the SBI organization and an HSU alumna. Carpenter was subjected to the mistreatment of Indigenous people personally.

    “I, myself, am a mother of a victim that was murdered,” Carpenter said. “It’s still unsolved as of today, so I like to support the organization for the awareness for all women. Not just Indigenous women. All women.”

  • Student-Run Radio Programs are Back on Air

    Student-Run Radio Programs are Back on Air

    Jam out to your local, community neighbors

    Editor’s note: members of the editorial staff of The Lumberjack are part of and have been part of KRFH. The author of this article had no previous affiliation with KRFH.

    Following winter break, KRFH has returned with its entirely student-staffed programs, TALX, MIXX and Local LIXX. Each of the programs bring on guests to participate in their show, providing a platform for community members to show off their skills and speak their mind.

    Local LIXX, the longest running program at KRFH, invites local artists to display their talent live on the radio.

    Co-Manager of LIXX, Michael Freire first became part of the program in 2017.

    “It’s like a really, really cool special thing to have a fully student-run radio station that is promoting a local music scene in a town that has a surprising number of good musicians per capita,” Freire said.

    One of the main focuses at LIXX is to create a diverse program that speaks to all music genres and tastes.

    “One of the few limitations is that I obviously only have a view on the part of the music scene that I’m familiar with,” Freire said. “So I also try to like reach out to as many friends as possible for suggestions of places I can go, ’cause I don’t want to just put one genre of music or one group of friends on the radio.”

    To scout talent for LIXX, Freire attends as many shows as he can, searching for sounds that he feels are a proper fit for the program.

    • LIXX Co-Manager Michael Freire preps the board for the big show. Photo by Dakota Cox
    • Konner Bouyette and Quentin Wall of Quentin Wall of Sound rockin’ out on air.

    Quentin Wall and his band, Quentin Wall of Sound, were the first guests of the spring semester. This was Wall’s second appearance on the program, but his first with the new band.

    “Playing on air is fun,” Wall said. “It’s scary because anything you do, there’s no take-backs. But it’s fun because anyone can listen, and it’s a lot of people that I would never meet.”

    Not to be mistaken for LIXX, the MIXX program currently abides by a first come, first serve policy. This allows the platform to seek out the hungriest, most enthusiastic artists first.

    • Manager of MIXX Alejandro Zepeda does a final for ChopsJunkie before showtime. Photo by Dakota Cox
    • ChopsJunkie hard at work spinning records on the KRFH MIXX program. Photo by Dakota Cox

    MIXX Manager Alejandro Zepeda is currently in his sixth semester with the radio program.

    “It’s really fun to watch the different DJs and their different techniques and how they’re doing it,” Zepeda said. “It’s a really great learning opportunity for myself and anyone else on the MIXX crew if they’re interested in DJing, just because you don’t really get to be this close to the performer usually when you’re out at an event, and you know there’s all sorts of other stuff going on.”

    TALX is the odd man out of the programs. Instead of placing the focus of an entire show on a single guest act, TALX incorporates their guests as part of a larger conversation. Unlike MIXX and LIXX, TALX doesn’t require a guest in order for the show to go on. Instead, students are given direct control of the content they create.

    • Members of TALX discuss the days trending topics. Left to right, Manager Delaney Duarte, & Deserie Carias. Photo by Dakota Cox
    • Members of TALX discuss the days trending topics. Left to right, Paul Hilton & Ayrton Flaherty. Photo by Dakota Cox

    Delaney Duarte is currently in her second semester as manager of the TALX program.

    “When you’re in there you’re gonna meet a bunch of other people, and then you kinda create like this bond with everyone,” Duarte said. “Everyone knows you and it’s like a really good community. I love the radio community a lot here on campus.”

    KRFH is one of the last student-run free-from radio stations. Students are given complete creative control over their content, so long as they conform to Federal Communications Commission regulations. KRFH programs provide an opportunity, not only for community members to showcase their talents, but for students to express, explore and share their identities.

    “There’s just something about being in the booth, something about being in this radio station,” Zepeda said. “It’s calming for me despite all the crazy things that happen, and there’s always something ridiculous happening. It’s my happy place, and I’d like to continue that for other people that need to find something like this in their lives.”

  • Marcus Manning Continues Series of Athletic Director Forums

    Marcus Manning Continues Series of Athletic Director Forums

    Another prospective athletic director gives their pitch

    Marcus Manning is the second of three candidates for Humboldt State’s athletic director position. Manning, who began his athletics department work in recreation at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, said he saw the opportunity for HSU to excel in intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports.

    “The vision that I have for Humboldt State athletics and recreation is to be a premiere program both in intercollegiate athletics and recreation,” Manning said. “Providing opportunities for our students that involve personal development, academic success and competitive excellence.”

    Manning has also had experience at University of California, Irvine, Indiana University South Bend, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in Kansas City, Missouri. Manning also has experience at Maryville University, the BASE Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri and Centenary College.

    Manning was confident that the future of sports has great potential at HSU. He said the department should look toward students for what direction to take. One example he gave was the possibility of backing esports on campus.

    “Young people have led us to competitive gaming,” Manning said. “They’ve shown us the way and so that’s an opportunity for us to look at that and say, ‘Okay, can competitive gaming—can esports—happen at Humboldt State University?’”

    Manning said it would be a collective effort to involve student athletes in the campus and make sure they are an active part of the community.

    “I was charged with adding programs to help increase enrollment and doing that with strategic speed. Also from a fundraising standpoint, taking our fundraising budget from a negative $11,800 to making sure we were in a surplus of $1.3 million.”

    Marcus Manning

    “That means everyone within the campus community all-in in terms of that type of experience,” Manning said. “Our alumni base and surrounding community also playing a part in that student experience.”

    When asked why he thought he would be the best candidate for the job, Manning pointed to his years of experience with athletics as a base for his merit.

    “Seventeen years of broad-based experience,” Manning said. “I got a chance to work at University of California, Irvine in recreation, but it was under athletics. So I was director of club sports and specialty events. When you look at this unique opportunity at Humboldt, it includes recreation. I cut my teeth on rec sports and I had a blast.”

    He also mentioned that he’s added programs for universities in the past and that he could do that for HSU too.

    “I was charged with adding programs to help increase enrollment and doing that with strategic speed,” Manning said. “Also from a fundraising standpoint, taking our fundraising budget from a negative $11,800 to making sure we were in a surplus of $1.3 million.”

    Manning said the signs he saw while researching the Humboldt area pointed to potential.

    “Just doing homework. I’ve seen some of the new things that occurred in terms of partnership with local schools and scholarship opportunities,” Manning said. “Seeing those opportunities that Dr. Jackson has talked about, so that really put me on notice to say, ‘Okay, these are some potential opportunities that we can really take advantage of.’”

  • Syphilis Rates Spike in Humboldt

    Syphilis Rates Spike in Humboldt

    Though prevalent, there are many free treatment and prevention options

    Syphilis rates are spiking throughout California, and Humboldt County is no exception. If left untreated, syphilis can cause a brain condition that resembles dementia, heart problems, skin ulcers and blindness.

    Nurse Practitioner Andrea Shoup is taking an active role to better inform the community about risk factors, prevention and treatment of syphilis.

    “It’s totally treatable,” Shoup said. “People don’t really get tested. If they do, it’s not enough.”

    Syphilis can manifest, but then seem to disappear. If a person doesn’t get regularly tested, they may never know they have it and spread it without knowing. There are also risk factors that increase the likelihood of contracting syphilis. Men who have sex with other men are at a higher risk than men who only have sex with women.

    “It’s just the butthole,” Shoup said. “The anus tears more easily than the vagina.”

    Other risk factors include finding sexual partners using social media, which can create a false sense of trust between partners. Methamphetamine use is also linked to high rates of syphilis. People under the age of 26 are also more likely to contract syphilis than any other age group.

    “That just comes down to promiscuity,” Shoup said. “It’s true in my own life. I kind of doubled down at 20.”

    Dr. Teresa Frankovich, the health officer for Humboldt County, said she is not surprised about the local rate of syphilis.

    “I somewhat expect we would see the same trend as elsewhere,” Frankovich said. “There’s ultimately a large amount of people at-risk.”

    Though the actual number of cases are going up, Frankovich thinks there’s more to it.

    “Part of it is we’re doing a better job at screening individuals,” Frankovich said. “We’re catching more cases of it.”

    “Notifying your partner if you have a positive test is really important.”

    Dr. Teresa Frankovich

    There is a lot that can be done to limit the risk of exposure to syphilis. Frankovich suggested limiting partners. Abstinence and monogamous relationships are ideal for limiting exposure to STDs. Condoms are available at most medical treatment facilities, including the Student Health Center on campus. Condoms are also available by prescription.

    Shoup says condom prescriptions, though important for limiting STD rates, still cause controversy.

    “I had some Republican coworkers that were all, ‘I’m paying for people’s pleasure,’” Shoup said.

    Along with condom prescriptions, yearly screenings are recommended. Since syphilis and other STDs such as chlamydia can go unnoticed, there is no way of knowing the STD status of a partner without a test.

    “Notifying your partner if you have a positive test is really important,” Frankovich said.

    Frankovich acknowledged that communicating with past partners about syphilis can be a challenge for many, which is why the Public Health division of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services provides a service called the Partner Services Program. Public health will assist in contacting partners and inform past partners in order to jump the hurdle of uncomfortable situations.

    The Student Health Center, the Open Door Clinics, Planned Parenthood and any general practitioner can help with preventative measures, testing and treatment.

    “Really it’s a lot of bad things that you don’t want,” Shoup said. “You don’t see the consequences until much later.”

  • Growing Up in the Shadow of Malcolm X

    Growing Up in the Shadow of Malcolm X

    Ilyasah Shabazz discussed her background with loving energy on Feb. 12

    Ilyasah Shabazz, one of six daughters of Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X, came to Humboldt State University Feb. 12 to discuss her book, “Growing Up X.”

    Despite the title, the book is not about Malcolm X. Rather, it surrounds the lessons and experiences that of Shabazz as she grew up living in her father’s radical legacy.

    “One of the benefits of being my parents’ child is that I grew up with a lot of love,” Shabazz said. “It’s really what drives my work because I realized there are a lot of young people who realize they are not worthy of love, or worthy of a quality education, or worthy of all of these things that life is supposed to provide us.”

    Shabazz dedicated her career to sharing the importance behind love and support being provided at a young age.

    In an exclusive interview with The Lumberjack, Shabazz emphasized the importance of love and humanity and the awareness that people are a reflection of one another.

    “In high school, I was at a prep school and not too far down the street was a group home, so we would go and tutor these young people,” Shabazz said. “I was tutoring them in math and then I started realizing that they didn’t have love—that there was no self love.”

    Shabazz dedicated her career to sharing the importance behind love and support being provided at a young age. She began advocating for the younger generation and their educational opportunities.

    “As I got older, I started realizing that it was really important for me that young people understood that they were worthy of love—that they were worthy of a quality education,” Shabazz said. “Because our education curriculum is not inclusive of historical facts, it makes young people feel that they are not worthy.”

    Shabazz felt inspired to write books because she wanted to change how children saw themselves portrayed in history. She specifically wanted to change the narrative of Black history and liberation for children.

    “That’s why I write my books,” Shabazz said. “So that children could open up a book, learn some history—learn good history—and then see a reflection of themselves in the story.”

    Her family’s legacy and the lessons shaped Shabazz into the person she has become today. An activist who has dedicated her life to working and representing the younger generations.

    “It’s about recognizing the humanity in everyone,” Shabazz said. “That we’re all brothers and sisters in the fatherhood or family of God or the creator. That we’re interconnected just because we’re human beings. Just imagine how much better life could be if we didn’t have to fight for someone to stop pressing us or, you know, committing these criminal acts on us and seeing them for as they are.”

  • Equity Arcata Holds Home Away From Home Potluck

    Equity Arcata Holds Home Away From Home Potluck

    Potluck seeks to bring together and welcome students to the community

    Equity Arcata’s Home Away From Home Potluck is an event that happens four times a year. There are two during the spring semester and two during the fall semester. The purpose is to bring together all students, community members and local businesses and make them feel welcome within the community while enjoying a free meal.

  • Parking Pisses Me Off

    Parking Pisses Me Off

    The trials and tribulations of finding parking on campus

    Parking on campus sucks. And I’m not the only one that thinks so.

    I try my best to walk or take the bus whenever I can. Sometimes I’m just too slow in the morning and have to drive to avoid being late. The problem is that between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. it’s ridiculously hard to find an open parking spot on campus.

    Usually I end up parking on a residential street nearby. To put that into perspective, my apartment is a 21-minute walk from campus according to Google Maps. From where I usually end up parking, it’s an 11-minute walk to get to class. When I add the four minutes it takes to drive there, I only end up getting to class six minutes faster. Sometimes, that’s exactly what I need to make it to class on time.

    “If people have to pay even more for parking permits there HAVE TO BE SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO PARK IN.”

    Parking Survey Response

    A 2018 study by Walker Consultants included an anonymous survey on the state of parking on campus. The full results of this study are available, and boy, a lot of people were mad about parking.

    “Prices as they are, are already ridiculous. One should not have to pay $315 a year to only find parking between 7:00-8:00 a.m and after 5:00 p.m.,” one person wrote.

    The survey had multiple respondents to the parking issue.

    “If people have to pay even more for parking permits there HAVE TO BE SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO PARK IN,” another person wrote.

    In addition to the sentiments behind these two comments, a large number of the comments suggested building both on-campus parking structures and off-campus parking with shuttles to campus.

    One question on the survey struck a nerve with many respondents when it suggested the cost of parking passes may have to be raised in order to meet the demand. Many of the answers to this question were filled with colorful language.

    “What in the world do you do with all the money that you are unable to sustain the program without raising prices again?” one of the less expletive-prone respondents wrote.

    Another respondent offered to try and get the extra funds themselves.

    “Perhaps we can lobby the state for funds? I’ll go to talk to Jerry on behalf of HSU. Dunno if he’ll see me, but I’ll go,” wrote the hopeful respondent.

    Unfortunately, Jerry Brown is no longer our governor, so if this respondent had it in with Jerry Brown, that won’t work anymore. Even more unfortunate is that this is an issue that is going to take a lot of work from the school if it’s going to be fixed. It’s also likely that even if it is fixed, it’ll take longer than many of our students will be here. In the meantime, it’s still a great excuse for being late to class.

  • The Lumberjack in Print: Feb. 19, 2020

    The Lumberjack in Print: Feb. 19, 2020

    The fourth issue of The Lumberjack for the spring 2020 semester

  • Flyers Allege Faculty Sex Solicitation

    Flyers Allege Faculty Sex Solicitation

    Humboldt State University investigation is ongoing

    Humboldt State University announced Feb. 14 it was investigating flyers posted in campus bathrooms alleging a faculty member solicited paid sex from students.

    The flyers showed a series of apparent phone messages between a student and a faculty member. In the messages, the faculty member asks the student for sexual contact in return for money.

    The flyers also include a demand for faculty members using positions of power to exploit students to be outed and for HSU to hire more counselors of color.

    (Warning: flyer contains potentially–triggering content.)

    HSU confirmed on Feb. 18 it was investigating the allegations and had made progress beyond the flyers. HSU Spokesperson Grant Scott-Goforth said they could not share any further details.

    “It’s under investigation and it’s a personnel issue, so there are a lot of privacy issues,” Scott-Goforth said in an email. Scott-Goforth also declined to tell the Times Standard if HSU has cancelled any classes.

    Multiple anonymous student sources have confirmed to The Lumberjack that the classes of one faculty member have been cancelled and a substitute has taken over since the initial flyer investigation was announced. It’s not confirmed that these cancellations are tied to the investigation.

    Title IX Coordinator David Hickcox also told the Times Standard the investigation has not been classified as a Title IX case, as no accusers have come forward.

    HSU included multiple contacts for anyone with more information or for anyone who had been harmed, including the Campus Advocate Team, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Dean of Students Office, the Title IX Office and the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

  • No Parking, No Progress

    No Parking, No Progress

    Study reveals complex campus parking problem with solutions still far-off

    In 2017, Humboldt State University commissioned a parking market demand study which found exactly what commuters knew—there is a problem with parking on campus.

    HSU has a total of 2,162 spaces, about 1,000 of which are general parking. These spaces are shared among more than 9,000 students, staff, faculty, visitors and administrators. The study found solving the parking problem might be harder than adding more spaces. Terrain is challenging, space is limited and HSU has a finite budget.

    Film student Alice Peterson had a panic attack the first time she had to park on campus.

    “It was raining really hard, I was late to class, it was the second or third week, there were no spaces and there was a lot of over-stimulation,” Peterson said. “My fight or flight kind of kicked in and I left.”

    Peterson has needed to drive to class more and more ever since. A load of heavy, expensive film equipment makes walking every day impossible. During her time at HSU, she has racked up almost $500 in parking violations because she is forced to park illegally or in spaces meant for visitors.

    David Lieb is the national director of higher education mobility planning at Walker Consultants, the parking consultant firm that HSU contracted to conduct the market demand study. Lieb worked on the study personally and said that although universities are a group of people sharing a common parking problem, HSU faces some unique issues.

    “You have a challenging topography,” Lieb said. “Everybody wants to park in a space that’s convenient to where they go, but there’s a limit to the number of spaces.”

    There is barely any room on or near campus to add a significant amount of spaces, which is why many students are advocating for a parking structure. But Lieb did not recommend a structure.

    “The shortage at this point is such that we don’t believe it would solve the problem,” Lieb said. “The survey suggested that there was more demand out there, but people were saying, ‘Why would I buy a permit if I’m not going to get a space?’ So if you increased the number of spaces, the people who are currently saying, ‘I’m not going to buy one,’ are going to buy one.”

    This process means the parking situation would remain the same if a structure was built, but the parking prices would have to increase to pay for the construction.

    “By what we calculated, parking prices would at least double or possibly triple,” Lieb said. “Our company provides design services for parking structures. We would be delighted to design a parking structure for you, but we’re not going to recommend it if we don’t think it’s the right solution.”

    Alternative transportation and ride share programs are already available through HSU.

    Jeanne Rynne, the associate vice president of Facilities Management, and Krista Paddock, HSU’s Parking and Commuter Services program coordinator, are working together to alleviate parking demand. All plans are in preliminary stages of development, but the long-term goal is to limit the number of cars that are brought to campus instead of adding more parking spaces.

    “We are looking at potential park-and-ride lots in the area,” Paddock said.

    There are parking lots in Eureka and McKinleyville that stand nearly empty during HSU’s busiest times. Those lots could be used as off-campus parking. HSU could then provide buses to and from the designated lots to limit the number of cars coming to campus daily.

    “We’re always trying to promote ride share with the Zip Cars and the Zagster bikes and the Jack Pass program,” Rynne said.

    Alternative transportation and ride share programs are already available through HSU. Both Paddock and Rynne said there are no concrete solutions on the table yet. For the time being, they plan on heavily marketing the programs that already exist.

    “We’re always open to feedback,” Rynne said. “We have the Parking and Transportation Committee and there’s two student vacancies.”

    Rynne, Paddock and Lieb all agree that parking is an incredibly emotional issue. Finding a space can take a long time. The study noted many commuters take longer to find a space than to travel to and from HSU, and HSU’s lots fill to 100% capacity during peak hours.

    Parking is stressful in a special way. No one studying or working at HSU needs additional stress, but money and topography appear to be blocking all the solutions.

  • Artificial Intelligence Generates Real Jokes on Twitter

    Artificial Intelligence Generates Real Jokes on Twitter

    Creators say we shouldn’t worry about being replaced yet

    There is a new breed of bot accounts coming to Twitter, but these aren’t put there by Russia or the CIA or whoever else is trying to influence an election. They’re novelty accounts, posting large quantities of tweets that mimic the style of existing users.

    Twitter user @kingdomakrillic runs one of these accounts. He asked to only be referenced by his Twitter account. His parody account, @dril_gpt2, sends out a new tweet in the style of @dril several times a day. @dril is a somewhat mysterious, absurdist comedy account that posts their jokes from behind the pseudo-anonymity of a profile image of an incredibly blurry Jack Nicholson. @kingdomakrillic explains their reasoning for choosing @dril to imitate.

    “I wanted to do a GPT-2 bot of someone who was both famous and whose voice on Twitter was near-exclusively comedic,” he says. “If I did, say, a Trump bot, the only humor would come from the novelty of a bot generating Trump-like tweets.”

    These imitation @dril tweets can be shockingly on-brand yet original at times. It’s not uncommon to see replies wondering if the tweets from the account are still created by a bot.

    @kingdomakrillic assures me the tweets are bot-written but hand-selected.

    “Curating the tweets is like DJing. I pace the content out, placing tweets I’m sure are funny next to ones I’m more uncertain about,” @kingdomakrillic says. “Sometimes I screw up. It’s a skill, not 1/10th of the skill that goes into actually writing tweets like dril’s, but it’s still something I need to improve on. There’s no excuse to post duds when you can output infinite text.”

    That infinite text doesn’t come from nowhere. It comes from GPT-2, a language model created by OpenAI, a research group with a focus on machine learning.

    Sherrene Bogle is a computer science professor at HSU with experience using machine learning. Conceptually, teaching an algorithm how to do something is a lot like teaching a person. Bogle uses the example of teaching an algorithm to recognize whether a bird is in the foreground or the background of an image. First the algorithm is given a set of bird pictures that are already labeled as to whether the bird is in the foreground or background, allowing it to figure out the differences. Then it’s given unlabeled bird images, where it looks for those same differences. The difference between a human in a machine doing this task is that the machine doesn’t actually understand what it’s doing. The machine simply recognizes patterns.

    Instead of looking for where birds are in pictures, GPT-2 looks for patterns in text. It’s job is to predict not just the next word, but the next couple paragraphs. GPT-2 is so good at this task that it can make paragraphs of human-readable text after being given only a handful of words. The output text can be about anything, but in order to generate text that mimics the style of a Twitter user, programmers need to retrain the model.

    “The potential for harm is less than current human bad actors.”

    Max woolf

    @kingdomakrilic says he retrained GPT-2 on 9,500 tweets, totaling about 750 kilobytes. This focuses the original GPT-2 training data, consisting of almost 40 gigabytes of data, to accomplish a more simple task. The more simple a task, the better an AI can imitate it. Imitating tweets is simple, and with GPT-2’s vast capabilities, imitation yields good results.

    There is also @kingdomakrilic’s curation, which gives many of his followers the impression that the AI is better than it really is.

    Max Woolf is a data scientist at BuzzFeed, and the person responsible for making these twitter bots so easy to create. He built a tool, called GPT-2 Simple, to easily retrain GPT-2 with any new data—tweets—and wrote an accompanying tutorial. Some people think AI is a threat to humanity, but Woolf says otherwise.

    “The potential for harm is less than current human bad actors,” Woolf says.

    @kingdomakrilic agrees with this sentiment.

    “Some people get freaked out at the fact that GPT-2 can produce sentences that have humanlike coherence, but are made with no meaning or intent on the bot’s part besides to imitate how humans write,” he says. “Markov chains, Madlibs, autocompletors, esquisite corpses—they’re also capable of creating coherent text with the illusion of intent. They’re just not mysterious black box programs like GPT-2.”

  • Hoppin’ Around Humboldt

    Hoppin’ Around Humboldt

    Multiple stops for Humboldt hops

    Craft beer breweries around Humboldt County are on the rise, offering a variety of flavors and experiences from their establishments.

    Here is a brief rundown of the up-and-coming Humboldt Breweries:

    Lost Coast Brewery – Throughout the state, Lost Coast Brewery’s products are on shelves or tapped into kegs at other breweries. Kinetic artist Duane Flatmo is the mastermind behind the unique designs on most of the Lost Coast beverage containers. Flatmo transformed one of his popular works of art, “The Great White,” into a statue which can be seen hanging out and greeting people at the main brewery in Eureka.

    Six Rivers Brewery – Their slogan, “the brew with the view,” speaks volumes to the brewery that sits atop a hill overlooking farmlands and the ocean. Founded in 2008, Talia Machshon Clare and Meredith Maier are leading the operations in what is considered California’s second all-woman-owned brewery. You can catch them and their vibrant attitudes informing the public about their daily deals and upcoming events.

    Mad River Brewery – Tucked away in scenic Blue Lake, Mad River Brewery welcomes all walks of life. On the weekends, the brewery is a popular spot and seating is packed. Parking is a challenge unless you’re a cyclist—many of whom cruise through the area. Mad River Brewery and Eel River Brewing Co. have unique outdoor corridors to enjoy beverages under the Humboldt sky.

    Redwood Curtain Brewery – Redwood Curtain Brewery has two locations in Humboldt. Their first location resides in Arcata, and their second location opened up during the fall of 2018 in Myrtletown. Redwood Curtain has gained a reputation for providing new beverages weekly and challenging patrons to games of shuffleboard.

    They may not have a kitchen, but they have partnered with LoCo Fish Co. to offer plenty of delicious options to pair with your beverage of choice. While their beverages are found only at brewery sites, anyone with a compatible glass growler can take a glass of Redwood Curtain home. They also press a 32-ounce can for convenient enjoyment.

    Eel River Brewing Co. – Eel River Brewing Company throws upcoming beverage releases a week of dedicated events and specials. Located in Fortuna, this brewery was first to introduce Humboldt’s organic beer. During the summer of 2019, Arcata Main Street announced they would not allow the distribution of local craft beers for their annual Oyster Fest. Eel River Brewery partnered up with other Humboldt breweries and threw their own oyster festival. This not only gained support from the community, but drew such a massive crowd that the festival will be thrown again. Eel River Brewing Co. proves that servicing the community is a main priority for craft beer lovers.

    At all of these breweries, charity events known as pints for nonprofits are a weekly occurrence that work with local organizations to raise money for their cause. Pub crawls are usually the talk of the town when it comes to bringing people together to raise money, and when it comes to pints for nonprofit you get to communicate directly with the organization.

    • The Great White at Lost Coast Brewing on Jan. 30. | Photo by Alberto Muro
    • German-style dunkel beer at Redwood Curtain Brewery on Feb. 1. | Photo by Alberto Muro
  • Struggles at the Station

    Struggles at the Station

    Floods and frequent power outages caused issues for KRFH during the fall semester

    Editor’s note: members of the editorial staff of The Lumberjack are part of and have been part of KRFH. The author of this article had no previous affiliation with KRFH.

    The Humboldt State University student radio station KRFH is back with new and old DJs for the spring semester after dealing with flash floods and frequent power outages during the last semester.

    Alejandro Zepeda was the station manager during the fall semester and is assistant station manager.

    “It’s been a rough semester for sure,” Zepeda said. “I ended up taking over halfway through the semester as station manager and just kinda walked into a shit storm.”

    KRFH is in the basement of Gist Hall, and when it flooded on Sept. 19, 2019, Zepeda said water started coming down from above.

    “There was a couple spots where the water literally just came in through the ceiling,” Zepeda said.

    Zoe Kelman, the manager for the live music program LIXX, said the lounge they use for recording ended up getting affected badly from the water.

    “I’ve probably turned the station back on myself after power outages somewhere between six and 10 times at this point.”

    Alejandro Zepeda

    “The whole LIXX lounge got flooded and it smelled horrible,” Kelman said.

    Kelman went on to say that pieces of the ceiling came down and the whole floor became dyed orange. Kelman also said it was lucky she came in before the event to set things up.

    “I had actually gone in and already moved some of the equipment,” Kelman said. “It was already sitting on a table, so we got lucky that when the flooding happened none of our stuff was on the floor.”

    Despite the salvaged equipment, the wiring in the KRFH studio runs in the ceiling. At first they couldn’t immediately tell if there was any direct damage to the wiring, but they ended up having to move the LIXX recording that day.

    • Part of KRFH’s CD collection adorns the wall of the KRFH booth on Jan. 28. | Photo by Seth Finnegan

    “We couldn’t do it in the LIXX lounge ’cause it smelled like a swamp, so we decided to do it in a different room,” Kelman said. “It was just like a whole thing where basically all of our equipment cut out at some point. We got dead air. Like, anything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong.”

    The frequent power outages were also an issue for the station.

    “I’ve probably turned the station back on myself after power outages somewhere between six and 10 times at this point,” Zepeda said.

    Zepeda said the power backup system was out of date so when the power went off, there was no leeway.

    Zepeda said KHSU could hold a solution for the station.

    “Within the year before they got gutted, they actually just upgraded all of their equipment and got a backup generator and a bunch of emergency supplies,” Zepeda said. “I remember thinking during the blackouts—having nothing to do at home—that I could’ve been on the air. I could’ve been talking. We could’ve been relaying news but instead we were all just sitting on our hands.”

    “You can’t break this KRFH spirit.”

    Eddie Rivera

    Zepeda said if the station was given access to the abandoned KHSU studios, they could’ve taken it over and helped the community.

    Last semester was Eddie Rivera’s first time as a DJ. Alongside the floods and power outages, he also described the station’s leadership struggles.

    “Students are so busy and so overworked that sometimes you just can’t attend to everything that the club might need,” Rivera said.

    He estimated that with class time and time spent on the air, students in the class will add an extra five hours of work to their week. Rivera said their manager struggles are a lot better now.

    “We have a couple new managers and people who are taking a lot of initiative,” Rivera said. “The managers that we have are very dedicated to it and very positive.”

    Rivera said the setbacks made the semester difficult for them, but they are still going.

    “You can’t break this KRFH spirit,” Rivera said.

  • Just One More Hour of Breakfast Burritos

    Just One More Hour of Breakfast Burritos

    Demand extends breakfast burrito availability to 11 a.m. at The Depot

    Popular demand for breakfast burritos has extended the serving time at The Depot by an hour. In previous semesters, breakfast burrito service stopped at 10 a.m. Now, it stops at 11 a.m. We asked The Depot’s staff and regular customers how the time extension affected them.

    Aileen Dominguez works at the breakfast bar in The Depot, and worked there every day for the last semester. This semester, Dominguez has to close the breakfast bar and open the rice bowl station at the same time, alone.

    “Overall it’s positive—the late students can get their burrito.”

    Aileen Dominguez

    “It is more hectic,” Dominguez said. “I have to be faster since there is only one person working the shift.”

    Dominguez said opening and closing two stations at once is a challenge, as there’s no room for both to be done simultaneously.

    Despite her challenges, Dominguez said she feels the extension has had a positive effect. For Dominguez, she noticed that students are able to get their burritos at a later time.

    “Overall it’s positive—the late students can get their burrito,” Dominguez said.

    Adriana Peck is a floor trainer, and oversees different zones at The Depot. This means she helps at the breakfast bar if needed. Peck agreed with Dominguez—she felt the time extension has had a positive impact.

    “It is excellent. I am able to get off my shift and still grab a burrito,” Peck said. “It’s nice to know that it’s there.”

    Leslie Rodriguez is a regular customer at The Depot. Rodriguez looks forward to eating breakfast burritos.

    “It’s really good with Tapatio,” Rodriguez said.

    However, Rodriguez didn’t feel like the time extension had much of an effect for her.

    “It sucks,” Rodriguez said. “They’re all out by the time I get there.”

  • Ask Evergreen: Lootless Lover

    Ask Evergreen: Lootless Lover

    Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of The Lumberjack

    Dear Evergreen,

    What do I do for my significant other on Valentine’s Day when I’m broke?

    Dear Lootless Lover,

    Valentine’s Day is this Friday and with that comes the societal expectation to shower your lover in materialistic gifts. But for those with limited funds, making an extravagant gesture isn’t always possible. There are many creative ways to express your love this Valentine’s Day that don’t involve spending loads of cash.

    If you’re a wizard of words you can charm your valentine with a thoughtful card of appreciation. Words are free, so come up with a clever poem for your partner to make them feel special. Bust out your artistic talents and create some art from the heart. You can even doodle some cute cartoons inside a card for a more personal touch to a standard Valentine’s Day card.

    With spring inching closer and closer, flowers have already started blossoming. Take a walk and gather some wildflowers and foliage to make a bouquet. Be careful not to pick any poisonous plants. You wouldn’t want to infect your valentine with anything other than love.

    Baking a sweet treat for your sweetheart is sure to satisfy. Check your cupboards for basic baking ingredients and whip up something good. If you aren’t the best baker you can easily make chocolate-covered strawberries to set the mood.

    Chances are you already have some type of streaming service, so put on some Netflix and chill with your valentine. Pop some popcorn and cozy up with your favorite movie or show. Light candles or incense for an extra touch. Soon enough you’ll be having consensual fun while Netflix asks if you’re still watching.

    You can also try going out and sightseeing with your partner instead of a movie night. Go on a scenic walk or take a stroll with your lover somewhere beautiful. If you can swing it, try planning a picnic on the beach or in the redwoods to share some quality, heart-to-heart time together. There’s nothing more pure—and free—than talking with someone you care about.

    Think outside the box this year. Whether you can afford it or not, there are plenty of thoughtful and creative ways to express your love.

    xoxo

    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.

  • Ballot Burning for the Modern Meddler

    Ballot Burning for the Modern Meddler

    Why we need to stick with physical ballots

    In 1960, the Kennedys tried to steal the White House. A Kennedy ended up living in the White House, so they may have succeeded. Maybe they stole the election, maybe they didn’t. But because we have the physical ballots, no one can dispute that they tried. In the modern world of voting machines and election apps, we might never know who tries in the future.

    If you wanted to rig an election in 1960, you needed a plan, a large team, a smokey basement in Chicago and a lot of money. You needed someone to go to a graveyard and register corpses to vote. You needed to catalog abandoned houses and figure out how many dead or fake people you could put in each one. You needed to physically go out and beat up a few voters—possibly even commit a murder or 20. You needed a large operation full of trusted members willing to do all of this. And perhaps most importantly, you needed to be fine with everyone knowing that you just tried to rig an election.

    Stealing an election was incredibly difficult, dangerous, obvious and almost completely ineffective if one candidate had a significant lead. Voting with a paper ballot clearly isn’t a perfect system, but the attempted rigging of the 1960 election is almost common knowledge. We have the paper to prove it.

    We know what paper is. We hold it in our hands almost every day. Casting a ballot is an anonymous and easily-understandable physical action. It’s traceable at every step of the way, and we can tell if the ballots don’t make it to their destination.

    Conspiracy with physical ballots is possible, even probable, but not effective on a large scale. Certainly, physical ballots aren’t perfect, but they are hard to mess with in a way that will significantly affect an election. There are doubts that, even with all the tampering and violence, the attempted rigging of the 1960 election even changed the result.

    Electronic voting, on the other hand, is vulnerable in ways paper voting is not. When you stand in front of a voting machine, there are some questions you probably have.

    The most important part of getting people to vote is the trust that the vote goes somewhere. It’s counted. The vote is verifiable, and the process is easily understandable.

    Who made the voting machine? Who paid for it? When you press a virtual button on a screen, how do you know the machine tallies it, or gives it to the right candidate? How do you know it reaches a database where it will be counted? Do you know what the software being used is, how it works, if it’s secure, how to tell if it has been tampered with, if the machine is connected to the internet — as many inexplicably are— or if it has been calibrated properly?

    The odds are that you don’t. I don’t. Nobody does. Nobody besides the people who managed to remotely change a voting machine’s final tally. Nobody besides interested parties in our own system who might want the election to turn out a certain way. Voting machines are incredibly vulnerable. They are outdated upon release, not tested properly, easy to manipulate and often connected to the internet for some reason.

    You don’t have to call on the crime syndicates of the country anymore. You don’t have to organize a massive conspiracy. All you need to rig an election is to know how to hack a virtually-undefended voting machine.

    The most important part of getting people to vote is the trust that the vote goes somewhere. It’s counted. The vote is verifiable, and the process is easily understandable.

    Electronic voting doesn’t just open our system up to attacks from malicious parties. It erodes the trust between the voter and the system. This would be true even if everything was perfect—even if there was no one meddling. But there is someone meddling. We know there is. There always has been and there always will be. It wasn’t just 1960 and it wasn’t just Democrats. The question isn’t, “Who would rig an election?” It’s, “Who wouldn’t rig an election?”

    If someone’s going to attempt to rig the 2020 election in the same way as the 1960 election—and they possibly already have—I want them to have to work for it. I want them to have to go out to graveyards, get their hands dirty and threaten some grandmas. I was disappointed by the Iowa caucuses. These days it’s hard to tell the difference between epic, mind-blowing incompetence and election theft. If these elections are going to be a complete farce, ditch the apps and voting machines. If there’s going to be ballot burning, I want to see the flames.

  • Sudden Oak Death Plagues Humboldt’s Forests

    Sudden Oak Death Plagues Humboldt’s Forests

    Humboldt County is known for its beautiful forests, but sudden oak death threatens its trees

    Sudden oak death is the common name for a disease that started infecting trees 20 years ago and has since killed over a million trees—including trees in Humboldt County.

    The University of California Cooperative Extension explained that the disease is caused by a pathogen called Phytophthora ramorum.

    “It is caused by a microscopic fungus-like organism, Phytophthora ramorum, a lethal, canker-causing pathogen of certain oaks and tan oak trees,” UCCE wrote.

    Susan Marshall, a wildland soils professor at Humboldt State University, is involved in two grant programs that deal with pathogens like sudden oak death. Marshall is connected to Christopher Lee, an HSU alumni with a Ph.D in forestry from the University of Missouri, who now works as a forest pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

    “It gets into the vascular tissue that is just underneath the bark, and it kills that tissue,” Lee said. “If it does that in several different places around the circumference of the tree, then it will eventually kill a band of tissue all the way around.”

    If the Phytophthora ramorum does kill the tissue all around the tree, the tree is effectively girdled. Generally, live tissue transports water and nutrients up the tree, but if those pathways are blocked lower down, everywhere above the infection dies. The organism infects the tree’s circulatory system and can spread to the nutrient tissue and water-conducting tissue, xylem and phloem, essentially starving the tree and clogging it up. A full ring is a sure death sentence.

    “As far as these diseases go, it would probably be worse under a warmer and wetter sort of scenario.”

    Christopher Lee

    Marshall and Lee described Phytophthora ramorum as being like a fungi or brown algae, with characteristics similar to closely related plant pathogens. Specifically, they are in the class Oomycota, which are a distinct line of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms. They are fungus-like because they have a long, branching net-like structure like the hyphae of fungi. They are algae-like because they descend from the same phylum, Heterokontophyta, as many algae.

    Phytophthora ramorum is not the only pathogen that affects trees, but it is the most visible and the most deadly, devastating thousands of acres of forest. In California, sudden oak death has been most prominent in and around Sonoma County, according to reporting by the Times Standard.

    Humboldt County’s dense forests of tan oak, the main host for the disease, is at especially high risk of tree death. Humboldt’s weather and climate are an unfortunately-inviting environment for sudden oak death. The dense oak forests in the area means both greater humidity and a shorter distance for a pathogen to travel.

    “As far as these diseases go, it would probably be worse under a warmer and wetter sort of scenario,” Lee said.

    The recent fires around California also have an indirect connection to Phytophthoras. The loss of vegetation limits the way pathogens spread due to a wildly new arrangement. It is good to note heat from fire can sometimes help slow a pathogen’s spread by eradicating an area where the pathogen had a large presence. Lee noted that if the root system of a tree isn’t fully dead, however, Phytophthoras may have a chance of surviving in its host.

    The main goals of the programs Marshall is involved with are to identify the disease more rapidly and figure out how to slow its spread.

    There isn’t a specific way to control a disease like this, but Marshall said rapid testing of plants in nursery stock may catch Phytophthora ramorum before it can infect new hosts.

    “Every year that [we] can buy that [sudden oak death] doesn’t leapfrog into some other county and cause quarantines and regulations on those counties is a little bit of economic damage that they’ve staved off,” Lee said.

    Sudden oak death has only affected one percent of Humboldt’s trees, but its impacts in California and Oregon demand researchers like the ones Marshall and Lee are involved in will be continuing to study it and find newer and faster ways to help manage the remaining forests along the coast.

  • Let’s Make Media Coverage Equal, Always

    Let’s Make Media Coverage Equal, Always

    Emphasizing equity and integrity in the media February and beyond

    Humboldt State University celebrates Black Liberation Month, which promotes black excellence and achievement, every February.

    People of color are often covered by the media for achievement in athletics and entertainment, but rarely for academia, volunteer work or simple successes unless they’re a trailblazer in their field. More often than not, Blacks face the most discrimination in media.

    At HSU, Black Liberation month emphasizes the great achievements and progress in the Black community—but these often fall out of the public eye once February is over. This is a failure—the celebration of the Black community should extend through the year and into perpetuity. At The Lumberjack, we acknowledge the lack of representation blighting the mainstream media and our own newsroom. We strive to break the toxic cycle of misinformation and misinterpretation and promote the achievements of the Black community at HSU.

    “Blacks represent 37 percent of criminals shown in the news, but constitute 26 percent of those arrested on criminal charges. In contrast, news media portray whites as criminals 28 percent of the time, when FBI crime reports show they make up 77 percent of crime suspects.”

    Travis L. Dixon

    Modern media organizations filter the truths of the world, a behavior that has a significant impact on their audience. The way we absorb news depends on the way it’s delivered. Emphasizing equity and integrity in the media February and beyond

    The study, “A Dangerous Distortion of our Families,” by Travis L. Dixon, Ph.D from the University of Illinois, looked into media coverage from local and national media outlets and found they often warped the reality of Black families to fit the narrative of the big screen.

    “Blacks represent 37 percent of criminals shown in the news, but constitute 26 percent of those arrested on criminal charges,” Dixon wrote. “In contrast, news media portray whites as criminals 28 percent of the time, when FBI crime reports show they make up 77 percent of crime suspects.”

    The study, sponsored by The Washington Post, found that at best, media outlets promoted racially biased portrayals and myths that pathologize black families and idealize white families with respect to poverty and crime.

    At worst, the study found that media outlets amplified those inaccurate depictions for political and financial gain. They said such reporting reinforces debunked narratives that justify police brutality or promote economic policies that hurt not just Black families, but all families.

    Throughout February, throughout the year, into the next decade and into forever, we shall strive to accurately report on and represent the lives and achievements of the Black community at HSU. We commit ourselves to journalistic accuracy and integrity. We commit ourselves to the celebration of the liberation of our oppressed communities and we commit to support them on their path to self-realization.

  • Jacks Fall to Second in Conference Coyotes

    Jacks Fall to Second in Conference Coyotes

    Men’s basketball leads early but drops second in a row at home

    Humboldt State’s men’s basketball home game on Feb. 8 was a challenging one for the team as they took a loss, 72-94, against California State University, San Bernardino.

    The Jacks ended the night with a loss and an 8-15 record, but a few highlights kept the fans engaged.

    In the first half, Jackson Strong made back-to-back three-pointers, while Zachariah Christian gave the Jacks an early 6-0 lead. The Coyotes caught up, bringing the score to 19-11 in the next nine minutes to take a 19-17 lead on a lay-up by Jordan Mitchell.

    • #0 Leland Green drives into the paint. | Photo by Liam Warner
    • #3 Isaiah Pope goes up for the basket. | Photo by Liam Warner

    The Coyotes increased their lead to 24-17 with eight minutes left in the first half. Rob Lewis cut the Coyotes lead to 37-30 with four straight points. Coyote player Richard Laku hit a three, which left the score at 40-30 right before halftime. In the second half, the Coyotes led and eventually outscored the Jacks by 22 points, taking the win.

    The Jacks had several players with double-digit points. Christian scored 18 points, while Isaiah Pope put up 16. Amari Green had 12 and Lewis scored 10. The Coyotes had 43 rebounds and the Jacks had 34.

    Head coach Steve Kinder said it was a hard game, but he was happy with the good start to the game.

    “What stood out to me the most was how good Cal State San Bernardino is,” Kinder said. “We just played a very good basketball team. We’re their 19th win—their last victim. They’re a very good basketball team and we competed with them well at the beginning of the game. I thought we did a nice job staying pace with them.”

  • Lights Out on Black Out Night

    Lights Out on Black Out Night

    Lady Jacks dominate against San Bernardino

    There are nail biters in sports, and then there are blowouts. For the Humboldt State University women’s basketball team, Saturday was one of those blowouts where the Jacks found themselves on the right side of the scoresheet. Decked out in their black road uniforms for blackout night, the Jacks stormed their way to an early lead and never looked back as they took a convincing 107-62 win over the visiting San Bernardino Coyotes.

    The Jacks were led in scoring by Alexia Thrower, who put up her eighth double-double of the season, putting up 26 points to go along with her 12 rebounds. Another standout performer for the Jacks was Sandin Kidder, who put up a double-double of her own with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Madeline Hatch and Gabrielle Carbajal also scored in the double digits along with Emily Packham, who had a career night with 11 points.

    The Jacks established themselves quickly, finding reliable 3-point shots from up and down the roster. Hatch struck first from beyond the arc, setting the tone for the night as the senior guard went 5-12 on her 3-point shots. Carbajal put up three 3-point shots of her own while Kidder hit both of her two 3-point attempts.

    Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson was very pleased with her team’s performance, pointing to the offense’s ability to keep driving the play with a lead.

    “I know for the fans and everybody it just seems like 100 is the magic number. I don’t even know when we hit 100 tonight. I was just so focused on just making sure we were still doing what we needed to do.”

    Michelle Bento-Jackson

    “It’s great when the shots go in,” Bento-Jackson said. “But more importantly I really was focusing on the shot selection and making sure that we got good ball movement. Not just settling for an early shot against the zone.”

    Even with such a scoring effort from her team, Bento-Jackson kept the team working hard through the full game.

    “I know for the fans and everybody it just seems like 100 is the magic number,” Bento-Jackson said. “I don’t even know when we hit 100 tonight. I was just so focused on just making sure we were still doing what we needed to do.”

    Carbajal was happy to see contributions from the whole team, saying that it made for a good experience out on the court.

    “It was really nice being able to play with everyone,” Carbajal said. “And everyone contributing out there, and scoring and sharing the ball. It was just a great game.”

    Carbajal was also confident that the team could use this game to push them forward going into their upcoming road trip to San Francisco and Sonoma.

    “Just using this game as momentum and building confidence for the next game, especially San Francisco,” Carbajal said. “I know that we’ve been struggling on the road but just coming into this next game, we just have to have a different mindset.”

    For the future, Bento-Jackson is focused on maintaining a high level of performance even when the team will play three out of their last four regular season games on the road as they aim for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in March.

    “We have three games here on the road and this is going down the stretch,” Bento-Jackson said. “Playing with that same type of energy when we’re not in front of our own fans. And as we say, it requires a lot of mental toughness to go on the road and to get a victory. And that’s something that we need to do for these next two weeks.”

  • The Lumberjack in Print: Feb. 12, 2020

    The Lumberjack in Print: Feb. 12, 2020

    The third issue of The Lumberjack for the spring 2020 semester

  • HSU Students’ Home Remedies

    HSU Students’ Home Remedies

    We asked HSU students for their home remedies to get over colds and flus

    It’s about that time of year when empty seats and sniffles become a daily thing in class. Hopefully everybody is taking care of themselves during the winter, because the common cold or even the flu can creep up on you. I asked students and staff what home remedies and tips they use when they feel a cold coming.