The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: MEChA

  • Voter van comes to the rescue

    Voter van comes to the rescue

    The first ever voter van at HSU will be running on Nov. 6.

    During the Nov. 6 midterm elections there will be a free “voter van” for HSU students running all day long.

    This van will offer free rides from HSU Library Circle to the Humboldt County Offices of Elections in Eureka and back to HSU. Vans are scheduled to leave on the hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be coming back from the elections office every hour starting at 11:30 a.m.

    HSU student, Nathaniel McGuigan is the regional Mecha co-chair of Northern California. McGuigan said that both Mecha and the North Coast People’s Alliance lent a hand to set the voter van in motion.

    “Each organization came up with individual ideas,” McGuigan said. “Mecha [developed] the student side and North Coast People’s Alliance developed it on the community side to get people to vote and register to vote [conditionally].”

    The voter van idea came about from the California state law that now allows voters to register the same day as elections, known as conditional voting. According to the California Secretary of State’s website:

    “Conditional Voter Registration is a new safety net for Californians who missed the Oct. 22 deadline to register to vote or update their voter registration information for the Nov. 6, General Election.”

    There’s only one office in Humboldt County that offers conditional voting. That’s at the Humboldt County Offices of Elections in Eureka. McGuigan said that the voter van is aimed for students who have not registered but want to register and vote on the same day.

    “This election cycle it is available for students but in other election seasons it will be available for everyone else,” McGuigan said. “This is currently a trial run.”

    Carrie Peyton-Dahlberg is the vice chair of the steering committee for the North Coast People’s Alliance and had a big part in putting this together.

    “We’re hoping to increase voter participation and get as many people as possible to get to the county elections office to vote,” Peyton-Dahlberg said. “We want to help people to vote because it’s important.”

    McGuigan said that Mecha wants to help students get their voices heard. He said that he knows everyone does not have access to a vehicle which is essential for students whose polling place is not on campus.

    “We wanted to not only provide a voice but a mechanism that students can use to exercise their voice,” McGuigan said. “Voting is just one step in the political process in creating change, it is something that everyone can participate in no matter your political stance.”

    For more information please visit:

    Northcoastpeoplesalliance.org

    https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_in_California

    https://humboldtgov.org/2343/Conditional-Voting

    https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/conditional-voter-reg/

     

  • Possibility for a sanctuary county

    Possibility for a sanctuary county

    By | Iridian Casarez

    Kevin Martinez watched the crowd tentatively in front of the Humboldt County’s Courthouse waiting for ICE agents to come out of any corner to arrest undocumented people supporting the ordinance to make Humboldt County a sanctuary county.

    DacaRally_Web-1.jpg
    Part of MEChA’s security team standing behind the speakers. Photo credit: Curran Daly

    “We are here to be the separation between the interaction between ICE and any undocumented person,” Martinez said. “We are essentially here to be arrested.”

    Centro de Pueblo organized the event and united community members to rally at City of Eureka’s Courthouse to support the drafted ordinance to make Humboldt County a sanctuary county on Tuesday Sept. 19. The rally was scheduled at the same time the Board of Supervisors were meeting.

    Erik Kirk helped Centro de Pueblo and True North submit a draft of the ordinance to the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission is a grand jury that focuses on civil liberties that makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.

    Kirk entered the Board of Supervisors meeting and spoke about the ordinance.

    “At least two of the Board Supervisors were taking it really seriously,” Kirk said.

    Centro de Pueblo is a local organization that offers a safe space to people of color in the community to advance culturally, politically, and practically on California’s North Coast.

    DacaRally_Web-5.jpg
    People holding signs at the rally. Photo credit: Curran Daly

    Martinez is a senior Political Science major at HSU. He is also head of security for MEChA. Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan is a club on campus that promotes political involvement and change in their society.

    MEChA had security at the rally expecting ICE agents to arrive. Security was also there to stop agitated people from disrupting the rally.

    “It’s very important with me to come show my support for undocumented people,” Martinez said. “I hopefully want to think undocumented immigrants feel supported, empowered and encouraged to speak out.”

    Courtney Blake works with North County People Power, a local grassroots organization started by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). North County People Power is working with Centro de Pueblo to draft and submit an ordinance for a sanctuary county.

    “We are asking the Board of Supervisors to make a county law that equally protects undocumented people and documented people with respect to the justice system,” Blake said.

    Emely Velez also helped organize the rally. Velez is a member of Centro de Pueblo and a senior majoring in Criminology at HSU. She said that now that Bill SB54 (a bill that makes the state of California a sanctuary state) has passed, there is still a possibility that Governor Brown will revoke the bill. If that happens, Centro de Pueblo would like to make Humboldt County a sanctuary county.

    DacaRally_Web-2.jpg
    Security conversing with a rally member. Photo credit: Curran Daly

    “We want to empower undocumented people and D.A.C.A. students,” Velez said. “Our goal is to give a voice them a voice.”

    Both of Velez’s parents are immigrants. She said they came here for the American dream not for themselves but for her.

    “I am not undocumented. I don’t have the fear of people coming after me, but I do have the fear of people coming for my family,” Velez said. “I owe it to my people, if you have the ability to support, why not?”