The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Veteran

  • Connections Between Veterans Propel Academic Success

    Connections Between Veterans Propel Academic Success

    Student veterans make connections and have access to resources with help from VETS

    Humboldt State University has about 500 veteran-affiliated students, according to HSU Veterans Enrollment and Transition Services.

    James Lamping, the outreach coordinator at the VETS office and a veteran himself, works to connect veterans by giving them a place to talk, seek therapy and find friends.

    “Every vet comes from a different background, and it’s an interesting community,” Lamping said. “Even though there is a lot of diversity between us, we all share a culture tying us together.”

    Nov. 11 is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended World War I. The day honors former and current military service people and is observed as a federal holiday, Veterans Day. HSU students and faculty have the day off.

    One way the veterans at HSU connect is through the Outdoor Sports Program facilitated by the VETS office. Year-round, a group of veterans partake in several outdoor sports activities like hiking, kayaking and snowboarding.

    James Lamping (left) and John Biggs. | Photo courtesy HSU VETS

    John Biggs, a student veteran majoring in marine biology, went on one of the outdoor trips when he moved to Humboldt State in the spring of 2015. He was able to familiarize himself with other students and build relationships.

    “We did a big hiking trip up in the Trinities, a rafting trip,” Biggs said. “All the people I met on that trip were my core group of friends when I started here.”

    Biggs said that having friends and familiar faces in his classes helps him focus on learning. It had been six years since the last time he took an algebra class.

    “I feel like I’m more successful taking classes when I know somebody and have someone to talk to and study with than just myself,” Biggs said. “I’m not someone who asks questions. That’s just my personality.”

    Lamping said veterans are one of the more successful populations on campus, partly due to the structured lifestyle that is familiar to military life. Having something to do every day provides a daily purpose.

    “Having the structure is nice,” Biggs said. “To have something to do rather than figuring it out on your own.”

    The VETS office provides help and academic services for veterans. VETS connected Biggs with the Student Disability Resource Center to help him in the Learning Center.

    “I’m not a big test taker, so that was fun,” Biggs said. “That was really helpful.”

    Kim Hall, veterans program administrator for HSU, was one of the people who helped Biggs get back into the flow of school. Hall started the outdoors program and also started the North Coast Veterans Stand Down, a three-day event that provides food for homeless veterans at the county fairgrounds in Ferndale.

    In celebration, HSU VETS is hosting a dinner event this Friday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m in the Green and Gold Room on HSU’s campus. The Veterans Day Celebration is free for veterans and their families.

  • JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs

    JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs

    JPEGMAFIA’s new album is a demented ride through the rappers mind

    JPEGMAFIA’s third studio album, “All My Heroes are Cornballs,” was released Sept. 14 and it perfectly embodies the production characteristics that define his music.

    JPEGMAFIA is the brainchild of music producer and rapper Barrington Hendricks. Hendricks gained interest in music by learning to sample while he was stationed in Japan with the United States Air Force.

    After being honorably discharged in 2016, Hendricks moved to Baltimore, Maryland and began working on producing his first studio album, “Black Ben Carson.” In 2018, he released his critically acclaimed album, “Veteran,” which was a healthy introduction into Hendricks’ twisted, gritty version of postmodern, experimental hip hop.

    The entirety of the “All My Heroes are Cornballs” album, from production to rapping, was done by Hendricks. Hendricks has yet to stray away from the things that define his music production. The choppy, industrial sounds that seem to harass your senses in the best possible way. The usual hi-hats, claps and kick sounds found in a generic rap beat are replaced with clicks, static and pre-2000s computer sounds which seem to invade your privacy. The framework for the bass and ASMR-like drum patterns are still prevalent, but this is what sets Hendricks apart from other producers in the genre.

    While applying his signature drum patterns, Hendricks adds sounds that have never been used in his beats before. There are softer, inviting motifs connected to every melody behind the drums. They usually consist of a few soft piano keys with audio effects added, a lightly strummed guitar or synths that are reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s video games. The sounds radiate nostalgia, spirituality and a sense of peace which largely contrast the rough, nail-biting sounds of “Veteran.”

    These sounds give a more introspective look into what makes Hendricks who he is rather than the persona he gives off in his music. The downside to the project has to do with the lyrics. He changes the flow of his raps on a regular basis but each time they still fall into a generic pattern. The lyrical content rarely strays away from the subjects of fighting internet haters with guns and being better than other artists. Most of the bars consist of Hendricks yelling one of his coined ad-libs. It’s hard to expect any different from a person who is labeled as an internet warrior with a track record of pissing off the alt-right. The lyrics become redundant and feel recycled from past albums.

    Hendricks ventures more into singing on this project and surprisingly, it is one of the best things about the album. Some of the stand out tracks on this album are “Jesus Forgive Me I Am A Thot,” “Free The Frail,” “Thot Tactics” and ”BasicBitchTearGas.” He harnesses the energies of 90s R&B and it perfectly ties together the crunchy, psychedelic beats to produce one of his most personal projects.

    The production on this album is perfect. The chord progressions, song transitions and signature drum beats are completely on par with the JPEGMAFIA sound. The only thing lacking is lyrical variance, but the singing and melodies make up for it entirely. This can easily be one of the best experimental rap albums of the year.

  • Letters to the Editor: No On M

    Letters to the Editor: No On M

    This veteran will vote No on Measure M, here’s why

    I’m a combat veteran of the Vietnam war that witnessed atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians by some U.S. troops.

    The Philippine-American war that was initiated by President McKinley with his annexation of the Philippines was a ‘model’ for the later war in Vietnam. This included the massacre of civilians, burning of crops, killing of farm animals, herding of civilians into ‘detention camps,’ designation of certain areas where anyone could be killed (later in Vietnam called “free fire zones”) and the systematic use of torture.

    The Philippine-American war and insurrection lasted from 1898 to 1913 and the estimates of Filipinos killed range from 500,000 to 1.4 million. In Nov. 1901, the Manila correspondent for the Philadelphia Ledger reported: “Our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners, and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads of ten up, the idea prevailing that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog.”

    It was in this war that the racist label ‘gook’ was first used against the Filipinos which made it easier for some U.S. troops to commit atrocities against them, later ‘gook’ was used in the Korean and Vietnam wars to the same effect. While McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the war and insurrection he started by the annexation of the Philippines lasted long after his death.

    The writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a fierce critic of ‘U.S. Imperialism’ and McKinley’s annexations of Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and the Philippines. In 1906, he described the massacre of an indigenous Filipino group called the ‘Moros’ by U.S. occupation forces.

    I paraphrase:

    600 Moros men, women and children had sought shelter at the bottom of a volcano and when the U.S. military found out that they were there, they brought troops and artillery up to the rim of the volcano and shot downward, slaughtering everyone, including babies in their mother’s arms.

    This reminds me of another massacre called Mylai in Vietnam where around 500 Vietnamese civilians, including babies clinging to their mothers, were summarily executed.

    This is what I think of when I walk by the statue of McKinley, and this is why I want it removed from the Arcata plaza.

    Sincerely,

    Robert J. Hepburn

  • Lucas Miller – A marine and Humboldt hero

    Lucas Miller – A marine and Humboldt hero

    By | Keaundrey Clark

    Lucas Miller is a local product of Humboldt, he was honored by Humboldt Heroes, a local recognition for Humboldt Veterans. Lucas starred at Mckinleyville High from 2007 to 2011. After he served in the Marines before coming back to to play for Humboldt State University.

    LJ: What made you decide to join the marines?

    LM: In my opinion, It’s the most honorable branch of service. Tat that moment in my life my attention should be served in the military. I had always had a passion for it.

    LJ: What was it like when you first enlisted, where you nervous, scared, anxious?

    LM: I was definitely anxious at first, then it kinda hit you in the face. You have to move on your feet, so there’s not really time to feel sorry for yourself. Had to roll with the punches.

    LJ: How has being in the military changed you life for the better?

    LM: It definitely gave me a lot of core values.

    LJ: What one thing you you take from military that you use in daily life, a routine, a motto, anything?

    LM:Communication, I took the ability to communicate, you learn how to communicate with everybody. It could be verbal or non-verbal. Communication in hostile or regular situations. It helps to be able to talk to people everyday.

    LJ: What was the hardest moment you faced when you were serving?

    LM: Being away from family, I missed them a lot.

    LJ: For anyone interested in joining the military, what would you tell them.

    LM: Go for it, know what you want to do, do your research. If that’s what you want to do I think it’s a great decision.

    LJ: What does being honored by Humboldt Heros mean to you, especially as a member of the community yourself?

    LM: I means that sometime in my life someone looked to me for something I’ve been doing all my life.