The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Opinion

  • Editorial board condemns the decision to evict students living in vehicles

    From the editorial board of The Lumberjack:

    Cal Poly Humboldt’s administration has proven that the university is insensitive to its most vulnerable students and their precarious situations. The eviction of students living on campus parking lots in their vehicles is inhumane.

    The university has posed several solutions to these students, like temporary housing or staying in RV parks, but these options are unrealistic and unaffordable for most students living in their vehicles. These students have sacrificed many comforts in order to attend this university and have found a creative solution that allows them to earn their degree despite economic hardship. Many of these students will be forced to drop out if they are no longer allowed to live on campus.

    Housing in Humboldt has always been a problem. Digging through old Lumberjack archives from the ‘70s reveals articles about housing insecurity and crises 50 years ago. There’s a reason these students don’t live under a roof. Very few, if any, of them are choosing this option voluntarily. Living here is expensive and tuition is expensive. The allowance of overnight camping has allowed impoverished individuals to earn their degree with a lower cost of living.

    Pushing the students out would be at their detriment and only serve to clean up the image of Cal Poly Humboldt administration. Admin also neglects to realize the opportunity for mutually beneficial change in infrastructure as the campus grows. This is simply forcing students from campus out into the streets, where they will be shuffled around by law enforcement. It’s ignorant to assume that van lifers can just find an apartment after being evicted, especially with the limited options in Arcata. Campgrounds are also not always an affordable option for students. In addition, they are often far away and far from safe.

    This is dehumanizing and unjustifiable. This will directly affect the lives of these students for the worse. They have made great sacrifices in order to attend Cal Poly Humboldt and deserve the right to remain on campus without being harassed.

    If the university really is for a “high quality and affordable education” and a “just and sustainable world” like their Strategic Plan claims, then they have to consider how this will affect those students they’re evicting. How will they manage to study or turn in assignments if they don’t know where they’re sleeping that night? Or without WiFi? How will they stay healthy mentally without the security of a safe and reliable place to park their vehicle each night?

    It’s definitely not ideal that there are students living in parking lots. The administration cited “unsafe and unsanitary” living conditions as being a driving force for the sudden enforcement of parking regulations, but the evidence provided is far from conclusive. They also mentioned complaints, but as of now, they are staying silent about what those complaints are, or who exactly they came from. It is obvious that the issue is rooted in a lack of affordable housing and the competitiveness of applying for on campus housing, not in the students themselves. 

    It looks terrible, especially a month away from finals. The students living in their vehicles are not requesting any significant accommodations or services from the university—they are able to live sustainably and independently and want to be left alone.

    Houseless students have been living in their cars for decades. People view it as a viable option. In fact, several students who are getting evicted were previously told by members of the parking patrol that they would not be ticketed, towed or bothered if they slept in their vehicles. 

    This is a problem with no simple solutions, but even the absolute bare minimum is still better than the amount of assistance the university is offering. If outdoor cooking is an issue for university officials, then it should have been communicated clearly to those doing it. If the officials think the houseless students are unsanitary, give them 24/7 access to showers and bathrooms on campus. There’s a completely empty football locker room with showers that could be put to use. 

    These vulnerable students deserve help from the administration in their effort to earn their degrees. They should not be cast out, degraded, and othered.

    The actions of the administration will only leave the university buried in even more terrible press. This is an opportunity to do something wonderful for the students who have to live in vehicles, something this community can be proud of. We, the editorial board of the Lumberjack, urge the university to come up with a real solution to this problem rather than degrading and displacing its most vulnerable students and hoping people will forget about it. 

    If the administration truly is committed to the “just and sustainable world” they claim to be, then it’s time to prove it.

  • I’m okay being small

    I’m okay being small

    by Nina Hufman

    In our world of competitive capitalism, natural disasters and general man-made atrocities, it is normal to set huge, unattainable goals for ourselves. From the time we are children we are told that, in order to matter, we have to do something important with our lives. We have to save people, make a ton of money, win awards, change the world and be the best at whatever we do. Well I’ve won the awards, I’ve been the best, I’ve believed I can change the world – I was incredibly unhappy.

    When I was in high school I got perfect grades, I played varsity sports and I was not only involved in extracurricular activities, I was in charge of them. Everyone around me praised me for how smart I was, how much potential I had, how far I would go in life. I was so caught up in being perfect and so incredibly scared to fail. I believed all of my value came from academic performance and extracurricular involvement. I believed that if I wasn’t incredible, amazing and perfect, then I wasn’t anything.

    Fuck that. Fuck being perfect. Fuck being amazing. I have no desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize, to run the New York Times, to be rich (well maybe just a little), or famous or to save the world. I’m just a girl who loves writing feature articles about the quirky town she lives in. I don’t want to report from an active war zone in a foreign country, I’ll write my pieces from my nice cozy bed. I don’t want to expose political scandals, I want to write about the North Country Fair, the Medieval Festival of Courage, local art galleries and students on campus who choose to go braless. 

    For so long, I believed that to be important was to be valuable, and to be incredible was to matter. It has taken me a long time to realize that I still matter, I am still significant, even if I don’t achieve something amazing. I matter when I write an article about a great new business that gets them a lot of customers. I matter when I write about sexual health resources for students. I matter when I give a voice to people in my community. These examples pertaining to my career are actually the least significant ways in which I matter. 

    I matter to my dad when I call him to tell him about my latest bench press PR and show him a new band that I like. I matter to my mom when I hold her hand while we walk around the grocery store. I matter to my boyfriend when I get up and make him breakfast before he goes to work or send him a song that I think he will like. I matter to my cat when I give her treats and scratch her on the chin; I might not be able to save the world, but I saved her from living in the street and I think that’s just as valuable. I can’t solve homelessness, but I can buy a hot cup of coffee for an unhoused person on a cold day. I can’t solve the climate crisis, but I can carry reusable utensils and recycle as much as I can. 

    The small things are significant, and they bring me more joy than big achievements ever did. My connection to my family, friends and community is what makes me significant, not my big achievements. I’m not going to live my life to change the world. I’m going to live to help who I can and enjoy it. I like my small, unimportant life and I would like it to stay small and unimportant. 

    When I was in 7th grade, I played Rebecca Gibbs in my school’s production of “Our Town.” I had this line that people told me was really powerful. I don’t really think I understood it until recently. 

    Rebecca: I never told you about that letter Jane Crofut got from her minister when she was sick. He wrote Jane a letter and on the envelope the address was like this: It said: ‘Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America.’

    George: What’s funny about that?

    Rebecca: But listen, it’s not finished: the United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God–that’s what it said on the envelope. 

    George: What do you know! 

    Rebecca: And the postman brought it just the same.

  • Astral projecting with boygenius

    by Kianna Znika

    I’ve found a new appreciation for the act of dissociating, giving the once unhealthy coping mechanism of mine a whole new beautiful meaning. When getting lost in your own head with intention, you may feel as if you’re disconnecting from the world around you, but really, you find that you’re actually connecting deeper within yourself. Maybe, dare I say, you find a deeper connection with the life you think you’re hiding away from.

    Clearly, I tend to romanticize these deep, existential thoughts and feelings, which is why I love music that matches my energy.

     “Music to help you feel like you’re floating through space,” as I like to say. “Instant astral projection.” 

    It’s why I’ve been listening to a lot of shoegaze, indie dream-pop and folk artists such as Alvvays, Teen Suicide, The Sundays and, of course, Boygenius – one of my faves, as of late.

    Within the first few seconds of Boygenius’ newest EP, “the rest,” I was instantly brought into my own head and launched into deep space. What else could I have expected from a song titled “Black Hole?” That’s when I knew: this new Boygenius is going to hit.

    The 12 minute EP only consists of four songs, but carries all the best parts of Boygenius, from Phoebe Bridgers’ dreaminess to Julien Baker’s rawness and Lucy Dacus’ lyricism. Each member is already such a successful star on their own; together, they burn so much brighter. 

    It’s a beautiful thing to enjoy the art of queer women supporting one another, and getting to experience the product of their complementary talents. “the rest” was officially released on Oct. 13, just six months after the trio released their full-length album, “the record,” which features the group’s most popular tracks such as “Cool About It,” as well as mine and everyone’s favorite, “Not Strong Enough.” Don’t ask me how many times I’ve had the lyrics “Always an angel / Never a God” ringing in my head these past few months.

    One thing that really stuck out to me is Boygenius’ mutual respect and admiration for outer space, and how the group uses these themes in their music. It’s worth noting that the song “Not Strong Enough” starts off with the lyrics “Black hole opened in the kitchen” while their new EP literally starts with a song called “Black Hole.” These themes are continued in “Voyager” and “Powers” with lyrics like “Walkin’ alone in the city / Makes me feel like a man on the moon,” and “A hostile alien ambassador? / Or am I simply another of the universe’s failed experiments?”

    I feel those last lyrics, heavily.

    There is another theme within this short EP that I strongly relate to: someone you love urging you to take a fatal risk, and while you might not have been too excited about living life, you realize you don’t want to go just yet.

    “I don’t wanna live forever / But I don’t wanna die tonight.” Lucy Dacus, I see you. 

    And I know Boygenius somehow sees me too, because I don’t know how they knew I’ve literally been writing about the connection between getting lost in one’s head and floating through outer space, but I’m glad they did.

    This one is for all the other sad girls finding comfort and healing in the space inside their own minds. 

  • Put your dog in sports

    Put your dog in sports

    by Griffin Mancuso

    When parents have an especially energetic child, they often put them in some kind of extracurricular to provide them with an outlet and give themselves an afternoon of peace. That child may take to a certain activity, like karate, swimming, baseball or chess. Dogs are pretty much the same.

    My beloved, hyper Oscar Meyer and I joined Humboldt Disc Dogs back in September after I discovered them on Facebook. My main concern was the stories I heard of dog sport groups being very exclusive and impatient with newcomers, but that was thankfully not the case. We were fully embraced and offered tips for frisbee throwing and game strategy, and Oscar had a blast.

    Little did I know, disc sports was just a gateway drug. We now participate in disc sports, Fast CAT, rally and are hoping to start barn-hunting in the spring.

    Many dog breeds were originally created for a certain job. Border collies herd cows and sheep, bloodhounds use their sharp sense of smell to hunt and cane corsos protect their family and home. Most dog owners don’t have a need for a working dog, but their dog still needs an outlet for their energy and drive. Unfulfilled dogs often become restless, develop neurotic habits or resort to destructive chewing.

    Even if your dog isn’t a purebred working breed, they can still find joy in dog sports. I have witnessed a 14-year-old chihuahua crush everyone in disc sports and a poodle-mix run in Fast CAT.

    There are several dog sports to choose from, with most of them being created by the American Kennel Club. The “CAT” in Fast CAT stands for coursing ability test. A 100 yard course is set up with a motorized lure that runs down the middle to encourage the dogs to run. Despite the lure only being a plastic bag, dogs love it. Dogs, especially hunting breeds, are triggered by movement and will gladly take off after it. This sport is great for beginners since it involves minimal work from the owner.

    Dock diving entails your dog running off of a 40-foot-long dock, catching a toy in the air and making a grand leap into a pool. Depending on the game, the goal can be for them to jump as far as possible or swim as fast as possible to the end and back. 

    Obedience and rally are two sides of the same coin and provide mental exercise for your dog. Obedience involves multiple different trials of demonstrating your dog’s ability to follow basic commands like sit, stay, on and off-leash walking, and so on. 

    Rally has you take your dog through a course of signs with different maneuvers and commands that your dog must be able to follow. The course is different every time, and the 322 available signs allow for infinite combinations. Rally is also a mental exercise for the owner, as it involves memorization and fast thinking in the ring.

    Agility is one of the more well-known dog sports. You take your dog through a course of hurdles, hoops, tunnels and other obstacles as fast as possible. Herding breeds like border collies and Australian shepherds excel at this sport due to their speed and biddability, but any breed can enjoy agility.

    Disc sports are newer and not involved with the AKC, instead created by an organization called UpDog. These games can involve some agility, catching the frisbee in different zones or a combination of the two. If you want to get into disc sports, practice your frisbee throwing. You’re gonna need it.

    Most of these clubs can only be found through obscure Facebook groups, the occasional poster at a vet clinic, or word of mouth. Thankfully, I am benevolent and will share my wealth of knowledge with you.

    Up in Humboldt, there are a few groups who do dog sports. Humboldt Dash and Splash hosts dock diving and the Lost Coast Kennel Club hosts agility, rally, Fast CAT (racing), and barn hunt. Humboldt Disc Dogs is in charge of disc sports.

    One of the reasons younger people don’t participate in dog sports is the cost, but these sports don’t have to be expensive if you don’t want them to be. A Lost Coast Kennel Club membership is $15 and they only request a 5$ donation for Fast CAT practices. A Humboldt Disc Dogs membership is $10, and each practice and trial run costs $10. You can either buy your own supplies or borrow them at practices and trials.

    The most fulfilling part of dog sports is getting to watch your dog have the time of their life. It’s a great opportunity to increase your bond with them and get them de-wiggled. There’s a unique joy in watching your dog get increasingly excited as they realize where you’re driving them and seeing their tail violently wag after a great run. For the rest of the day, they sleep like a rock.

    If you have the means, I strongly recommend dropping in on a practice and seeing how your dog likes it. It may become your next addiction.

  • Women on two wheels

    Women on two wheels

    by Savana Robinson

    As far as I’m aware, there are only two women on motorcycles that regularly park on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus. I am one, and the other is Marilyn Koch, a jewelry and small metals instructor at Cal Poly Humboldt. She rides a 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 250 named Trixie and has been riding for 13 years. 

    I think it’s a shame that only two women on this campus ride, mopeds aside. We’re talking highway-legal bikes. A lifelong goal of mine is to inspire other women to ride and claim their freedom. Koch is also in favor of other women riding.

    “I’m so pro-women riders because I don’t understand why it’s such a male-dominated activity,” Koch said. “This is an activity that should be void of gender. Everyone should be on a bike.”

    Koch has always had an affinity for two-wheeled machines.

    “I’ve always thought motorcycles were just really badass,” Koch said.

    Prior to riding, her taste in men was the more rebellious type, especially those with motorcycles.

    “I realized instead of looking for a guy on a bike, why couldn’t I just be that badass person myself?” Koch said.

    Koch decided to take a motorcycle safety course and get her license.  California Highway Patrol and other riding schools offer the California motorcyclists safety program all over the state. Koch spoke well of the program because it not only provides everything needed to learn, including a motorcycle, but it also gives riders the knowledge and confidence they need to ride safely.

    “I highly encourage anyone that’s even interested in riding a motorcycle to take one of those courses,” Koch said.

    Koch spoke of how the course is a great option for women especially.

    “Generally, if you’re a guy, you maybe know somebody that has a bike or you’re a little bit more interconnected with the riding circle,” Koch said. “A lot of the female riders I’ve noticed are just so disengaged from that community.”

    Koch noted that the exception to this stereotype is women who find groups such as The Litas Humboldt, who are only one part of a worldwide collective of women riders. They allow women of any riding level to join. Being part of a riding group is a great way to learn and become more comfortable riding and having fellow women to ride with can boost confidence.

    I joined The Litas Humboldt in Dec. 2022, fulfilling my dream of several years. Part of the reason I came to Cal Poly Humboldt was because of The Litas. Being part of an all-ladies collective makes my heart soar; it’s like having a bunch of sisters to ride with. Erin Taylor, cofounder of The Litas Humboldt, once referred to that experience as ‘wind sisterhood’. There’s no other feeling like it.

    Sometimes, men come up to me on my bike and say that I’m a badass. It feels good to hear it, but I can’t help but wonder if they would say that to another man. Koch shared a similar sentiment.

    “When I get on my bike and I see people sort of staring at the bike… wondering who the owner is, and then realizing that the owner is a lady, they’re always somehow mystified as though it is even cooler that it’s a lady and not a guy,” Koch said. “It tickles me, but it also disappoints me. Why is it so astonishing for a lady to have a motorcycle?”

    My dream is to have a bunch of girls on motorcycles riding to school. It would be so cool to see other motorcycles with scrunchies and pink bandanas on their mirror stems in any of the many Cal Poly Humboldt motorbike parking areas. I could talk all day about yass-ifying Harleys and other makes, but I digress, we need more women on two wheels. 

    I would greatly encourage anyone that’s thinking about getting a motorcycle to take the motorcycle safety course, and for any woman that rides to join The Litas Humboldt at thelitas.co/humboldt and on their Facebook page.

  • The attendance trap: time to set grades free

    The attendance trap: time to set grades free

    by Jake Hyslop

    Over a month into the semester, most of you are probably familiar with your professors and their grading policies by this point. Some require you to show up to every class to get a decent grade, while there are others who simply don’t care if you show up to class (spoiler alert: these are the cool professors).

    I stand very firmly in the belief that attendance should not factor into a student’s grades. They should be graded on their performance instead. 

    Maybe this is crazy, but if I miss two or three classes, yet demonstrate knowledge of the course materials by performing well on exams/essays/projects/you-name-it, I shouldn’t be punished. That A grade should stay an A. 

    Too often a class I’ve had has spent a week or two teaching something I already know fairly well (especially those classes that teach a broad range of practical skills in a major), but I am forced to sit through lectures bored to tears. I often think about the tens of things I could be doing instead, which are more often than not, assignments for other classes I could be using this valuable time for. 

    Allow me to introduce the concept of life. Life has this crazy habit of happening. It happens to you, to me, even to the professors here. When a professor has a wedding they plan to attend, or are feeling a little sick, they call off class. 

    Tell me then, why when I missed a class due to a personal loss, I was emailed a “sorry for your loss,” followed by a Canvas notification of my attendance grade being lowered by 7%? When I’m paying for my college credits, what valid reason is there for attendance affecting my grade? Professors don’t get paid based on class attendance, so the only person negatively affected when a student misses class is the student. 

    Let’s dig into how the supposed function of classroom attendance is to motivate students. I’m willing to bet money that mandatory attendance doesn’t motivate any student to do better in class. It sure doesn’t motivate me to do better in class. 

    A student should want to attend class. If a student is paying to take a class, they should be engaged by and with the course material, and that interest will intrinsically motivate the student to keep attending and learning. Requiring the student’s presence, and actively lowering the grade if not graced with their presence will extrinsically motivate the student to attend class. It will not motivate the student to learn. 

    Extrinsic motivation, like keeping a seat warm to satisfy an arbitrary requirement, doesn’t hold a candle to the intrinsic motivation of actually being interested in what’s being taught. Otherwise, self-motivation is taken away from the student and butchered in the slaughterhouse of butts-in-seats and vacant stares. 

    According to a 2010 report by the American Educational Research Association, while attending class can assist in getting better grades, mandatory attendance has a very small impact on how the students perform. 

    For all of you professors out there balking at the idea, slow down and take a deep breath. I promise you that most of us would attend the majority of our classes, just like usual. After all, it’s our money on the line. If you think that nobody will attend your class without graded attendance, chances are your class sucks and you should step it up. Make us want to come to class. If I’m able to accomplish the majority of your coursework well without paying a lick of attention to your lectures, they’re probably not all that engaging. 

    Oh, and participation grading is fine. After all, the professor has to keep track of students contributing. In the case of discussion-based classes, maybe offer students who miss class a discussion board on Canvas to post things on. 
    Stopping mandatory attendance puts the power and capacity to learn into the hands of the student. It restores that joie-de-vivre that graded attendance robs us of and allows us to feel like students, eager to learn instead of prisoners chained to our degrees.

  • Straight people look gay

    Straight people look gay

    by Zack Mink

    Dating in Arcata can be rough. As a visibly queer person, I find that I attract all kinds of different people. The most frustrating breed is the queer-passing straight men.

    This is the man who is either being friendly or flirting – you’re always questioning if they’re into you or if you’re just being delusional.

    In the past, it has been super tricky because I wasn’t the only one convinced these queer-passing straight men were into me. What made it so difficult was my friends being able to corroborate my beliefs as audience members of my disastrous love life. For the two most impactful love interests of mine, my besties were right by my side, able to witness the main events, the flirting, the looks, the attention, etc. So after multiple experiences discovering one of my interests is actually straight, I have to ask myself… what made me think they weren’t? 

    Aside from a basic level of human connection, and the undeniably flirtatious energy I could feel whenever we would talk, my confusion about a guy’s sexuality ultimately would come down to two things: their emotional intelligence and their sense of style.

    Apparently the bar is on the floor when it comes to the emotional intelligence of a straight man (no offense to straight men), because when a guy is comfortable with himself, confident and generally aware of others and his surroundings, I’m absolutely convinced he is queer. There’s just a certain depth that I find straight men don’t have because of their privileges.

    When taking a step back, I also realize that I definitely don’t associate a good sense of style with straight men (no offense again). I did notice however that I was stereotyping clothes. When I saw something I believed was not traditionally masculine, it would lead me to make assumptions about people’s sexuality. As a breaker of many stereotypes myself, believing them is something I want to avoid. 

    With this goal in mind, I learned a few things about myself and this genre of man. The first thing I reminded myself of is that anyone can have a good sense of style because clothing is for everyone. I can’t gatekeep dangly earrings and head scarfs for the girls, gays and theys. The second thing was that by having a sense of style, trying new accessories and having fun with clothes, a man is fighting society’s standards of masculinity. This was my “A-ha” moment as Oprah would say, because as someone who partially identifies as a guy, I have never fit in with the standards of masculinity. I actually think that not fitting in and being treated differently encouraged me to not accept societes standards for myself. Yes, I’ll blame the conservative people from my childhood for me being queer. 

    So despite my struggles differentiating a straight guy with style from a queer person, and despite the time I’ve wasted on people who aren’t interested in me, I will show my appreciation for the authenticity of the ambiguous straight men.

  • Jasmin’s Corner: We’re all fucking the same people

    Jasmin’s Corner: We’re all fucking the same people

    by Jasmin Shirazian

    Hi Jasmin, 

    So, my community is running low on eligible and promiscuous singles. The whole town is starting to feel incestuous because we’ve all fucked each other, and it’s becoming more difficult to have casual sex with new people. Any advice? 

    If there were any words of warning I wish I had received before coming to this fuck-bucket of a dating pool, it would be that the ‘pool’ is definitely more of a puddle. This is one of those situations where no matter what kind of advice I could give you, the only true solution to this problem is to get the hell out of Dodge – or in this case, Humboldt. 

    Humboldt is so peculiar in its ratio of available hotties; the amount of beautiful women and non-binary/gender-fluid/etc folks is damn near abundant, whereas the variety and hotness of the male population is um… less than ideal. Like, bottom-of-the-barrel less than ideal. I’ve definitely said this before and I’ll definitely say it again, but the four variations of man that exist in Humboldt are all dirty in their own way. I’ve been lucky enough to track down and secure the hottest of the hotties, but not everyone is as aggressive as I am, so I understand the struggle. My point is, the ratio makes it even harder to find a new body, depending on which way(s) you swing. 

    Now, not all hope is lost. My roommates and I have been holding our breaths, hoping that this next wave of transfers coming for our brand-new Cal Poly title will bring at least a couple hundred hotties with it. If even that doesn’t end up panning out for you, then I think we both know what you need to do: if you’ve fucked all there is to be fucked, you must spread your wings and fuck elsewhere. Otherwise, you’re just fucking yourself – which, I’m sure you’ve already considered. 

    xoxo, 

    jasmin

  • Low effort and loving it

    by Zack Mink

    Being in your I-don’t-give-a-f*ck (IDAGF) era means that you do what you need to do for yourself. For me currently, this means I’m showing up to class in the same outfits every week, or pressing snooze on my alarm and committing to wearing pajamas all day. It’s giving low effort although I’m still on top of school and work because, “that’s what really matters,” as my Grandma would say. 

    I love clothes, thrifting, design, etc., but who am I trying to impress when I’m running to The Depot during a ten minute break? I’m tired of dressing up for the one cute guy in my class who doesn’t even know my name (yet). I’m done wasting a good outfit on a day when I’m sitting in one classroom for multiple classes back to back. Being as thoughtless as I am when it comes to my daily appearance takes a lot of work though. It takes a sense of style, confidence, and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi you would only know from hitting rock-bottom, possibly even multiple times. 

    When I say hitting rock-bottom, I mean a struggle you have had in life that you learned from. Something that taught you a life lesson, brought a growth opportunity. No judgment to the people who have never been to therapy, but working to improve yourself is super important. It’s a time when you focus on loving yourself, owning your flaws, and working to improve yourself however that looks for you. It’s also hot, so if you have never been to therapy I highly recommend taking advantage of the free resources campus provides. Focusing on your personal growth brings you a third-of-the-way to thriving in your IDGAF era; the second part is being confident. Luckily… you’ve had some time now to work on yourself, learned a life lesson or two, gained some emotional maturity, and are feeling happy with how far you’ve come. 

    The turning point for me was my junior year of high school. It was the third high school I went to, so during the first week I took advantage of the fact that I was the new kid. Being my bold self, I ran for treasurer with no one even knowing my name. I didn’t win, but it was still fun to just not take it too seriously, break down my walls and be confident in who I was. Some may say that was actually the beginning of my IDGAF era.

    The missing piece to being successful in your IDGAF era is having a sense of style. Like I said, I’m an outfit repeater and wear the same exact things every week. Not to brag, but I do consistently get compliments on my eight dollar sweatshirt and the t-shirt I thrifted that has a huge hole in the armpit. Maybe it’s the low standards of Arcata, or maybe I’m just delusional, but all you need is some style to pull off being low effort and presentable.

    Once you’ve reached this point, you can truly enjoy the world around you. You have prioritized yourself, grown emotionally, and gained confidence allowing you to be successful in the other aspects of your life. You also look cute and are the mysterious person someone thinks about after seeing you walk to class. So be free my little birds, get help – because if you’ve read this far you need it, and I wish you a pleasant journey finding your successful low effort lifestyle.
    If you are in need of emotional and mental health support, please reach out to Counseling & Psychological Services at humboldtcaps@humboldt.edu or call 707.826.3146 to sign up for free mental health/counseling services through TimelyCare.

  • Step into the Humboldt party scene: a review

    by Christina Mehr

    Some say there’s no party scene here in Humboldt to have an opinion on, but they’re the people who have no friends and aren’t getting invited to things in the first place. Stay mad. For a campus that claims to be a dry campus, it is certainly most not. Just take a look outside and you’ll smell the scent of earthy weed being consumed by students. Up here, it’s pretty much part of the culture to be involved in the stoner community. Aside from the magnificent coastal redwoods, people know Humboldt as a place that grows good weed.

    Photo by Christina Mehr

    Assuming you’re into the party scene here at Humboldt, then you’re aware of the infamous Nicki House. You can see this party venue from the JGC parking lot, adorned with a flag of Nicki Minaj saluting an American flag. Most “venues” are just an inside space where party-goers can hang out, listening to shitty music and conversing with the same three people you came with, but the Nicki house however has something special. The house is run by all women who are reclaiming the frat party vibe. 

    If dressed in the theme, guys’ entry to these parties are five dollars and girls get in for free. If you’re one to participate in hookup culture, then you’re screwed with that ratio unless you play for both teams. Themes have ranged from Y2K to blackout, to a comfy pajama party. The themed parties bring a sense of playfulness into regular gatherings. The way the community connects is through drugs, alcohol, music and trying to leave the crowded house.

    The cons, there’s only one way in and out of the house which poses a threat of danger in case of emergency. The house itself is quite crowded with the line to get in out the door, but if you’re into the sweaty bump and grind you’ll fit in just fine. If you can’t make it into the main house, or are too cheap to, there’s plenty of overflow out front where the beer pong table sits. Party places are like fads, they come and go, just like the entire freshman class pulling up to the same party. 

    If you know how to have a good time, then you’re part of the population who is living it up in college. The best way to make the most out of your weekend? Pregame with your closest friends, have a few drinks, smoke a joint and find a party. That is until the party gets shut down 45 minutes after starting and the cops start playing beer pong.

  • Fuck your bare feet

    Fuck your bare feet

    by Alana Hackman

    Call me a conservative, but making this statement in Arcata of all places is bound to get me into some trouble; I don’t want to see your feet. Yes, we’ve made plenty of jokes about it in the paper and it is a topic of discussion on various platforms like Yik Yak and Cal Poly Humboldt confessions, but I am someone who feels very strongly about this subject. Far enough to get a crop top stating “I support shoes” on it. 

    Let me explain a few things first: I’m not a foot hater. I wouldn’t say I’m appalled by bare feet or find them disgusting, nor do I have an issue with the anatomical structure of a bare foot alone. I do, however, have an issue with the time and place in which they are presented, which seems to be 24/7 in Arcata. No shoes, no shirt, no service? Never seen a sign like that here aside from Dead Reckoning Tavern (shoutout to y’all). I kiss the ground of the establishments that display those signs when I’m back home. In the figure-of-speech way – kissing the ground is unsanitary, which is why your raw foot skin should not be on them. 

    I will turn a blind eye to bare toes in select places. A few examples include the beach, the pool, and, hell, even the community forest. I get the whole ‘earthing’ thing making you more connected to the Earth’s energy, and how your shoes constrict your feet yea-yea-yea – but how much positive Earth rays are really flowing through the third floor of the library, or the human feces riddled streets of California? Don’t even get me started on seeing shoe-less folks in the health center. I guess I can sometimes get behind the stripped soles movement, but only if you’ve ingested a handful of psychedelics and are questioning all of your moral beliefs.

    Basically, what I’m getting to is public enclosed settings should be off limits for the flashing of phalanges. I’ve seen way too many toes mingling under group tables in the library, and don’t remind me of the woman’s toes gripping the corner of a barstool cushion at Everett’s. Have y’all ever heard of plantar’s wart or athlete’s foot? Like, seriously, I get it that everywhere has germs and gross things, but I can promise some of y’all bare feet boosters are tucking those dusty things right into bed with you every night.

    Listen, as long as you’re scrubbing those babies good before bed and when you enter a home, I guess I can’t go too far with my opinion. Just please keep them out of public places! Slap a pair of tevas or sandals on and call it a day. I’d say my support of body autonomy ends at the bare feeters of Arcata, California.

  • Manic? Don’t panic!

    Manic? Don’t panic!

    by Savana Robinson

    This year, I had a manic episode that lasted from January to March. During that episode, I got very little sleep. I was burying myself in any work that I could find, and my mom said I sounded different. 

    Manic episodes can be caused by a number of things. High stress levels, trauma, changes in sleep patterns or lack of sleep, using recreational drugs or alcohol, or the time of year; some people are more prone to mania in the spring. Mania is classically associated with bipolar disorder, and is also known as the “high” compared to the “low” of a depressive episode.

    According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of mania include, “feelings of invincibility, lack of sleep, racing thoughts and ideas, rapid talking and having false beliefs or perceptions.” For example, during my manic episode, I would go without sleeping for a couple of days at a time and I was talking everybody’s ears off about how I planned to be a motorcycle journalist, or how that semester’s Osprey was going to be the best magazine to come out of this school (it was a banger, though). It wasn’t until one of my roommates sat me down and told me that I was manic that I realized I had not been my normal self for months. I accepted what she had to say, but the only thing I could think to do to help myself was try to get some sleep and just get back to normal; that’s not how it works. I should have gotten help then, but it wasn’t until a month later that I got help the hard way through multiple 5150 holds and a nine-day stay in a psychiatric facility. Listening to those around me was the most beneficial thing that I did during my episode. If I hadn’t let the university police help me by transporting me to Mad River Hospital, where I was put on 5150 for the first time, I might not be writing this.

    If I could go back and do it again, or if I had to get help for someone else, this is what I would do: call 988. That number is not only a suicide hotline, but it’s a mental health crisis hotline. It’s easy to remember in case you can’t find the local number (707-445-7715) and they will give you tips on how to get help for yourself or others. Next, I would make an appointment with a psychiatrist. This can be done through your general practitioner. Students can make an appointment with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). CAPS can be contacted at 707-826-3236.

    Well, I hope this helps. If you have any questions or just want to talk about mental health, email me at sr424@humboldt.edu.

    24hr National Suicide & Crisis Hotline: 988

    24hr Humboldt County Crisis Hotline: 707-445-7715

    Cal Poly Humboldt Counseling and Psychological Services: 707-826-3236

  • Pop meets Y2K grunge in “GUTS”

    Pop meets Y2K grunge in “GUTS”

    by Kianna Znika

    As someone who’s been listening to a lot of early 2000’s alternative/female pop rock lately, I really like the new Olivia Rodrigo album. The girl just gets it, truly.

    “GUTS” makes me feel like I’m the main character in an early 2000’s film, reminding me of some of my childhood favorite movies like “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.” She reminds me of Avril Lavigne and P!nk, delivering stories in her lyrics that even I as a twenty-five-year old can relate to. I love alternative music and I think, as far as pop stars in mainstream music go, Rodrigo does just get it. Everyone who disagrees, I think you’re just being a hater – genuinely. 

    I think a lot of people don’t validate Rodrigo’s angst because she is a young popular artist, but honestly just a few minutes into the album you’ll hear the grunge influences in her track “all-american bitch.” Close your eyes and listen to the chorus and tell me that isn’t Hole. Tell me that isn’t modern-day feminist punk music. I’m in a feminist punk band, I listen to niche artists, and I’m telling you right now: I love Rodrigo’s sound.

    People on the internet were trying to make fun of her screaming in the record, but I think they just didn’t get what she was going for. I don’t think Rodrigo is trying to be the next Bring Me The Horizon; let’s be so for real. I think her choice to scream like that was intentional, an artistic choice that reminds me of Regina George screaming in Mean Girls. If you keep that image in mind, you’ll see that Rodrigo perfectly channels the thoughts and feelings of an angry teenage girl. It’s intentional. It’s poetic, really.

    That’s why listening to her music is so much fun for me. It’s healing. I can still relate to the antisocial, insecure themes that are present in songs such as “ballad of a homeschool girl.” I can definitely relate to having conflicted feelings about an ex, which is a present theme in songs like “bad idea right?” 

    “Yes I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect? I only see him as a friend – Biggest lie I ever said.”

    I know a majority of you can relate to that, too. It’s like an era that we all have to go through at some point in our life, and Rodrigo knows that.

    The only song I really couldn’t vibe with was “vampire,” which doesn’t surprise me because I didn’t care too much for “driver’s license” from her first record either. I don’t listen to Olivia Rodgrigo for her slower material. I think she truly excels as an angsty artist and I’m glad that she’s continuing to explore that realm. 

    Whether or not you end up liking the album yourself, I at least hope more people give Olivia Rodrigo a chance and stop seeing her as just another “mainstream pop star.” Even then, it’s okay to like popular music. Especially when it’s objectively good.

  • Life on campus

    Life on campus

    by Alina Ferguson

    I lived on campus for two years without a car. I am now currently living off campus, in another city actually, with a car and I can say without a doubt, to me, living on campus was actually a very nice experience. I will explain why, and I promise it will make sense. 

    I miss the convenience of living on campus. I could walk across the grounds in ten minutes, which is good because if it’s late at night, and I want to visit a girlfriend, it is not a problem. I felt safe and confident walking long distances across campus. 

    It’s just about accessibility and location to me; I could easily rest after class, it’s been a long class day but I still have another couple to go. I could chill in my room, change my clothes, eat, maybe get to watch an episode of my favorite TV show and still make it to class EARLY. Campus is also centrally located, making it easy to walk into town or go to the grocery store. You can explore and get in some exercise, two birds with one stone. 

    Living off-campus makes me long for the redwoods. Living on-campus allowed me to go on a hike between classes. I am in the redwoods after all, and it is amazing that we have trails here in our backyard when living in the dorms. 

    I also feel like most on-campus quarrels begin with sharing a room. For many, it’s their first time  doing so. I’ve been used to sharing a room my whole life, so it was never an issue for me. Having an older sister really prepared me for any roommate, as I learned how to communicate efficiently, calmly and just learned to let some things go. Yes, you may get a bunk, or a roommate, but at least if you’re locked out, someone can let you in. 

    Of course, living on-campus does require you to make some compromises, like the fire alarms. They do not stop unless an RA comes and calls someone else. With maintenance requests, they did do good work when requested, with the work being done quickly and efficiently. Also one of the maintenance men was really cute. I miss that. 

    Okay, hear me out on this one, in a way, you save money, because you have to buy less. If you are anything like me – I sincerely hope you are not – then a trip to Target for one thing turns into buying so much that I need a UHaul to bring it back, and guess what? There is no room in the dorms for all of that stuff. So, it keeps me from buying an insane amount of junk, which I have been doing since moving off-campus. I apparently need 6 pillows and 40 wooden bowls, because I’m into the look of wood currently.  I love wood, wooden bowls, wooden plates, just wood. 


    At the end of the day, for me it is all about nostalgia. Campus was the first place I lived by myself, without my parents. The convenience and accessibility campus gave me makes me miss it now.

  • Living on campus sucks

    Living on campus sucks

    by Kae Dennert

    I hated living on-campus. The mold, the roommates, the noise? I only lived on-campus for a year, but I could never go back. Don’t get me wrong, if you have no other choices, I get it – I really do –  but other than that, no thanks. 

    I don’t get why anyone would want to put themselves in a situation where they have to slum it with a shit-ton of other people when they could have their own space. I’m not paying 10k+ a year to live in half of a room with no private bathroom for 7 months, when I can pay half that and have a house year-round (AND MY OWN ROOM). 

    I lived in campus apartments on the ground floor, which meant I would wake up with ants crawling on me, and get sick at least once a month from the mold. Not to mention my roommate had the opposite schedule as me, staying up until 3 A.M. laughing and talking while I was trying to sleep, because I had practice at 6am the next day. 

    It was nearly impossible to fit all of the things I needed into my dorm room, considering we’re given such little space for our objects. Sharing a regular sized closet between two people and having no other space besides under our beds was obnoxious, and anytime I needed anything new I had no idea how I was going to fit it.

    Off-campus is significantly nicer because I’m able to be in charge of my own spaces, I don’t have to share a room, and I have a private bathroom. I also got to choose my own roommates (shout out to them), which means no more randoms that make life extremely more difficult. 

    I will end by saying this: I spent my last 3 months of on-campus living on my friend’s couch walking a half mile each way to school so I didn’t have to share a room with my roommate and deal with the dorm space. It isn’t worth it to live on-campus.

  • A billboard badly done beyond all believable bounds

    A billboard badly done beyond all believable bounds

    by  Dezmond Remington

    I wish I could start this article with a funny anecdote about a billboard I once saw somewhere. I wish I could remember something about the giant ads on the side of the road that beg for your dollar with flaking stock photos of smiling people, content with their decisions to consume product X. That would make an incredible comparison to Cal Poly Humboldt’s website, but the problem is that they’re both too boring and too similar for it to even be clever. 

    The fonts are huge. The slogans are worn and used. It’s completely uninformative, incredibly boring, and entirely useless. It’s a 2.5 second elevator pitch meant for the uninitiated, the outsiders. What’s the real difference between a beer ad featuring a picture of a frosty bottle 12 feet tall and a glamor shot of a redwood on campus? 

    The website as it is designed now is simply the front-facing outlet for the administration’s constant hunger for more; more money, more students, more buildings, a Moloch filled with an evil lust. Very little is there for the current students, unless they figure out how to navigate its byzantine backrooms. Want an easy answer for when tuition is due? Good luck. How about some information about major requirements or how scholarships are processed? Have fun banging your head on your desk after searching relentlessly for an hour for an easy answer. How do I add a minor? Go fuck yourself. 

    The answers to so many really important questions aren’t on the website at all, as I’ve found out too many times, but trapped in the heads of some advisor I didn’t even know I had or a luddite department chair with an allergy to answering emails. Instead of taking the time to make a well-linked, easy to use website with simple answers to common questions for students, the website is filled with factoids about platitudes such as how many alumni graduate with practical experience or how strong the campus community is. Who cares? Whoever designed the damned thing made it really easy to find information about energy-saving programs that have long since gone broke or their supposed commitment to “inclusive excellence,” but not crucial need-to-know things for, say, disabled students or people here on a WUE scholarship. 

    If the website had simply always been this way, maybe there would be an excuse. Maybe it got grandfathered in, unable to face the challenges of a polytechnic with a lot of outside interest to the tune of over 20,000 applicants for this fall semester. However, it got redone this year, with brand-new typefaces and different photos, updated housing pages and a clearer “Purpose and Vision” page, whatever that means. Current students were not consulted on what they would have liked done with it outside of purely aesthetic choices, buried in a survey launched in one of dozens of official emails most students get. 

    It’s sad. It would be so nice if it was completely redesigned, with actual input from students beyond simple feedback on logos designed by East Coast marketing firms. There should be a focus on making the important stuff people want to know very clear. The website should function beyond mere solicitation. I hope there’s a push to change that. Make the big paragraph on the homepage claiming to “help you find the answers” true.

  • Is Arcata the Florida of California?

    Is Arcata the Florida of California?

    by Alana Hackman

    One morning, I was finishing up one of my mundane tasks at work when I overheard a discussion between my manager and a customer. The customer was a travel nurse and was stationed up here for the summer. Of course, the follow-up question to that information was, “Where are you from?” in response she goes, “Florida”. 

    That answer was a bit shocking to me. I’ve met people from New Jersey, Texas and even Canada up here – but Florida? My manager asked her how she enjoyed her time up here and through a slight chuckle she responded, “Well this is the most Florida place I’ve ever been to in California.”

    At this point I had to laugh with her. I was never posed with a comparison that happened to be so spot on. It’s remained on my mind since then, so today I ask myself, is Arcata really the Florida of California? 

    I mean to start with the first difference: Arcata will never ever be comparable to the Sunshine State. Our muggy, gray clouds in August will speak for themselves. Although, there are some similarities if we want to look at the landscape. Starting with the lush vegetation, the Everglades and redwoods are quite synonymous. Same with our apex predators, like gators and black bears. We also share the same sandy beaches at close proximity. 

    I mean, Arcata is no girl’s spring break trip to Miami, but we do have lots of tourists coming through and even some hotties, if you’re into ecological preservation and bare feet – another shared similarity between the two vacation destinations but for completely different reasons. If you’re not near a beach, I don’t want to see those toes. 

    There seems to be many more similarities between the two; crazy amounts of drug peddling and always being able to count on the most insane conversation to be initiated between you and some stranger that approaches you on the street. Can’t forget the wannabe rappers that seem to be coming out of the woodwork all the time. Also, how both destinations seem to be a top pick for retirement communities. 

    I believe that one of the biggest similarities you can find between Florida and Arcata is that you can almost always expect the local headlines to hold the same zany crime bookings that are shared between the two coastal regions. 

    Any headline beginning with ‘Florida Man’ or ‘Humboldt Man’ can always promise the most insane crime story you’ll ever read. Must have something to do with the beaches and far right extremists that shack up on both coasts. 

    A quick peruse of Orlando Fox 35’s website under the keywords ‘Florida Man’ brings up cases such as a man dunking a woman’s head in tar, another throwing a barbecue at deputies and one stealing a hearse from a funeral home. You may think these are as crazy as it can get, but have you seen the recent headlines in the Lost Coast Outpost?

    Let me entertain you with a few: The confiscation of 2,400 tabs of acid, a man setting fire to another man in Eureka, and my personal favorite, the man found with a handgun that was the size of a credit card along with drug paraphernalia. 

    Along with the crime, we can’t forget about the universities. Although there’s a few more to choose from in Florida than the small city of Arcata, I think they hold the same results of anticipation for students – to only be let down once they arrive. We can also count on the humidity to ruin your cute outfits and hair in both places. 

    All in all I think that anonymous travel nurse was right, Arcata is the most Florida place in California. Fresno may be the runner-up in reference to the crazies, but who vacations in Fresno?

  • Delete your TikTok

    Delete your TikTok

    by Valen Lambert

    Originally printed April 12, 2023

    When our government recently proposed a ban on TikTok because of national security risks, I was probably one of the few that delighted in the news. While the government is worried about national security, I think the app’s biggest threat is to culture and dare I say, our souls. I might sound like a pretentious asshole, but I think TikTok is melting the brains of the youth and you need to delete it right now and go touch some fucking grass. 

    When I first transferred here from the old-school beach town of Morro Bay, where flip phones still circulated amongst my unplugged community of surfers, farmers, and creatives, I was blown away by the distinct “TikTok culture” that I realized dominates the humor, interests and identities of my peers. All of a sudden I kept hearing people saying the same jokes, the same words, while wearing the same outfits accompanied by the same refrain: “I saw it on TikTok!”

    Don’t get me wrong, trends are a natural part of our social fabric, but there’s something about the way that TikTok baby-feeds content to its users and digs their personalities into a hole at frightening speeds that freaks me out. It homogenizes people into select subcultures based on their algorithm. Instead of going out into the world and discovering themselves through their own exploration of literature, media, art and fashion, TikTok informs your personality for you. 

    The algorithm puts you in a box. Conformity just got a whole lot faster and easier with TikTok spiraling users into cogs in the culture machine. It leaves little to no room for users to explore themselves naturally without the consistent influence of the internet. The app is a culture factory, and everyone is willingly surrendering to the mind-numbing work of consuming and popping out trends that this app is banking off of. Everyone’s also hoping to bank off their own image.

    All of a sudden everyone has a chance to be famous. The Hollywood virus is infecting young folks all around the world with the idea that with some good looks, a little charm and some trendiness, they’ll make a big break and one of their videos will go viral. They take to their front-cameras and hope that they can capitalize on their image (while simultaneously bagging on capitalism). The app promotes radical self expression, but leads creators to monetize on their individuality and become caricatures of themselves. They’re abandoning memes and becoming them.

    I don’t have a TikTok, but I have an Instagram, which is unfortunately the same damn thing at this point. I get suggested so many dumb reels of people making faces into the camera with some regurgitated words to go along with some trending song and it’s all just one big jack-off party. I lose thousands of brain cells anytime I see one.  

    Look, I like posting selfies too. I like feeling hot and confident and sharing that with the world and not giving AF. I’m in no way trying to belittle people for feeling themselves. But I believe there is a threshold, because it can’t possibly be good for your mental health to be chronically online and have your whole life and image revolving around your digital presence. If this sounds like you, I urge you to unplug, even if just for a bit. There is so much meaningless content getting pumped into our heads that has no benefit to your well-being whatsoever, and believe it or not, all that dog-shit is taking up valuable space in your head where you could be daydreaming, thinking about poems, flowers, or frogs, or better yet, absolutely fucking nothing.  

    I want to make it clear that I’m not targeting anyone specifically, and that being chronically online doesn’t make you a robot. It’s a crazy time to be alive, and social media has become so irreversibly ingrained that it’s hard to disconnect from it if you grew up with it. This generation also faces so much anxiety about the impending doom of our future, I don’t blame us for being chronically online. I mainly hate this stupid app because I know that in every person there is unfathomable depth and complexity that is being suppressed by mainlining content straight to their identity. 

    We create ourselves every day. Our lives, our identities, are art projects that we create through connecting and making associations with the world around us. That is hard to do when you only see the world in ways that other people told you you should see. It’s like watching Bob Ross and only being really good at making Bob Ross paintings. Delete your TikTok and go paint the world with yourself.

  • Social media can be a powerful tool

    by Kianna Znika

    Originally printed April 12, 2023

    I’m honestly really grateful to be alive in a time where social media exists. When used with intention, these platforms can be a great place to find resources, community and inspiration. 

    The Internet is where I’ve learned a lot of important life skills, thanks to content creators who are passionate about making this knowledge accessible. There are online communities created with the sole intention of helping other people in our everyday lives. For example, creators on “#CleaningTok” teach others the basics of cleaning without any judgment, knowing that some people struggle due to mental illness or because they were raised in messy homes. It was the hashtag “#Comfycore” that helped me start taking better care of my body and its needs. There are also content creators who give tips to other low-income people about budgeting, grocery shopping and the basics of surviving capitalism. 

    Social media isn’t always an escape from something, or a place to just mindlessly scroll. I am continuously learning, sharing and connecting with others.

    You create your own social media experience; you can choose to follow people you actually like. You can choose not to engage with certain trends. I choose to treat my personal account like a scrapbook of my life because it genuinely makes me happy. I follow other content creators who I feel are truly authentic.

    There’s a lot of debate around whether or not someone can be authentic online, and this frustrates me because I genuinely believe you can, if you want to. It’s a choice. You can choose to be yourself online but the thing is that it is a challenge. It requires you to really check in with yourself, unlearn things, and push past fears of being perceived or judged. You’ll ask yourself things like, “Why am I posting this? Is this really for me?” and “Why am I not posting this? Because I’m afraid of what someone else will say?”

    This is something I’ve been practicing for a while now, but it wasn’t always this way. When I first “blew up” on TikTok, I got really excited. I never received that much attention before in my life. As much as I wanted to continue being me, I’ll be honest: I did feel the pressure of having to be a “character” and purposely create content for a specific audience and it really hurt me mentally. I wasn’t being myself anymore. I didn’t like that I wasn’t showing all aspects of my being anymore. People just saw me as “the quirky pop punk” girl, or so it felt like. I don’t like being put into a box, and I think that’s what a lot of people think you have to do to use social media “the right way.” 

    So, I decided to let go of these pressures and start being myself again by posting the way I did when I was just a person sharing on their personal account. I started openly sharing myself and my life again, all parts of it, unapologetically. While I do see that my numbers have gone down, since I’m not posting the original content people followed me for, I feel relief in the fact that my social media reflects who I really am. I don’t have to worry about posting and engaging a certain way anymore. I made the choice to be authentic online and I mindfully make that choice every time I log onto social media. It’s a good vibe check and I’ve honestly grown and learned a lot about myself through this practice.

    There are a lot of opportunities on these platforms. It wasn’t until my own platform started growing that I realized these opportunities were possible for me. It honestly opens up a lot of doors, which is something I, as a low-income person, am extremely grateful for. I strongly believe that other small artists and businesses should take advantage of social media because it’s a free resource that could possibly change their life, too. Being a content creator is a real job in this real day and age, and it pays really well. It’s a valid career path and yes, there are people who will judge you, but we’re supposed to be breaking free from caring about what other people think anyway. We’re all just trying to survive capitalism in our own way, and for me, social media happens to be a fun, highly-promising way.

    I believe what it all comes down to is the individual choosing, for themselves, how to use social media in a way that’s healthy and truly benefits them. There’s a lot of important life skills with more broad applications that are practiced when approaching things with mindfulness. For example, knowing when to put your phone down and still be grounded in the real world teaches you moderation and discernment. You practice setting boundaries when you unfollow accounts that trigger negative emotions and only engage with more content that aligns with you and your personal values. You practice self-love and radical acceptance when you choose to be authentic online. It requires a lot of self-discipline, too, which I believe is extremely important to develop as an adult.

    In the end, if social media is truly making you unhappy then you can choose to step away from it, but that is just your individual experience with it. Your relationship with social media is your own responsibility. You can choose to make it a good one.

  • I’m tired of “sustainability”

    I’m tired of “sustainability”

    by Emma Sjostrom

    Originally printed May 3, 2023

    I see it almost everywhere – for nearly everything I buy, there’s a product that is packaged in some sort of brown paper or clear plastic container, with green-colored words saying something like “eco-friendly” or “all natural.” While the thought that more people are willing to buy sustainable-minded products is nice, a majority of these claims are mostly bogus. I see them as nothing more than huge, carbon-producing and trash-making companies looking to capitalize on growing consumer demand with fancy buzzwords and aesthetically pleasing packaging. 

    Sadly, a majority of these claims of environmental responsibility are nothing more than greenwashing; companies trying to appeal to consumers without actually providing any proof of sustainability, or doing the complete opposite of what they claim to value. 

    A few years ago, H&M launched their “Conscious Collection,” making claims that their new line of clothes offers recycled materials, are less resource intensive and are ethically made. Not only were these claims vague and had given little actual evidence, I find it difficult to believe that a huge company in the fast fashion industry – one of the largest polluting industries – would actually be doing all that good for the environment. Even if the line was found to be truly sustainable, what about all the rest of H&M’s clothing that they produce? It’s no surprise to me that the company has seen numerous lawsuits over the years about their claims. 

    On top of being fed unsubstantiated promises, I’m simply tired of the notion that it is all on us individuals to achieve sustainability. It’s like we can never escape the endless lecturing for us people to calculate our carbon footprint and to do our part to save the planet. Meanwhile giant companies get to endlessly extract and pollute. 

    Some companies even go so far as to make apps to help people track their C02 emissions. Back in 2020, Launchpad announced their new VYVE app, which allows people to directly calculate how much emissions their travels create. Who is Launchpad you may ask? It’s a subsidiary of none other than BP, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. 

    BP, like other major oil companies, have launched campaigns claiming to focus on sustainability, some even going as far as to say that they’re working towards a “low carbon future.” These campaigns essentially make appealing claims while ignoring the elephant in the room. These companies promote their false narrative of sustainability, meanwhile continuing to profit off mass resource extraction that is the largest contributor to ecological destruction. 

    On top of simply spreading misleading information about themselves, these companies are doing even more harm to people and the environment. While working to make themselves look good to an increasing amount of people concerned about the environment, they are continuing their irresponsible practices. It’s simply exhausting.

  • For the love of God, clean up after your horse

    For the love of God, clean up after your horse

    by Dezmond Remington

    Originally printed April 26, 2023

    I was running down a gloriously sunny forest trail in the middle of summer, not a care in the world, except all the ice water I was looking forward to drinking when the run was over. Then fate hit me – and fate was a cubic yard of solid horseshit right in the middle of the trail. I landed in it mid stride, right around the bend of the trail. At that moment, I had an epiphany: life just isn’t fair. That thought stuck with me the whole way home, just like the horse shit did.

    Why do dog owners have to clean up their dog’s poop, put it in little plastic bags and drag it along with them on their hikes like a grocery bag full of putrid garbage, while the equestrians up there on their fancy steeds like royalty of old get to leave their horse’s crap all over the trail? What the hell is the horse for? Make it carry the poop! The rider doesn’t even have to carry it themselves! I don’t want to hear anything about how there are lots of good nutrients in the horse crap – if that’s the case, put it on the side of the trail, WHERE ALL THE PLANTS ARE! If it’s going to do any good, it sure as hell won’t be in the middle of the trail, a place famously devoid of plants, because THAT is where people walk. 

    Frankly, the double standard is appalling. I genuinely don’t care if it is inconvenient to get off and go around the back of your animal’s huge ass. It is unfair to put the onus of dealing with your animal’s shit on the public. If you have the money and the time to own an animal that weighs a half ton and eats damn near two hundred pounds of food a week, you have the money and the time to clean up your horse’s crap. If you have the time to load their horse up in their fancy little trailer and drive them over to the forest, you have the time to clean up their turds. Please stop leaving it where I and everyone else could step on it, I don’t want to deal with it. That’s your job, stop being selfish. 

    I can think of only three simple things needed to take care of it: a small shovel, a bag and about 30 seconds. Equestrians can buy the shovel and the bag from Harbor Freight for probably less than $15. Humboldt’s myriad thrift stores also probably offer creative and quirky solutions for much less. It’s not hard; it’s courteous, and common sense. No other animal owners are allowed to get away with this. How have we, as a society, just allowed you to get away with this for so long? It is time to fix this. It is time to make the horse owners be responsible animal operators. Clean up your animal’s shit like the rest of us have to.

  • City girl goes backpacking

    City girl goes backpacking

    by Lidia Grande-Ruiz

    This past week for spring break, I participated in the ‘Forests for All’ backpacking trip with the national parks, hosted by center activities. The trip consisted of two days and one night of backpacking the Redwood National & State Park with the rangers to visit the coastal bluffs. 

    This was a unique and memorable opportunity to go backpacking with national and state park rangers. Not only did they share their expertise in the area and teach us basic backpacking skills and how to use equipment, I got to see another side of myself I didn’t know existed.

    On Monday, March 13th, we had a pre-trip meeting with the guides and the rangers to explain the full details of the trip. We were going to take the Miner’s Ridge Trail to the coast campground, hiking about 4.5 miles per day and carrying an average 20 lb backpack.

    I was concerned about my medication, since I have a history of twisting both ankles. I need my medicine with me in case I need it administered to control any internal bleeding. After talking with my doctors, center activities and the rangers, I was okay to go.

    My boyfriend let me borrow his backpack, first aid kit, anything he thought I was going to need. We went grocery shopping for any food he thought would come in handy.

    Early Thursday morning, we met up, gathered everyone up in the vans and we headed out. Once we arrived at the park, we were greeted by the rangers. They allowed us to rent stuff like trekking poles, rain cover for our backpacks, etc. They gave us the low down for the agenda for the day ahead. Once we got everything, we hit the trail.

    Walking through the woods brought me a blanket of comfort. I mostly stayed behind, taking my time, making sure I didn’t twist my ankle. The forest was a sight to take in.

    I am from the city, and on top of that I don’t have a license or my own car, so backpacking is not often a leisure activity I can explore. I often hear my boyfriend talking about his adventures and it has always piqued my curiosity. When center activities sent out the email and said it was free for students, I jumped in and I don’t regret it not one bit. 

    I have gone camping before so I knew it was going to be cold. I brought my warmest clothes, layered up for the night and I slept like a baby. Being by the beach at sunset was breathtaking. We met people from all walks of life at the campsite. We even saw a golden eagle and a gray fox.

    Hearing our critter neighbors through the woods was a nice reminder to me that this is their home as well, just as much as it is ours. Everytime I go outside and wrap myself in blankets of the natural world, it fuels me up with the light that I search for in dark times. Being out there with no service… it’s like the outside world did not exist. My mental health was struggling just overthinking about the future, so being out there made me feel like nothing else matters.

    Will I ever do it again? Absolutely! After coming back to Humboldt, I haven’t stopped talking about it and remembering it. I cannot wait to take on backpacking, not just by myself but with everyone I care about and love. It’s not just a memory, it’s another adventure that’s calling for me.

  • I’m not chill with snow

    I’m not chill with snow

    by Nina Hufman

    Our campus was covered in a thin blanket of glittering white snow. This is obviously rare for the area, and has even more novelty for students who moved to Humboldt from areas that do not receive snow often. Pretty much everyone I know was really excited. They were running around, throwing snowballs, and making snowmen. I, however, was less than thrilled by the ice crystals falling from the sky.

    I grew up in Colorado, where I dealt with snow for up to five months every year for the first 18 years of my life. When I was a kid, I played outside in the snow. When I was in middle school I learned how to snowboard. When I was a teenager, I learned to drive in the snow. 

    I’m used to waking up to find my car frozen and spending twenty minutes defrosting it and scraping the ice off. My usual 20 minute drive to school became a 40 minute drive when the roads were icy; it’s probably safe to say that the novelty of snow has worn off for me. 

    The weather in Humboldt county was a big factor in my decision to move here. I love that it never gets super cold or super hot, and I love the rain. Most of all, I love that I am not inconvenienced by snow. 

    You can call me dramatic – I am and I will continue to be. You can ask me where my childhood sense of wonder is. You can say I don’t appreciate the whimsical things in life. This is blatantly untrue; I am as whimsical as they come. 

    I am not trying to rain, or snow, on anyone else’s parade. Enjoy the snow all you want. Personally, I will be inside, under my heated blanket, trying to keep warm.