The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: President Tom Jackson

  • UC Board working to address termination

    UC Board working to address termination

    The University Center continues to work toward resolving President’s termination notice

    Following the notice of termination issued by President Tom Jackson, the University Center group has been working on an official response.

    The letter, emailed out to Humboldt State University on Sept. 24 by Jackson, outlined a series of violations that the HSU administration believes the UC group committed. These include the opening of lines of credit for the North Humboldt Recreation and Park District, which runs the Arcata Community Pool, and apparent failure to comply with the President’s review of UC programs earlier in the year.

    The notice gave 90 days for the UC group to address and correct the allegations made against them, placing an end date on Dec. 23. If the UC fails to produce acceptable remedies or isn’t granted an extension, the UC’s contract with HSU will be officially terminated.

    The UC Board of Directors have repeatedly stated that the allegations were unfounded but would actively look for resolutions. With over a month left, the UC Board has started to draft a response.

    “The response letter is still in draft format as the Board does a final review and still has the opportunity to make changes,” Interim Executive Director Wendy Sotomayor said in an email. “Once the letter is final and issued to the President, it will be a public document that we can provide. We hope to have it released early next week.”

    During the Oct. 22 UC Board meeting, Vice President Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether listened to the concerns of board members, but provided little feedback into whether or not the proposed ideas would resolve the notice.

    “Some of the answers, and I apologize if I sound like a broken record, but it really is similar to my earlier answer,” Meriwether said during the meeting. “I think the board has to review the letter, review the attachments and investigate how it got here then make a determination about what the cure would be.”

    Steven Martin, Ph.D., one of the faculty representatives on the UC board has stated that the board’s response will be made public after the administration has a had a chance to review it.

    “I think once the response has been approved by the Board and given to the President, it will be public,” said Martin in an email. “But until then, I don’t think we’re in a position to share it, because it could still change between now and then, and the President should get it from us before the public sees it (even though he didn’t afford the Board the same respect when he released the termination notice to the media at the same time the Board got it).”

  • All aboard the plague ship

    All aboard the plague ship

    Reopening the school in any capacity must have been the worst idea possible. There was not enough preparation for letting students come back to Humboldt State University. While it is understandable that every student has their own reasons for living on campus, the risks are high. HSU President Tom Jackson made it clear that suspending move-in dates and face-to-face instruction until a later date was prejudice and not necessary.

    With cases spiking in recent days, the community is at risk. In a press release from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center, people between 20 and 29 have the highest percentage of new COVID-19 cases locally. Young adults are becoming the primary carriers of COVID-19 and are spreading it unknowingly.

    Humboldt County Health Alert recently rose to a Level 3, which means “High Risk- Many cases with conditions for community spread, with many undetected cases likely. Limit everyday activities to increase safety.”

    Opening up the university to a thousand students in a single week is like pouring salt on a fresh wound. Although Arcata is open to tourism for the economic stimulation, the town was not ready for it. When Arcata first opened back up to the locals, the cases were low and stable. Then tourism started to pick up. Travel has put the community in danger and is a contributing factor for the rise in cases.

    There is a large elderly and retiree population in Arcata and surrounding communities, like Eureka and McKinleyville. Humboldt County Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich stated that the transmission can, in time, contribute to increased exposure for older individuals who are of higher risk of serious disease and even death.

    Letting a large amount of students move in during the middle of a pandemic in a small town was not a good judgment call. The protocols and guidelines put in place by HSU can go wrong in various ways.

    While the single occupancy rooms for student housing were supposed to be a way to shelter in place, there are common areas that the students will share with their housemates such as the living room, kitchen and bathrooms. On the Humboldt State Campus Ready website, it was vaguely mentioned that these common areas will be limited and if violations persist, they will be restricted. But with student housing employees matching one to every hundred students, the likelihood of knowing these violations are occurring are nearly impossible.

    With five students and one faculty member having tested positive, HSU has made COVID-19 testing mandatory for student residents throughout the semester. However, the Student Health Center states on the Campus Ready website that testing will be done “in a limited capacity due to a nationwide shortage of tests.”

    Regarding limited face-to-face instruction, the administration is putting the responsibility on the students to ensure they stay healthy. If a student were to test positive for COVID-19 while at HSU, it would be their fault for not following the guidelines to satisfaction, instead of the university’s for being open. The best way to keep students safe is to not have contact with other students. That risk became a reality when a thousand new, incoming students decided to move on campus.

    Dr. Frankovich and President Jackson should not have agreed to open the campus in the first place back in June. There had to have been consideration of the possible influx of cases during the summer months with tourism. Not to mention, fall and winter months correspond with the influenza season. Incoming students will not just be battling COVID-19 but also the flu, the symptoms of which are almost identical.

    There were a lot of important individuals that conversed in making these decisions. Unfortunately, the people being put at risk obviously weren’t a part of the conversation.

  • Humboldt State Proceeds with In-person Instruction

    Humboldt State Proceeds with In-person Instruction

    With President Jackson and Dr. Frankovich at opposite ends of agreement on in person classes, students caught in the middle feel COVID-19 is inevitable.

    As Humboldt State University moves forward with a hybrid fall 2020-21 semester, starting online before transitioning to an in-person format from Sep. 8 until Nov. 6, community leaders are unsure about the future safety of students on campus.

    In a recent set of emails between HSU President Tom Jackson and Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich, made available via Freedom of Information Act requests to the Lost Coast Outpost and North Coast Journal, at times the two leaders appeared at odds with how to proceed with the semester.

    Frankovich stated concerns with students returning to dorms and classes, mainly that enclosed shared spaces like dorm kitchens and bathrooms presented an increased risk of spreading infection. Frankovich asked for a possible pause to the start of the semester, so that COVID-19 testing labs within the county could properly prepare for the increased influx of new and returning students.

    Jackson replied within the same email chain initially with confusion about the timing of the sudden request before attempting to reassure HSU was following all local and state ordinances regarding proper social distancing and safety.

    During the Aug. 18 media availability briefing, Frankovich addressed the emails stating “Let me make one thing clear: This is not a case of ‘othering’. It is a case of trying to make safe choices for the entire community in the midst of a pandemic. This is about trying to juggle competing needs for testing resources across skilled nursing facilities, agricultural settings, tribal communities, local public schools, businesses and organizations, and the community as a whole.”

    Frankovich also reiterated that the Humboldt County Health Office was still confident in HSU’s plans and ability to handle the situation, praising the HSU planning team for their continued effort.

    “I think they’re working on constructing an environment that is as safe as possible considering the pandemic that we’re in,” Frankovich said.

    Those plans were put to the test when on Aug. 17, as students began moving into the dorms, a campus-wide email was sent out stating that HSU had it’s first confirmed COVID-19 case.

    By the end of the week, two more students and a faculty member tested positive as well, though emails state that the faculty member’s case was not connected to student move-ins.

    While the identities of those who tested positive are being withheld for privacy, an email notification sent out on Aug. 20 said “HSU is working closely with Humboldt County Public Health, which will determine whether there are members of the campus community who need to be advised of their contact with affected people.”

    Testing will continue for students who have moved in during a fourteen-day quarantine period to ensure safety.

    Blake Hefner, a biology major and resident advisor for the College Creek dorms, expressed both concern and hope after reading the initial emails regarding the first confirmed case.

    “If they’re willing to bring students during a pandemic, we are going to see how they are going to handle that and how they are going to value our lives,” Hefner said.

    Lori Alcantara, a journalism major, said that as soon as she saw the email, she went to show her roommate.

    “We were both kinda surprised that it was so quick,” Alcantara said. “At the same time, I feel relieved that they’re keeping track and not just trying to pretend that it isn’t happening.

    Alcantara felt comfortable with the idea of in-person classes, trusting the students around her and the university to accept the new social responsibility of sanitizing workplaces and classrooms. Alcantara had one in-person class for the fall semester and stated that the professor had already reached out and reassured students that proper cleaning will occur before students arrive and when they leave.

    “I think what will matter then will be everyone’s ability to clean after themselves, use hand sanitizer and wear their masks,” Alcantara said. “I think if everyone could do that… then I’m not particularly worried.”

    Frankovich said during her media availability briefing that “…the presence of this case doesn’t change our plan going forward except that we want to make sure we are doing the testing and trying to monitor progress on isolation quarantine should it occur.”

    Hefner felt that the cases meant that students had to step up to the occasion and help shoulder the responsibility and pressure.

    “It’s a lot of realizing that this is bigger than us as people,” Hefner said. “Moving back means you’re part of a community now, and being part of that community you have to respect the guidelines that are going to take place.”

  • What It’s Like Living On Campus After the Exodus

    What It’s Like Living On Campus After the Exodus

    Despite Humboldt State University going digital, campus housing remains open

    Humboldt State University President Tom Jackson announced via email March 18 that the school would be going entirely online, and he encouraged students to vacate campus housing if possible.

    “It is important we reduce the number of people on campus,” the email read. “We encourage students who can return to a home off-campus to do so. We will not displace students who are facing housing insecurities or homelessness.”

    “They should have just made the choice before people left for spring break to keep it as safe as possible.”

    Calista Tutkowski

    Freshman Calista Tutkowski was among those who decided to move back home after learning that classes would transition online. Tutkowski considered her choice the right one for her own physical and mental wellbeing.

    “It felt like things were just going to get worse and worse on campus and around the world, so if I was going to be doing online classes, I wanted to be home with my family,” Tutkowski said.

    Tutkowski was frustrated with the sudden notice from the school. By the time the school sent out the notice that they were going online and encouraging students to leave the dorms, she had already gone home for spring break and was out of state. Like many other students, she had to return to campus to pick up her things, potentially putting herself and others at risk by traveling.

    “They should have just made the choice before people left for spring break to keep it as safe as possible,” Tutkowski said.

    Some students are still on campus. Emma Bradley-Solis is one of those who elected to remain in campus housing despite virus concerns.

    “I live in Washington and it is a lot worse there,” Bradley-Solis said. “I thought it would be smarter for me to self-quarantine here.”

    According to an April 7 Enrollment Management report, about 300 students remain on campus. Most of the campus facilities are closed, including the library, computer labs and University Center.

    With the severely reduced numbers of students left behind, pickings are slim. There isn’t much variety left in the food selection, and many staples such as rice, pasta and fresh fruit are out when Bradley-Solis goes to the marketplace. For students who rely on J-points to eat, this is both a serious problem and a waste of the money spent on their meal plans.

    “I feel like they could take care of the students still here better—like better food,” Bradley-Solis said. “We paid a lot of money for J-points.”

  • News Recap: HSU Budget

    News Recap: HSU Budget

    The Humboldt State University budget proposal is under overview from President Jackson

    What?

    The University Resources Planning Committee of Humboldt State University submitted its budget proposal to HSU President Tom Jackson on Dec. 23, 2019. The URPC spent last semester meeting each week to form a new budget to address a projected $5.4 million budget deficit for the next three fiscal years.

    The proposal includes $2,500,000 of cuts from instruction, $720,000 of cuts from academic support, $420,000 from student services, $1,070,000 from institutional support and $690,000 from operations and maintenance of plant.

    The total cuts amount to 4.4% of the total budget. The cuts would equal 4.4% of the instruction, academic support and operations and maintenance of plant budgets, 3.5% of the student services budget and 4.9% of the institutional support budget. The proposal must be approved by Jackson to come into effect.

    When?

    The URPC discussed the proposal in the University Senate Jan. 28, and will discuss it again Feb. 11., according to URPC Co-Chair James Woglom.

    Why?

    The budget deficit stems from HSU’s enrollment decline. Less tuition makes for a smaller budget. When Woglom spoke with The Lumberjack previously, he noted that the URPC has designed a scalable budget model, or a budget that allows HSU to be more flexible with its money as the University’s priorities change. Despite the cuts, Woglom assured The Lumberjack that the URPC was seeking to limit any negative impacts on students’ education. Thus far, HSU has publicly announced plans to phase out employees only through attrition, or not rehiring select employees, rather than outright cutting positions.

    See more of the HSU Budget here.