The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Women

  • A woman’s sanctuary is a man’s cave

    by Valen Lambert

    Guys, give a shit about your rooms. I’m looking at you Mr. Floor-mattress who sleeps next to the dirty laundry you throw on your bed. I’m not kidding around. Get a plant, thrift some art, perhaps invest in some fine linen. Us ladies (or whoever) are tired of “going back to your place” and it smells like wet dog and Mountain Dew.

    You’ve ever been in a girl’s room? It’s like entering a church where she worships herself. Candles, incense, the world’s biggest comfiest bed, ambient lighting, art on the walls, succulents, a healthy and thriving monstera. If it’s messy, it’s messy in a cool, hot, sexy way. When a man’s room is messy it’s just gross. A girl will spill a glass of wine on her bed but a guy will straight up vomit on his carpet. 

    Our bedrooms should never be taken for granted. It’s a safe space where we can truly be ourselves and feel at home. It gives us a space to really express ourselves through the way that we decorate it. It takes us out of the homogeneity of society and into the fantasy of ourselves. 

    In it we can display the artifacts of our lives. The mementos from our travels, photographs, notes from our loved ones, anything of emotional significance can go on our walls and remind us of how alive we are. Give it a shot fellas! Embrace your tenderness and sentimentality! Get soft and self-reflective! And then maybe your mess will be as cool, hot and sexy as a lady’s. 

    I will say I’ve been in some vibey ass rooms belonging to men. Not every guy is sleeping on the ground in a fluorescently-lit sensory deprivation chamber. I’ve also been in some whack girls’ rooms. Things aren’t black and white. So honestly no matter who or what you are, give a shit about your room. It’s the only place you get to call your own. Do something about it! Because you won’t be able to decorate your coffin. 

  • 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.

  • Zero to Fierce Festival for womanhood

    Zero to Fierce Festival for womanhood

    Celebrating the matriarchy and raging grannies.

    The Arcata Playhouse hosted the Zero to Fierce Woman’s Festival last week. More than 30 events took place from March 5-11. Events ranged from musical performances to movie screenings to meditation.

    On March 8, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom organized their seventh annual women’s day celebration inside the Arcata Playhouse.

    An activist organization called the Raging Grannies made an appearance. The organization is composed of elderly women that mock the granny stereotype by dressing in mismatched clothes.

    Sandy Lynn has been a Raging Granny for five years. She grew up in Palo Alto and has been in Humboldt since 2001.

    “I like that we are not polished. When you are older, people give you slack,” Lynn said. “When old ladies sing protest songs, it makes it easier for others to hear hard issues, like rape or violence.”

    The Grannies sing well-known songs, but change the lyrics to add a political message. During the performance, Lynn played a ukulele.

    “The ukulele is easy to cart around and very granny-like,” Lynn said. “I have been performing since I was 12. I don’t get nervous.”

    An audience member, Angela Davis, said she loves to sing.

    “The older I get, the more I want to celebrate life,” Davis said. “Here, we breathe together. You can’t feel desperation or be depressed in a place like this.”

    Sue Hilton, member of Women’s International League, has been celebrating Women’s International Day since 1973.

    “We need to value women more than we do now in our society,” Hilton said.

    Humboldt State lecturer of women and Native American studies Sara Obenauer spoke on stage at the Arcata Playhouse. She grew up as a first-generation Filipino American woman, and was raised in a matriarchal society.

    “I was raised by women,” Obenauer said. “However, like many women across the world, I experienced masculine imbalance.”

    Obenauer spoke about the idea of masculine imbalance, meaning power is disproportional and is taken away from woman

    “I find it vital that we need to embrace and celebrate womanhood, since we live in a really sexist and misogynistic society,” Obenauer said. “I don’t think I need to stress how necessary this is for us, especially in our cultural-political climate.”

    Obenauer said we need to believe in ourselves and our abilities in order to put an end to self destruction.

    “Nothing new will be created until women collectively take the lead and heal within themselves,” Obenauer said.

  • Women’s sports working hard through Springbreak

    Women’s sports working hard through Springbreak

    By Curran Daly

    While school stopped for students over the past week, not everyone was given a break. A few of HSU women’s sports teams had a busy week.

    Women’s track and field competed at the Hornet Invite in Sacramento. With multiple standout performances.

    Most notable was track athlete, Alyssabeth DeJerez. DeJerez ran the 400m hurdles in 58.84 seconds. Her time automatically qualified her for nationals and improved on the Humboldt State record that she already held in the event. DeJerez was named CCAA student athlete of the week.

    This was not Dejerez’s first great performance of the season. Earlier in the season DeJerez was also named the CCAA Female Track Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Kim Duyst Invitational at Stanislaus State.

    “I got to Humboldt with this determination to make a name for myself,” DeJerez said. “I kinda sacrificed a lot. I don’t go out on the weekends, I build my diet around how I want to perform, I have to prep my body and roll out.”

    Humboldt State Women’s track and field team is ranked number two in the country. Coach Scott Pesch believes it is his runner’s hard work and his fellow coaches that have helped the women’s program reach its number two ranking.

    “I gotta thank my coaches,” Pesch said. “I can’t do this alone that’s for sure.”

    Women’s track is not the only nationally ranked women’s team on Humboldt’s campus. The Humboldt women’s softball team has been ranked number one in the nation in recent weeks and the Humboldt Women’s Rowing team opened the season ranked fourth in their pre-season poll.

    Women’s rowing had a very busy spring break competing in Sacramento, Davis, and then spending the rest of the break in Newport Beach training before racing in the Berg Cup this past Saturday. Overall, the women’s team spent nine days on the road a busier spring break then they are used too.

    “We’ve never trained the entire week of spring break, so this was kinda a new adventure,” Coach Robin Meiggs said. “We raced some of our big division one rivals.”

    Those rivals include UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Long Beach State and Sacramento state.

    The break was an opportunity to get away from cold early morning practices. The team was able to enjoy practices that started at 9 a.m. and enjoyed weather about 15 degrees warmer than their used to.

    On March 25. the women’s rowing team will be participating in the Blue Heron Redwood Sprints Regatta in Eureka. The meet will start at 7:45 a.m. and will end around 10:30 a.m.

  • Underrepresented minority groups in science

    Underrepresented minority groups in science

    By Iridian Casarez

    HSU science professors and staff organized an event last Saturday, March 4, dubbed “You belong here!” Created for underrepresented minority groups in science, the event served as a community  building function for women in science. The event focused on discussions about what a scientist looks like, how to be a badass scientist and understanding imposter syndrome. Although the event named women specifically, anyone was welcomed to join in.

    Paola Rodriguez Hidalgo is a professor in physics and astronomy at HSU. Rodriguez Hidalgo was a collaborative organizer that helped put the event together with a group of other science professors and staff.

    Rodriguez Hidalgo said students in science sometimes feel like they don’t belong. Women and underrepresented minority groups in the science field often leave the field they are trying to pursue.

    “The percentages of women in science are really low,” Rodriguez Hidalgo said. “We want this seminar to make women and underrepresented groups feel a sense of belonging in the science field.”

    Melanie Michalak is a geology professor at HSU. Michalak also helped organize the event.

    “We noticed in science classes the students consist of 50 percent male and 50 female but the male students often tend to speak up more,” Michalak said.

    Michalak said that women and underrepresented groups often feel the imposter syndrome.

    The imposter syndrome is a condition that any student may feel. Imposter syndrome is when a student feels unqualified and doesn’t feel smart enough to the point that they think they are fooling others into believing they are smart and successful in a class that is challenging to them. In reality, they are not fooling anyone but themselves, according to Claire Till, an assistant professor of chemistry at HSU.

    “A lot of people who feel imposter syndrome are all actually very successful,” Till said.

    Till ran the imposter syndrome workshop at the event alongside another HSU assistant professor Kerri Hickenbottom.

    Till said that the event organizers wanted to let people know what imposter syndrome was a normal thought that exists and a lot of people feel it. Till also said that women and underrepresented minority groups are more likely to feel imposter syndrome.

    According to the university enrollment dashboard, 50 percent of students in the college of natural resource and science are women and 35 percent of those students are underrepresented minority ethnic groups.

    Jenna Schoelkopf is a chemistry major. Schoelkopf said she attended the event because she wanted to know more about imposter syndrome.

    “As I was reading what imposter syndrome was I started crying because I have felt that way since I was 7 and I have that feeling in class,” Schoelkopf said. “It was super weird reading it.”

    Julianne Sison-Ebitner is an environmental resource engineering major. Sison-Ebitner said she attended the event because she wanted to get advice from people who share the same experiences as women in science and how they have overcome the obstacles they faced.

    “I come from a really traditional Filipino family,  the only science my family was exposed to was nursing, so when I told my them I wanted to be an engineer it really confused them,” Sison-Ebitner said. “It’s been a battle to get here.”

    Sison-Ebitner said that the seminar uplifted her and gave her the confidence and reassurance that she is a woman of science.

    “I am a woman of science and that is not going to change,” Sison-Ebitner said.

  • Housing sees more open beds

    Housing sees more open beds

    By Charlotte Rutigliano

    Because enrollment decreased this past term, less students struggled to find openings in campus housing. Senior psychology major Victor Perez was able to change dorms from the campus apartments to the College Creek complex because there was the space available for the upgrade.

    Stephen St. Onge, director of Housing and Residence Life, said housing normally starts off the fall semester with around 104 percent occupancy and drop a little in the spring.

    Currently housing is at 96.5 percent occupancy, having more open spaces for female students than male students. This has been a trend over the past few years.

    Twenty-four-year old transfer student Kimberly Encio said when she lived in the College Creek housing complex it was a little overcrowded. The only reason she decided to move off campus was the high cost of living on campus.

    “If it wasn’t so expensive I would have stayed on campus,” Encio said. “I loved the convenience of it all, being able to come home between breaks, close to the library and class, all of it.”

    According to St. Onge, one goal the housing department has is to provide a reasonable cost for on campus housing.

    “One of the strongest factors in student retention is living on campus for at least one year,” St. Onge said.

    Housing is not just focusing on the cost, they are also very focused on opening up more spacing for both new and returning students. St. Onge said they have increased the number of lottery seats for returning students by 100.

    With the university getting larger there is more demand for housing both on and off campus for students. Both Perez and Encio agreed that the university should have another dorm complex on campus to help with overcrowding and so they could provide more spaces to new and returning students.

    St. Onge said that the housing department is always open to suggestions and feedback from students and said they have an open forum on March 2 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Jolly Giant Commons to discuss the potential for adding new housing on and off campus.

  • The future of Women’s Crew

    The future of Women’s Crew

    Video & Story by Andre Hascall

    Five years ago HSU’s women’s crew won their very first national championship.

    This year, these women are on a route to get title number two led by team captain MacKenzie Danies, an engineering major from West Linn, Ore.

    “This year this team is different than any other team we’ve had… the energy and the excitement for everything we do is crazy,” Danies said. “We know that getting up at 5 a.m. is for a purpose and for us to potentially win nationals.”

    Danies has high aspirations for her team this year.

    “This year we have a good chance to be the best team on the west coast,”Danies said. “I think that aside from our rowing accomplishments this year we are just a great group of girls, because we’re a family.”

    Rowing is very demanding with early morning practice times, so having veteran leadership and a positive attitude is essential.

    Ripley McChesney, a wildlife major and geospatial studies minor from Davis, Calif., is entering her fourth year here at HSU.

    “I’ve been rowing for eight years now; my goal is to make this year my best one since it’s my last,” McChesney said. “I think that this team is perfect for that. They are motivated, and they make me more motivated, especially when everyone is having a great time so early in the morning.”

    The end goal for this team is clear, as the mindset seems to be wanting a championship all around. Fourth year rower and kinesiology major, Alexia Robledo believes that this team has a shot at glory.

    “This is my fourth and final year rowing at HSU. My goals are to do the best that I can for this team and hopefully get a shot at winning nationals,” Robledo said. Robledo gave gratitude to her team for having great camaraderie.

    After winning in 2012, the journey back to championship fame has been eventful. Coach Robin Meiggs is confident in her team’s ability for success this year, with a mix of veteran leadership and energized first year rowers.

    “I see a lot of kids that think they need to go D1 as a conduit for rowing. Getting kids to come to HSU to row is challenging,” Meiggs said. “We generally create our team as walk-ons, every year from the bottom up. So, we have to get these girls in the position to compete with other teams stacked with rowers.”