I find it extremely redundant that Cypress residents are required to own an All Access meal plan. When I’ve asked school officials why they’re needed, they’ve just responded, “Cypress residents are required to have one of the All Access meal plans. Upperclassmen living areas that do not require a meal plan are College Creek and Campus Apartments, both of which have shared kitchen areas.”
I’m a junior who’s lived on campus for three years now, and Cypress has the best kitchen out of every residence hall I’ve seen. Yes, even better than the one in College Creek apartments. Having lived in College Creek apartments as a sophomore, I’ve found that Cypress has more counter space and many more cabinets for storage space. The Cypress kitchen has offered my suitemates and I enough room and resources to cook for 20+ people once a week for Cypress eighth floor’s “family dinners,” where both sides of the floor come together for a weekly feast.
A suite on Cypress can house up to twelve students, so I’d understand if we were required to have a meal plan due to the number of suitemates who share the kitchen. However, I can’t understand why we’re required to have an All Access meal plan.
As a student working in the housing department as a Resident Student Services Assistant, I’ve had the opportunity to study each housing option and meal plan that the school offers. The more I learn, the less it makes sense that Cypress suites require an All Access meal plan.
For anyone who isn’t aware how the on-campus meal plan system works, here’s a quote directly from the Meal Plans page on our campus housing website: “All living areas require a meal plan except College Creek and Campus Apartments. Residents of the Hill, Canyon, Cypress and Creekview Suites are required to have one of the All Access meal plans. Residents of Creekview Apartments are required to have any one of the meal plans.”
The cheapest All Access meal plan is the 5-day All Access plan. It’s $5,000 per academic year, and contains all access meals to the J five days a week, including 300 Flex dollars and 66 or 62 meal exchanges per semester. (The housing website says 66, the dining website says 62.)
One of the alternative meal plans that I’ll be using as a comparison is the Lumberjack 125. This meal plan that Cypress residents don’t have access to costs $3,500 per academic year, provides 125 meals in the J (which is honestly still more than enough J food for me), has 525 flex dollars, and 31 meal exchanges per semester.
As someone who isn’t impressed with the food that Chartwells has to offer at the J, I’d much rather have the Lumberjack 125, which has 225 more flex dollars and costs $1,500 less per year!
If I can’t convince school officials that Cypress residents should have access to the other meal plans available, I at least want an adequate answer to why we shouldn’t.
Associated Students do not stand nor condone any kind of disrespect. We value everyone’s thoughts, opinions, and presence within AS.
We are aware of an unsettling situation that occurred during our Executive cabinet meeting on Feb. 4 concerning members of the Associated Students and members of AS Core Programs at Cal Poly Humboldt.
During the meeting, President Jeremiah Finley was uncooperative with fellow board members and had cut the meeting short. During this meeting, the WRRAP’s R.O.S.E branch team was expecting a response from the board, but would not move forward due to solely wanting in-person attendance.
In addition to this, President Finley neglected his team by failing to acknowledge the presence of appointed members who joined through Zoom, assuming that, “they only joined through Zoom simply because they didn’t want to be in attendance in person,” though this was not the case.
First and foremost, we, the Associated Students do not accept or tolerate the sort of behavior that was presented on that evening. We understand the concern, the anger, and the feelings of disrespect. You are heard and your feelings matter.
Next, we find it critical, to be honest with our student body and with each other. Unfortunately, there has been an unhealthy power dynamic within AS. There have been many issues regarding communication, equality, and access to opportunities. These are issues AS members have been dealing with but have managed to persevere through while keeping our student body and AS Core Programs at the top of their priority list. We are actively working towards community building and furthering our relationships with our staff and student leaders.
Due to the continuous amounts of disrespect and unacceptable behavior, AS will be moving forward with the impeachment process.
Associated Students stands for the purpose to educate, empower, and most importantly elevate all student voices.
Where we were, what went wrong & how we build a brighter future
This is a letter to the editor from Humboldt State University Education Department Chair Eric Van Duzer, Ph.D. It has been edited only for minor punctuation and grammar style preferences.
As I reflect back on nearly 30 years at Humboldt State University, first as a student and then for the past 20 years as a faculty member, I wanted to share some of the thoughts that I have about HSU’s current situation and where the campus might go from here.
As a student I experienced a remarkable education where faculty were fully invested in my intellectual and personal development. There were so many opportunities to explore areas of interest and develop new ones. I have spent many hours trying to encapsulate the nature of the schooling I experienced in a way that would really represent the experience.
The best analogy I have been able to come up with was that HSU offered a graduate education to undergraduates. The small classes typical of graduate school encouraged faculty to fully invest in their student’s growth. The university, set so far from the oversight of CSU headquarters in Long Beach, offered a great deal of flexibility to shape our experiences.
This would be impossible today. In those days HSU had the third smallest class sizes in the 23 campuses of CSU. But more than that, it had a unique faculty ethos that reflected nearly 100 years as a student-focused institution that exalted excellence in teaching above all else.
I was the first student CEO of the Institute of Industrial Technology, a self-supporting club that allowed us to use the skills and knowledge we were developing to grow in business acumen, engage in manufacturing and light construction on campus as well as conduct experiments for local agencies. In its second year, Bill Wilkinson used the institute to earn enough profit making desks for campus offices that it paid for several pieces of expensive equipment for the department.
This would be impossible today. In those days HSU had the third smallest class sizes in the 23 campuses of CSU. But more than that, it had a unique faculty ethos that reflected nearly 100 years as a student-focused institution that exalted excellence in teaching above all else.
Faculty came to campus because this is where they wanted to spend their career. Unlike most universities where faculty play academic hopscotch building their resume through research reputations and earning ever-higher salaries as they bounce from college to college, HSU faculty built their reputations on teaching. These were inherently local reputations, not very valuable if one wanted to move on, but rather a reflection of the values and attitudes associated with a culture of excellence in the service of students’ intellectual growth.
As anyone who has worked with university budgets will tell you, graduate education is expensive. That is why through the first 100 years, the administration and other services were done on a shoestring. It was common for a variety of upper administrative positions to be filled by faculty who served temporarily. Staff was thin and overworked and processes were slow and inconsistent.
What happened? In the early 2000s the CSU was facing the onslaught of a Generation X student bulge. Chancellor Charles Reed decided the best strategy to deal with this situation was to homogenize campuses so that if a student could not get into Sacramento State because it was impacted, they could simply go to another campus and get a similar experience.
Yet, the campus, with significant leadership from the faculty, focused its significant resources on classroom instruction, and through that dedication, produced exceptional graduates who were deeply committed to HSU when they graduated.
I remember an administrator in the early years telling me that he had been in a restaurant on the East Coast and overheard a group of students talking at a nearby table. He was so impressed with their sophistication and the values they held he found out where they came from and immediately applied for a job at HSU.
He was the first person hired under then-president Rollin Richmond to manage our enrollments in the early 2000s. The diversity on our campus is a credit to him and Richmond, who reached out across the state to bring in students from urban areas. Sadly he became disillusioned and left. So did most of the faculty leaders.
What happened? In the early 2000s the CSU was facing the onslaught of a Generation X student bulge. Chancellor Charles Reed decided the best strategy to deal with this situation was to homogenize campuses so that if a student could not get into Sacramento State because it was impacted, they could simply go to another campus and get a similar experience.
Shortly thereafter the upper administration received inflated titles and significant raises in an apparent effort to reduce resistance. Then the attack on the faculty began.
Naturally, faculty on campuses such as HSU who were proud of their traditions and niche identities resisted. Fiercely. At one point, three campus presidents, including Rollin Richmond, suffered through votes of no confidence by their faculty as they implemented this strategy.
To achieve the required changes in the face of faculty resistance, campuses, including Humboldt, began shifting to a corporate structure of top down management. Faculty who had held a privileged position in campus life were systematically reduced to workers with only a symbolic voice in campus decisions. The administration turned its focus inward towards improving the functioning of the bureaucracy. They eliminated administrators such as Rick Vrem, an ethical provost, who refused to implement changes that hurt the traditional focus on instruction.
Vrem was replaced with a provost who had no such compunction. Shortly thereafter the upper administration received inflated titles and significant raises in an apparent effort to reduce resistance. Then the attack on the faculty began. Nearly 80 faculty positions were eliminated over several years and during the same time period, a similar number of new staff positions were created and filled to support administrative functions.
Over the majority of the intervening 15 years, budget reductions for academic programs have been the norm: reductions in staff, program availability and courses. This year it was a 6% cut, last year another and many like it before. The funds have been shifted to an ever-expanding variety of administrative initiatives.
Now we sound more like a parks and recreation office than a university. Come for the redwoods, the beaches, the bike riding—that is wonderful and I love it, but it is not why people pick a university.
We spend nearly 68% of our budget on administration and campus facilities. Despite the results of a study commissioned by Rollin Richmond’s administration that showed the two most important factors that cause a student to come to HSU are quality of education and availability of the program they are interested in, both have been repeatedly attacked, sliced and diminished.
It is surprising that no one seems to notice that every time we cut academic programs, fewer students want to come here. And when fewer students come here, the budget suffers and HSU responds by cutting academic programs even more severely—a cycle the faculty in 2004 described as a “death spiral.”
As we address our current crisis and try to figure out what we need to become in order to grow back to a sustainable enrollment, we might want to engage in some soulful reflection. What would cause a 20-year-old to come to a place five hours from major centers of civilization and spend four years with us? What do we have to offer them that is so valuable, so different from what they can get at any of the other CSU campuses which are closer, cheaper and offer a great deal more college life in the community?
We stopped selling the small classes and close academic relationships with faculty when the hypocrisy became too much to bear as campus priorities shifted. Now we sound more like a parks and recreation office than a university. Come for the redwoods, the beaches, the bike riding—that is wonderful and I love it, but it is not why people pick a university.
When I arrived here as a faculty member in 2000 we had one staff member, John Filce, doing institutional research. He was wonderful and badly overworked. I am sure he still is. Now we have nine staff members listed in the directory in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, including a vice president. I am sure their work is valuable, but to pay for it we had to cut 64 class sections.
Today, we are an organization of inflexible rules and their keepers.
We have proliferated the bureaucracy, which is unfortunately necessary to achieve top-down control of a professional organization. Had our leadership studied industrial technology with me, they would know what companies in the 1970s learned: that this form of management is ineffective and inefficient in a professional organization.
To achieve control requires monitoring, which in turn requires more staff. For a top-down organization, where the vast majority of employees serve at the will of their manager, fear prevents innovation and compliance is key. Before the shift to this model, administrators were problem solvers. In fact, the standing joke in those days was that everything was an exception. Faculty, staff and administrators had the flexibility to serve the needs of students even when it required bending the rules.
Today, we are an organization of inflexible rules and their keepers. It has greatly diminished the effectiveness of the organization and its ability to make decisions that best serve our students. The resulting bureaucratic culture has seen a proliferation of forms, rule books and rigid adherence to often dysfunctional orders.
This is no way to run a university. Perhaps a grocery store, but not an organization of 500 highly educated experts with thousands of years of collective experience. Top-down decision-making, particularly when the president and upper administrators are drawn from institutions that do not share the culture and values of the campus, is inherently poor compared to what would be possible if faculty once again had a meaningful voice in campus affairs.
No student has ever come to HSU because we have a wonderful registrar’s office or because the president’s office is fully staffed. These only matter when they impact the quality of the education a student receives.
The proof of this is apparent everywhere at HSU. When Rollin Richmond came, he had no interest in what made HSU special. Like a white suburban principal coming to a school in Watts, he thought he knew what needed to be done to remake the university into his vision of a modern institution. That ignorance has cost us immeasurably. Today we face the consequences. The failure to fundamentally change direction of subsequent presidents has simply deepened the mess. We now have a new president, perhaps we can find a new vision.
In my view there are two key concerns that need to be addressed from a rational and values-driven perspective. First, an effective budget model that allows funding to follow enrollment is essential to support growing programs while shifting resources to where they will best serve student needs and interests. This can refocus the campus on providing the service/product students come here for—classroom instruction—and it is essential.
There are so many amazing faculty and academic staff here. They are people with a heart for their students, struggling in a system that constrains and conflicts with their efforts. Let their voices guide the future and we may yet have one worth celebrating.
No student has ever come to HSU because we have a wonderful registrar’s office or because the president’s office is fully staffed. These only matter when they impact the quality of the education a student receives.
Second, we have to decide how we are going to rebuild the excellence we once were known for in our student’s academic programs. The day Rollin Richmond refused to give the Outstanding Faculty Award to a physics professor (selected by the faculty based on his ability to delight and inspire students) because that professor had not published, is the day we snuffed out the soul of the old HSU campus.
Now we need to find out what animates us in ways that provide an experience worth the isolation, cost and struggles required to live in this remote community. Redwoods are not enough; we need a reinvestment in education.
I am retiring from HSU at the end of this May. I am sad to see what has happened to my university. There are so many amazing faculty and academic staff here. They are people with a heart for their students, struggling in a system that constrains and conflicts with their efforts. Let their voices guide the future and we may yet have one worth celebrating.
A note from a local bus driver longing for a crowded bus again
This is a letter to The Lumberjack from local bus driver Mark Condes. The letter has been edited only for grammar and punctuation.
I drive a bus around Arcata, California. I frequent the Library Circle and the 14th Street & B intersection. Lately, on very infrequent occasions, I drop off an HSU student at one or the other. But this has been dwindling down to rare moments. I’m writing this because I just wanted to say that I miss all the students and faculty who have been my passengers for over a year now. . I miss making the rounds on LK Wood down to Camp Curtis, rolling out to Sunny Brae for my three stops there, the long drive down to Greenview Market to pick up the handful of students and a professor in that little corner of Arcata, and out to the Valley West loop where we scoop up the largest busload of students along Alliance and Foster streets, packing them in like sardines, as we like to say, with a call out to the back of the bus, “Do we have room for just ONE more?” . I’m a lucky person lately because I’m still working, still driving all over town. During these times, we only run what’s called the ‘Orange’ route. No more Red, no more Gold, just a mashup of both. . Truth be told, I feel a bit unlucky also. While we still pickup a handful of Townies going about their ‘Essential Needs’ business, nothing replaces all the bustling energy, the fantastic smiles, the mix of voices of my student riders. . I suppose I’m getting to the point, or heart, of the matter… ‘My’ student riders. Maybe I’m just a softie. I know I’m not some old lonely guy grasping at any human interaction, desperate for some validity that I still exist and matter. But yeah, I suppose I’ve formed an attachment at some level. Perhaps it’s a mix of all things that make me who I am, that have allowed me to feel some level of connection with the younger people heading off to HSU and their open road to the future. I have had the pleasure of watching my own kid go through the same process and life experience of college, and that was just a few years ago. I’m sure there’s a relationship here also. . While I ride around, one large circle each hour… hour-after-hour, I will often feel that tinge of loss, that nudge of sadness as I reflect on how alive this lumbering conveyance once felt, and now how hollow and empty it’s become. And then there’s that other factor, an anomaly I hope… the separation of driver from passengers via a vinyl wall. So impersonal, a clear Berlin Wall, if I may. . As I arrive at each stop, in particular the ones where I would pick up students, I still pause while glancing out in the distance. I find myself looking for those waving arms, that transition from a walk to a full-bore run, as a student realizes they may miss their bus ride to school. I grew to know a number of them well enough that I could only grin and patiently wait for them to arrive, panting, fumbling for their student ID to swipe once they clambered up inside. . I realize school will return to business in the future, and students will once again ride the bus. Yet, as with so many derailed aspects of our lives currently, there’s no firm date on when that will take place. . So I drive. I still take in those sweeping views as I top Union Street on my way to the Parkway Apartments, coax the bus up steep grades, and round the circle at the HSU Library. And when I pick up a familiar student, I still take off my sunglasses, pull down my mask, and with a smile call out through my plastic membrane, “Good Morning!” . From time-to-time as I roll through town, I catch a glimpse of a former, frequent student rider or professor, who no longer rides the bus. In those transitory moments, we may glance each other’s way at just the right instant. As recognition unfolds, so do the smiles, the nods, the waving of the hands, and I am granted a brief respite from the isolation imposed upon me by this COVID-19 experience. . While I am grateful to still be working, still driving, I am even more grateful for all the friendly smiles, the greetings, the eye-rolls, headshakes, and laughter over my bad jokes and puns, that I experienced these past semesters. I wonder how ‘My’ students are doing, how they are faring during these trying times… I care. . I look forward to life resuming in a more normal manner, and the days of a busload of students once again bringing their energy, excitement, and friendliness through the doors. I honk and wave whenever I see students in graduation caps and gowns getting their pictures taken by the gates of the university. I shake off that bit of sadness and drive on.
Ask Evergreen is an advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
It all started with a couple blank posters taped in bathroom stalls. With this advice column as Ask Evergreen I’ve been able to connect with students in a surprising way. I’ve learned their worries and hopes and struggled alongside them as I sought the best advice to respond to each inquiry.
Giving advice isn’t easy. It’s a constant back-and-forth of weighing the options and outcomes. The best advice is that which comes from honesty and reality—that’s the advice that sinks in the most. Things won’t always turn out alright or in your favor, but knowing how to pivot and adapt will allow for opportunities of growth and understanding.
I hope what I’ve had to say has impacted readers, even if I’m not qualified to give advice—no one really is. Only you have the power to tell yourself what to do, I can only wish for the best result with my guiding words.
Each week’s questions taught me more about myself than I would’ve expected. Each question offered me a chance to step into someone else’s shoes and feel the situation they were in.
At times it was difficult to come up with something meaningful to say. Some questions left me stumped for advice. Although other questions were easier to answer than others, each was a learning experience.
No matter how trivial or serious a question was—whether it was a question about fixing a relationship after finding a secret Instagram account, or how to set boundaries with a sexually harassing housemate—I’ve learned the best way to set someone on a clearer path isn’t through belittling or dismissal it’s through consideration and caution.
Sometimes it’s best to have advice come from someone completely not involved in your life, and I’ve been grateful to have this opportunity to lend my thoughts to others.
While you were copied on a series of emails to me, and thus, on my responses, there are still a few important facts that I believe you will find useful in the wake of the April 16thstory. Since my email was the source of the quotes by me in the article, I never had an opportunity to answer a couple of fundamental questions as you prepared for your story. As such, I ask you to please consider the following:
The University did not violate California Law.
When I received the original email, which copied numerous parties, Vice President Dawes and I took immediate action to verify that HSU was not in violation of the law. This included going into consultation with other university stakeholders, including legal counsel. This consultation reassured us that no violation of policy or law was taking place.
In particular, I urge you to please review the actual requirements of the Bagley-Keene Act. First, please review a guidance document provided by the State’s Attorney General which outlines the scope of Bagley-Keene. Most pertinent to this issue, the Bagley-Keene requirements at issue apply only to meetings of a statutorily defined “state body” (Section 11121) that do not apply to the informal meetings hosted by VP Dawes and me. As explained in Section 11121 and in the guide from the State’s Attorney General, the sessions that were hosted do not fall within the scope of Bagley-Keene, which, based on guidance from legal counsel, means this law does not apply and was not broken.
With respect to the Brown Act, which was also referred to in the series of emails and in your article, this statute applies to local government agencies and essentially stands as a counterpart to Bagley-Keene, so to speak. The California State University, in particular Humboldt State, is a state agency, which does not fall under the Brown Act. Because Humboldt State, as a part of the CSU, is not subject to the Brown Act, legal counsel has advised us that the law was not broken.
Why did we add a public link to the originally scheduled presentations?
We did so to eliminate any perceived barriers to participation. As quoted in the story from one of my emails, “the entire point of the meetings was to be transparent.”
While we were fully aware that we were compliant with the law and that no persons were being barred from the meeting, the very notion that we were trying to keep people out, even though it was false and based on an incorrect interpretation of the law, compelled us to add an extra way to view the meeting. In our perspective, if any person felt uncomfortable or interpreted the registration function as a barrier, then adding the extra link made sense. In total, over 300 members of the university, media, and local community attended both meetings, and not a single person was excluded. The zoom webinar function was not sought out as a barrier, but as the best way to allow so many people to receive the information at hand. Registration for this meeting was not like a conference presentation or an event with limited access or hidden behind a paid wall. Many instructors and students are using zoom for class and the majority, if not all, meetings and presentations are held over zoom. We sent the information out to the entire campus, it was posted on the public events website, and we did not deny access to anyone. Simply stated, because we could not have a meeting in the Great Hall or KBR, a zoom meeting appeared to be the best option to make sure that this important information was shared with the campus.
To be candid, the public webinars were not an attempt at secrecy. Any notion to the contrary is simply false. In our belief, these sessions were about being honest with the campus and sharing data that impacts everyone. Making the report and data available online and readily sharing it with the media, students, faculty, and all interested parties was also necessary. Personally, I can assure you that it would have been easier to not conduct public presentations about such a negative set of projections, but in fact, the public presentations were the right thing to do.
The first person to receive a copy of my report was a journalist from the Lumberjack who received the report even before my first public presentation to the University Senate. The Senate presentation was also via zoom and on the same day I met with the student journalist. This information has been presented to Associated Students, the University Senate, the University Planning and Resource Committee, and in two public meetings. The report has also been cited by the media and directly provided to reporters who requested it. These actions do not align with any intention to violate the law or fail in transparency.
In conclusion, I am committed to the voice of students through journalism, which I believe has been demonstrated during my first year at Humboldt State. That commitment will not change. To that end, my commitment to providing facts, information, and access to student journalists has also been demonstrated. Accordingly, I ask that you please review the information and facts above and please weigh against the information that was provided to you and the information that was published in the article.
Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
Dear Evergreen,
How do I productively procrastinate?
Dear productive procrastinator,
It’s about that time in the semester where many of us students hit our wall and feel the need to distract ourselves from our priorities. Don’t get comfortable in this phase—we still have eight more weeks of school left. There are a few things you can try to motivate yourself to work more and to keep you focused while still keeping some time to decompress.
Stay organized and prioritize your work. You can try to create daily to-do lists. If you can visualize what you have to do, you might have more motivation to get the little things done before tackling your bigger assignments.
Set realistic goals for yourself that you know you can complete. Chip away at your work bit by bit. You’re less likely to get overwhelmed. Read the required chapters for your classes one at a time and take breaks when you feel the need, but only after getting through a good chunk first.
Study with a purpose. Set aside your phone or just shut it off completely so you don’t get distracted with notifications. Power through the work you have without putting things off. You’ll feel much more relieved and relaxed in your free time if you get your responsibilities out of the way first.
If you really don’t feel persuaded to work after these tips, you can try productively procrastinating in other ways.
Tidy up your house while you put off contributing to a group project. Do the dishes while you think of how to start a report that’s due in a week. Scrub your toilet bowl and strategize your study plan for an upcoming midterm.
Allow yourself to have some time away from your school responsibilities before you buckle down and get to work. This will help you refresh your brain, giving you a better mindset to work with, while also hopefully kick-starting some brainstorming.
As long as you aren’t staring at a wall watching paint dry, you’re bound to be doing something productive while you put off your priorities.
I believe in you!
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
Dear Evergreen,
I’m a sensitive sleeper. How do I stay asleep all night?
Dear Sensitive Sleeper,
Falling asleep and staying asleep can be challenging, especially if you live in a community environment like dorms or apartments. There are a few things you can try before heading to bed that may help you sleep through the night.
Use earplugs or other noise-cancelling items. Earplugs are a blessing when you have noisy neighbors. Pop a pair in your ears and listen to your heartbeat and breathing. The rhythmic melody of these two sounds may help distract you from outside noise.
Use white noise to help you sleep. The Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division of Rhode Island conducted a study on the effects of white noise on patients’ sleep in intensive care unit environments that are a cacophony of noise. The study found white noise facilitates less sleep disruption. You can conduct a similar study on yourself. Try turning on a fan or downloading a white noise app and see how it affects your sleep.
Have a warm drink. Old wives’ tales suggest having a warm glass of milk to help you sleep. For those who don’t drink milk, try having a hot cup of non-caffeinated tea. There are even specific tea blends to aid restful sleep. I recommend a tea blend with chamomile, mint or lavender elements.
Get all your priorities out of the way so you don’t worry about them. If you don’t have assignments to worry about, you might sleep better and skip those crazy school panic dreams. Try completing as much work as you can to put your mind at ease. Give yourself some time before bed to relax away from your work to let your brain have a chance to disconnect.
Don’t use your phone before bed and avoid screens. A study by the Lighting Research Institute in New York found blue light from phone screens and other digital devices can disrupt your body’s natural melatonin release habits. Give your body and mind a decompression period away from screens before trying to fall asleep.
Get a heart monitoring device. Fitbits and Apple Watches can record your sleep patterns and resting heart rate. While these devices can be pricey, they also offer other life applications that can make them worth it. If you already have one, start paying attention to that sleep data.
Sweet dreams!
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
Dear Evergreen,
How do I learn to say no?
Dear Respectful Rejector,
Sometimes it’s hard to say no for fear of disappointing someone or seeming incapable of accomplishing a task. But saying no is a healthy way to protect yourself from unwanted stress. There are a few ways you can retrain yourself to accept the art of rejecting.
You shouldn’t feel ashamed to say no, no matter the question. You don’t have to please everyone, so don’t worry about letting someone down. You aren’t being selfish by declining a request. You’re being self-considerate.
Have a solid reason for why you can’t agree to do something. We all experience apathy from time to time, but don’t let laziness be the cop-out for stepping away from an activity. Maybe you’ve spread yourself too thin and just need a chance to collect your thoughts. Remember to not overbook yourself by agreeing to things before recognizing the reality of your limited time and energy.
It’s important to set boundaries when it comes to limiting your willingness to participate in activities you’d rather not do or don’t have the time for. Express your discomfort at a request. Maybe you don’t feel safe doing a task, or the person asking for assistance doesn’t truly appreciate you for your work. It’s okay to put yourself first.
Don’t let people take advantage of you for favors, and don’t let people continue to do so just because you’ve agreed upon things in the past. Be kind and assertive with your decline, and make sure they understand how they’re making you feel obligated.
Always remember you have the power to say yes or no to whatever you choose. Anyone who undermines your decisions or tries to convince you otherwise is a manipulative force who shouldn’t be allowed to deviate your conclusions.
No, you can!
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of The Lumberjack
Dear Evergreen,
How do I manage my time when my schedule is jam-packed with work and school?
Dear Busy Bee,
It’s always good to be productive and a hard worker, but don’t run yourself ragged by foregoing a much needed break. You can schedule in some “you time” by organizing and maintaining a healthy and punctual schedule.
Do your homework before relaxing and turning on Netflix. You should reward yourself only after accomplishing certain tasks. Set realistic goals for yourself, like reading two pages from your textbook before checking your phone notifications.
Find a space where you can feel comfortable and concentrated. If you are able to complete your school work in a stress-free environment, you might power through it faster and be able to relax sooner.
Don’t go home straight after class if you know you won’t work on homework once you get there. It’s easy to get distracted or lazy in a home-setting, so make sure you commit yourself to finishing, or at least starting, assignments before you leave campus.
When it comes to work, don’t work more hours than you possibly can. We all need money, but don’t sacrifice your time by working more and focusing on school less.
Communicate with your boss or manager about your time restraints because of school. Don’t agree to work more and neglect your school priorities. Give yourself time to breathe in between work shifts and classes.
If your employer isn’t as forgiving to you as a student, then it could be wise to find a more respectable employer. If that isn’t an option, you should still set boundaries, even if that means taking less hours or bad shifts at work.
The ultimate time management tool is a planner. You can plan your weekly schedule hour by hour to see when you’ll have downtime to get other things out of the way or even relax.
Write down your class times and work schedule, and fill in the gaps with study sessions and break times. If you can visualize your week, you’ll be able to discern the best times to be productive or peaceful.
Don’t waste the little free time you may already have. Use your free time wisely by getting ahead of assignments. Chip away at projects bit by bit when you have the chance. You’ll thank yourself later when you’re in a time crunch.
You’ve got this!
Sincerely,
Evergreen
If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.
Retired creative writing teacher Jesse Austin supports John Packer wholeheartedly
Recently the Lumberjack has run a couple of stories about our campus UPD personnel.
Here is my opinion: I am a big fan of John Packer, UPD sergeant.
I salute him for going public with the UPD Chief’s racist remarks, and his unprofessional manner of leading the department.
I am a retired creative writing teacher and have known John on the HSU campus for 15 plus years. I have seen him in scores of interactions with students, teachers, staff and other UPD personnel and he has always carried himself in a cheerful, engaging and professional manner.
I have also taught at Sonoma State, Chico State and Reed College in Oregon and John is one of the best at his job I have ever seen.
To my mind a big part of UPD officer duties include being visible, available and educational (about the rules, laws and mores of the campus) – and John Packer is exceptional in all of these areas.
What does Trump have to do to convince you he’s not on the side of the American people?
Editor,
I’m writing this in response to those who call themselves a Trumpster. First off, this man is a walking talking crime wave who has zero respect for the rule of law which he has demonstrated many times and sums up by saying, and I quote: “If I were standing on 5th Ave. and shot somebody, I would get away with it.”
This kind of craziness has never been seen by any of our leaders by any party and to wear a had or shirt and support this man who with without morals, principles or knows no bounds and things he is above the law, those people have to start to think what was it they see in this man?
What does he have to do to convince you he is not on the side of the working class or average American taxpayer? How much more damage does this man have to do to our Republic and Constitution and how many more laws must he break before he is removed from office.
No matter what party you’re from, this is not a Republican, Democratic, or Independent issue it is an American issue only
The only bottom line to me is do we stand with those that chose the Gospel of Hate and Division or do we stand on the side of America.
I am writing to express my rejection of the recent unilateral dismantling of KHSU by the Humboldt State University administration. As a producer for National Public Radio’s “Here and Now” program, a Humboldt State University alum (class of 2010) and an Arcata native, I have benefited greatly from the existence of KHSU and have several concerns to express over this decision.
I know KHSU plays a huge role in the community in Humboldt County. I think you know that by now, too. And yet, the university did not properly support the station or communicate about drastic changes, as evidenced by the outcry from the people who pay for the programming, the staff who make the content and all the listeners who have written about their frustrations, anger and sadness.
The way that the university handled the reorganization of KHSU goes against everything Humboldt stands for. Humboldt State’s mission statement says it serves students from around the world by offering them “access to affordable, high-quality education that is responsive to the needs of a fast-changing world.”
As a professional journalist working in a volatile environment, I can say that a rural community news outlet working to educate people about the truth is essential right now. Gutting it without input from anyone from the public is irresponsible and shameful. Public radio is, and should always be, driven by the public.
I believe there is room for conversation about the future of KHSU and closing the door now without further discussion after decades of service is unconscionable.
The reason I feel so strongly about this is that I know firsthand how important KHSU is. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college and got my first taste of what NPR sounded like listening to KHSU as a student at Humboldt State. I joined the station as a volunteer during my senior year, eager to help. I was trained to do on-air announcements and run the board – opportunities I would not necessarily have had at a larger commercial station.
KHSU even aired some of my first broadcast stories before any other stations would. I volunteered for the pledge drive and heard from listeners about how much the local programs meant to them. This was a huge educational experience for me. I took what I learned and worked my way up to where I am now, producing content for NPR. This rural station was a valuable resource to so many. I can’t believe the disrespect Humboldt State administrators have shown to the people who worked and volunteered there and to the entire community that listens.
I ask that you, Chancellor White, reinstate KHSU’s long-term staff and reverse the related budget issues, as expressed in the recent Humboldt State Senate Resolution on KHSU. I believe there is room to correct what happened here and give others in the community the same opportunities that I had to succeed.
This veteran will vote No on Measure M, here’s why
I’m a combat veteran of the Vietnam war that witnessed atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians by some U.S. troops.
The Philippine-American war that was initiated by President McKinley with his annexation of the Philippines was a ‘model’ for the later war in Vietnam. This included the massacre of civilians, burning of crops, killing of farm animals, herding of civilians into ‘detention camps,’ designation of certain areas where anyone could be killed (later in Vietnam called “free fire zones”) and the systematic use of torture.
The Philippine-American war and insurrection lasted from 1898 to 1913 and the estimates of Filipinos killed range from 500,000 to 1.4 million. In Nov. 1901, the Manila correspondent for the Philadelphia Ledger reported: “Our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners, and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads of ten up, the idea prevailing that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog.”
It was in this war that the racist label ‘gook’ was first used against the Filipinos which made it easier for some U.S. troops to commit atrocities against them, later ‘gook’ was used in the Korean and Vietnam wars to the same effect. While McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the war and insurrection he started by the annexation of the Philippines lasted long after his death.
The writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a fierce critic of ‘U.S. Imperialism’ and McKinley’s annexations of Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and the Philippines. In 1906, he described the massacre of an indigenous Filipino group called the ‘Moros’ by U.S. occupation forces.
I paraphrase:
600 Moros men, women and children had sought shelter at the bottom of a volcano and when the U.S. military found out that they were there, they brought troops and artillery up to the rim of the volcano and shot downward, slaughtering everyone, including babies in their mother’s arms.
This reminds me of another massacre called Mylai in Vietnam where around 500 Vietnamese civilians, including babies clinging to their mothers, were summarily executed.
This is what I think of when I walk by the statue of McKinley, and this is why I want it removed from the Arcata plaza.
AMCAL, a large corporation from Southern California, wants to join the Arcata housing scene, claiming to help students find affordable, off-campus housing that is convenient for walking and biking to class. However, it is no accident that in 2012, AMCAL jumped into the profit-driven student housing market that’s worth $200 billion dollars. Since then, its luxury student housing projects have made rents even less affordable. AMCAL’s projects have exploded into college towns throughout California and Texas. Not surprisingly, similar corporations have carried this profiteering trend across the nation.
The effect of these privatized dorms increases rent for everyone and isolates students from the larger community. In Flagstaff, Arizona, for instance, private dorms have resulted in less affordable housing for all.
“At $700 a bedroom in most student complexes, that effectively sets the price of a three-bedroom apartment at $2,100 a month,” the editorial board of the Arizona Daily Sun said. “That means a family of four should be earning $6,500 a month to afford that rent (30 percent of income) while the median income in Flagstaff is well below that.”
Now, AMCAL is at our doorstep, where they hope to finance the construction of a 700 to 800-bed, yet highly restrictive dorm complex off campus (think gated, enforced quiet hours, corporate residential assistants and no alcohol or legal recreational drugs). I oppose their student housing project called The Village.
Since I love HSU students, how can I possibly oppose student housing? We are a college town and our students are cherished, valued, vibrant and intelligent community members. Students help define Arcata and they have just as much a right to live here as anyone.
That said, Arcata is a small town hemmed in by the bay, the farmland bottoms and the forest. I also have a serious shortage of housing and buildable land.
The property eyed for The Village is a rare, eleven-acre parcel surrounded on three sides by non-commercial residential neighborhoods. The site is not ideal for dorms, because there is no easily accessed grocery store and it is far from downtown. Plus, it is on the opposite side of Highway 101 from HSU, yet nowhere near the Northtown footbridge. This means those supposedly “convenient” walking, biking and driving routes to both classes and shopping will take The Village residents through congested and convoluted areas, like the Sunset/LK Wood intersection, several limited access trails and neighborhoods without adequate lighting or sidewalks. Furthermore, The Village plan would only provide about 300 parking spots for 700-800 beds, and residents who need cars would have to pay extra for parking.
This project would increase student housing, but only for those who can afford to live in upscale dorms where limited parking costs extra. These new off-campus dorms would lack all the conveniences and services on campus, including access to campus police and meal plans.
Greenway Partners is a consulting firm working on an alternative with ACRH. They are working together with over 150 ACRH members to create a pro-housing, pro-density and pro-infill alternative. I want our housing alternative to include apartments that HSU students will enjoy renting. I hope student apartments will be mixed in with other uses: light retail and single-family homes, some with mother-in-law units which HSU students might also like renting.
When students fledge the coup, I want them to have access to more neighborhood housing where they can easily get to know the non-student community. Dorms belong on or next to campus, not plunked down in distant neighborhoods absent of food and shopping. It isn’t that I don’t want student rentals or students for neighbors; I don’t want AMCAL dorms. We can build community by living together, working side by side and getting to know one another. You, the students, are our community and Arcata should be the village, not AMCAL.
Arcata Citizens for Responsible Housing is actively seeking student input and can be reached at: arcatacrh@gmail.com
Regarding the Lumberjack article about the 40-Day Anti-Abortion Protest – HSU students need to know that not all religions or religious leaders believe that human sexuality is evil and something to be ashamed of. They need to know that some ways of faith regard sexuality as a blessing to be carefully and thoughtfully enjoyed between people as a way of communicating and sharing love – even if they aren’t married and even if they aren’t heterosexual.
Like fire, human sexuality can, of course, hurt people both emotionally and physically. As people learn how to express their sexuality and share it with others, they learn by trial and error. Some religions shame people about this reality. Other religions offer factually accurate information and encourage people to make thoughtful and caring choices in keeping with their own deep values.
The United States is a secular nation that works to guarantee freedom of religion for all its citizens. People whose faith calls them to abstain from all sexual activity before marriage or to abstain from birth control and abortion are free to follow the dictates of their hearts. And people whose faith or whose approach to life allows them more freedom around their sexual expression are also free to do as they see fit.
Some religious people would like to do away with respect for religious freedom when it comes to human sexuality. But they do not speak for all religious people. Clergy for Choice is a group of interfaith religious leaders who support men and women in carefully finding their own way regarding their own sexuality. Clergy for Choice supports the compassionate and highly professional work of Planned Parenthood.
So while some religious people practice 40 days of protest to end abortion and to end religious freedom around human sexual expression, other religious people practice a lifetime of supporting Planned Parenthood and thorough and effective reproductive health care for people as they make their own choices in this vulnerable and tender aspect of their lives.
Sincerely,
Rev. Bryan Jessup
The Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
PO Box 506
Bayside, CA 95524 – Phone: 707 822-3793
The family of Erin Henry would like to relay our thanks to all who assisted in the search for Erin. To the Arcata Police Department and all assisting law enforcement agencies, the faculty and students of HSU, local media, The Lost Coast Trackers, the people of Arcata, Eureka and all surrounding communities who mobilized and helped search for our precious Erin, we would like to express our deepest gratitude.
Although Erin was found deceased, she was at least found. This was as a result of the information shared by thousands in Humboldt County. Thank you to the Caltrans employee who diligently reported finding a knee scooter, after being made aware of Erin’s disappearance and description.
We would also like to encourage others suffering from depression, or related ailments, to seek help. Please help to eliminate any stigma associated with needing medication or treatment in order to function as a happy, healthy human being.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255.
As I sat down Sunday to read the latest issue of The Lumberjack, I was dismayed at the end of the paper. The meme on page 11 of the Wednesday March 22 print was demoralizing. It serves as an excellent example of reinforcing negative racial stereotypes. A meme image was printed with a stereotyping context giving a drug dealer type feel with a caption of broken grammar. It read, “Yall got any more of that Spring Break?” as an attempt at humor. It’s bad enough that this made it to print at all. It’s worse that it appears right next to an article titled Act Like a Man: Reinforcing Negative Gender Roles by Dominique Crawford directly on the previous page!
I hope I was not the only person to spot this obvious disgrace. The meme promotes the same type of demeaning stereotype thinking that is discussed in Crawford’s article, the only differences being that it involves race rather than gender roles and it uses a light hearted meme setting rather than common verbal expressions. I feel disgusted as this paper is a representation of Humboldt State University, the school I attend and have a strong connection to, and the editors allowed this to be printed. This simply promotes racial labelling that goes back through this country’s long history, a complex history inarguably tainted throughout with many past and present examples of discrimination and propagation of racial hierarchical structures.
Please work more diligently in the future to prevent such content from getting to print. I write this not seeking to patronize, condescend, or humiliate those involved. I hope this letter may open people to a new perspective on the fine line that, unfortunately but so often, exists between humor and offensiveness.
The bill of rights is only partially followed according to the intention of the founding fathers. The freedom of speech is followed. So is the right to bear arms ( thanks to the NRA ). But the right not to be given cruel and unusual punishment is not being followed. Ask anyone who has been to prison if cruel and unusual punishment was meted out to them, and you will get a resounding yes from them. The Supreme Court does not legislate from the bench. Cases must be brought to them for them to make a ruling. The Constitution is a living document, and what was cruel and unusual in 1780 is different than what is cruel and unusual in 2017. Lawyers must bring a case regarding the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment to the Supreme Court. A person sent to prison for a short term can be murdered in prison. It happens. Is that cruel and unusual punishment to subject a person in prison to death? All it would take to end cruel and unusual punishment would be for a Lawyer to bring a case about cruel and unusual punishment to the Supreme Court, and get a ruling. Clearly the prison system is delivering cruel and unusual punishment to prisoners. Ask anyone who has been in prison if they received cruel and unusual punishment. Their answer will be yes. That is my opinion, and my plan to fix the problem, if anyone else agrees with me, tell someone, write letters, emails, make phone calls. Exercise your right to free speech. That right is respected and observed. Let’s respect and observe all of our rights. Remember, the power for the Government to exist comes from the people. Let the Government know that we want all of our rights protected, not just a select few. Philip T Feraru
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