The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Humboldt State University

  • Humboldt State’s women’s basketball team races for racial change

    5K race to protest social and racial injustices while raising money for AACAE

    The Humboldt State Women’s Basketball team participated in Race For Change that started on Oct. 15 and ended Oct. 18. The event was a virtual 5k run, walk, or bike ride to bring awareness about the social and racial injustice happening. 

    The team joined other universities in the California State University system in participating to raise funds in order to support the African American Center for Excellence at HSU.The team plans on making this an annual event they will continue to participate in.    

     “UC San Diego women’s basketball initiated this terrific event to athletic programs across the country and we were on board from the beginning,” Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said. “We saw this as an opportunity to continue to use our voices and to put into action our passion towards social justice.  One of our main objectives in the event was to get as much participation as possible to continue to bring awareness both locally and throughout other communities.”  

    The women’s basketball team raised over $1,100 and will be giving the proceeds to the AACAE. Douglas Smith, director of the AACAE, is grateful that the women’s basketball team took the initiative and supported them by participating in Race for Change.

    “Funding for the Center has been a challenge since it opened its doors five years ago,” Smith said. “So this type of support will help us engage and develop a sense of belonging in the Black student community.”

    The ACCAE team appreciated the HSU athletes who participated and showed their support. The other HSU teams who joined in the event were the women’s volleyball team and women’s rowing. With moving forward to next year the women’s basketball team expects an even bigger event with more participants. 

    The team had numerous team discussions and individual conversations about racism and social injustice prior to the event. Samantha Caries, a junior on the team, believes that the conversations that have been happening on an individual and a national level deserve to be recognized.

    “I feel like they’re finally shedding light on racism that takes place daily in the world,” Caries said. “This coverage should not go away. We are lost for words to how this is continuing to happen.” 

    Caries struggled to express her frustration over the fact that the world was already forgetting about the Black Lives Matter movement and the systemic targeting of the Black community.

    “To be honest, I can’t find strong enough words to fully express how strongly I feel about the social injustices, the hate, and the racism that continues to occur in our world,” Caries said.  “It disgusts me, it makes me extremely angry, and I feel sad and apologetic to the Black community.  

    Bento-Jackson hoped people could open their eyes, their ears and their hearts to attempt to understand the life that the Black community and BIPOC have to endure on a daily basis and to genuinely show empathy. 

    Smith expressed appreciation for the women’s basketball team providing the AACAE with the much needed funding to continue their work and dialogue within the HSU community.

    “Raising awareness is one step in the long process of having honest and real change in our society,” Smith said. “This is the role the women’s basketball team assumed and it is appreciated. We all have a direct role to play with regards to addressing social injustice and how it manifests itself in the lives of so many people in this country and around the world.”

  • Dobby’s proposition opinions

    Haven’t voted yet? Well, you’re running out of time. Here’s a quick rundown of California’s propositions on the ballot this year

    Prop 14

    Proposition 14 would allow the state to sell bonds to fund stem cell research. Stem cells are cells that have not yet chosen an organ to major in. They can be injected into a liver, heart or other organ of your choice. They are regeneration cells, and have the potential to treat diseases including Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and cancer. Stem cells are most effective when harvested from fertilized human eggs that are four to five days old, causing some controversy in people who care about that sort of thing. Vote yes to authorize the state to sell bonds to raise money for this research, or no to not fund the research.

    Prop 15

    This is a tax bill that will increase taxes for corporations, cut taxes for home-based business and raise money for schools. Vote yes.

    Prop 16

    Affirmative action is legal in 42 states, but was voted out of California in the 90s. Enrollment of minorities at competitive universities dropped as a result. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson and many lost Black lives have brought racial inequalities into a starker light, making affirmative action more appealing. Opponents say California is already doing enough and that it would be “reverse racism,” which is not a thing. Vote yes to approve affirmative action.

    Prop 17

    Restores voting rights for people on parole. Currently, a person who is in jail or has completed their sentence and related parole can vote. Felons in state prison or on parole cannot. People on parole have committed serious crimes, such as murder, rape, robbery, arson, or kidnapping. After their prison term, they are assigned a parole officer and must follow strict rules. This bill will also allow parolees to run for office if they haven’t been convicted of perjury or bribery. Vote yes to restore voting rights or no to keep restrictions.

    Prop 18

    Vote yes to grant 17-year-olds the right to vote in primary elections if they turn 18 in the next general election. This does not mean that a 17-year-old will be able to vote in the general election, but if they turn 18 on or before election day, they can vote in the primary before the general election.

    Prop 19

    A property tax that increases the tax rate on inherited properties if the person inheriting it does not live there. It would also expand moving for seniors by allowing them to transfer the lower tax rate of their old homes into a new place up to three times throughout the state. Currently, they can only move once within the same county to keep the tax rate of the first property when they bought it. It would generate a few million dollars per year, 75 percent of which would go to fund fire protection. Vote yes to increase taxes on wealthy families.

    Prop 20

    This would revive tough-on-crime by reclassifying property crimes as ‘wobblers’ that are either misdemeanors or felonies. It would boost penalties for parole violations, and require DNA samples for misdemeanor property crimes. It would also create a new list of offenses that deny eligibility for early parole, including domestic violence, which isn’t currently classified as a violent crime. That is a problem. I don’t blame you if you skip this one, but vote no to not be tough-on-crime, or yes to be tough-on-crime.

    Prop 21

    This would repeal parts of the Costa-Hawkins Act, which limited local rent control laws across California. A yes vote would allow cities to enact stronger rent control laws on most properties older than 15 years, and cap rent increases for new tenants at 15 percent with no increase for three years. A no vote would maintain current rent control laws.

    Prop 22

    VOTE NO. Proposition 22 would classify app-based drivers as independent contractors, who are only paid while driving, but not while waiting. They do not have full health insurance. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart have spent $170 million to back this because they profit from not classifying their employees as such. A no vote would force the state to classify drivers as a special category, neither independent contractors nor regular employees.

    Prop 23

    Would add more requirements for dialysis clinics, including having at least one physician on-site, report infection data, have state approval before closing and prohibit insurance discrimination. Vote yes for more requirements or no to not add requirements.

    Prop 24

    Amends data protection laws and establishes a new state agency to enforce them. Critics say this would keep the current system, where a consumer has to opt out to protect their data. An alternative would be setting ‘don’t sell my data’ as the default, and companies would have to ask them to opt-in. Vote yes to amend the current data protection laws, or no to keep the current data protection system.

    Prop 25

    Vote yes to replace cash bail with risk assessment based on public safety and flight risk. Defendants who can’t pay bail are nine times more likely to plead guilty despite innocence. Opponents say that the risk assessment tool can be overridden by a judge, who may be in favor of locking more people up, especially if they are Black. The Public Policy Institute Of California predicts that 142,000 people per year would spend less time in jail under Prop 25.

    Measure F

    Vote yes to raise fire protection funds. The funds would pay to unfreeze eight firefighting positions and reopen a third fire station. It would address aging equipment as needed. Paid for by renewing the three percent Utility Users Tax.

  • Corporations buy out propositions

    In a series of general and misleading advertisements, corporate backers of Propositions 22 and 23 show their grubby hands

    If you’ve been on the internet over the past two or three weeks you have seen a Yes on Prop 22 ad. These ads provide vague promises of “guaranteed earnings, healthcare benefits, and personal protections” while also touting the freedom of schedule that being an independent contractor would provide.

    This proposition comes at the perfect time for Uber and Lyft as California’s Assembly Bill 5 in 2019, drivers for those companies will be treated as employees. Uber & Lyft attempted to overturn the bill but it was upheld last Thurs., Oct. 22.

    If Proposition 22 passes, Uber and Lyft will be able to continue to treat their workers as independent contractors rather than employees.

    Before 2019, Uber and Lyft were able to classify their workers as independent contractors by arguing that they were not a transportation company, but merely a tech platform. This means that the drivers for Uber are merely partners with the app and are not required to be classified as employees like they would be if they worked for any other transportation company.

    The healthcare benefits guaranteed by Proposition 22 come under the condition that drivers have 25 hours of “engaged time” a week. “Engaged time” is defined as the period of time from when the driver accepts a ride until they complete the ride.

    At first glance this would provide benefits for a little over 25 hours of work but according to some rideshare drivers, over half of the time they spend using the app is actually spent waiting for a ride. It would be very likely that drivers would have to work more than 40 hours a week for these benefits.

    Advertisements also quote that “If drivers are forced to become employees, up to 90 percent of app-based driving jobs could disappear.” This statistic was not sourced. If a company is not able to provide their employees the minimum wage and benefits, required by California labor laws, then they are not a viable company.

    Proposition 23 requires that a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant be on site during dialysis treatment. Additionally, it prohibits clinics from reducing services without state approval, and from refusing to treat patients based on payment source.

    As it currently stands, any complications that come up have to be sent to the ER and handled offsite, lengthening the amount of time it takes for a patient to get care and complicating treatment.

    Advertisements have stated that Prop 23’s enactment would threaten to close many dialysis centers. Written directly into Prop 23 is that clinics cannot reduce services without state approval. There are provisions that allow for clinics to hire nurse practitioners or physicians’ assistants in the event of shortages of doctors. Currently, all dialysis clinics are required to have a doctor on staff to be the medical director, but they do not have to be onsite.

    Dialysis clinics in California boast an annual revenue of more than $3 billion. This booming industry is not one that would be destroyed by higher standards of care and more providers. Rather, this highlights the way that their ad campaigns utilize fear tactics about closing clinics and rising costs to justify putting patient safety at risk to line their own pockets.

  • Tackling incarceration with education

    Tackling incarceration with education

    Project Rebound, seeks to help students on campus who have experienced incarceration

    Project Rebound was founded by John Erwin, Ph.D in 1967 at San Francisco State University, before it began to branch out to other campuses in the state. Erwin’s goal was to help students who were formerly incarcerated achieve educational success. This year, HSU joins the list of California State University’s to officially integrate the program.

    For Program Coordinator Tony Wallin, the work done by the group is personal. Wallin, who recently graduated from HSU, came to the campus after his own run-ins with the law. When he arrived at HSU, Wallin said he didn’t feel entirely like he belonged.

    “For a year, it was essentially just me, working by myself,” Wallin said.

    After almost giving up his first year here, Wallin would go on to create the Formerly Incarcerated Students Club at HSU with encouragement and help from others.

    Kory Lambert, office coordinator for Project Rebound, said he felt the same out of place feeling Wallin felt when he first arrived at HSU.

    “When I first came to HSU, I don’t know if it was self imposed, but it took me a whole semester to learn about Oh SNAP!,” Lambert said. “I think people take it for granted, they know these programs are there but they don’t really think about them.”

    Lambert is an environmental science major focusing on social justice with a minor in scientific diving. He is looking to study how disasters and natural events disproportionally affect marginalized communities.

    Lambert had just turned 18 when he was arrested in 2013. The arrest lead to him being kicked out of his community college and off the football team.

    “That set me on a way different path,” Lambert said. “It’s kind of a different experience from people who just never went through that.”

    Project Rebound tackled these problems by working on programs that focus on education and prevention. Their motto “From G.E.D. to PhD” reinforces the idea of an inclusive education.

    According to the official statement provided by HSU, Project Rebound has a “…95% graduation rate while the CSU system as a whole has a 25% rate who finish within four years and 61% within six.”

    For many, getting a degree is the first step in being respected and taken seriously when trying to reintegrate into society.

    “A degree is a piece of paper,” said Wallin. “But if you’ve been formerly incarcerated it makes people go ‘okay, I’ll listen to you.’”

    Project Rebound has spent the summer writing to current Pelican Bay State Prison occupants who are interested in pursuing their education inside and outside of its walls.

    According to Lambert, interest expressed by prisoners surround the possibility of voting and getting involved in politics. Proposition 17 on the California ballot would reinstate the voting rights of many formerly incarcerated individuals if passed.

    Due to COVID-19 regulations, the group has not been able to visit the supermax prison in Crescent City in-person, but hope to host workshops on things like tuition and classes in the future.

    Currently the group hosts regular Zoom meetings to discuss future events in addition to check-ins, and listening to anyone in need who has past incarceration history.

    “It doesn’t matter if you’ve spent a day in jail or 30 days in prison,” Wallin said. “We don’t discriminate.”

  • Lumberjack basketball welcomes a new head coach

    Lumberjack basketball welcomes a new head coach

    Exclusive interview between reporter Jazmin Pacheco and Tae Norwood

    Tae Norwood, brings nearly two decades of collegiate basketball coaching experience to the Lumberjack family as the new head coach of the Humboldt State University men’s basketball team. 

    “They are going to get a coach that is honest, that’s transparent, that’s available,” Norwood said. “Who is going to push them to their limits and try to get every ounce of talent I could out of them on the court, but also challenge them mentally to be greater students in the classroom.” 

    Norwood grew up in Brooklyn, New York and was the first in his family to go to college. Norwood said he’s an inspiring example for his nieces, nephews, cousins and younger family members to know that if he could be a first generation graduate, so could they.

    “I was a measuring stick, as they would say, if I can do it, they [family members] can accomplish the same things,” Norwood said.

    Norwood was a natural athlete. He played baseball and football but fell in love with the game of basketball. He started playing at the age of five after his Uncle introduced him to the game and encouraged him to play sports. He played basketball all throughout college and got into coaching after that. 

    Norwood completed his undergraduate work at Green Mountain College, a private institution in Vermont, where he received his bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure services. 

    Norwood was a four-year letter-winner at GMC, earning two all-conference selections and helped the Eagles win three conference championships throughout his four years there. He was the program’s all-time leader in steals and assists, and was inducted into the Green Mountain Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

    He received his master’s degree in health and kinesiology with a focus on coaching from Georgia Southern University.

    In 2018, Norwood was a National Assistant Coach of the Year while coaching at Lynn University. He coached there for a total of six seasons. 

    As head coach, Norwood has high expectations for the men’s basketball team and plans to gain national recognition.

    “This basketball program has a great tradition and a great legacy from the early Coach Wood days to Coach Kinder,” Norwood said. “So I expect our program to be competitive nationally. I expect our team to compete on the top of the CCAA conference on a yearly basis and ultimately have the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament to compete for national championships.”

    Norwood recruited 12 new players to the men’s team. He expects the new team to bond and become supportive, family-like.

    “We’re not going to cripple them in life by giving them everything. They got to work for everything they’re going to get. We’re going to give them every opportunity they can have in order to grow and be successful,” said Norwood

    Norwood says Matt Dempsey, his college basketball coach, made a huge impact on his life and helped him become the man he is today. He hopes to provide that same support, mentorship, and commitment to his own team. 

    “So many life lessons are being taught by playing sports and being in a group dynamic that are transparent when it comes to everyday life,” Norwood said. 

    Norwood’s philosophy at HSU is all about family, having great cohesiveness and great inclusion. He believes successful athletes require building relationships off the court to understand who they are as people, not athletes.

    “My expectations for these young men is that they care about their academics, about their education and about graduating,” Norwood said. “That they play hard with great effort and great energy and when I mean play hard, I mean play hard in the classroom as well as playing hard on the court because winning is a big product of doing those things.”

  • Sweet Mama Janisse hit hard by COVID-19

    Sweet Mama Janisse hit hard by COVID-19

    Local owner of Sweet Mama Janisse, Marie Janisse-Wilkins struggles to make up losses

    The Arcata community came together to save Marie Janisse-Wilkins, owner and operator of the local, soul food catering business, Sweet Mama Janisse, Inc., from eviction as COVID-19 has wiped away all her revenue for this year.

    During a garage sale Fri. Oct. 23, Janisse-Wilkins explained how she used her own money to start her business and when the business got into financial trouble, she refinanced her house to keep the business afloat, then COVID-19 struck.

    Janisse-Wilkins said she had paid all her bills before COVID-19 hit. Without the money from catering, she struggles to pay her mortgage.

    “[The banks] have no sympathy. They want their money. They want their money,” Janisse-Wilkins said.

    The Federal Reserve reported COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black owned businesses. Janisse-Wilkins is Louisiana Creole, which includes a diverse heritage of European, African, and Indigenous America traditions.

    Shelter-in-place orders began in March and wiped away Janisse-Wilkins yearly schedule of catering for weddings, special events, graduation celebrations and the annual Independence Day celebrations in Eureka.

    The Federal Reserve said in a report titled “Double Jeopardy: COVID-19’s Concentrated Health and Wealth Effects in Black Communities” that while the national average of active small business owners dropped by 22 percent between Feb. and April, Black owned businesses saw a drop of 41 percent, almost twice the average, and the biggest decline of any racial group.

    This disparity is the result of historically unequal relationships to banks, increased likelihood of not being able to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program and the higher rate of COVID-19 impact on Black communities.

    An online GoFundMe fundraiser started by Janisse-Wilkins’ friend, Julie du Bois, raised about $7,000 in two weeks. With a goal of $50,000, her friends have helped her host yard sales to sell off her possessions.

    Bob Dorn, friend of Janisse-Wilkins and writer of The Hum, a column that runs in the Mad River Union, received about 2000 of her books, mostly cookbooks, and decided to offer them in exchange for donations outside his storage unit at Arcata Bay Self Storage.

    “What she has going for her is she is an incredibly generous woman,” Dorn said.

    Nearing retirement age and without an income from her business, Janisse-Wilkins fears being homeless. She is currently unable to afford her rent, forcing her to ask for help.

    “It’s hard when you have to ask people to do something like this for you,” Janisse-Wilkins said.

    Oryan Peterson-Jones, Arcata City Council candidate, unloaded Janisse-Wilkins’ books from a storage unit and stated how he grew up in Arcata, and his first job was with Janisse-Wilkins as a dishwasher.

    “It was the best job I ever had,” Peterson-Jones said. “Marie was such an important person on my early development as a musician.”

    Peterson-Jones explained before Janisse-Wilkins moved to Humboldt in the 1990s, she worked at the Topanga Corral, which was a hot spot for rock and movie stars in the 1970s in Topanga Ca., just north of Hollywood.

    “She had all these stories and pictures of her with George Harrison, and the Rolling Stones,” Peterson-Jones said.

    Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, the multi-Grammy award winning musician known as Taj Mahal, is Janisse-Wilkins best friend. Fredricks even wrote a song, “Sweet Mama Janisse,” about her which tells of how good her cooking is. She even did two cruise gigs with Fredricks, called the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, where he sang and she did catering.

    Spencer Kennedy, another former dishwasher of Janisse-Wilkins, volunteered to help host a yard sale and recalled how Janisse-Wilkins made the restaurant feel special.

    “I hope we can get a lot of customers to make some money to make a difference,” Kennedy said. “I haven’t seen anyone walk out of the kitchen and talk to everyone in the restaurant. But Marie did that with every table.”

    Jannise-Wilkins said while she is able to cater during COVID-19 and sells a line of sauce, finding work is tough as clients are not booking very many events and employees are harder to find.

    “I just hope everything gets better and I can cook food for people again,” Janisse-Wilkins said.

  • The class of 2021 scrambles to reach the finish line

    The class of 2021 scrambles to reach the finish line

    Seniors surrender to an unexpected finish to their college career

    Mary Swisher is a senior Humboldt State University athlete and an elementary education major who’s been impacted tremendously by the pandemic.

    “It’s honestly quite heartbreaking that this pandemic ended my collegiate career early,” Swisher said. “I also haven’t seen my family since coming to school in August because of the rules that Athletics has put forward.”

    Previously, Swisher’s education involved fieldwork and equipped in-person classrooms now, classes are strictly on Zoom and involve limited interaction with others.

    “All of the rules are in good meaning and are necessary,” Swisher said. “But I haven’t seen anyone but my roommates in months.”

    Madison Kiser, an HSU senior, was most worried she would miss social interaction with peers. To her surprise, Kiser is grateful for Zoom classes and the ability to interact with classmates.

    “I still get to be my social butterfly self thanks to Zoom and other ways to spend time together virtually,” Kiser said.

    Despite her frustration, Kiser is grateful her professors have been understanding with the situation.

    Danica Grier, senior softball player for HSU, had her final collegiate season cancelled after last year was cut short but is thankful for being able to complete school work on her own time and the deepened her bond with her roommates.

    “I was able to go home early where I met my boyfriend,” Grier said. “I was also able to get a puppy during this time since I was going to be home for the Southern California lockdown.”

    Alex Kandalaft, an HSU senior, stopped working when the pandemic began and made the decision to move back in with her family.

    “I moved back home, which is something that I did not expect to do in my wildest dreams, my last year of college,” Kandalaft said. “It’s definitely weird not being able to go out to bars on the weekends and social stuff like that but I’m making the most of it.”

    With the obstacles this semester has presented, Kandalaft wishes that she is given a proper ceremony to close out the end of her college career.

    “You never expect to experience your graduation in sweats, back in your hometown, watching a video recording over YouTube,” Kandalaft said.

    The virtual commencement for the class of 2020 sat poorly with the graduating class. As of Oct. 20, the format of graduation for the 2021 class is undecided.

    “If graduation would be online I would be really hurt,” Kiser said. “I know that the pandemic is serious and we don’t want any outbreaks. I think if we follow guidelines and think outside the box, we can have a rewarding in person graduation.”

  • Resident Advisors struggle to keep dorm life normal

    Resident Advisors struggle to keep dorm life normal

    Due to the transition to online, campus life is lonelier than ever this semester

    Social distancing policies forces Resident Advisors to rely on tools like social media and video-chatting to stay in touch with students. To make up for the lack of in-person events, housing is putting on several Grab-N-Go programs this semester, where students pick up supplies and participate in door decorating competitions from the safety of their dorms.

    Generally speaking, RA responsibilities include daily room and floor rounds, enforce housing policies and provide connections to resources for students in their building.

    Stephen St. Onge is the associate vice president for student success at HSU. According to Onge, the RA job responsibilities have not changed, besides the move to online.

    The most notable impact of the pandemic on RAs has been on the ability to encourage students to engage with the campus community.

    “They are still doing outreach to their residents virtually,” Onge said. “They are still doing duty rounds, the programming, they are just doing it a little bit differently.”

    Victor Garcia Balderas is a second year RA. Balderas feels the blackouts of last fall and the transition to online in the spring has prepared him as an RA.

    “Because it is my second year as an RA, I feel I have a grasp of how things work,” Balderas said. “I’m flexible and have been hit with so many random events like last year when we had the blackouts.”

    Last semester, Balderas worked with new students. In contrast, this semester he works with returning and transfer students. Balderas says these students tend to already have established their own communities, making engagement much more challenging.

    Director of Residence Life Donyet King believes engaging with students during a pandemic just requires some outside of the box thinking.

    “We have to get really creative about it,” King said. “Initially when programs were held online, people were still adjusting to the pandemic.”

    Despite the efforts of housing to fabricate a sense of normality, the single occupancy policy, while necessary, generates an unavoidable sense of isolation for dorm students.

    “I’ve gotten lonely and a little bit sad,” Balderas said. “I feel like I am alone.”

  • Arcata Plaza hosts a Halloween car parade

    Arcata Plaza hosts a Halloween car parade

    Arcata plaza adjusts to a new, safe way for families to trick or treat on Halloween.

    Arcata has adapted to COVID-19 guidelines in order to host a Spooky Plaza car parade in support of a social distant Halloween. Arcata Main Street is a non-profit organization hosting this year’s COVID-19 friendly, Halloween in Arcata Plaza.

    The car parade will be hosted at Arcata Plaza on Oct. 31 from 7 to 11 p.m. All the spooky features and characters can be seen while inside the vehicle.

    Each part of the inner sidewalk of the plaza will have a different theme with characters and decorations. The event was thought of in late August and planned through September.

    Rose Shoshanna Anthony a consultant and volunteer with Arcata Main Street assured people it will be safe to participate as long as community members follow guidelines and protocols.

    “The event is to substitute for our usual Trick or Treat on the Plaza that gathers several thousand people over the course of several hours,” Shoshanna said. “So this time we have a decorated plaza with a limited number of volunteers being characters on the plaza and then people drive around.”

    To discourage people from the outer sidewalks from walking over the barricades into the plaza spooky area, monitored volunteers and traffic control have been implemented to make sure the event stays in accordance with COVID-19 protocol.

    The drives starts on the corner of the Tri County bank and finishes by exiting at the Jacoby Storehouse.

    Ceva Courtemanche, board member and vice president for Arcata Main Street, stated that the non-profit organization was determined to host a Halloween event.

    “We wanted to not fully give up on Halloween but we wanted to make sure it was gonna be safe for everybody,” Courtemanche said.”So, we put together a plan of doing an open spooky haunted house where participants will be driving in their vehicles around the plaza.”

    Lee Lazon, a volunteer for Arcata Main Street, has been working on graveyard and spider props for the haunted drive-by.

    “This year has been anything but normal and this is a favorite event for a lot of people and families,” Lazon said. “So, I think a lot of people are very interested just because there’s an opportunity to bring back at least a little bit of normal.”

    For more information about the Spooky Plaza car parade visit Arcata Mainstreet.com and check out their Facebook for info on signing up to volunteer.

  • CDOR continues virtually

    CDOR continues virtually

    The Campus and Community Dialogue On Race returns covering global justice for Black Lives.

    The theme for this year’s Campus and Community Dialogue on Race will be “Global Justice for Black Lives: Examining the Past and Reimagining the Future.” Two guest speakers will present at the end of October and a keynote speaker will be introduced at the beginning of November. This event provides students, staff, faculty and community members a safe space to discuss race.

    The events will take place on Zoom and instead of lasting a week, there will be talks and workshops taking place for two weeks from Oct. 26 – Nov. 7.

    Featured speakers will be on Zoom and will be viewed webinar style, meaning the audience will not be able to view all other attendees, just the speaker.

    CDOR has been holding annual events since 1998 and has grown exponentially since then. CDOR gives attendees the opportunity to participate in workshops, have those important discussions and listen to keynote speakers.

    Claudia Rankine is the featured keynote speaker for this years’ CDOR event. She will be participating in two student engagements. The first will be a book talk at 11 a.m. for her new book “Just Us.” Next, is her keynote event taking place in the afternoon at 2 p.m. for “Citizen: An American Lyric,” a book loaded with poetry and media that questions racial politics.

    Rankine’s talk will take place on Nov. 7 conveniently after the election.

    Corrina Wells, the program coordinator for the Developing Hispanic Serving Institution (DHSI) grant program, explained that Rankine makes these questions about the topic available for her readers.

    “What’s really powerful about the book is that she, as a Black woman, is making [racial politics] visible for all of her readers,” Wells said.

    They added that Rankine makes relatable content for BIPOC and educational content for non-BIPOC.

    The keynote event will also touch on Rankine’s process of writing and creating “Citizen,” a book-length poem about race in America.

    Lawrence Ross will be holding a virtual talk Mon., Oct. 26 speaking on the politics of race in American colleges. This will be a follow-up on the talk he had earlier this year in February addressing campus racism.

    Ross will be referencing his book, “Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on American Campuses.” The book exposes the racist practices prevalent in university politics that targets and distances students of color from engagement.

    “Ross really focuses on higher education and the ways that racism is perpetuated in institutions of higher education,” Wells said.

    Ross’ talk from earlier this year in February is available on the CDOR website on the welcome page.

    Bettina Love, Ph.D, will be presenting during the “So You Want To Teach” series all day and cover various aspects regarding white supremacy, incarceration, and abolition on Tues., Oct. 27.

    Douglas Smith, the African American Center for Academic Excellence Coordinator, explains that Love’s talk is about restoring humanity for children in schools.

    Love will be incorporating her new book, “We Want To Do More Than Survive” in her talk.

    “Dr. Love focuses on K-12, the overall education industrial complex and the ways that racism happens there,” Wells said

    CDOR is also a class that gives students credit for helping plan and participate in the events. Indigo Eden, a CDOR peer mentor, expressed great appreciation for this year’s event planning.

    “I give so much respect to the planning committee and everyone involved,” Eden said.

    Registration is open and required for all featured speakers and sessions.

  • COVID-19 hits student parents with a hurricane of obligation

    COVID-19 hits student parents with a hurricane of obligation

    Humboldt State students with children carry the weight of multiple educations this semester

    Carrie Tully is a single mother in the graduate program at Humboldt State University. Having completed all of her course work in the spring, Tully holds down two jobs and assists in her daughter’s education while completing her own graduate thesis.

    “I haven’t been doing very much thesis work at all,” Tully said. “Things are really not going as according to what I thought my plan was gonna be when I entered grad-school.”

    Tully’s daughter attended preschool last year through HSU’s Children Center. This year, she’s attending Fuente Nueva Charter School where all of her instruction is online.

    “It’s hard for her, it’s hard for me, of course. Children her age need socialization and that’s mainly what they are supposed to be doing in school right now,” Tully said. “It’s really nearly impossible for them to do that via Zoom.”

    Beyond her daughter’s quality of education, Tully is stressed about her daughter’s emotional education suffering.

    “I don’t have the financial or mental ability to be able to be 100 percent present for her all the time,” Tully said. “That’s the hardest part. She needs attention, I need space to do good work and it clashes.”

    Between Tully’s two jobs, her thesis project and playing a leadership role in HSU’s food sovereignty lab project, she spends the majority of her day in Zoom meetings. After a full day, Tully has little energy to give her daughter and she is usually greeted with an explosion of a mess.

    “Cars, toys, cards, books, stuffed animals everywhere,” Tully said. “That’s when parents have mini panic attacks. Like, I’ve been on Zoom all day long and I just need to take a break and sit down but I can’t because my couch is covered in stuff.”

    Tully said the lack of personal space in constantly being around each other also proves challenging at times.

    “Just like any relationship,” Tully said. “You need to be able to be apart in order to really appreciate that love.”

    Between managing work and her daughter’s progress in school, Tully has had to sacrifice a great deal of time she originally planned to spend on her thesis.

    “To me, the most important thing that I need to be focused on right now is my child’s education,” Tully said. “Because I’m in my mid thirties and I have my education. I have my career things that I’m working on. I can go with the flow.”

    Carrie Tully’s daughter Kallie Gregg attends kindergarten virtually from her room this semester. | Photo by Carrie Tully

    Sayde Mendes is a business major and mother of three children, ages 2, 9, and 11. Thanks to the transition to online classes, on top of parenting responsibilities and pursuing her own education, Mendes has to provide an education for her children.

    “No matter how much teachers try and how much they do,” Mendes said. “There’s still quite a hefty reliance upon parents.”

    In her senior year of high school, Mendes was date raped and suffered a brain injury when she was rehydrated too rapidly at the hospital. The injury caused her to lose control of her motor skills and forced her to relearn all functions virtually. Mendes also suffers an intellectual disability, impairing her power to both pursue her own education and her childrens’.

    Mendes’ husband spends the majority of his waking hours at work, leaving her with little time and energy to complete her own responsibilities like work, school and providing for her children.

    “I feel like I have to kind of push them away sometimes, because I need to be present for my class,” Mendes said.

    While HSU only offers tutoring to students and not their children, the Childcare Center continues offering its services to student parents five days a week at approximately 50 percent capacity to meet COVID-19 protocols.

    Grants are available to students whose incomes qualify for reduced or no cost for childcare, through California’s Early Head Start program.

    According to Director Steve St. Onge, the most challenging part of operating during the pandemic is keeping the children in line with regulations.

    “I gotta tell you, having a 2 and 3 year old wear masks is not easy,” Onge said.

    Onge’s daughter attends kindergarten two days a week for two hours, leaving him as the majority role in his child’s education this year.

    “I think I would speak for many of us parents of children in school that are also working,” Onge said. “Our days start earlier and end later. We’re still getting the job done, it’s just taking us a lot longer to do it.”

  • COVID-19 isolation increases domestic violence

    COVID-19 isolation increases domestic violence

    October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

    COVID-19 social distancing has increased the demand on local domestic violence services according to some professionals in the field.

    Locally a 27-year-old Asian woman was forced into a car at gun point in Fieldbrook, seven miles north of Arcata, on Aug. 4, and returned safe after the suspect, a 43-year-old George Rose, previously known to the victim, turned himself in after fleeing the state to Oregon.

    In nearby Mendocino, Khadijah Britton, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, was forced into a car at gun point on Feb. 7 2018, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend. Britton is still missing and there is a $50,000 reward for information on her location.

    Stephanie Weldon, Humboldt State University social work masters graduate and Yurok Tribe member, was the director of the Yurok Tribe Department of Health and Human Services until August and currently is a consultant for state and federal agencies on tribal social services.

    Weldon said the tribe received increased calls related to domestic violence as the shelter in place orders went into place in March, and she has heard anecdotes from clients regarding the challenges that COVID-19 places on an already underserved population of victims.

    Brenda Bishop, executive director of Humboldt Domestic Violence Services, and HSU alumna, said “Rape culture is very alive and well on [HSU] campus.” The HDVS runs a 24/7 emergency domestic violence hotline which has had a reduction in the number of calls.

    Bishop said she suspects this is related to the difficulty for victims to make personal phone calls for help while living in close quarters with their abusers.

    Bishop does not believe the reduced number of calls reflects a reduction in domestic violence incidents, and in fact may indicate victims are in increased danger.

    Bishop said domestic violence includes intimate partner sexual violence and sex trafficking which may start as intimate partner violence.

    “We see a lot of HSU women that get involved in trafficking as well,” Bishop said. Usually this occurs through intimate partner violence with non-students, but sometimes with other students as well.

    Lundy Bancroft, author of an Amazon bestseller, “Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men,” said in an abuser’s mind everything is about winning and losing and the woman is not seen as having equal rights, her purpose is to satisfy his needs.

    Abusive partners can be even more violent when victims try and leave, or immediately after they leave.

    “The attitude abusers exhibit in this type of violence when women attempt to leave their partners is, ‘she must have to pay for my unhappiness,’” Bancroft said.

    About double the number of women were killed by current or ex-male partners than US soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2012, 11,766 and 6,488 respectively, according to a report by the Huffington Post.

    Police historically do not treat domestic violence as a crime but as a private matter meaning many incidents are not reported. Victims have expressed that they feel their reports are not taken seriously by police.

    Entrenched sexist bias is compounded by race. Weldon said, “You can’t talk about trauma without talking about race. How can you talk about a mission to wipe [Native American] people out, without talking about the impact that has had on those communities?”

    The structure of tribal police, which rely onUS police to cross-deputize the force and certify criminal charge procedures, aren’t able to collect tax revenue that could improve investigative work.

    “You go from no response and no intervention to overreaction where a ton of [non-tribal] law enforcement shows up because it’s a known family name,” Weldon said.

    According to the Institute For Women’s Policy Research, Black women are two and a half times more likely to be murdered by men than their White counterparts.

    Meanwhile, according to the study “Race and the Likelihood of Intimate Partner Violence Arrest and Dual Arrest,” non-white female victims of intimate partner violence are less likely to have their perpetrators arrested by police.

    Guns in the home increase the deadliness of domestic violence incidents. According to Giffords Law Center, “Guns kept in the home are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal unintentional shooting, criminal assault or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense. Rather than conferring protection, guns in the home are associated with an increased risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance.”

    Bishop encouraged victims to call the 24/7 hour HDVS hotline for resources and emergency help.

    Bishop believes the most important thing for people in domestic violence situations is to feel supported and hear affirmation.

    “We believe you,” Bishop said. “And the longer you’ve been in abusive relationships the harder it is to make that call.”

  • Indigenous Food Sovereignty

    Indigenous Food Sovereignty

    Local food management practices of the Tolowa Dee-ni, Yurok and other indigenous peoples.

    *Editor’s note: A source in this story, Cynthia Ford, is the aunt of the Lumberjack writer of this story, Walker B. True*

    When colonizers landed on the North American continent, they were greeted with a land of plenty where deer roamed huge open pastures and wild fruits and vegetables grew in plenty. Colonizers viewed this landscape as a wild, untamed, underutilized and untouched landscape of economic opportunity.

    In fact, ecosystems across North America were meticulously managed by Indigenous peoples across the continent. Their traditional resource management practices have come to be known as a stewardship model.

    As defined by the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, the Lakota Ecology Stewardship model states that “All beings, both living and nonliving, were related in that all shared and depended on Mother Earth for survival. The Lakota believe that humans were the newest nation on Earth, and as such were instructed to learn from the older nations: the rocks, animals, and plants. Thus, natural laws and relationships were carefully observed and emulated.”

    Locally, the Tolowa Dee-ni nation as well as the Yurok tribe made use of practices like prescribed burning to treat pests and to create better habitats for deer and elk to graze on.

    This form of management was used throughout the continent and began to die out as the land upon which they were practiced was colonized. These colonized lands were stripped of their resources and left in the hands of private landowners or The US government who had little to no understanding or care over the complexity of the ecological systems at play.

    The stewardship model and the food practices of Indigenous people have been limited by land acquisition programs and environmental devastation since the colonizers first set foot in America. Through the fight for their food sovereignty, Indigenous people are also fighting for tribal sovereignty.

    Cynthia Boshell is a program specialist working with the Rights of Mother Earth initiative through the Northern California Tribal Court Coalition. Since 2015, she is continuing to do work advocating for tribal food sovereignty.

    “When we are talking about food sovereignty what we are really doing is saying we are reclaiming our relationship to the foods,” Boshell said. “Not just the foods but if you are going to reclaim your relationship to the food you also have to reclaim your relationship to the land.”

    In the past the The Rights of Mother Earth initiative has helped enact ordinances and other regulations in order to protect the natural resources of the tribes a part of the NCTCC (Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Trinidad Rancheria and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria).

    Recently, the NCTCC received a grant from the Native American Agricultural Fund to do an assessment of tribal food systems under the stress of COVID-19 and fires. The project will be performed by the Rights of Mother Earth initiative spending the next year surveying tribal communities and their food system in order to understand how tribal food producers can be better supported.

    Boshell sees food sovereignty as a vehicle and process of bringing Indigenous communities where they want to be in regards to their food systems. Whether that be entirely reliant on local Indigenous food systems, or only partially, each tribe should have the agency to choose that for themselves.

    “Food sovereignty is not really a native concept,” Boshell said. “It’s more of a description of how we are reacting to a colonial system.”

    Cynthia Ford is a Habitat and Wildlife Manager for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation in Del Norte County. Ford is responsible for educating community members and advocating for tribal food sovereignty.

    “We work with agencies and partners locally, like the forest service and the parks and local landowners to help come up with strategies to protect and perpetuate our resources.” Ford said.

    Alongside her vocational responsibilities to the tribe, she is also the wife of a Tolowa tribe member and the mother of three Tolowa children. She supports traditional, locally harvested foods like acorns in the fall, berries in the spring, a variety of seafoods like smelt, seaweed and salmon, as well as deer and elk.

    “The Tolowa people were rich, very food rich,” Ford said. “There was a large variety and great diversity of foods year round to eat from.”

    For Ford, food sovereignty means having the ability to access her own healthy, and sustainable foods.

    “That food security is really important for the tribe because that’s the basis for making us a healthy community,” Ford said.

    Without the ability to access these local food sources that, historically speaking, have always been available to them, tribe members are left without access to any healthy foods.

    “Our ancestral territory goes well into Oregon and covers a vast coastal area and into the Applegate watershed,” Ford said. “But here right now in Smith River where our modern day reservation lies, we have the Dollar General and a Fuel Mart, we don’t even have a grocery store.”

    Alongside poor access to healthy foods from local stores, traditional food practices like fishing have been impacted by commercial farming practices that threaten the Smith river’s estuaries with pollution from pesticides.

    According to the California Water Board, “the Regional Water Board’s water quality monitoring documented the presence of several pesticides used in lily bulb cultivation in some of the coastal tributaries of the Smith river during storm events.”

    Ford ends by speaking to the interconnected nature of land and how dependent people have to be one another in order to live in harmonious comfort and success.

    “’You got your 10 acres and your mule and you’re gonna harvest your land right?’” Ford said. “But it doesn’t work that way because what you do on your land affects what I do on my land”

  • Humboldt State Admin attempts to discredit the Lumberjack

    Humboldt State Admin attempts to discredit the Lumberjack

    ***A Lumberjack editorial represents both the majority opinion of the student newspaper’s editorial board, nine editors, as well as the overwhelming majority of Humboldt State University’s student body. Collectively, an editorial echos, embodies and advocates for community beliefs.***

    Insensitive communications between Humboldt State University administration and student newspaper, the Lumberjack, includes inaccurate accusations and degradation comments directed at the LJ’s reputation. 

    In a letter to the Lumberjack’s editor, Vice President Frank Whitlatch claims the student-paper intentionally printed false information. The letter targets four specific points within the article, “HSU Athletics Department left in dark about SJSU,” by Sports Editor Thomas Lal, published in print on Wed., Oct. 7 and online the following day.

    According to Whitlatch, the four issues within Lal’s article include accuracy, context, claims of purposeful ignorance towards follow-up quotations and headline language. 

    Whitlatch’s claim that Jane Teixeira’s, HSU’s athletic director, was misquoted in regards to the Athletics department’s knowledge of San Jose State University’s arrival is completely inaccurate. The second paragraph of Lal’s article clearly states HSU Athletics was notified late Tues., Sept. 29. 

    “With the notice coming late on Sept. 29, the first chance that the department had to discuss matters was the following day with the Spartans roughly 24 hours away,” Lal wrote in his article.

    The information reported in Lal’s article directly matches the information stated in Whitlatch’s letter to the editor. There is no inaccuracy. Lal, in fact, did not ignore the information as the letter suggests. Whitlatch attempts to use this baseless claim to delegitimize the entire article.

    While the letter states HSU Athletics was not in the dark about the team arriving, our editorial staff does not believe a few hours of advanced notice would significantly impact the department’s ability to prepare for the team’s arrival. 

    Whitlatch attached transcripts from Lal’s meeting with Teixeira in his letter claiming the Lumberjack ignored context surrounding Teixeira’s quote. Cris Jones Koczera, emergency management coordinator, however, further supported the information reported in Lal’s article.

    “It was at the end of the day, on Tuesday [when they found out],” Koczera said in the interview with Lal. “So, by the time we really had an opportunity to get together, start talking about what that meant it was Wednesday first thing, right out the gate.”

    In a Zoom meeting with the Lumberjack editorial staff on Thurs., Oct. 15, Grant Scott-Goforth, HSU’s communications specialist, echoed Koczera’s statements that SJSU’s arrival at HSU was in fact a last-minute affair.

    “The Athletics Directors and our emergency operations team and myself I think found out several hours before the rest of the campus did,” Scott-Goforth said. “So, that was a scramble. I mean, that was a huge scramble.”

    In addition to Scott-Goforth’s confirmation, he claimed the diction used in the Lumberjack’s editorial, “Humboldt State administration cash in at student expense,” was strong, misleading and accusatory language that promoted a Humboldt brand of xenophobic behavior towards students from big cities by stating SJSU was stealing HSU student resources. 

    “I just felt that was a little bit misleading because again you know this is a decision that’s made by the President’s versus the student athletes who are coming here so they could practice but it wasn’t exactly their choice,” Scott-Goforth said. “I grew up in Humboldt County and I feel there’s this weird kind of specific Humboldt County brand of xenophobia that I see over and over again, and often is about HSU students coming from the big cities and it’s a scary thing.”

    Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services was not advised prior to SJSU’s arrival, the Lumberjack was purely reacting to student and community concern regarding health endangerment in the midst of a pandemic, not due SJSU coming from a more populous county.

    The Lumberjack is an independent news organization. We have enjoyed a healthy, working relationship with the HSU Athletics Department and would never purposefully ignore facts provided in an interview. Implying that we would attempt to mislead our readers is entirely incorrect and harmful to the reputation of this publication and its reporters. 

    Through a very complex set of circumstances, the Lumberjack has aimed to provide the most accurate information available to students and the community while working with Athletics to obtain that information.

    As a part of the California State University system, Humboldt State is subject to the same rules and limitations as other public universities. This includes court cases that set a precedent for the protection of student produced media under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

    By publishing your letter to the editor, we have maintained our position as a public forum by allowing a fair and open space for all to voice their opinion.

    While the Lumberjack may receive funding from the university, like many student-run programs on this campus, Bazaar v. Fortune, 489 F.2d 225 (5th Cir. 1973) ruled this does not grant the administration the right nor the permission to control the contents of the campus paper. 

    In addition, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District 393 U.S. 503 (1969) ruled that actions of censorship cannot be taken against a paper for content unless the school can prove the content would “materially and substantially interfere” with operations.

    Like any other publication, the Lumberjack is protected as a member of the free press. Our duty is to serve the interests of our students and surrounding community by informing them with timely and accurately reported information. While the HSU administration may take issue with our editorial, we stand by our position and how it accurately represents the voices of HSU’s student body.

    We will not be retracting our story and will continue to support the efforts our reporters make to ensure the voices of the student press on this campus are not silenced, censored or intimidated.

  • Screens are losing their novelty

    Screens are losing their novelty

    Life and Arts editor, Dakota Cox, speaks on his shifting perspective towards technology.

    2020 has tainted the relationship between humans and screens.

    When I was a child, my favorite thing in the world was my Gameboy. I was only allowed to play on long car trips or the rare occasions when a friend spent the night. My favorite game was Pokémon, of course. I remember the satisfaction I felt after beating the game for the first time. Those were the days before YouTube tutorials when discovery in games meant something.

    When I grew older, I replaced my Gameboy with an out of commission iPhone I found one day in a crack of the couch in our family room. It served me well as an iPod for years until it finally refused to accept a charge and became replaced by my first official iPhone.

    That phone met a violent end far before its time. It wasn’t missed. The replacement that sits in my pocket today has aged noticeably over the years having been through more than most. It will also not be missed.

    Over the years, whether it be a computer, a television or a phone, there’s always been a screen at the center of my life. Though they may not always have received the majority of my time, the ideas attached to screens have almost certainly played a dominant role in my decisions since they were introduced to my life.

    All it took was a taste and I was hooked, now I understand why my mom warned me about drugs. I only wish she’d known the damage a single screen can cause.

    When I was 10 years old and my brother Yoshi was born, my mother more or less granted me the trust to make my own decisions. For me, this meant staying up till 5 a.m. watching Netflix, playing Skyrim and sleeping in until 2 p.m. Those were the days.

    When I started living away from home, I began spending more time than ever in front of screens. They were no longer just an optional escape, they’d also become a regular part of my college education.

    Now with the pandemic and online learning, the time spent in front of screens has crossed the threshold to a place of dread.

    The once exciting prospect of a notification arriving on my phone is ruined by the endless nagging of unfulfilled responsibilities and classes I spend hard-earned money on to attend.

    The little quality time I get to spend with family in the pandemic has become corrupted by the constant presence of screens.

    Aside from hiking, almost every moment I was with Yoshi over the summer was spent playing the latest video games and half-paying attention to the shows playing in the background.

    When I have time to spend the weekends with my Mother, I wake up before 7 a.m. for work and don’t get back until 5 p.m. By then, I’m exhausted and I’ve got a pile of stories to edit, if I don’t have to write one myself, along with whatever homework I couldn’t finish during the week.

    My mom is mostly glued to her phone and outside of an occasional board game or family movie, we retire to our respective rooms. Is this what life has come to?

    Screens can be used to accomplish great achievements as tools or produce great joy as toys, however anything over-used can become unhealthy. So, give your poor brains a break, I know mine needs one!

  • Dobby’s dissection of Donald Trump

    Columnist Dobby Morse shares their take on the presidential candidates

    I tried. I tried to watch it, but like everything else Trump is involved in, it was a farce.

    Within the first 15 minutes, Trump dodged the question as to when the new justice should be nominated by talking about Amy Barrett’s qualifications. He lied about his very public taxes, called the Coronavirus the “China plague,” implied that Biden was stupid for forgetting the name of a place and bragged about football, of all things.

    I am by no means, a fan of Biden. He is a creepy old white guy that has been accused of inappropriately touching several women. Trump has done much worse. Biden has a plan for the Coronavirus, including free testing, Personal Protective Equipment and a nationwide mask mandate.

    He has a plan for the climate crisis that includes the Green New Deal, rejoining the Paris climate accord and an end to fossil fuel subsidies. Trump, as Biden said repeatedly, does not have a plan.

    Trump’s biggest problem is the inability to self-reflect. The media has been largely negative towards him. He is a pathological liar and it is the media’s job to expose lies. He has shown no ability to listen to experts or politicians who do not undeservedly love him.

    Rather than take a minute of his 74 years of life to reflect on why people don’t respect him, he goes on defense.

    Biden, despite Trump’s opinion, is smart. He brings up his experience as a senator and vice president to show he knows how to do the job. He talked about the Coronavirus deaths as people, rather than statistics. He talked about Trump’s history of lies and lack of a plan to showcase his opponent’s incompetence.

    A horrific outcome of the debate is an increase in recruitment for the White supremacist group, Proud Boys. When asked to condemn them, Trump replied, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

    The hate group has since adopted this quote as a slogan and an endorsement by Trump.

    We live in a world where incredibly dangerous people are world leaders. We live in a world where fundamental and private rights are in danger. We live in a world where a few people can decide the course of history.

    So vote. Check your registration status, and if you aren’t already getting election mail, find out why. History has its eyes on you.

    Dobby Morse is a columnist for The Lumberjack and is an HSU student.

  • Recreational sports athletes react to SJSU in AS meeting

    Recreational sports athletes react to SJSU in AS meeting

    Athletes speak out against the uncertainty surrounding rec sports and the playing season  

    Recreational sports at Humboldt State University is made up of 15 competitive and four non-competitive club teams that practice and play in their respective seasons throughout the school year. Each club team offers the opportunity to students of all skill levels to participate and grow their abilities while building community with fellow teammates and recreational sports athletes. 

    Since spring break of early 2020, HSU officials have not allowed recreational sports teams to gather or practice in order to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19. No update has been given to any rec sports athletes over the past months on when their teams would be allowed to return, practice and compete. 

    HSU announced that it would be allowing San Jose State University’s football program access to the Redwood Bowl and Student Recreation Center facilities to prepare for their upcoming season. 

    Rec sports was finally allotted the opportunity to be heard publicly at the Associated Students board meeting on Oct. 9. 

    Martin Gordillo, a student and member of both the men’s baseball and volleyball teams, led a discussion on who at the university was behind the decision to not allow rec sports to conduct practices. 

    Gordillo noted the lack of communication from the Cal State University Chancellor’s office regarding the future of rec sports. Gordillo explained the strategies that fellow rec sports clubs are willing to follow in order to uphold CDC safety guidelines. The plan includes reallocating funds from travel budgets in order to pay for increased sanitation supplies and COVID-19 testing for athletes and faculty.  

    Associated Students member, Collin Waichler, believes an in-depth look at Chancellor Timothy White’s decision would provide clarification to the decisions that lead to the cancellation of rec sports.

    “I think it would be very helpful if we can get the text of the Chancellor’s decision to not allow rec sports,” Waichler said. “So we can see that and look at it and figure out exactly what’s going on.” 

    A representative of the HSU men’s crew team, Michaella Praska, voiced her experience as a rec sports athlete in her senior year not being able to practice and compete with her fellow teammates. 

    “It’s so disheartening and I’m very, very disappointed in how things are being run and I just wanted to say my team really became my family,” Praska said. “So to not be able to like have  that one hour or half hour to be able to spend more time with them. It really hurts. And I don’t  feel like I stand alone.”  

    The future of rec sports continues to be uncertain for the time being, Gordillo ended his presentation by quoting the HSU’s rec sport’s pledge.

    “We are Humboldt plus sports and we care for our athletes, one voice in solidarity loud and proud.”

  • The mental toll of COVID-19 isolation

    The mental toll of COVID-19 isolation

    Increased periods of isolation can lead to depression, and how to combat it

    March signaled the beginning of quarantine in the United States, with various states asking residents to refrain from unnecessary social contact with shelter-in-place orders.

    For those staying with family and friends, the burden of staying at home for the last nine months was reduced by the ability to talk to and interact with others.

    According to Paula Nedelcoff, a psychotherapist and community outreach coordinator for Humboldt State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services department, the task is significantly more taxing. Changes in living organization, such as online instruction, brings unwanted physical and mental changes.

    “Long term social isolation for most people is very difficult,” Nedelcoff said in an email interview.

    COVID-19 restricts face-to-face interaction, prohibiting the ability for people to physically and socially interact with each other. This prolonged isolation intensifies with time.

    “Humans are social animals and we count on interactions with others. When we do not have someone to bounce off ideas and feelings with we can move within and isolate even more,” Nedelcoff said. “While during this virus we have a virtual world, we humans need contact with each other, we need and thrive with touch.”

    A 2016 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases suggested that isolation precautions may lead to anxiety. A group of doctors and professors looked at the ways social isolation affected patients who were recovering from various bacterial infections. These infections (like scabies, measles or tuberculosis) often required patients to reside in single rooms to minimize the exposure to other patients.

    A separate 2016 twin study the journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology suggested that social isolation could trigger an increase in mental stress. The data found that depression was significantly correlated with both social isolation and loneliness.

    For those living alone, combined with a lack of available social interactions, the association with depression is even greater.

    A 2011 research article in the International of Geriatric Psychiatry found that social connections were factors in determining depression.

    “Living alone and living with at least one child (no spouse), and weak social networks were associated with higher depressive symptom scores in both genders,” the study stated. “Men living alone with weak social networks outside the household had higher depressive symptom scores than those with strong networks.”

    In order to combat these feeling, Nedelcoff recommended finding ways to reach out to others within your social circle, in addition to seeking professional help.

    “I encourage all folks to stay engaged with life via on line groups and virtual happenings,” Nedelcoff said. “This can be a great time to try therapy or a therapy group. Going to counseling does not mean there is something wrong with you. Think of it like having a copilot while looking more deeply into your life and the meaning of it.”

    She suggested finding ways to properly vent emotions and feelings so that individuals may not feel like they are cooped up physically and mentally.

    “Learn and become aware of what works for you,” Nedelcoff said. “What might work for me may not work for my friend. Some people meditate, some people use music to calm them or ease their soul, while others may journal or get into a book. Often times we are not sure or don’t know what works for us.”

    Most of all, Nedelcoff encouraged students to continue trying to find ways of expression in any positive way.

    “COVID-19 and sheltering in place has taught us how little control we have over so many things,” Nedelcoff said. “This can be scary but we do have control of how we respond.”

  • Library construction picks up the pace during the pandemic

    Library construction picks up the pace during the pandemic

    The library undergoes seismic retrofit construction

    Humboldt State University’s library has been under construction since 2018 when the contract was set and planned in 2015. The construction project is for the library and the theatre arts buildings on campus, both buildings were not safe regarding seismic activity.

    Jason Baugh, HSU project manager, has been communicating between the contractors and campus on the seismic retrofit project for both buildings.

    “Building safety is to keep these buildings maybe not 100% secure, standing and occupiable after a major earthquake, but getting everyone out safely,” Baugh said.

    The overall goal was to have it safe for seismic activity but other projects and delays started to pile on as time progressed.

    “The California building code changes every three years, the chancellor’s office for the CSU also has their own internal code review and it’s basically mirroring what the California building code is,” Baugh said. “They have their standards where they want all their buildings to adhere to and so that changed and as we submitted plans for review, we missed the code cycle and everything had to be re-evaluated.”

    Setbacks such as new seismic code, modifications in original plans and lower level issues with the foundation have led to longer construction time than anticipated. Recently the project got sprinklers in the library.

    “There was a few areas of the lower library basement, and basically it was where books, some of the special collections library books that they don’t use on a daily basis but are archived for various reasons,” Baugh said. “For some reason, only that area was sprinkled.”

    Changes to the project made the years of construction go on longer than originally thought. The overall budget for the project of both buildings was $20 million plus add ons of almost $4 million dollars.

    Daytime construction has increased due to COVID-19 restrictions. Cyril Oberlander, HSU’s library dean, has been overseeing and delegating people to new temporary areas of work.

    “It also created new opportunities, rather than waiting for the sprinkler project for a couple of years,” Oberlander said. “It’s something we can do now because no one is in the building which is pretty good.”

    Since the library will most likely be closed in the spring semester due to COVID-19, construction will continue at a faster pace. Oberlander is hopeful that students and all HSU personnel will enjoy the new library when things are back to normal.

    “Thank goodness they really were resilient through it because it’s finishing up now,” Oberlander said.

    Jaime Clough, a senior at HSU, had trouble in the previous semester with construction noise and communication of the project’s finishing time.

    “I was in the library every single day. I was there on weekends. I basically lived in the library and it was kind of tricky,” Clough said. “I mean sometimes you have to go through random doors, sometimes the stairwells are closed and you have to go around the backside. You’d be sitting in the nice quiet corner trying to study for finals and all of the sudden there’s a jackhammer on the wall right next to you.”

    Construction is set to be finished around June of 2021. With construction schedules and the library closed, construction could be finished before the fall 2021 semester.

    “June is my goal, I think it’s realistic, as I kind of indicated you don’t know till you dive into things especially with retrofit projects,” Baugh said. “Hoping for the best, I think the end of June is a realistic date and that we may have a month buffer of working through any problems.”

  • COVID-19 forces students to create a dance studio in their home

    COVID-19 forces students to create a dance studio in their home

    At-home teaching sacrifices the quality of education for dance majors

    The switch to virtual schooling has challenged students majoring in dance. Online dance classes come with substantial obstacles. Audio lag from the instructor to the student makes it difficult for students and instructors to give accurate feedback.

    The preparation before each class is now more involved than in-person classes. Linda Maxwell, Humboldt State University’s dance program director, misses traditional instruction and finds it hard to create relationships with her students online.

    “Without the human connection, finding a way to connect to each student is simply more difficult and time consuming,” Maxwell said. “I personally can make less one-on-one connections in each class compared to a face-to-face class.”

    Instructors must modify their teaching style and specific assignments to be as inclusive as possible, catering to the small spaces students have available.

    In-person dance class consisted of the instructor faced towards the mirrors at one end of the room and students behind them mirroring their moves. Now, students are forced to learn choreography backwards, because of Zoom’s mirroring display.

    Alex Dyer, HSU senior dance major, biggest challenge is not having access to a full studio. Instead, Dyer designated a small section between her kitchen and living room for dance class.

    “Trying to choreograph dances for my classes in a small section at home has been very hard,” Dyer said. “Because I never really know if what I created will work.”

    Chloe Schmidt, a junior dance major, found a unique opportunity present that would never have been possible prior to the pandemic.

    “One of the most amazing things to come out of this situation is that dancers from all over the world can take classes from some of the best teachers out there,” Schmidt said. “There is never the same energy in a Zoom class as there is when in person, but still, pretty incredible to have the opportunity to learn from the greats even if you are a thousand miles away.”

    Considering the unusual conditions that dance students have endured, this experience has led them to become stronger individuals. Schmidt remains optimistic about the future.

    “This situation has made me and many other dancers learn how to keep our inspiration up and navigate our art form in new and challenging ways,” Schmidt said. “I hope the future of dance is going to be even more vibrant and innovative.”

  • Time for yourself is more than okay

    Time for yourself is more than okay

    If you needed a sign to tell you to take a break, this is that sign

    Burnout is among us, for some it hit pretty early on. Whether you’e a student, a worker or both, taking a step back just feels impossible. Why do we justify our exhaustion with more exhaustion?

    While it is important to take responsibility for our lives, we need to be kind to ourselves. Living in this pandemic, we have come across what is called “pandemic fatigue.” According to University of Californi a Los Angeles health, it comes in various forms like the inability to focus, not knowing what day it is, feeling anxious, hopeless and worrisome.

    How do we fight pandemic fatigue? How do we fight burn-out? How can we avoid a downward spiral of intrusive thoughts, fear, irritability and insomnia?

    In an article in General Surgery News, Rachel Goldman, Ph.D., FTOS, a licensed psychologist, talks about healthy selfishness. The phrase explains itself, “knowing what you need to do and allowing yourself to do it.”

    It’s time to be more selfish with our health and recognize that we need to take me-time. It’s a reminder and also heavily recommended that we do take time for ourselves.

    I personally struggle with taking that break and I wouldn’t consider myself selfish. We are living in a very unpredictable time. I’m a planner, not being able to plan for the holidays or the next semester drives me up the wall. However, maybe it’s time that I stop worrying about the future and worry about what I am doing right now.

    “People need to focus on what is in their control, which is behaviors, reactions and how they cope, and not on what is out of their control,” Goldman said.

    Worrying about things you can’t control is unproductive and a playing factor in my pandemic fatigue. The feeling of being lost and confused about what to do next runs through my mind every day. Dwelling on the unknown is out of my control and I need to let it be.

    I know we are all going through it differently, but we are all still going through it.

    So when you are too exhausted to go on, take that nap.

    When your head is spinning, go for that walk.

    When you find yourself reading that one page four times over because you’re just not getting it, take a step back and make some pasta.

    Hit a pillow. Call a loved one. Cry. Watch that cringey holiday rom-com. Draw something, ugly or pretty.

    Talk to yourself using only nice words.

    Learn some breathing techniques on YouTube, meditate with Spotify, watch the news or don’t, and don’t forget to drink water.

  • HSU Athletics Department left in dark about SJSU

    HSU Athletics Department left in dark about SJSU

    Jane Teixeira addresses student concern over football program’s stay on campus

    ***Editor’s note: SJSU football program was tested in congruence with Mountain West conference guidelines***

    The Humboldt State Athletics Department was notified that the San Jose State football team was coming to HSU the same time the general student and staff population of campus were told. 

    With the notice coming late on Sept. 29, the first chance that the department had to discuss matters was the following day with the Spartans roughly 24 hours away. 

    “I got the same information at the same time that everybody else got the information on campus,” HSU Athletics Director Jane Teixeira said.

    SJSU anticipates spending $100,000 to $150,000 in total while at HSU. This includes meals, housing, use of Humboldt State’s facilities and round trip bus fare per San Jose State’s media relations. 

    It is currently unclear as to how much of this estimated budget belongs to Humboldt State or how that money will be distributed.

    On Tues. Oct. 13, Santa Clara County moved into the orange tier from the red tier, meaning that COVID-19 guidelines will be loosened. 

    According to San Jose State football social media and Humboldt State University,  the team will be leaving the HSU campus on Oct. 14 following the announcement that Santa Clara County will allow the Spartans to hold practices on their own campus once again. 

    According to an email sent out to HSU students on Tuesday Oct. 13 if conditions do get worse in Santa Clara County again. 

    “Should Santa Clara County return to the red tier, HSU will consult with Humboldt County Public Health and SJSU about the viability of the team’s return to HSU to proceed safely for practice and/or competition.” Humboldt State said in the email.  

    Teixeria explained that she has not been involved with any contract negotiations between HSU and SJSU, but believes the arrangement is similar to any rental of the Redwood Bowl. 

    “I believe that they are renting our facilities and paying for them like any other outside group would be able to do,” Teixeira said.

    Student concerns surrounding a large group of people coming onto campus was addressed by Emergency Management Coordinator Cris Jones Koczera. Koczera said that since the team arrived, the Athletics department has been working with local county health officials. 

    Koczera believes the chances of the SJSU bringing COVID-19 with them is very low considering the team is subject to mandatory testing once per week before the Mountain West season begins, and three times per week when competition starts. 

    “Because of the frequency of testing that was required both by the state and by local county public health, they are by far the most tested individuals, probably in our entire county right now,” Koczera said. 

    The Athletics Department became aware of frustration coming from the rec sports organizations on campus which prompted Teixeira to hold a meeting with members of those groups on Sept. 30. 

    For Division 1 athletes, there is immense pressure to perform well and do whatever they are told to do as part of their respective athletic programs. Teixeria pointed out that while the SJSU football team is on our campus, they did not directly make the decision to come here themselves as individuals. 

    “It’s really important to know that the student athletes and the coaches and the student workers and the people that are up here from San Jose State are just following the lead of their leadership,” Teixeira said. “Just like we’re just following the lead of our leadership and I think it’s important that our individuals or people who are out in the community understand that this is by no fault of their own.”

  • HSU students support science with Spanish

    HSU students support science with Spanish

    A bilingual HSU program encourages students to pursue the STEM field

    Ciencia Para Todos, known as “Science for All,” is a Humboldt State University program that hopes to bridge the gap between younger, grade-school students and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics careers through teaching English and Spanish in conjunction with local elementary schools like Fuente Nueva Charter School.

    Christian Trujillo, a senior environmental science and management major, is the founder of Ciencia Para Todos. He strives to elevate youth whose first language is Spanish.

    “We’re trying to destigmatize that idea,” Trujillo said. “Be like, ‘We are people who are bilingual, we’re in STEM, we want you to do that when you grow older, and hopefully you could become a scientist and also use your abilities and cultural lens to really help the science community.’”

    Ciencia Para Todos came from a desire to create an environment for budding Latinx STEM students. Feeling ostracized from many of the spaces on campus, Trujillo and his fellow Latinx classmates communicate in Spanish as a means of escape.

    An already-established refuge named Indian Natural Resource Science and Engineering Program for marginalized science students on campus, inspired them to create a refuge of their own.

    “We need to make our own space on campus since no one else is really going to do it for us, so we have to do it for ourselves,” Trujillo said. “And we’re like, ‘Oh, now that we’re doing this for ourselves, why don’t we do it for our communities.’”

    Different cultural centers at HSU have gotten their budgets slashed, Trujillo worked to combat the problem with student retention.

    “The stuff we do I think is very important to keeping student retention,” Trujillo said. “Because I’m one of those students that stayed here because of the centers and if it wasn’t because of centers, I would have been gone.”

    Odalis Avalos is an environmental science and management major and senior. She works as the liaison for Ciencia Para Todos and conducts outreach. Avalos is glad to have a space where she can flourish alongside Latinx STEM students, an opportunity she didn’t have growing up.

    “I’m really grateful that there is a program out there that’s able to provide this resource specifically for sciences,” Avalos said. “It’s a very lax subject within the Latinx community, so it’s not really normalized to pursue these types of careers.”

    Building off that, Avalos is glad to be able to feel a sense of community not only with the students she teaches, but also with her colleagues like Trujillo.

    “It means a lot that they’ve created the sense of community for me,” Avalos said. “So we sit together and we come together and we collaborate and we have a common mission and even with that, we also have common experiences together.”

    Diana Martinez recently graduated from HSU but continues to work for Ciencia Para Todos. Responsible for translating entire lessons between English and Spanish and managing the Instagram account for the program, Martinez has become more confident and optimistic in her future endeavors.

    “And I used to do English and Spanish, but then when I go up in Humboldt, it was just English,” Martinez said. “So I almost feel like my Spanish was just blocked, and having met this group of people, it was just like ‘Oh, I could just talk in Spanglish or I could talk in English and in Spanish fifty-fifty.’”

    Martinez is inspired by the children she’s worked with for Ciencia Para Todos and feels accomplished with what she has done for them.

    “Once you see the kids, especially the native kids that only speak Spanish, when you speak in the same language, there’s a huge happy face in their face and it’s hard to describe,” Martinez said. “But knowing that they’re able to communicate just fine and the fact that you know that you’re helping them and supporting them and empowering them, that makes me feel great as an educator, too.”