The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: sacramento

  • Tull Impresses at National Championships

    Tull Impresses at National Championships

    HSU cross country runner Daniel Tull places 56th out of 267 competitors at the Division II National Championships in Sacramento

    Humboldt State’s Daniel Tull’s long hair, iconic mustache and yellow headband made him easily identifiable in the field of over 250 runners who descended on the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, CA for the 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.

    Tull was the only Lumberjack to feature in the 10K race, having been granted an at-large berth the week before due to his individual results over the season. He ran a strong finish to his season, placing 56th out of 267 competitors.

    In the early stages of the race, Tull ran in the midfield at a quick pace, rolling through the first mile in 4:45. For the next two miles, he worked his way up the field, picking up positions regularly as he made his way into the top 100 runners by the halfway point.

    • Humboldt State’s Daniel Tull starts the national Division II cross country meet towards the back of the pack while wearing his signature yellow headband. | Photo by Thomas Lal
    • Daniel Tull talks with Head Coach Jamey Harris at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship. | Photo by Thomas Lal
    • HSU senior Daniel Tull runs with his competitors during the opening stages of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento on Nov. 23. | Photo by Thomas Lal

    Teammates and family members who made the trip to Sacramento to cheer him on dashed around the course encouraging him throughout the race. As the pack eased into a rhythm, Tull averaged 4:56 per mile to cross the 5K mark at 15:21.

    “The first mile was pretty fast,” Tull said. “I was just placed too far back. I went too relaxed in the beginning, and then in the middle I kind of settled down.”

    After his difficult start, Tull began to make more moves, storming his way through the field with a little more than two kilometers left to go. From there, Tull said that he felt comfortable to push as he noticed the guys around him slowing down. In that last stretch, he passed 40 runners to surge into his finishing position of 56th, only 16 places outside of All-American honors.

    “With a mile and a quarter to go, I was like ‘Oh, it’s only 2K, I’ll send it,’” Tull said. “‘I’ll just start passing people one at a time.’ Everybody else was slowing down or staying at the same pace, so I started picking it up.”

    Head Coach Jamey Harris was pleased with how Tull ran through his hard start and made progress through the latter stages of the race.

    “Obviously the race went out fast,” Harris said. “He went through a rough patch in the middle. But he really turned it on and passed about 50 guys in the last couple of miles, so I thought it was a really solid performance. I think on his best day he was capable of getting that All-American certificate, but I was really pleased with the way he raced and the way he kind of fought through the bad patch and finished strong.”

    • Humboldt State senior Daniel Tull works his way through a turn at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship in Sacramento on Nov. 23. | Photo by Thomas Lal
    • Daniel Tull reflects for a moment after placing 56th in his final collegiate cross country race at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship. | Photo by Thomas Lal

    In addition to his teammates, Tull’s father, Mel, came to the race to cheer his son on. Mel Tull said that the first time he realized how serious his son was about running came during his second year of high school.

    “I never really knew how into it he was,” Mel Tull said. “Then I went to a cross country meet and he came over the mountain and he was running third. And I realized well, he apparently knows what he’s doing.”

    After the race, Daniel Tull reflected on how special it was to end his collegiate cross country career at the national meet.

    “I’m glad I finally made it here,” Daniel Tull said. “It was a goal of mine for a long time. The race was pretty massive. It feels cool to be part of something like this. Most races are fun and I like them and it’s good energy, but this is different energy for sure.”

  • Rallies at the State Capitol for sufficient CSU funding

    Rallies at the State Capitol for sufficient CSU funding

    Students, faculty and allies of the California State University system from all 23 campuses made the journey to the State Capitol to send Gov. Jerry Brown a message, it is time to fully fund the CSU.

    Video by Dajonea Robinson.

    Allison Rafferty is a biology major and was one of many students who came down on a bus from Humboldt State to join the demonstrations on April 4. Rafferty rode down to represent HSU and to call for funding for the CSU system.

    “I request Gov. Brown to consider opening the fund that he’s allocated for CSU,” Rafferty said. “The CSU requested money and Gov. Jerry Brown approved a third of that. Right now, they’re in revisions. In May, they’re going to post their revisions and in June, they’re going to propose the final budget that goes to a vote.”

    Rafferty hopes more funding will come through so people in her major and others will be able to get classes and graduate on time.

    HSU student warns others of the potential outcome of funding crisis. Photo by Dajonea Robinson.

    Jacqueline Delgado is also an HSU student. Delgado decided to come to the Capitol to stand in solidarity with everyone and to get justice for Josiah Lawson.

    “I’m also here to get [Justice for Josiah] and this unsolved murder to be recognized. It is an unsolved murder of a fellow student that was murdered a year ago in Humboldt County,” Delgado said. “The school and the county does not recognize that this happened. It has been an entire year that nothing has been happening and we’re trying to get this movement to be heard. We will no longer be silenced.”

    David Bradfield is the California Faculty Association representation chair and board of directors member who now lives in Humboldt County. Bradfield spent 34 years teaching music and digital media arts at CSU Dominguez Hills. Bradfield decided to take the trip down to the Capitol.

    “I care very deeply. I spent 34 years teaching at Dominguez Hills and I care very deeply about the mission that we do, the people that do that mission and the people that we serve,” Bradfield said.

    Reza Sadeghzadeh is a communications major at HSU. Sadeghzadeh traveled with his peers to the Capitol from HSU to express concern of the insufficient funds of the budget.

    “Since they cut the whole CSU budget, we’re going to see a tremendous negative effect on our campus. A lot of professors are being laid off, activities and cultural centers are being defunded, so it’s a very serious issue,” Sadeghzadeh said. “The governor really needs to understand that the students here and the students in the CSU are the future of the welfare of California. In order to thrive as a state, we need to take care of the foundation, which is the students.”

    HSU students not only stand in solidarity with fellow CSU peers during the rally, but demand justice for their fellow student. Photo by Dajonea Robinson.

    Elizabeth Phillips is a student on campus who also came down on the bus from HSU.

    “Students like me who need an education are about to be priced out of our education. Education is not for the people, it’s not supposed to be free. They don’t want us to get an education so we’re stuck working the remedial jobs,” Phillips said. “We need to see more people of color being a part of the faculty. The only way we’re going to get there is if we can afford to get in the door. I’m $25,000 in debt just from two years at HSU. That’s a lot of money, and for other students, I don’t want them to take on that burden. So I’m here for the future, and I’m here for me, now.”

    Phillips works for the Multicultural Center as the social justice summit co-coordinator. Phillips is also a part of a loose coalition of students who started the walkout for WASC to protest the budget cuts.

    “I worry that if we give the CSU full funding for free tuition, the students will get it for the first couple of years, but then after, people get greedy and start skimming the surfaces,” Phillips said. “I’m happy that we’re here, but I want people to keep a watch and understand we don’t need as many administrators as we have. We need more students and faculty, counselors–there’s other stuff that we need that we’re just not allocating our resources correctly. Everyone needs to watch out for the future.”

  • Voices of student science

    Voices of student science

    By | Kelly Bessem

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    Voices of student science aims to highlight individual Humboldt State students majoring within the widespread realm of the sciences.

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    Alycia Padilla is a 27-year-old wildlife major from Bakersfield, Calif.

    Alycia Padilla, wildlife major. Photo by Kelly Bessem.

    Padilla’s desire to protect and take care of animals helped her choose her major.

    “When I was a child I was only allowed to watch television like National Geographic and Discovery Channel,” Padilla said. “That became all I wanted to watch and I fell in love with animals.”

    Last summer, Padilla set camera traps and collected recordings of bat sounds as part of a decade-long ecological survey. She worked with the California Department of Fish and in the mountains near Sacramento, Calif. 

    Though Padilla wants to get a job in Arcata after graduating, she has considered moving back to Bakersfield because she believes the area needs more wildlife expertise.

    “I feel like I could make some sort of change there,” Padilla said.

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    Sarah Franzen, 26, is a senior marine biology major. She’s originally from Lake Havasu, Ariz.

    Sarah Franzen, marine biology major, holding sea fan coral. Photo by Kelly Bessem.

    Franzen’s love for the ocean began with television shows such as “Planet Earth.”

    “That’s when I first decided that I wanted to learn how to scuba dive,” Franzen said. “So I got certified when I was 14.”

    It wasn’t until Franzen’s freshman year in college that she saw the ocean for herself. It was during a dive trip for Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.

    “That’s when I really fell in love with the ocean,” Franzen said.

    Last semester, Franzen worked in HSU’s Paul E. Bourdeau Lab making wax snails that are used for crab surveys.

    After graduating, Franzen will study manta rays in Australia and contemplate applying to masters programs.

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    Erica Siepker, 27, is a wildlife major and scientific diving minor from Long Beach, Calif.

    Erica Siepker, wildlife major and scientific diving minor. Photo by Kelly Bessem.

    Siepker was originally a zoology major but switched to wildlife after discussing her interests with a Humboldt State advisor. 

    “For me the wildlife degree had more practical, hands-on aspects that would take me beyond taxonomy and lab,” Siepker said. “Little did I know that HSU’s wildlife program was so widely known.”

    Siepker experiences many hands-on wildlife studies within her classes. These include the use of raptor perches to combat gopher problems, the relation between crows and human food sources and the habitat selection of salamanders in the Arcata Community Forest.

    Siepker plans to apply for an internship at Disney’s Animal Kingdom after graduating.

    “With an internship there I can study animal behavior, wildlife education and research,” Siepker said.