Inside the multi-pronged battle against declining enrollment
Enrollment numbers are down and Humboldt State University is looking for ways to keep them stable. With just 6,900 students enrolled in 2019, administration and faculty are exploring recruitment strategies and program changes to stimulate growth on campus.
Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether is on the front lines of the enrollment situation.
“We’ve lost well over 2,000 students in the last four or five years,” Meriwether said. “It’s a symptom of a few things. We’re graduating larger classes and our graduation rate has gone up. So that does have an impact. Part two is from a recruitment standpoint. There have been a number of things in place that have changed this year to get us to be a viable recruiting option.”
Humboldt State University enrollment has declined to around 6,900 students in 2019. | Graph adapted from HSU Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Meriwether divided the recruitment efforts into three elements. First, the school got rid of barriers to campus visitors like fees for preview day, parking and lunch. Second, the Division of Enrollment Management is focusing its efforts to draw students from local communities to the campus. Third, the school is using data-driven strategies to make enrollment and engagement decisions.
“We’re using data analytics to mine our top feeders and where we’re getting most of our applications,” Meriwether said. “And we’re using that type of data to make decisions about where we put our time and our energy for the maximum benefit for HSU. We want the community to know HSU is a first-choice university.”
“I think that budget component has overshadowed the fact that we still have students here to serve.”
Casey Park Former chair of the University Center Board of Directors
Historically, HSU regarded low enrollment in a more negative light. A decrease in student enrollment was correlated with a decrease in campus revenue, and campus policies reflected the budget deficit. Casey Park, former chair of the University Center Board of Directors, offered some insight.
“I think that budget component has overshadowed the fact that we still have students here to serve,” Park said. “And the narrative for the last two years was that we just didn’t have enough.”
To help staff make decisions based in reality rather than through hypothesis and conjecture, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness provides data and information to faculty and staff. Lisa Castellino, the associate vice president of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, acknowledged student resources being out-of-date with the current demographic.
“We have a student demographic that has changed over the last five to seven years,” Castellino said. “It has become more diverse. There are more first generation students. It’s more low income. It’s the institution’s responsibility and priority, and it has been the last five to seven years, to help students, because going to college is complicated.”
Thus, on-campus resources are evolving. With low enrollment, Molly Kresl and the Clubs and Activities office said they are being more deliberate and intentional with campus programming by engaging students in a way they prefer.
Meriwether and Enrollment Management said they are promoting HSU’s educational experience to potential students in Humboldt, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties as a first choice rather than a backup. Beyond administration, academic departments are attempting to provide quality education for their students, regardless of enrollment numbers.
“Often during times of change is also our greatest opportunity for growth,” Kresl said. “We stop doing things that really aren’t working that we’ve just done forever because we’ve always done it that way, and we start saying, ‘Okay, then why are we doing this?’”
Why HSU should bring back baseball in the post-football era
It has been over a year since the Humboldt State University football team played their final game ever, leaving local sports fans wondering how we are going to fill the void the HSU football team left in its wake.
Now that I’ve had some time to get used to a fall semester without the green and gold jerseys at the Redwood Bowl, it’s begun to feel more normal for HSU to be a school without a football team.
I know that bringing back the football team, at least in the near future, is an idea that seems like a pipe dream. Once you cut a program that was as much of a financial strain as the football team was, it is really hard to justify bringing such a program back. I think we need to explore alternatives of bringing back other, less expensive sports to HSU, and I know exactly what sport it should be.
Humboldt State needs to revive its baseball program, and I know that HSU baseball would be very well supported by the community.
For one, sports fans in Arcata and the rest of Humboldt County love baseball. There is no bigger example of this than the support that Arcata’s summer collegiate baseball team, the Humboldt Crabs, receives every summer from June until early August.
“From a baseball perspective, an HSU baseball team would be a huge benefit to both the athletes that would play here and the Humboldt Crabs organization.”
Liam Warner
Experiencing a Crabs game is one of the purest forms of Arcata that you will ever experience. From the world-famous Crab Grass Band to the unique heckling coming from the fans, thousands of people pack the Arcata Ballpark every summer to watch the Crabs play. Unfortunately, this is when most of the student population is home for the summer.
Another reason why an HSU baseball team would be easy to start is because finding a facility to play at won’t be a problem. The Arcata Ballpark, which is located right next to Arcata City Hall, is considered to be one of the best ballparks on the summer baseball circuit. For a Division II baseball school, I’m sure we would have one of the best baseball facilities on the West Coast.
Having an HSU baseball team that plays at the Arcata Ballpark would also give fans a lot more opportunities to watch baseball in downtown Arcata. Typically, college baseball season runs from February into late April. The Humboldt Crabs season starts in late May or early June, meaning that we would have six months of baseball with a gap in May between the seasons.
I’m sure extending the season of high-level baseball in Arcata would provide a boost to the economy downtown, as it would allow the opportunity for more people to watch quality baseball at the ballpark.
From a baseball perspective, an HSU baseball team would be a huge benefit to both the athletes that would play here and the Humboldt Crabs organization. The Crabs draw quite a few of their homegrown players from the College of the Redwoods baseball team, so an HSU baseball team would naturally become a feeder of players to play on the Crabs during the summer.
HSU Jacks players would have the opportunity to continue their season on a well-established summer baseball club, and the Crabs would have a local pool of baseball players they could pick from.
Ultimately, it’s up to HSU athletics to make the decision to bring back a sport. But I think all of the factors are there to make an HSU baseball team a successful part of the community.
HSU notifications lack conviction or specific plans of action
If you’ve checked your email at all within the past couple of months, you’ve most likely read one of the several notices Humboldt State University sent to the campus in regards to incidents of vandalism, racist messages or off-campus crimes.
Just this semester, HSU notified students via email of numerous instances including racist graffiti on Dec. 7, racist vandalism in a residence hall restroom on Nov. 13, anti-Semitic flyers put up around the campus on Oct. 25 as well as on Sept. 17 with an email notification of a stabbing that happened off campus.
An HSU notification sent out Dec. 7 regarding racist graffiti found on campus.
The emails for the first three incidents listed came a day or less after the occurrence and after the police department had found and cleaned up the perpetrators’ messes. However, the notice about the off-campus crime was sent out a month after the crime itself, which was the stabbing of a student on Aug. 26. HSU seemingly weighed in to clarify because, “recent media accounts and headlines about the incident were filled with many different narratives.”
Each message HSU sends follows a general formula.
One paragraph is what the University allots for all of these incidents of crime on or near campus. They follow it up with multiple paragraphs about how the University has no place for racism or violence, and provide the usual list of resources students can take advantage of if they need support.
But aside from erasing the evidence of the crimes and repeating where students can go ad nauseam, they have never taken any direct action to combat the trend that is clearly going on.
The messages claim that the University Police Department is investigating these issues, but they have not given any further information as to what they actually plan to do to prevent any further instances of hate speech or vandalism in the future.
Students have a right to get their education at a school that strives for active protection, not just passive written defense.
Benjamin Zawilski
El Leñador reported that “the NAACP penned a letter in April of 2018 condemning HSU’s administration for failing to take an active role in addressing racism and safety concerns in the City of Arcata and Humboldt County, thus endangering the lives to whom it extends acceptance letters.”
HSU students ought to be able to trust the administration of their school to communicate with them in these situations. But the administration’s lack of vigilance and initiative extends even to direct threats to the safety of students. Last April, they took almost a full 24 hours to send a message that a student had committed assault on campus.
The administration will not show any sign of actually protecting the safety of the students like they claim to until they take real steps to improve their transparency.
Students have a right to get their education at a school that strives for active protection, not just passive written defense. The first step might be for administration to disclose crimes that have happened before they have absolutely no choice but to do so.
Cast and crew of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” shed light on complexities of immigration
The story starts in the blue and red lights that bathe a replica-sized model of a wall. Not just any wall, but The Wall, the most southern one that separates country from country, family from family and the hopes of migrants for better opportunities and life.
In that obscurity, bodies shift and take steps until they’re center stage and in full view. They face you, you face them and under the spotlight, the stories of immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients begins.
“Some of these scenes will break your heart because they show so much humanity,” Co-Director Andrea Carrillo said. “Humanity is such a great big theme within this story. You can’t help but connect and feel compassion for these individuals.”
The Humboldt State University Theater Arts, Film and Dance Department presents “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá.” The script was written by Andrea Caban, her students, and a collaboration from source material provided by Armando Vazquez-Ramos and the California-Mexican Studies Center.
Andrew “AJ” Hempstead, who plays Danny, Papa and Ximena’s dad, folds his arms across his chest during a scene of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” in Gist Hall Theater at Humboldt State University. | Photo by Jose Herrera
Actors on stage during the final dress rehearsal of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” in Gist Hall Theatre. | Photo by Jose Herrera
Students in the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program, DACA recipients and immigrant community members gave testimonials and interviews for the script.
Troy Lescher, co-director and HSU associate professor, came upon the script in spring 2018 when Caban emailed the script to all 18 California State Universities in hopes they would produce the show.
“I was blown away by the humanity of the story,” Lescher said. “As soon as I read it I said to myself, ‘We have to do this show at HSU.’ I mean, because of our social justice mission, commitment to minority voices on stage, how timely this issue is and this play had HSU written all over it.”
The play follows the memories and lived experiences of immigrants and DACA recipients who then obtained advance parole, which gave them opportunity to travel to Mexico and reconnect with their culture and families.
Carrillo said that they go through time jumps and include the audience as they break the fourth wall in various scenes from start to finish.
Alejandro Torres as Francisco, Wendy Carranza as Ximena and Victor Parra as Mateo raise their fists. | Photo courtesy of Michael Thomas
However, circumstances prevented the play from happening until fall 2019. Lescher reached out to theater arts graduate students Carrillo and Amy Beltrán via email. They said that they were overjoyed about directing the play.
“For me the biggest thing was to evoke empathy within the community because a lot of the community, as well as in Humboldt County, can be either on the middle ground or can be very conservative,” Carillo said. “These are human beings with their own experiences, their own love, their own families, and that was a big thing for me to show that to them.”
But just as the directors were compelled to tell this story, so too were the actors.
Business marketing major and theater arts minor Victor Parra, who plays Mateo, said he knew it was important for him to get involved when he heard about the script.
“As an actor and artist this is the kind of stuff that catches my attention,” Parra said. “This is the kind of work that I want to do personally.”
Parra said it’s important to remember that the play is a cumulation of many stories, real stories, and that these are real people who struggle everyday. These were stories close to him because he experienced similar struggles back home.
“We have to keep working to give spaces for minority voices to be heard, especially voices that aren’t heard very often.”
Troy Lescher Co-director
“I brought a lot of personal past into this and it was my own decision,” Parra said. “Nobody asked it of me, but because I relate to this.”
Parra plays Mateo, who in the play fears being deported and leaving his child and mother behind. He said that is what happened to him when one of his parents was deported not too long ago, and he brought those feelings into the production.
“I envision my own family,” Parra said. “That’s what I just had to bring to the table because it’s so important. We need to say this. We need for our voices to be heard and something needs to happen.”
Lescher knew that he wanted to encourage and open the production to more students, so he reached out to El Centro Académico Cultural Coordinator Fernando Paz, Interim Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Edelmira Reynoso and Multicultural Center Coordinator Frank Herrera.
The result was that out of 11 cast members, six of them were non-theater majors and four of them performed for the first time.
“This story hits differently,” Carrillo said. “It resonates differently with people. It’s such an immediate connection with a lot of Latinx people and people of color. It made sense that we had so many new faces in the theater.”
Lescher said that the challenges DACA recipients struggle with is a big part of the conversation, because their voices are often unheard or aren’t highlighted in the news.
“We have to keep working to give spaces for minority voices to be heard, especially voices that aren’t heard very often,” Lescher said.
HSU administration cannot tell student media what to publish
Press at any capacity in the United States is protected by the First Amendment against federal censorship of speech. The government cannot make editorial decisions, retractions or content suggestions. Student press publications in California are protected not just by the First Amendment, but also by the California Student Free Expression Law of 1977, or California Education Code 48907.
When a government entity such as a state university interferes with the press by policing publications on what is appropriate to publish, it inhibits the independence of the press.
Recently, Humboldt State University administration sent out a school-wide email regarding material printed in a student parody newspaper, called The Dumberjack, found in an insert in the Nov. 20 issue of The Lumberjack.
The public announcement accused the students in the parody news class that produced The Dumberjack of reinforcing rape culture and gender-based discrimination through a photo that depicted a “sexist ‘riddle’” which was displayed on a sign in a window of an all-female room at the College Creek Apartments.
The school administration held The Dumberjack staff responsible for a joke on a sign they did not create nor stage. A student-journalist outside of the parody news class observed and documented campus culture with this photograph. The parody news class simply featured it in the paper and in no way amplified any perceived gender-based discrimination with the story that ran alongside the photo.
Parody facilitates the palatability of relevant information through comedy.
No one in The Dumberjack class or on The Lumberjack staff supports gender-based discrimination or wants to reinforce rape culture. But journalism, of any kind, is not public relations. The publication of a photo of a sign on campus does not represent endorsement of what the sign says. Journalism draws attention to troublesome realities by documenting them and showing them to the public. When a publication reveals a sign that a university finds offensive, the university’s focus ought to be on the sign, not on the journalists who documented it.
Administration officials invited the class to have a conversation to “discuss the impact and implications of the cover photo.” The meeting was intended to be an open dialogue surrounding the development of “critical lenses.”
Instead, on Thursday, Dec. 5, the class became the site of a direct act of administration intimidation.
Two school officials—only one of whom had been momentarily invited—came to the class and lectured journalism students on how to make editorial decisions. Chair of the Sexual Assault Prevention Committee Kim Berry and Dean of Students Eboni Turnbow, both of whom are government employees, reprimanded a class of students educated in journalism ethics.
The administration is demonstrating unprofessional behavior of questionable legality by attempting to contain this incident and filter what student press can and cannot print. The administration cannot tell student media what to publish.
Parody writers take real world situations and use a critical lens to highlight a topic in a juxtaposed way. These satirical pieces can sometimes be offensive, but the key is that the subject matter is still being discussed.
The goal of parody is to create a dialogue on topics that are either overshadowed or too controversial to be discussed openly. Parody facilitates the palatability of relevant information through comedy.
The First Amendment protects speech, including satire and parody. Satire and parody are used as impressionistic language that aim to create commentary on sensitive issues through the use of humor, absurdity and exaggeration. Utilizing these writing tactics serves as a more approachable way of tackling uncomfortable yet prominent issues.
Journalists aim to relay information in the most accurate and concise manner as possible. Censorship defeats that purpose. The government censoring the media is illegal and obstructs the transparency of journalism. It creates bias and subjectivity, as journalists become fearful of backlash for what they print.
When censorship appeases a specific group of people, it’s a domino effect. Censoring one thing for a single group leads to censoring all material to please everyone. That defeats the purpose of journalism as an independent eye intended to expose overlooked issues.
In today’s political climate, journalists are constantly under fire. The fourth estate, journalism, is as vital to uphold as the fifth estate, non-traditional media like parody news. When federal figures undermine the editorial freedom of a publication, even a parody news publication, a slippery slope follows in which government infringes upon the freedom of the press.
Mental health grant seeks to address adverse childhood experiences in Humboldt
A new $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be placing Masters of Social Work students at Humboldt State University in Eureka City Schools and Del Norte County schools as stipend workers.
“The grants themselves are funding positions at Eureka City Schools and also the Del Norte Unified School District,” Director of Field Education at HSU’s Department of Social Work Yvonne Doble said. “It’s actually a full time benefited position that’s being brought on at the school side to support our students.”
Announced Nov. 20, the funds will come from the U.S. Department of Education Mental Health Service Professional Development Program.
Nearly $1 million of the grant will be going to Humboldt State to help support the students and get them prepared for applying for the Pupil Personnel Services Credential, which is necessary for social work students to be hired by schools.
“A large portion of that is coming specifically for the stipends for the students,” Doble said. “We plan to offer a class for stipend recipients, where they will receive faculty guidance and support regarding school social work practice.”
The grant will be placing Masters of Social Work students at HSU in varying levels of schools throughout Del Norte and Humboldt Counties.
“It looks like we are going to have eight students this next fall, maybe more, and that will move up to 13 to 15 students by year four of the grant,” Doble said.
“Our region, for a number of reasons, has California’s highest ACEs rates in Humboldt and Del Norte County,” Jack Bareilles, the Northern Humboldt Union High School District grants administrator and an author of the grant, said. “You’re looking at approximately a third of all kids are being raised in families with four or more of the ten ACEs. So there is just a real need for that here, and I believe that’s one of the reasons we got funded.”
A graph taken from the HSU California Center for Rural Policy Sept. 2017 report on adverse childhood experiences.
ACEs can include things like alcohol and drug use or violence in the home, housing insecurity and food insecurity.
“Locally, there is a real need for support for students and support for families,” Bareilles said. “Social workers are uniquely qualified to provide, and that being said, we actually have a real shortage of social workers in the schools. It’s just something that we haven’t had before.”
Bareilles said the shortage comes from the lack of PPS credentials for students, and also because social workers, which are different from counselors and school psychiatrists, are mainly used in larger cities. Now, the PPS credential will be offered at HSU.
“Kids and schools and families will be helped, and when push comes to shove, that is the most important thing.”
Jack Bareilles
“The role of school social workers is to really help address social and emotional needs of our students,” Doble said. “It’s not just about academic counseling. It’s about providing resources to children and families. It’s about providing opportunities to developers, opportunities to repair harm that’s occurred.”
Bareilles said doing social work in school systems differs greatly from social work in other categories because the public schools operate under different processes than normal organizations.
“Having these interns work two days a week for a whole year working in a high school or middle school or elementary school, they will emerge from their MSW program with a real sense of, ‘Oh this is how schools work,’” Bareilles said. “So whether or not they are employed as a school social worker or some other child-serving social worker, they will really have a better ability of connecting the dots and getting kids what they need.”
Bareilles said the grant is a huge win for mental health support in Humboldt County and will help provide many troubled youths with the resources and personnel that they need.
“Kids and schools and families will be helped, and when push comes to shove, that is the most important thing,” Bareilles said.
The students behind the sign comparing Humboldt to genitalia discuss their curated material
Humboldt State University has been abuzz in the last few weeks with speculation about a photo of a joke written on a sign by women. This photo, taken by myself, was printed in a parody newspaper, The Dumberjack. The Dumberjack, while produced as parody of The Lumberjack, is created as part of a separate class.
The stated intention behind the sign was to poke fun at the Humboldt County climate by relating the rainy weather to female genitalia. Six girls, Caroline Voorhees, Marian Porter, Rashell Martell, Sabrina Ott, Shannon Coburn and Whitney Burns, live in a College Creek apartment together. The original creator of the sign was Caroline Voorhees, but all of the girls have their own take on the sign’s meaning.
Question: What are your feelings toward the sign?
Marian Porter: “I personally thought it was funny. There definitely were no negative intentions for the sign. Before Caroline puts out a new sign, we all give our consent to what is being represented to our dorm.”
“I guess I am sort of happy the school takes things seriously, but they should focus on other things because there are other things more important than a dorm sign.”
Rashell Martell
Caroline Voorhees: “I felt bad that I might have hurt someone’s feelings and hurt their day. Being the person who wrote the sign, I never would have thought about it as being non-consensual. I wouldn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or make them feel like I was making light on their bad situation. That wasn’t what I was trying to do, I was trying to talk about sex culture and have fun.”
Whitney Burns: “I also think anyone can read anything and take it in a wrong way which shouldn’t stop people from making jokes.”
Rashell Martell: “I was actually the one to find out our sign was the one being talked about in the email and I mentioned it to everyone in our group chat. More or less I found it funny. Even though I didn’t make the sign, I gave consent for the sign to be put out. I guess I am sort of happy the school takes things seriously, but they should focus on other things because there are other things more important than a dorm sign.”
Shannon Coburn: “I didn’t think anything of it and I thought we had so many worse signs. I could see how you can take it that way if you wanted to, but it was weird that they focused their time on a sign and not things that are actually happening on campus.”
Sabrina Ott: “It seems like they blew things out of proportions and it doesn’t seem like something people are focusing so much on. I also felt really bad for the newspaper. We were more worried that the newspaper took fault for something we did.”
Question: Did you think the sign meant what HSU administration decided it meant?
Caroline Voorhees: “When you are in a frame of mind to read something negatively you will. Whoever misinterpreted my joke must have been having a bad day, or had a friend that had a bad encounter, and that wasn’t the purpose of the sign. I feel bad for those people who are going through something in their life in order for them to think that statement was negative, because it was a positive statement.”
Question: How did you personally come up with the joke?
Caroline Voorhees: “It started off as just a joke living in Humboldt where it is raining all the time, but the other part came about because I did a paper on sex positivity and culture about sex and how it is not talked about often. It is definitely shamed, for women especially. So I tried to incorporate that with the weather and being sex positive and how you should enjoy yourself before you have sex with someone and how everyone should be happy all the time.”
A message from the whole dorm: “We do take people’s opinions and complaints seriously and we are sorry that we hurt anyone’s feelings, but that is not going to change our sense of humor and we will try to be more mindful in the future.”
AS Administrative Vice President will take over for the spring semester
Associated Students President Yadira Cruz resigned during the AS Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 3, citing personal reasons.
“It was a difficult decision I had to make, but it was the best option academically and personally,” Cruz said a few days later.
Cruz, who fought back tears when interviewed, said the AS Board, composed entirely of Humboldt State students, offered her consolation despite some of them seeming shocked by the decision.
“They were super supportive. Some people teared up, and a few of them apologized, but I didn’t want them to apologize because politics is politics, and it’s challenging,” Cruz said. “They thought they weren’t there for me, but they were always there.”
The AS codes provide that the AS Administrative Vice President takes over if the president resigns. In this case, Lizbeth Cano, a sophomore business administration major, will take the reins for the rest of the school year.
“It’s going to be big shoes to fill in because I got to see how Yadira got everyone involved and was able to always get people to really get their opinion,” Cano said. “One thing I’ll take from her is to make sure to get the whole room involved.”
“I think I’ll always feel a little bit of guilt, because I knew this was a year-long position.”
Yadira Cruz
Cruz was announced as the 2019-2020 academic year AS president last April. A senior criminology and justice studies major, Cruz said she ran despite her lack of political experience to try to do something with her frustration about a lack of support for student needs.
While Cruz said she’s happy with her decision to resign and with her time as president, she acknowledged a feeling of guilt.
“I think I’ll always feel a little bit of guilt, because I knew this was a year-long position,” Cruz said.
As a takeaway message, Cruz urged fellow students to make sure to take care of themselves.
“The transition will help AS become stronger, I think, moving forward.”
Yadira Cruz
“A lot of these students are working and involved and there’s a lot of things that they carry,” Cruz said. “And I think I’m just speaking as first-gen, as a student of color attending here. There’s a lot of things just added to it all, to the whole balance for schedules. But I think my point is just to take care of themselves as well—to find time.”
Cano agreed and supported Cruz in her decision.
“I think it’s time she prioritized herself,” Cano said.
Both Cruz and Cano said they still hoped for more students to get involved on campus with AS or elsewhere.
“Definitely using all of our different hats and letting people know that this is important and this is something that really matters and that they can have a say in it without it being troubling or problematic,” Cano said. “Because I think a lot of people can think that it’s too much work.”
Cruz responded to the implication of her resignation on the image of an AS position being a lot of work by saying that how much people do in AS depends on the individual and their goals. Cano agreed and added on Cruz’s point.
“I think it also has to be kept in mind that the position that’s being resigned is the president position—meaning the top position,” Cano said. “So definitely getting involved as a representative or maybe as an executive like a VP—it can be a different flow. It can really be a learning process.”
As Cano transitions into the the presidential role, Cruz said she thinks AS can learn and grow following her departure.
“The transition will help AS become stronger, I think, moving forward,” Cruz said.
Logging sports club invites competition for an axe amount of fun
On Nov. 16, the Humboldt State Logging sports club held its annual Logtoberfest. This year they got to compete against schools including University of California, Berkeley, University of Nevada, Reno and Shasta College.
In previous years, Logtoberfest was more of a practice session for HSU logging sports. This year HSU decided to make their event an open invitational and welcomed other university logging sports teams.
Sounds of axes chopping and chainsaws revving echoed as those involved gathered around to show off their woodcutting skills. But the event was about more than just cutting wood. Logging athletes and their familiarity with each event provided entertainment while still ensuring safety.
Vice President of the club and HSU forestry major Sophia Ackerman was in her third year competing in Logtoberfest. She was happy to see the arrival of the traveling schools and the growth of her logging team.
“Our team has gotten bigger,” Ackerman said. “Logtoberfest in the past has been more like practice scrimmages against ourselves to get ready for competitions really early in the season.”
Ackerman spoke highly about one event in particular: the obstacle pole. This event required an individual to carry an active chainsaw up a tilted log and cut off a portion of it.
Another event called the horizontal chop involved a person positioning their feet on a log as they land multiple strikes until it breaks. Feet are exposed, but an important safety feature includes metallic footwear and chain-mail shin guards, so that in the event a contestant misses their intended target, no one is seriously injured.
“Because it is extremely dangerous, if you glance out you can chop your leg. You gotta be comfortable with chopping and really good with the axe.”
Jace Hunt
Ackerman participated in the horizontal chop event and wasted no time chopping the log against her Shasta College opponent. Upon completion, Ackerman sat and took a break as she watched and cheered on her opponent to finish strong. Sportsmanship among the logging athletes has allowed them to forma bond of endless support for each other.
Wildlife conservation major Jace Hunt competed in an event called the vertical chop, and after multiple swings from his axe, Hunt delivered a final blow to the log sending wood chips flying in every direction.
Despite constant sawdust and wood chips flying everywhere, maintaining an uninterrupted line of sight was a goal the athletes thrived for. However, there were some participants that saw the flying chips as a motivational obstacle.
Not only does swinging an axe demand physique but it demands discipline to assure that team members avoid inflicting bodily harm. Although this is Hunt’s second Logtoberfest, he did not compete in last year’s axe-wielding events.
“You have to be on the team for a full year before you can do the vertical chop,” Hunt said. “Because it is extremely dangerous, if you glance out you can chop your leg. You gotta be comfortable with chopping and really good with the axe.”
Students from various majors hone their argumentative skills
With winter break fast approaching and students preparing for finals, Humboldt State University’s debate team is pushing through with consistent practice sessions and preparing for scheduled competitions that start as soon as the spring semester begins.
Responding to a topic may seem like an easy task, but compiling synchronized responses with a teammate can be overwhelming, especially when the goal is to not contradict each others’ claims.
“Try publicly speaking about controversial issues, not knowing whether or not you will be speaking for or against your own values until 15 minutes before you have to do so.”
Kimberley Nguyen
Kimberley Nguyen, a philosophy major, is in her third semester with the debate team. She stresses over the challenging lack of preparation time before debates.
“Public speaking on its own is a difficult task,” Nguyen said. “Try publicly speaking about controversial issues, not knowing whether or not you will be speaking for or against your own values until 15 minutes before you have to do so.”
HSU’s debate team is currently practicing the British parliamentary debate method as they prepare for spring. This consists of team members pairing up, debating sides and creating counter arguments.
During one of their practice sessions, assistant coach Olivia Gainer presented the teams with the topic. The topic surrounded the opening monologue of “All the World’s a Stage” from William Shakespeare’s play, “As You Like It.” The four teams proceeded to exit the room to prepare and come back later with their responses.
“The team dynamic is definitely important and affects the way each round goes, it helps balance arguments off each other,” Gainer said. “Right now I’m looking at how well the team dynamic is and will give my input on their performance.”
Research and compiling a strong argument is a must. With evenings being the only time frame to practice their tactics, the debate team optimizes their time wisely to alleviate obstacles in later competitions.
HSU’s debate team is open to all and brands itself as a competitive sport. Exercising one’s mind to develop well constructed argument is as crucial as athletes utilizing their plays to put points on the scoreboard.
Theater Arts Department presents a production that transcends borders
The room is dark, the audience silent. On stage, right before your eyes, a story begins to unfold. Actors stride onto the set, and within seconds, they transport their audience into a world that deals with fears of family separation, job loss and deportation.
But that world is reality, as the actors break the fourth wall and address issues for immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
“I read the script and I thought, ‘Wow, this needs to be told,’” Co-Director Andrea Carrillo said. “I know that there’s a good portion of undocumented people living in Humboldt County as well. It’s a great way to show the community that we see you, we hear you and we want to do what we can to share your experiences and your voices on stage.”
Humboldt State University’s Theater Arts Department will premiere a production of “Dreamers: Aquí y Allá” this weekend and next. The show features testimonials and interviews from students in the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program, DACA recipients and community members.
“I’d say for people who have heard the story and don’t necessarily connect with the politics, I’d say, stay open minded about it. You never know what you might experience or learn. You might surprise yourself as an individual.”
Andrea Carrillo
The production is co-directed by theater art graduate students Amy Beltrán and Carrillo along with Assistant Professor Troy Lescher. “Aquí y Allá,” first produced at California State University, Long Beach, was written by Andrea Caban and presented as a collaboration between Caban, her students, material provided by Professor Armando Vazquez-Ramos and the California-Mexico Studies Center.
“This is a story that needs to be heard. You need to be here and sit with it and listen intently and openly as well,” Carrillo said. “I’d say for people who have heard the story and don’t necessarily connect with the politics, I’d say, stay open minded about it. You never know what you might experience or learn. You might surprise yourself as an individual.”
“Aquí y Allá” opens Dec. 6 in Gist Hall Theatre and continues Dec. 7, 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. There will be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Dec. 15. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for student and seniors. For tickets, visit the Center Arts website or call 707-826-3928.
After the show on Dec. 6, representatives from HSU’s Scholars Without Borders and Centro Del Pueblo will present on DACA initiatives. Following the shows from Dec. 12 through 14, Professor Vazques-Ramos will present a 30-minute lecture called “Dreamers 2020: What’s Next?” followed by a Q&A.
Georgetown study shows HSU graduates receive lowest pay over 40 years
Humboldt State University has the lowest earnings for graduates out of all 23 California State Universities, according to a recent Georgetown study.
The study said the average HSU student makes $752,000 within 40 years after graduating, which makes HSU the lowest earning CSU on the list. The average for other CSUs was around $1 million. For comparison, Chico State students reportedly made $1,018,000, while CSU Los Angeles students averaged $1,019,000.
The study measured the value of a college degree in net present value. According to the study, NPV is how much a sum of money in the future is valued today. According to Telegram.com, “this metric includes costs, future earnings and the length of time it would take to invest and earn a certain amount of money over a fixed horizon.”
“I believe it’s very important to think about the fact that the 30, 40, 50 years of a person’s working life are a lot more satisfying if it’s a job you enjoy and allows you to do the things you are passionate about.”
Alison Holmes
This fixed horizon is split into increments of 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 years. This number is calculated by subtracting the amount of money a person can make at a minimum-wage job over that same time period, as well as taking into account student loans. This number contrasts against working a job that doesn’t require a degree. The result is the return on one’s investment.
Alison Holmes, associate professor in the Department of International Studies at HSU and a participant in the development of the career curriculum for the arts and humanities, believes the study isn’t taking enough into account.
“The frame of this research is clearly about size of income over the years after graduation,” Holmes said. “And while I would never say that is unimportant, I believe it’s very important to think about the fact that the 30, 40, 50 years of a person’s working life are a lot more satisfying if it’s a job you enjoy and allows you to do the things you are passionate about.”
Gina Kelble, an HSU freshman who sees herself going into environmental law, expects to make a decent living.
“I’ll probably end up going to [University of Colorado] Denver or CU Boulder for grad school,” Kelble said. “I have connections back at home through past internships, so those will be stronger than my Humboldt ones.”
Kelble is confident in her ability to get into grad school and dodge the bullet of making the average income of an HSU graduate.
“The study also makes the point that it’s about knowing yourself or, put another way and as I say to students, choices have consequences,” Holmes said. “There is nothing wrong with wanting money, if that’s lots and lots of money or just basic financial security. But you need to be clear that jobs have a pay scale. As a society we can work to get better pay for people, but for now, it is important to think about jobs with a very clear understanding of the pros and the cons of that choice.”
Holmes said that while money is a necessity, it stands among many others things that should be taken into account.
“As long as we send students into the world prepared to do what they want to do and always striving to fulfill their amazing potential, I am not going to spend too much time worrying about a study based on a scale based on the size of a paycheck,” Holmes said.
Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse provides a haven for a diversity of plant species
A sky full of grey clouds smothers the sun and with a chilling breeze even the most layered person shivers down to their toes. One step into the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse transports you away from the cold into a world of warm, enticing, vivacious plants.
There are six rooms in the greenhouse: temperate, tropical, desert, fern, aquatic and the subtropical dome. Each room has an appropriate climate and a resident community of plants. Greenhouse manager Brianne Lee, along with student assistants Dabid Garcia and Courtney Harris, maintain the greenhouse at Humboldt State.
The entrance to the primary green room at Dennis K. Walker. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Leaves of a gum palm, otherwise known as a dioon spinulosm, in the subtropical dome. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Inside the Subtropical Dome at the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse at Humboldt State University. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Anthurium scherzerianum, known as flaming flamingo, is generally native to Central America, but can be found in the Tropical Room at the greenhouse. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Spike Moss, selaginella biformis, in the Fern Room at the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Artocarpus heterophyllus, known commonly as jackfruit, in the Tropical Room. | Photo by Deija Zavala
“Essentially, the greenhouse is a living museum,” Harris said. “It’s something that we are trying to preserve here and not kill with love.”
The large botanical collection contains more than 1,000 species of plants belonging to 187 families. According to the Department of Biological Sciences website, students and faculty studying botany and biology use the greenhouse and its plant life to research and learn.
Harris, a botany major, said the greenhouse is a magical place, especially since there are only two student positions. After transfering from the College of the Redwoods in 2017 Harris was hired as an assistant.
“It feels like a unique experience being that this is such a cool staple and an important part of the botany program,” Harris said.
The job of a greenhouse assistant consists of maintaining the facility and its residents residents, which means sweeping the rooms, hand watering plants, managing pests and propagating plants.
“Essentially, the greenhouse is a living museum. It’s something that we are trying to preserve here and not kill with love.”
Courtney Harris
Garcia, a rangeland resource science major, said that there’s a lot of care and research that goes into the plants, but the goal is to make sure the plants are happy and thriving.
“Every species needs their own little formula of fertilizer,” Garcia said. “Some require more nitrogen than phosphorus and some others more potassium. We have to do our own research and sometimes that research isn’t available, so we’ll give the plant fertilizer and see how the plant reacts to it. A lot of our plants are really rare in the wild.”
The trio look out for signs indicating whether something might be wrong, such as droopy leaves and discoloration. The team also checks soil moisture levels, but all plants indicate issues to caretakers in unique ways.
Greenhouse Assistant Courtney Harris inspects a Bird of Paradise, strelitzia reginae, plant. Part of Harris’ job is to help plants pollinate. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Brooke Sharp, a child development major, explores the Fern Room at the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Inside the subtropical dome, flowers in bloom adorn many of the residents. | Photo by Deija Zavala
The Twin Spined Cactus, known scientifically as mammillaria geminispina, in the Desert Room. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Greenhouse assistants Dabid Garcia and Courtney Harris pose in the sub-tropical dome at the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse. | Photo by Deija Zavala
“The biggest challenge is understanding how each plant reacts and responds to the care that we give it, and adjusting our behavior accordingly,” Harris said. “It requires a tremendous amount of teamwork and communication between us.”
Harris added that some plants don’t like attention while others, if left alone, will wilt and die.
Mihai Tomescu teaches plant morphology, plant anatomy, paleobotany and general botany. The trio’s work supports Tomescu in the botany department, as well as supporting the biological sciences. Faculty often use plant specimens during lectures and labs.
“Plants don’t move, and yet they are exposed to pretty much the same challenges that we are exposed to in terms of surviving. There’s all sorts of stressors. They have to procure their food and because of that, just like other types of organisms, have to have some type of behavior.”
Mihai Tomescu
Tomescu said his area of expertise and research is plant structure, including topics like how plants are put together, how they grow, how they look and how their features evolve over generations. Some of his methods include digging deep into geologic time.
“I know how they grow at the cellular level,” Tomescu said. “So coming from that perspective, I realized that one of the most fascinating things about plants that people don’t realize is that compared to us animals, and compared to what we think of in our culture about aliens, is that plants are more alien to us than the craziest aliens that human imagination has come up with.”
In his classes, Tomescu has his students visit the greenhouse three to four times a semester for assignments and brings live samples for labs when examining roots, leaves, stems, cells and other internal parts of plants.
“If you have a big botany program that emphasizes organismal biology, the diversity of plant groups and so on, then it makes sense to have something like this,” Tomescu said. “How else are you to teach your students about the diversity of plants if you can’t show it to them alive.”
Some people may question the general interest in plants because at the surface they seem not to do anything. But Tomescu said that if you are able to slow down and get pass the green blur of a forest of plants, you’ll come to find some interesting organisms.
“Plants don’t move, and yet they are exposed to pretty much the same challenges that we are exposed to in terms of surviving,” Tomescu said. “There’s all sorts of stressors. They have to procure their food and because of that, just like other types of organisms, have to have some type of behavior.”
Courtney Harris pets the cone of a dioon spinulosm in the subtropical dome. Harris was enthralled by the cone’s soft texture. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Some plants, like this one, keep pollen outside their flower ready to be blown off by wind gusts. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Because the Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse doesn’t have the aid of natural pollinators like birds and wind, assistants sometimes take pollen carefully from one plant to another. | Photo by Deija Zavala
Plant behavior is what a plant does, including how it grows. According to Tomescu, plants have control of their growth, from the depth of their roots to the direction of their leaves.
“The plant makes a lot of choices because growing in one direction or another means spending energy,” Tomescu said. “It’s very calculated — not consciously calculated– but basically plants sense their environment very well.”
In the broader sense, he said that plants make him think. Tomescu hopes more people will become interested in plants since they are so different compared to other life forms.
“It’s kind of exhilarating to realize that we live next to these super weird organisms,” Tomescu said. “It maintains this fascination that there are these organisms that do the business of living in a very different way from us.”
The Dennis K. Walker Greenhouse is available to instructors and students in the Department of Biological Sciences, and access is limited by the availability of instructors or greenhouse staff.
It is open to the public by appointment or when greenhouse staff are available. If you are interested in making an appointment contact Brianne Lee at 707-826-3678 or schedule a visit via email at bms561@humboldt.edu.
Martin Wong’s lost art reemerges to bring awareness to a new generation
Designer street style brand Supreme’s new collection highlights the life and art of Martin Wong.
Wong, who embodied creativity, empathy and empowerment, lost his battle against an AIDS diagnosis in August of 1999, but his artwork continues to inspire and act as socio-political commentary after his death.
Wong attended Humboldt State University in 1964, enrolling himself in every available art class before focusing his studies in ceramics. After graduating, Wong left the comfortable walls of university-life to influence the art scene and bring widespread awareness to minority groups often overshadowed by society.
Wong’s family, friends and supporters partnered together on a collaborative collection with Supreme showcasing Wong’s lost works.
“Tell My Troubles to the Eight Ball (Eureka)” 1978-81 | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
Example from the Fall/Winter 2019 Supreme clothing line featuring Martin Wong’s work.
Example of the Fall/Winter 2019 Supreme clothing line featuring Martin Wong’s work.
Example of the Fall/Winter 2019 Supreme clothing line featuring Martin Wong’s work.
Anneliis Beadnell, Senior Director and Director of Estates at P.P.O.W Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York that represents Wong and his work, explains Wong’s appeal to Supreme.
“Over a year ago the artistKAWS, who is a good collector and friend of P.P.O.W, approached us to see if the Estate of Martin Wong would be interested in supporting a collaboration between Martin Wong’s work and Supreme,” Beadnell said. “The Estate was supportive, Martin’s circle of friends were encouraging and the collaboration felt right on many levels.”
The collaboration, as well as the overwhelming support towards the partnership of artist and brand, reinforces the importance of Wong’s legacy, advocacy and support represented through his artwork.
“Since Martin was interested in cultures that lived on the fringe of society, or outside the realm of the ‘art world,’ we felt that this collaboration would be successful in bringing his imagery into a new demographic.”
Anneliis Beadnell
“Through Supreme’s platform, a new generation who may not have had access to the works through visiting galleries or museums, will have a new way to enter into his work,” Beadnell said. “Since Martin was interested in cultures that lived on the fringe of society, or outside the realm of the ‘art world,’ we felt that this collaboration would be successful in bringing his imagery into a new demographic.”
Like most of Wong’s art, the graphics showcase political and sometimes controversial subjects. Elements of poverty, misfortune and ruin bring attention to the unfair and inhumane treatment of minority groups. Encapsulating inclusion and representation was Wong’s strong suit.
The ability to take those underrepresented into the spotlight ripples throughout his work. Idolizing the “unprofessional” and disrespected street artists allowed for new perspectives to emerge not only in Wong’s works, but in the art world in general.
“In his lifetime, Martin gathered one of the largest graffiti collections in the world,” Beadnell said. “Martin turned to his friendship with the graffiti [artists] for collaboration and inspiration in his own works, which often took them as the subjects of various paintings.”
According to Beadnell, Wong also created several paintings with skateboarders as the primary subjects, like “Sweet ‘Enuff,” a 1987 painting which is in the collection of the de Young Museum in San Francisco.
Capturing moments ignored by mainstream society gifted Wong the ability to cast a new light on the struggles and discrepancies in subcultures, raising widespread awareness in the art world.
“Big Heat” 1988. | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
“Sharp Paints A Picture” 1997-98. | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
Iglesia Pentacostal 1986. | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
Amigos 19xx. | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
“Malicious Mischief” 1997-98. | Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P·P·O·W, New York
This type of socio-political activism is still growing today, but there is a need for inclusion of identity and culture regardless of differences. Beadnell emphasized this and said the goal of the collaboration with Supreme was to reinforce those ideals with younger generations.
“Wanting to extend his demographic outside of the ‘art world’ speaks to wanting to continue his legacy of influence and inspiration as an artist,” Beadnell said. “There is a strong youth culture that follows Supreme and the collaboration with Martin’s work may open a door for those that purchase the items and want to learn about Martin Wong’s contribution to our visual history and culture.”
Wong’s work revolutionized the stigmas that dismissed groups from society, specifically focusing on the disadvantaged and underrepresented. From sexual orientation and economic standing to uncontrollable impairments, capturing the essence of groups often labeled insignificant or unworthy earned Wong his title of an activist and a visionary.
“Being that Martin was a gay Asian American, we hope this level of visibility will inspire others, that may have shared histories and identities, to look to Martin as a point of inspiration.”
Anneliis Beadnell
“Martin’s paintings connect to the denizens of the Loisaida, the crumbling tenement bricks and urban landscapes, the places where creative subculture thrived and since has been erased by gentrification,” Beadnell said. “The iconography that emerged through Martin’s depiction of the Lower East Side, of closed storefronts, firemen, ASL symbols, constellations and flaming eight balls became graphic points of interest for the line.”
The re-emergence of previously destroyed creative outlets allows the newer generation access to the extinguished memories and documentation of the past. The revamped accessibility stems with the hope of generating more activism for the future.
December 1 is World AIDS Day, recognizing and bringing awareness to the pandemic caused by HIV and mourning those who have died from the disease.
“Being that Martin was a gay Asian American, we hope this level of visibility will inspire others, that may have shared histories and identities, to look to Martin as a point of inspiration,” Beadnell said.
HSU’s Dining Services employees don’t receive a free meal while on shift
While many food service employees receive heavily discounted meals or one free meal per shift, dining services student employees at Humboldt State University get the same meal discounts as anyone who pays with J-points: 25% off.
Abigail Rosales, junior communications major and a floor manager at The Depot, said employees frequently complain about the minimal discount.
“It would be nice to know that our job and our work is valued,” Rosales said. “Because if we’re just getting the same discount as people who already live on campus, then there’s not really an incentive food-wise. Obviously we’re getting paid, but it’s always a nice bonus if you get any benefits while working here.”
Rosales previously worked at the fast-casual restaurant chain, The Habit Burger Grill. Employees received a free burger and fries every shift, and got 50% off everything else.
Rosales said a free or more discounted meal per shift would likely make for a better workplace.
“I think if we did get that, a lot of us would be a little less grumpy,” Rosales said. “Because sometimes we’re tired or hungry, and sometimes we just don’t have money on us, so we get irritated.”
Abigail Rosales, a junior communications major, standing in The Depot at Humboldt State University on Nov. 8. Rosales, a floor manager at The Depot, said student dining employees often feel irritated with the lack of an extra discount, but never feel like they can do anything about it.
William Weinberg, a forestry senior and College of Natural Resources representative and vice chair, said over the phone that he’d be interested in seeing HSU try a pilot program giving free meals to student employees.
“I think it would be cool if it did happen, or if they ran a pilot to see if it would work,” Weinberg said. “Would the costs of that free meal maybe make up for more work ethic, more happier workers?”
Rosales said many student employees bring their own food or have to clock out from work early to go home and eat before their next class to avoid paying for a meal. But according to Rosales, even a cheap meal would be helpful.
“Even just like the fries and a corn dog,” Rosales said. “I think those are the two cheapest things. If we just get that, that’ll probably be enough for a lot of people.”
Director of Dining Services Ron Rudebock pointed to money as the primary issue behind the lack of an extra discount for student employees.
Rudebock, who has been the director of dining services for 15 years, said declining enrollment has reduced dining services income, while increases in minimum wage and insurance prices, alongside efforts to provide more organic and local food options, have increased costs.
“It’s unfortunate, because we’re trying to keep our food costs lower while our costs are going up,” Rudebock said. “So how do you balance those two?”
Dining services at HSU are not run by the university, but instead by the University Center. The UC is a nonprofit auxiliary corporation that works with HSU, but is not owned or operated by the school. The UC operates on-campus entities like dining services, the library, Center Arts and Center Activities.
While student fees provide money for some of the services, Rudebock said dining services runs entirely on the income from student food purchases.
In fact, Rudebock said dining services has to pay HSU rent for their facilities along with utilities, garbage, internet and so on.
“It’s a separate business,” Rudebock said. “And we actually pay the university money.”
All California State University Dining Services are run by auxiliary corporations, according to CSU Public Affairs Manager Hazel Kelly. We have reached out to all CSUs to determine which CSU dining services provide free meals to student employees.
Thus far, only five CSU’s have responded.
Student employees at CSU Bakersfield and CSU Monterey receive free meals during shifts, and according to a representative for Sonoma State, SSU student employees get free meals for shifts longer than four hours and free snacks for shifts shorter than that. San Francisco State gives its student employees a free meal if they work a shift longer than five hours, and CSU Chico gives students meals for $2.50 for shifts longer than four hours. In addition, Chico gives student employees 10% off all food items purchased on campus.
Director of Dining Services Ron Rudebock in his office on Nov. 8. Rudebock said dining services has hit tough times lately due to declining enrollment and increased expenses. | Photo by James Wilde
Any profit that dining services makes goes back into its operations, according to Rudebock. Rudebock pointed to The J’s more than 25-year-old dishwasher as one example of an upcoming expense. Rudebock said the dishwasher will cost around $250,000 to get replaced.
“We need the reserves to be able to pay for everything so we can stay in business,” Rudebock said. “But we don’t have a set of stockholders. We don’t have—you know, like a corporation has a set of stockholders that have got to make money. We don’t have a magic investor.”
Rudebock said the UC lost around $100,000 in each of the last two power outages, during which The J offered free meals to students, faculty and staff. Rudebock said HSU may only partially reimburse dining services for those costs.
In regard to free meals, Rudebock said that dining services doesn’t have any plans to provide a larger discount for student employees. However, Rudebock said the issue is not off the table. HSU could suggest larger discounts for student employees to the UC, and while the UC does not have to follow HSU’s suggestions, Rudebock said it wants to work with the university.
“We need the reserves to be able to pay for everything so we can stay in business. But we don’t have a set of stockholders. We don’t have—you know, like a corporation has a set of stockholders that have got to make money. We don’t have a magic investor.”
Ron Rudebock
HSU Director of News and Information Aileen Yoo said via email that HSU hasn’t suggested the UC adopt free meals due to the impacts it could have on prices.
“We understand that offering free or more heavily discounted meals for student employees would be a financial burden for the UC and likely mean a price increase for all HSU students who may not necessarily have the means to cover those additional expenses,” Yoo said.
At the moment, HSU dining services employs about 350 students and 26 full-time employees, which, according to Rudebock, is the highest proportion of students to full-time employees in the CSU system.
Aileen Dominguez, a senior political science major who works as a student assistant at The Depot, said she sometimes wishes there were more full-time employees because when she started the position she felt she was never properly trained.
“I was just kind of put in with my coworkers who actually just said, ‘Oh, this is what we do, or this is how we do it—or this is how the girl before taught me how to do it,’” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said this has led to confusion and she’s not always sure how to train new employees.
Aileen Dominguez, a political science senior, studying in the library on Nov. 10. Dominguez works as a student assistant at The Depot. Dominguez suggested that a bigger discount for dining service employees might increase sales. | Photo by James Wilde
“I’ll say, ‘This is what you do, I think. At least, this is how I’ve seen the other girls do it,’” Dominguez said.
As for meal discounts, Dominguez echoed Rosales.
“I think we all talk about it,” Dominguez said. “But they probably don’t have enough money to feed us all.”
Dominguez said she only eats at The Depot when she has to—typically on Thursdays, when she is on campus all day. She said that employees frequently go to Oh Snap or elsewhere instead of buying food on campus.
Dominguez suggested that a larger discount might actually help bring in more business, but she doubts that one will be offered.
“I just feel it’s unfair that we kind of have to choose,” Dominguez said. “Like, ‘I don’t want to eat this right now, because I have to buy other things,’ or say, ‘I’m just gonna go eat a cup of noodles at home because this burrito isn’t worth it.’”
Rosales made a similar statement.
“On our end, we kind of pick and choose if we want to pay for something,” Rosales said. “If we’re really that hungry to pay for it or if we’ll just deal with it and not.”
This story will be updated if and when other responses for comments are received.
Forage for free food locally while learning about your environment
If you’ve ever dreamed of living off the grid and growing your own food, foraging is the next best thing to fulfill that desire.
Foraging is a fun and rewarding way to immerse yourself in your local environment. Here in Humboldt County, there are plenty of opportunities for outdoor food morsel scouring. You can find dozens of wild plants that are both useful and edible, from anise, dandelions and yarrow to cattails.
If you know what you’re looking for, urban food foraging is quite simple. Some yards in Arcata have fruit trees that are tempting to take from, but be sure to ask for permission before picking.
If you don’t know where to start looking, you can use the Falling Fruit website or app. This site features a global map with geotagged locations of edible and useful items within your area. When you identify something new, you can mark it on the map to help others locate your foraging find.
If you want to look for wild herbs, fruits and vegetables beyond the cityscape, take a stroll to a park or the community forest and chances are you’ll find something forage-worthy, whether it’s morel mushrooms, blackberries or ginkgo.
If you aren’t well-versed in fungi identification, there are options in the wild for food finding beyond the typical mushroom hunting. It’s best to steer clear of gathering mushrooms unless you are with an expert or have definitive knowledge of a particular type you are searching for.
Foraging is a helpful way to inform yourself about natural food cycles. We often forget about the different produce seasons as grocery stores usually supply all types of seasonal produce year-round, but foraging for your own food helps you learn when produce is ready for harvesting.
Explore beyond the city streets and forested land for scrumptious surprises from the sea.
If you’re foraging for sea life, ensure you’re legally licensed to do so. You can forage for loads of coastal edibles like seaweed, snails and goose barnacles, but many items require a fishing license to take as well as prior knowledge of eligible sizes and harvesting limits.
Make sure to have the proper equipment for specific foraging needs. When coastal foraging, it’s necessary to have have measuring equipment for the sea life you’re searching for to verify your finds are within size regulations. Bring a bucket for your finds and a knife or prying tools like a spudger to scrape off treats like limpets or sea snails. Gloves and knee pads are useful, but not necessary as long as you’re cautious on slippery terrain.
Be aware of red tides and other contaminants that may affect coastal harvests. Humboldt and Mendocino County undergo an annual mussel quarantine form May 1 to Oct. 31 which prohibits mussel gathering to protect people from shellfish poisoning due to oceanic toxins. Avoid this concern by foraging for univalve organisms which don’t filter throughout their body and have singular shells, like periwinkles or black tegula snails.
Foraging for insects can also be an exciting addition to your food gathering excursions. There are hundreds of species of edible insects including crickets, weaver ants and silkworms.
Identifying edible insects can be tricky if you aren’t completely sure of what to search for. The most advisable way to consume insects would be through home cultivation of a species like mealworms or crickets.
Don’t ever consume something that you aren’t 100% sure is safe to eat, whether it’s a fungus, plant or creature. Be sure to know how to properly identify items before your search.
In addition, prepare foraged food properly. Make sure to wash findings thoroughly and cook it correctly so as to not have an upset stomach.
Remember, do not forage on private land, or at state and national parks. It’s illegal to take items including rocks, wood, berries and nuts from these parks as they’re protected by state and federal conservation regulations.
Although areas of Humboldt County have the “all clear” for power restoration, another PSPS may be scheduled for Tuesday morning
Parts of Humboldt have been given the “all clear” to begin line inspections and restorations for the current Public Safety Power Shutoff.
“PG&E notified Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services (OES) that portions of Humboldt County have been given the “All clear” for the weather event and will begin the restoration process as soon as conditions allow,” the latest update from the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services said.
However, PG&E has also notified the county that another PSPS event may affect Humboldt as early as Tuesday morning.
“PG&E also notified OES that another weather event is scheduled for Tuesday 10-29-19 at 6 a.m. which will also result in a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS),” the update said.
OES says it expects “a small window of time” between the two shutoffs, and urges residents to use the time to once again prepare to have no power.
“As always, this information from PG&E is subject to change,” the update said. “Updates will be provided as soon as they become available.”
“These delays in the power shut off are in part because PG&E is trying to limit the time that customers are impacted,” the update said.
PG&E increased the number of accounts within the scope of its latest Public Safety Power Shutoff today from 850,000 to 940,000. Since many accounts provide power to multiple customers, PG&E estimates that over two million people are within the PSPS scope.
PG&E expects to give the “all clear” for the windy weather event by 4 p.m. Sunday for Humboldt. However, the update clarifies that that is not when power will be restored.
“The weather “All clear” time is the time when PG&E personnel can begin inspecting the lines,” the update said. “It can take up to 48 daylight hours from the weather “All clear” time until power is restored because any damage found during the inspection will need to be repaired prior to power restoration.”
In a PG&E press conference at their headquarters in San Francisco, PSPS Incident Commander Mark Quinlan emphasized that the restoration will take different amounts of time for different areas as PG&E works to patrol 31,000 miles of lines.
“The restoration time is a sequence as well,” Quinlan said. “It doesn’t mean that every customer is going to be out for 48 hours. It means that we’re going to begin restoration activities at the times that I mentioned, and we believe we will incrementally restore everyone all the way up and not have anyone out past 48 hours.”
Alison Holmes, Ph.D. spent her sabbatical researching whether California acts as its own nation
California has the means to be its own nation. It’s big, it’s wealthy and it’s been disrupting the status quo by acting internationally.
“California has been acting outside the box,” Humboldt State University Associate Professor and International Studies program leader Alison Holmes said. “They’ve been going and doing stuff with China, Mexico and Canada. It’s like, ‘Wait, you’re not supposed to do that. That’s not what international relations theory says, it’s not what the U.S. Constitution says, it’s not what all kinds of other rules suggest.’ So how are they doing that?”
Holmes spent her sabbatical last school year researching California and talking with state officials and those the state has dealt with.
In August, Holmes presented her research to the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State University in a presentation called, “California as a Nation-State: Innovative or Inevitable?”
In her research, Holmes found that cities and industries within California may act internationally, but the state itself doesn’t typically act as its own nation.
“We do things internationally but we don’t do them in a coordinated fashion,” Holmes said.
Holmes grew up in Oklahoma, but she moved to the United Kingdom after volunteering in Belfast during college. Holmes lived in the United Kingdom for 25 years, where, among other things, she worked for and advised the Liberal Democrats and worked as the Deputy Head of Corporate Communication Strategy for the BBC.
In 2005, Holmes completed her doctorate in London and then became a speechwriter for Ambassador Robert Tuttle.
“When I worked for the ambassador, I became very interested in international relations and diplomacy,” Holmes said.
California likes to think that it’s an innovator. We’re really big and proud about how we do stuff. And actually we’re not at the front of that innovation edge; a lot of other places in the world have been doing this for a long time.”
Alison Holmes, Ph.D.
When Holmes moved to California, she saw a perfect opportunity for research.
“California makes an excellent case-study, because it is the fifth largest economy in the world,” Holmes said. “But it is a sub-national unit of a huge, hegemonic, vast, largest-nation power.
Holmes said California’s international actions are part of a larger globalization trend.
“What a lot of international relations theory will tell you is that globalization has meant a bunch of people who aren’t nation-states have started to do things on the international stage,” Holmes said.
With this in mind, Holmes said that while California might be innovative for the United States, it isn’t elsewhere.
“California likes to think that it’s an innovator,” Holmes said. “We’re really big and proud about how we do stuff. And actually we’re not at the front of that innovation edge; a lot of other places in the world have been doing this for a long time.”
Holmes also said non-state entities acting internationally brings up questions about the very nature of sovereignty.
“When does a sovereign not have sovereignty?” Holmes said. “At what point do state relations at the international level become a foreign policy? My point here is that our traditional ideas of sovereignty are ill-equipped to describe what we see in the real world.”
Holmes says there are three future goals for California: the establishment of an agency focused on international policy, the honoring of tribal relations and the inclusion of tribes in international policy, and the coordination of city and county international efforts with state efforts.
Holmes ended her research presentation with an urge to take advantage of California’s diversity across all of its communities.
“That is the only way to create a robust local-global citizenship and to turn California’s state-nation vision of unity from diversity into a reality,” Holmes said.
Locally, Holmes said Humboldt is more global than it might think. Holmes urged Humboldt residents to connect local actions with outside, global forces.
“I worry that Humboldt is a little too proud of being the Lost Coast or being behind the Redwood Curtain,” Holmes said. “Privileging what they perceive to be the local over the global, to the point of seeking to disconnect from rather than engage with the world outside.”
Holmes said ignoring global events has consequences.
“If you don’t understand these things, you’re not really paying attention to what’s happening, how you can take advantage of that, how you can be a part of that and how it doesn’t have to roll over you like a steamroller,” Holmes said. “Because otherwise it will.”
However, Holmes cautioned that connecting local issues with the rest of the globe doesn’t mean people should start blaming external forces for all local problems.
“Trying to understand it is not the same as trying to find somebody else to blame,” Holmes said.
Holmes suggested that freshmen coming to HSU would likely benefit from learning intercultural communication strategies that international studies students use.
“There is culture shock,” Holmes said of new HSU students. “There is intercultural communication issues between the different groups of people who turn up here.”
While HSU politics professor and international relations teacher Noah Zerbe said Holmes’ work goes beyond the scope of his expertise, he did agree with the importance of paying attention to the rest of the globe.
“Stuff that happens globally affects us everywhere,” Zerbe said. “It affects us here as well.”
California’s prowess has led some to believe that California should secede from the United States.
Marcus Ruiz Evans, president of Yes California, the largest organization dedicated to California’s secession, said he believes California would be better off on its own.
“The basic idea is that California is held back financially because it’s part of America,” Ruiz Evans said over the phone.
“The basic idea is that California is held back financially because it’s part of America.”
Marcus Ruiz Evans
Ruiz Evans said Yes California and the #CalExit movement started back in 2011. Since then, it has seen significant growth, especially following the election of Donald Trump.
However, Ruiz Evans said that the movement’s growth led to a divide in its supporters that left the movement momentarily stagnant.
“With success came civil divorce,” Ruiz Evans said.
Nevertheless, Ruiz Evans said he firmly believes California should secede. Ruiz Evans said that California, on its own, wouldn’t have to fight with the president or the rest of the country, wouldn’t have to fight with federal immigration laws and would save billions of dollars.
Ruiz Evans also said California is held back politically and financially, and that he believes a split is only logical.
“We think it’s inevitable,” Ruiz Evans said.
Yet, when asked, Holmes put a damper on such enthusiasm.
“I am not sure ‘doing it alone’ is ever a great idea,” Holmes said. “I think while California is rich by many standards, if they had to pay for all the things that the federal government currently does, our situation would change rapidly. California could go that route, but revolutions rarely end well or the way the instigators intended. Be careful what you wish for.”
Cross country prepares for CCAA championships at home, losing streak continues for volleyball and soccer has a mixed weekend
Tuesday’s press conference at Lumberjack Arena featured comments from the cross country, volleyball and soccer teams this week.
Cross Country
The HSU cross country teams are preparing for one of the most significant home meets in recent history. The Jacks host the CCAA conference championships Saturday morning at the Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata. The Jacks have an advantage in knowing the course after hosting the Humboldt Invitational in September. However, the stakes will be a bit higher as the Jack runners will be running for the chance to go to the NCAA regional meet on November 9. Senior runner Daniel Tull talked about the excitement of hosting such a big event for HSU.
“It’s really exciting for me,” Tull said. “I know a lot of runners personally that compete at different CCAA schools, so it’s cool to have them come up and show them what we’ve got here.”
Volleyball
The HSU volleyball team continues to produce frustrating results despite putting a good effort out there for each match. Last Friday, the Jacks traveled down to Los Angeles to take on Cal State LA and they were swept in straight sets, losing the match 3-0. The short journey over to Carson to take on Cal State Dominguez Hills didn’t result any better. Despite taking a set, the Jacks ended up losing the match 3-1, falling to 5-11 on the season. The good news for the Jacks is that they don’t have to deal with the rigors of travel for a while as they head into a five-game homestand. Head Coach Kelly Wood during the press conference talked about the relief of being able to play at home, noting that her athletes can focus on schoolwork and get back into their normal routine.
The next match for volleyball is Thursday at 7pm vs. Cal State San Marcos at Lumberjack Arena.
Women’s Soccer
The Jacks were at home last weekend taking on Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay. Friday’s match against East Bay was a frustrating one for the Jacks, as East Bay scored twice, but in the 82nd minute Pikake Hix was able to score a spectacular goal from distance to make it 2-1. Sunday’s match against Monterey Bay was a back and forth battle that would see the match go into overtime tied 0-0. Just one minute into overtime Kendal Spencer slipped the ball past the diving goalkeeper to win the game for the Jacks, 1-0. For Spencer, this goal held a special significance apart from winning the game, as she had just returned from being held out of playing with a concussion.
“I couldn’t go to practice or anything,” Spencer said. “So then coming back I was so fired up to make a contribution.”
Both men’s and women’s soccer will head to Southern California to take on Cal Poly Pamona and Cal State San Bernardino this weekend.
Men’s Soccer
The Jacks had a mixed weekend taking on East Bay and Monterey Bay at College Creek Field. Offense was on full display against East Bay on Friday, and the jacks won 4-2 behind a two-goal effort from Isiah Dairo. Sunday was a different story and the Jacks lost 2-1 to Monterey Bay despite Gus Baxter converting on a penalty kick. Head Choch Fred Jungemann was happy with the team played over the weekend, and said that the team played well on Sunday against Monterey Bay, but couldn’t put the ball in the net.
Men’s soccer struggles against Cal State Monterey Bay
The Humboldt State men’s soccer team lost to Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday, dropping the match 1-2. Despite the loss, the Jacks outshot Monterey 16-6 and held a majority of the possession throughout the second half. Humboldt is now 2-5 in conference play, which puts them at No. 11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.
The first half snuck away from the Jacks as CSUMB scored a goal on junior goalkeeper Tab Heinz just under seven minutes into the match.
Humboldt was unable to respond as Monterey consistently pressured with a high defensive line and controlled offensive possession. Despite being able to make offensive pushes in the first 25 minutes, the Jacks were unable to establish themselves in the attacking area for a significant amount of time. It wasn’t long before Monterey scored again, keeping their lead with a new score of 2-0.
Humboldt State forward Isaiah Dairo battles for the ball while pressing into the offensive zone during the Jacks’ match against Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 20 at College Creek Field. | Photo by Thomas Lal
On the offensive side, Isaiah Dairo provided the spark needed to the Jacks on the board. Throughout the match Dairo constantly drove the play along the right wing as well as in Monterey’s goal box.
Senior defender Gus Baxter stepped up to take the kick for the Jacks and didn’t hesitate, striking it past CSUMB’s goalkeeper Daniel Lomeli to score his fifth goal of the season. With the score now 2-1, the Jacks’ offense seemed reinvigorated and pushed Monterey hard until the end of the half.
In the second half, Humboldt’s offense outshot CSUMB 13-2 and took four corner kicks but didn’t have any luck finding the back of the net. Monterey managed the clock very well, playing a possession focused game and continuing to challenge the Jacks.
Humboldt State midfielder Dylan Tovani looks to cross the ball during the first half of the Jacks’ game against Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 20 at College Creek Field. | Photo by Thomas Lal
The pacing of the half was slow as both teams committed nine fouls, but neither of them were able to capitalize on the reoccurring opportunity. This was a trend throughout the match as Monterey committed 22 fouls in total and Humboldt committed 12.
Humboldt State defender Martin Calderon was confident in the defensive side of the Jacks’ game even after the loss.
“The last few games have been pretty solid on the back,” Calderon said. “I think it’s just been the little mistakes that have cost us the games. Last game we gave up two headers, this game it was just a deflection that we kind of messed up and the other teams don’t let those goals go.”
Head Coach Fred Jungemann was disappointed to not come out of the match with a win but saw positives from the Jacks’ offensive opportunities that they were able to generate.
“I think even before the penalty kick our guys kind of regrouped and managed the game really well,” Jungemann said. “The last 75 minutes of the game we dominated, played the game we wanted to play. We created chances, just couldn’t hit the back of the net.”
Humboldt State goalkeeper Tab Heinz jumps into the air in an effort to stop what would end up being the game winning goal during the first half of the Jacks’ game against Cal State Monterey Bay at College Creek FIeld. | Photo by Thomas Lal
Jacks lose sixth straight game, this time against San Francisco State University
The Jacks lost their sixth consecutive game Saturday night. With the 1-3 loss, Humboldt State moves to 1-6 in conference play which leaves them second to last in the CCAA standings as they approach the halfway point of conference competition.
Summer Hansen led the team with 12 kills for the night while Lenox Loving found herself in the double digits again with 10. Odelia Ryan pulled out 30 digs during the match, followed by Loving who had 22.
Riley Tishlarich sets the ball for her teammates during the Jacks’ match against San Francisco State on Oct. 12 at Lumberjack Arena. | Photo by Thomas Lal
Humboldt State put themselves behind early on in the first set, giving up six straight points to the visitors allowing the score to stretch out to 12-7.
Throughout the remainder of the set, the Jacks never managed to string together consecutive points. San Francisco took the opening set with a score of 25-13 as Humboldt did not respond fast enough to their defense.
Not much changed for the Jacks as they started slow in the second set and conceded the first four points. Humboldt found their offensive groove result in an impressive eight-point run and the Jacks took the second set 25-21.
Outside hitter Lexi Riggs jumps into the air to put the ball back over the net during Humboldt State’s match against San Francisco State on Oct. 12 at Lumberjack Arena. | Photo by Thomas Lal
Humboldt changed things up and came out swinging hard at the start of the third set. The Jacks were able to hold their lead for much of the set. It wasn’t long before the Gators tied it up at 20-20.
What followed was a blistering back and forth that saw the score at 24-23 in favor of the visitors with 25 points needed to take the set. In a moment that stunned the Humboldt State athletes and fans alike, outside hitter Lexi Riggs hit the ball over the net and was initially awarded a kill before the referee reversed the decision, calling the ball out of bounds and allowing San Francisco to take 2-1 lead over a now frustrated Jacks team.
The home crowd reacts to an overturned call that led to the Jacks losing the second set during their match against San Francisco State on Oct. 12 at Lumberjack Arena. | Photo by Thomas Lal
The fourth and final set of the night saw an agitated Humboldt team consistently outplayed as the Gators capitalized on the home squad’s frustration to a much higher degree. In a quick series of plays, San Francisco built themselves an 11 point buffer that almost entirely neutralized any momentum that Humboldt may have established in the previous set. The Jacks only managed a few scoring runs, and the Gators finished off the set 25-14 and took their first win on the road for the season.
After the game, Head Coach Kelly Wood was frustrated with her team’s performance, indicating that there wasn’t enough grit in their play during the match.
“Overall, our team does not have enough of a competitive spirit,” Wood said. “We don’t play with toughness. We’re too nice out there on the court. Great group of girls, but we get out there, and we are just allowing teams to manhandle us basically, and I’m very frustrated right now with our performance.”
While students enjoy the time off of classes, outages act as wake up for emergency preparedness
Humboldt State University students are coping with the mass power outages that hit Humboldt just after midnight.
Kinesiology freshman Malik Bobino, who sat in the afternoon sun by the library circle, spent the day hiking. Nevertheless, Bobino said the outage was stressful.
“It’s just dead,” Bobino said of campus. “It’s like Mad Max.”
Bobino said that campus Wi-Fi is largely off, although he has been able to get signals in a few small areas.
Zoology freshman Jeanette Carini said she has mostly lounged around in the dorms.
“I slept a lot because there wasn’t much to do,” Carini said.
The view of Humboldt State University from 14th Street. | File photo by Lauren Shea
While Carini spent time catching up on lost sleep, Wildlife freshman Max Manson said the time off school is relieving.
“It’s nice not having classes today,” Manson said.
However, Manson also confirmed that, aside from the door keycard locks, all power to the dorms it shut off. Hot water is not available in the dorms, as electric water heaters are off as well.
Manson and Carini both noted that food has been hard to come by, as the lines to the J stretch out the doors and down the stairs.
As the PG&E outage affecting over 800,000 California customers enters its first official night, no definite date is set for the return of electricity.
HSU student Max Blaettler said they slept in until 3 p.m. and went to the J at 4 p.m., where they enjoyed a free barbecue dinner.
“It was alright,” Blaettler said. “And it was free.”
As the PG&E outage affecting over 800,000 California customers enters its first official night, no definite date is set for the return of electricity.
However, reporting by Lost Coast Outpost has suggested that power could return as early as tomorrow, if high winds die down and PG&E finds no damage to transmission lines.
At HSU, students said they have already learned prepare better for next time.
“Next time we’ll stock up,” Manson said.
“Definitely have supplies,” Bobino said. “Like back-up chargers.”
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