the
STUDENTS SERVING THE HUMBOLDT CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1929
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LUMBERJACK WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 , 2022 | VOL. 120 NO. 9
Something Rotten
E D Q H U M B O L D T L U M B E RJ A C K K
Project Rebound
T H E L U M B E RJ A C K .O R G
Index
pg 4 pg 3
News.........................3 Life & Arts...........................4 Science....................5
Lacrosse pg 6
Sports..................... 6 Opinion...................7
TRESPASS GROWS THREATEN NATURAL SPACES
by Krisanne Keiser
The environmental impacts of legal and illegal growing operations are not well understood by many of the residents of Humboldt County, however, it is important that we are aware of how extractive industries impact the environment and all its relatives. “The rush mentality is what founded Humboldt County…people act like that was a long time ago and we have definitely moved on, [that] we’re this very green friendly place, we’re liberals, we’re leftists,” said Department Chair of Native American Studies, Cutcha Risling Baldy (Yurok/Hupa/Karuk). “This is how people think of Humboldt County, but
Graphic by Morgan Hancock
NIMBY threatens student housing by Gabriel Zucker
The California housing crisis can be summed up with one question: to build or not to build? The status quo has always favored single-family homeowners. The recent win for NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) over UC Berkeley has brought light to the biggest problem California college students are going to face for the foreseeable future: the lack of affordable housing. California Governor Gavin Newsom passed a stack of bills focused on fixing the California housing crisis. The biggest bill was Senate Bill Number 9, which allows a four housing unit on a single-family lot. This prioritizes affordable housing for future generations and moves away from the outdated practice of single-family zoning. NIMBYs are local homeowners against affordable housing in their neighborhoods. They argue that their home values will drop and they will lose the peacefulness of single-family-owned housing communities if affordable housing structures were built in the area. The California Supreme Court sided with NIMBY in a court case against UC Berkeley, going against California’s push towards affordable housing. This forced the school to cut admissions by 2,500 students for the 2022 fall semester. NIMBY won because they argued that UC Berkeley was accepting more students than they could house.
SEE NIMBY ● PAGE 7
what founded us is this Gold Rush and we have been rushing ever since…so after the Gold Rush ‘well, gold didn’t make us enough money, lets rush any kind of minerals that we can get’ and then after that ‘well that didn’t make us enough, let’s rush timber’…and I think we’ve been rushing since 1849.” Assistant professor of Native American Studies Kaitlin Reed (Yurok/ Hupa/Oneida) is the author of “From Gold Rush to Green Rush.” In the book, she illustrates the correlation between the destructiveness of the Gold Rush period and the marijuana industry in Humboldt County (Green Rush). Reed’s presentation “Cannabis & Environmental Justice in Humboldt County,” explains that environmental injustice comes into play when settler-colonial infrastructures further dispossess and exploit Indigenous lands for capital gain. The marijuana industry perpetuates settler-colonial harm by damaging sensitive ecosystems and cultural areas that Indigenous peoples rely on for
Sex toys for the soul
by Alana Hackman
The college experience is something you hear about before you get the chance to step foot on campus. Whether it’s beer talk with dad or sorority rushing advice with mom, we all get a little taste of the dining hall food and frat parties from the people closest to us before our own orientation day, but they usually skim over one major detail: sex. Blame it on your nearing 20s or the newfound freedom of living hours away from your parents, but sex is definitely a part of the college experience. Cal Poly Humboldt’s Peer Health Educators (PHE) are here to promote sexual and mental health on campus. The program is funded through the Student Health Center and works to provide student-to-student education surrounding sexual and mental health. The peer educators apply their and others’ experiences to create interactive health promotions such as workshops or guest speakers. The program also focuses on sexual wellness within yourself as well as with partners. The educators encourage the use of sex toys and even have some silicone dildos on display in their office located in the Recreation and Wellness Center in room 127. The current Peer Health Educators are Sierra Cosper, Selena Aguilera, and Emily Black. All are have been with PHE for over two years. Cosper explained how there is still a stigma around sex toys and sex education. Cosper also noted that men are more apprehensive about toys than women. Graphics by Sierra Cosper “Sometimes
when I talk to them [men] about the job I’m doing they’ve said ‘oh why would I come in here to know anything,’” said Cosper. “ There’s this idea with men and sex toys that they can’t be better than their penis.” The group recommended the local storefront Good Relations in Eureka for those interested in dipping their toes into the world of sex toys for a wide selection of toys in discrete packaging as well as informative and helpful staff. “If you’re too embarrassed to go, you gotta remember they’re choosing to work there, they want people to come,” said Aguilera. “And then come,” joked Cosper. “They want you to be as healthy and comfortable about it as possible,” said Aguilera. The group also advised beginners to use toys by themselves before introducing them to a partner as it can cause some miscommunication sometimes. Although, all agreed using toys doesn’t have to be solitary and using them with others is an experience as well. “It puts a lot of pressure on relationships sometimes, like ‘I’m not good enough’ feelings cause you’re using this toy, but they’re actually just really fun,” said Cosper. “You can’t expect your partner to get you off every time also.” “It’s supposed to enhance your experience not take anything away from it,” added Aguilera. Black, Cosper, and Aguilera also encourage proper care of sex toys to avoid sexually transmitted diseases or infections. They recommended a lot of toys are able to be boiled but toys usually come with care instructions on how
survival and health. Just like the Gold Rush, marijuana cultivation poses many threats to Native peoples who rely on the land and rivers for their livelihoods. According to Reed, trespass cultivation, in which growers illegally occupy public or tribal land to cultivate their grow sites, is the most harmful type of growing operation. “These types of grows are most frequently associated with the most severe environmental impacts,” Reed said. Trespass growers hike into the mountains and hills to clear-cut a crop site, which has a devastating impact on the sensitive biodiversity of that natural place. These growing sites are chosen for cover and secrecy, so it’s more likely that a grow sites will disturb highly sensitive bio-diverse ecosystems.
SEE CANNABIS ● PAGE 5
to clean and properly care for them, also mentioning to steer clear of toys made of porous material and the use of silicone lubes on silicone toys to avoid degradation over time. “Something people forget to do sometimes is clean communal toys, which are more popular in queer communities,” said Cosper. “The communal strap-on, you should be using condoms on it between each person. Same with vibrators to avoid any risks of spreading.” The PHE educators all agreed they encourage more open discussions about sex toys to break the fears and taboos surrounding them, which is exactly what they’re doing within their roles on campus. Black encourages students to participate in their tabling events to enter a safe space for open conversations about sexual health and wellness. “Everyone gets embarrassed, but liking what you like is sexy,” said Aguilera. “Not being afraid to show what you like is nothing to be ashamed about, you know.” Join the Peer Health Educators at their annual Sexland event on April 23, a sex-positive, kink-based, informative event including sex toy giveaways and much more.
PAGE 2
THE LUMBERJACK
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
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That rash or sore might be
SYPHILIS Syphilis is on the rise in Humboldt County
GET FACTS. GET TESTED. GET CURED.
Contact your primary care provider or visit humboldtgov.org/STD.
Esa erupción o lesión puede ser
This campaign borrowed from Pima County Health Department.
La sífilis está aumentando en el condado de Humboldt OBTÉN DATOS. HAZTE LA PRUEBA. CURARSE. Comuníquese con su proveedor de atención primaria o visite humboldtgov.org/STD.
THE LUMBERJACK
NEWS
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
PAGE 3
Student opinions polarize over lifted mask mandate on campus by Eddie Carpenter On March 14, face mask requirements were lifted on Humboldt’s campus as a way to transition back to normal operations. This has created polarizing views towards how students and staff going maskless might affect the local community. Some students have chosen to ditch the masks while
others still embrace them. Local musician Dillon Harp expressed how one’s personal choice can affect the community as a whole. “As an African-American and knowing that my family has elders in it…the mask is just really there to protect others,” Harp said. “Obviously the mask can let particles in like more so than
Graphic by Poppy Cartledge
Activist calls out Humboldt community for limited BIPOC support Low turnout for a Women’s History Month protest in the Arcata Plaza led to the organizer calling out local men and white people for performative activism by Liam Gwynn Nikki Valencia hosts a protest in the Arcata Plaza with a group of supporters on the last Thursday of every month. These protests are meant to raise awareness for the problems facing the BIPOC and LGBTQ communities and March’s protest had an emphasis on Women’s History Month. Despite Valencia’s poster gaining traction ahead of time online, only a handful of people showed up for the actual protest. The first hour of the protest consisted mostly of a few people meandering around the plaza while Valencia and her group of supporters sat at booths handing out flyers and selling art created by Valencia. After a few more people arrived, Valencia took out her megaphone and gave an impassioned speech to the twenty or so people who had gathered. The protests around these issues weren’t always so small in Humboldt County. In previous protests, during the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, the community rallied and supported the causes in a far more substantial way. Valencia is a Cal Poly Humboldt student and she organized her first protest in McKinlyeville in 2020 and over three hundred people showed up. “A lot of supposed allies fell off,” Valencia said. “When I had my protest in 2020, you know, I had three hundred people, all these people cared and it was easy to care because black death you know, it doesn’t take much for that.”
The problem activists are facing now is getting people to still care and be active when there isn’t a sensational story playing through social media constantly. “What I learned from a lot of people is a lot of that (community support) was outrage and outrage runs out fast and then you see who’s really there,” said Valencia. Valencia thinks a lot of these problems stem from students lacking intersectionality in their social circles. They said that people will post infographics on their Instagram stories but that doesn’t actually mean they’re attending protests or even connecting with people outside of their race and social circle. “People can hide behind their infographics and say that they’re progressive by like sharing something and they don’t have to really read it, apply it or really like care about that,” said Valencia, continuing. “It takes no energy to do that and a lot of people can barely do that.” The best way that Valencia thinks allies can show their support for these issues is by diversifying their social circle and embracing intersectionality, educating themselves on topics so others don’t have to do it for them, and finally showing up for events and protests that support BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. For more information regarding future protests, follow Nikki Valencia on Instagram @soulbunni. The protests are held in the Arcata Plaza the last Thursday of every month from 3-5 pm.
let particles out…Wearing your mask is really just about kind of looking out for the community for me. I ain’t really unmasking anytime soon. If we can all come together a little and see some of the basic logic behind protecting each other, our elderly family members- I think we can all help out and just keep the mask on a little longer.” Carlos Ochoa-Silvas, a rangeland resource major, expressed how masks gave him skin problems. “Wear a mask if you have symptoms of anything or if you feel like you’re not a hundred-percent,” Ochoa-Silvas said. “When I heard about it, I was mostly excited just because I didn’t like wearing the mask. I kept breaking out underneath and it was really irritating my skin.” Political science major Lake McLeod believes that Humboldt’s recent transition could not come at a better time than this. “Personally, I agreed with it. I think that eventually, we do have to kind of return to some kind of sense of normalcy,” McLeod said. “You know after two years of being masked…and the cases are down, so I feel like at this point we
should learn to live with COVID like we do [with] the flu.” English and CRGS major Mireille Roman thinks of wearing a mask as an act of solidarity. “I would say that because it’s not a mandate now, it’s kind of become a personal choice to what you want to do with it,” Roman said. “But your personal choice still impacts people at the end of the day. I think the best way that my professor put it was like ‘I’m going to stand in solidarity with people who can’t take off their masks.’ Because there’s people who [are saying] ‘I’m perfectly healthy. I’m vaccinated. I’m good.’ Yeah, but just because you’re fine doesn’t mean that other people are going to be in a position to do so as well... but I think it really dictates the environment of a classroom when the professor chooses to wear a mask or not. Until the numbers are better and just nationally we’re more responsive to this, I’m probably going to keep wearing my mask.” Between March 15 and March 22, Humboldt County Public Health reported 72 new COVID-19 cases with 2 new hospitalizations.
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Wednesday, March 30, 2022
THE LUMBERJACK
Life & Arts
Something Rotten! at Cal Poly Humboldt
by Nina Hufman
The Cal Poly Humboldt School of Theater’s production of Something Rotten! was entertaining, energetic, and full of innuendo. On opening night last Friday, March 25, patrons filled the Van Duzer Theater to see the comedy, set in the 16th century. From the opening song, ‘Welcome to the Renaissance,’ the cast dazzled in beautiful costumes on a stunning set. All of the actors are extremely talented singers and performers. It was clear that they all put in a lot of work and are proud of what they have accomplished. Jeremy Stolp, an English Education major who played one of the lead roles, Nick Bottom, feels that being in theater is a rewarding experience. “Theater is such a privilege and so much fun to do,” Stolp said. “If you ever have the opportunity, I suggest you try it.” The musical was incredibly entertaining. Some of my favorite scenes included Shakespeare’s John Cena-esque entrances, Bea’s hope for a gender-equal future, and the show’s lampooning of religion. One of the best
songs was “Will Power,” featuring a leather pants-clad William Shakespeare (Jaese Lecuyer) and his crowd of adoring fans. I also enjoyed “A Musical,” a comic number during which fortune-telling Nostradamus (Sammi Pietanza) tells Nick Bottom that the next big thing in the theater will be musicals, all while wearing a hat that I am convinced was a paid actor. Many of the jokes are meant to be ironic, making fun of musicals and the theater. The way that this is incorporated into the story is very clever. The cast was rightfully proud of what they accomplished and are looking forward to adding to each performance in future shows. “I don’t think that they (the cast) expected the reaction that they got so when they did it was just this moment of awe,” said Katie Lem, a member of the ensemble. “Everybody standing up at the end was such a beautiful moment for everybody.” One of the most compelling performances was Miah Carter as Bea, Nick’s wife. Throughout the play, Bea disguises herself as a man to maintain several different jobs and help her husband fi-
Photo by Michael Thomas | Jaese Lecuyer as Shakespeare serenades the audience, flanked by ensemble members Sophia Escudero and Zoë Saylor.
nancially and push for gender equality. Carter’s performance showcased her talents as an actor and singer, particularly in her solo “Right Hand Man.” “This is my first ever lead, so this was a good step up for me,” Carter said. Carter says that theater is a great community to be a part of and that they are all incredibly supportive of one another. “All of us were so proud of what we pulled through,” Carter said. “I love everyone in this cast.”
The cast and crew are looking forward to continuing to develop this musical as they perform it more. “I’m excited for the depth and complexity that we kind of add into it every single show,” Lem said. “Not every night is the same.” The musical is running this weekend on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m and on Sunday at 2 p.m. The musical will have you loving to hate William Shakespeare right along with the Bottom brothers.
Jimmy Baca brings poetry to the people with Project Rebound by Abraham Navarro A group of formerly incarcerated students picked up their ultra-wide pizza slabs and towering salad mounds from the counter at the Arcata Pizza Deli. They dragged two tables together, commandeering chairs from the surrounding tables and gathered for the feast. Each of the Project Rebound members were hungry for conversation with the famous award-winning Chicano poet, memoirist and member of the family Jimmy Santiago Baca. One of them asks him across the table as he takes a sip of his drink, “So, what’s the pale white monster that’s coming up to get you, Jimmy?” They were asking about an excerpt he read from a story where he steps out over frigid ice as it splinters beneath his weight to prove his love for his wife, Stacy. “Ah when you’re a kid you look deep in the water under the ice, you imagine
all sorts of things,” Baca says. Baca has a deep raspy voice, and he lights up when he talks to the student. He has a shaved head, furrowed brow with welcoming brown eyes and a warm complexion. Although he’s bundled up against the Humboldt evening chill in a black turtleneck and a blue down jacket, he feels cozy and right at home amongst the formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students from Cal Poly Humboldt’s chapter of Project Rebound. Earlier in the evening in the Great Hall above the College Creek Marketplace he read exclusive excerpts from some of his unpublished work and other poems and stories of his during the Project Rebound’s third annual Reentry Forum. Project Rebound is a program for formerly incarcerated and system impacted students at Cal Poly Humboldt. According to their website they aim to empower individuals convicted of a
crime in a county, state, or federal jurisdiction who have clearly expressed their desire and readiness to earn a degree at Humboldt. Baca has been to previous reentry forums, even attending via Zoom during the pandemic restrictions to show his support for Project Rebound and getting to know the members like Tammy Phrakonkham, 30, a Cal Poly Humboldt Project Rebound member and a returning graduate student majoring in geology in the fall. When Phrakonkham heard Baca read his stories and share his wisdom, she felt as though her experiences being formerly incarcerated were validated. Her family comes from Laos as refugees to the United States. Growing up in impoverished conditions, she remembers her brothers and uncles all working in gangs, and she followed suit. Phrakonkham was incarcerated for stealing cars and trafficking ecstasy. “It was all I knew,” she said. “When
I listen to Jimmy, I feel like I’m not the only one.” Despite years of isolation due to the pandemic, Baca was happy to make an appearance in Humboldt to visit his friends at Project Rebound, the first event he said he has been to since COVID-19 caused the shift to online events. “You all have become like my adopted family,” he said to them. “If it wasn’t Project Rebound I wouldn’t have even gotten on that flight!” Baca was adamant that poetry was for the people, those who suffer and work, play, cry, feel, live and die; poetry was not something that could be hoarded by the wealthy, kept from the poor. It was created by the people and it should be given back to the people. By sharing his work with Project Rebound, Baca feels like he has done that, and he has made a family out of them in the process.
Doug Smith curates space for Black liberation by Lex Valtenbergs Growing up as a Black person who attended a predominately white school in his hometown of Palmdale, California, Doug Smith learned early on how to code-switch, or alter his behavior to fit white societal norms. Still, his peers expected him to act a certain way because he was Black. “People had perceptions of what it was like to be Black; they have their own ideas,” Smith said. “I remember one time a new Eminem song had come out and some white dudes in my P.E. class knew the lyrics and I didn’t know the lyrics, and they’re like, ‘Oh, so we’re Blacker than you are.’” Smith’s formative lived experiences with code-switching and microaggressions - subtle statements or actions that are discriminatory against members of marginalized groups - made him very cognizant of other peoples’ perceptions of him early on. “That was really my first understanding of code-switching,” Smith said. “I would totally present different-
ly because I was really conscious of how people were perceiving me.” As a Cal Poly Humboldt international studies alumnus, staff member and graduate student majoring in English, Smith has been involved in the campus community since 2013. Today, he is the coordinator at the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence at Cal Poly Humboldt, a position that he has held since July 2019. “It’s such a rare opportunity for Blackness to be centered,” Smith said. “So I really want Black students to be able to make it theirs.” Smith’s vision for the Umoja Center going forward is to foster Black student development, including but not limited to publishing their writing, and foster Black liberation by curating spaces that are made for and by Black people. Amplifying Black voices that often get silenced or ignored is key. “[I’m] always visible because I’m a Black person, because you stand out,” Smith said. “But then at the same time, I think that oftentimes my voice isn’t always audible or isn’t always heard.”
Photo by Lex Valtenbergs | Doug Smith poses with his copy of The Selected Works of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde outside the Student Activities Center on March 14.
Although the Umoja Center is first and foremost a space for Black students, faculty and staff, it’s open to everyone on campus. “I think it’s so cool that we have an educational, Black-centric space [at] a university that really has an opportunity to educate our campus and local community,” Smith said.
To learn more, visit the Umoja Center in Room 206 at Nelson Hall East, follow @umojahumboldt on Instagram, or go to umoja.humboldt.edu. To get involved, attend an event listed on the website or volunteer with the Umoja Center on Fridays from 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Bayside Park Farm on Old Arcata Road.
THE LUMBERJACK
CANNABIS From page 1
In addition to clear-cutting, growers use and bring certain supplies that are horrible for the environment. These include soil that contains noxious chemicals, herbicides, and insecticides that are released into the earth as well as garbage, plastics, batteries, homemade invasive structures, vehicles, petroleum products, etc. Additionally, chemicals and other contaminants left by growers poison wildlife species like the West Coast Fisher. Reed explained that rodenticide is an over-the-counter rat poison which causes animals to bleed out internally after consumption. Research wildlife ecologist Mourad Gabriel led a study in 2015 that examined rodenticide poisoning in the West Coast Fisher population. It was concluded that between 2012 and 2015 the federally threatened species faced an increased number of deaths due to exposure to rodenticide poisoning from illegal pot farms. Reed explained that rodenticide is usually a slow death, and causes animals to be easy prey for predators. This creates a vicious cycle where the poison gets passed from animal to animal. It’s easier for predators to catch an animal that is slow and weak, and so the con-
Graphic by August Linton
Science
tamination process continues through the predator who consumed the poisoned prey. Indigenous communities are also heavily impacted by trespass grows. During our interview, Reed relayed a story that she heard from the Yurok tribe in which they located several abandoned trespass cultivation sites on their land. One site had a shocking one hundred five-gallon buckets, overflowing with human feces. Growers will often defecate in rivers, streams, and tributaries. Because marijuana cultivation requires a significant amount of water, the water levels become extremely low, magnifying the effect of those contaminates. Tribal members who consumed the contaminated water were struck with E.coli, including a Yurok Tribal Chairman. “We ingest the water from our rivers. We’re salmon people, we depend on the fish in those rivers,” said Reed. “In a western framework, there’s a distinction between human beings and nature ... settler colonial resource extraction perpetuates violence not only against the landscape but it also perpetuates violence against Indigenous bodies because we depend on that landscape.” Yurok tribal members are afraid to go out on the land to gather food and
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
other cultural resources in fear of accidentally walking into a grow site, according to Reed. Typically, grow operations are dangerous and harbor some threatening people who will do what they must to protect their crops, including acting violently. “From a trespass cultivator’s perspective, your goal is to remain undetected. You don’t want anyone to find out what you’re doing or where you are,” Reed said. “It makes little difference if there’s an FBI agent approaching your grow or if it’s an eighty-yearold woman looking for hazelnut sticks.” She expounded that Indigenous peoples have many reasons to access their ancestral territory: to gather,
PAGE 5
practice ceremonies, pray and manage landscapes. However, doing so has led to tribal members being subjected to violence from trespass growers. “There have been stories of tribal members being held at gunpoint because they’ve accidentally stumbled upon a grow,” she continued, “I’ve had people tell me they are scared to go down certain roads in broad daylight because of trespass cultivation.” Today, around 60% of the marijuana grown in California is grown on public or tribal lands, and the responsibility of cleaning up environmental degradation left by growers falls to Indigenous communities.
That rash or sore might be
SYPHILIS Syphilis is on the rise in Humboldt County
GET FACTS. GET TESTED. GET CURED.
Contact your primary care provider or visit humboldtgov.org/STD.
This campaign borrowed from Pima County Health Department.
PAGE 6
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
SPORTS
THE LUMBERJACK Photo by Morgan Hancock | Track athletes start off the men’s 1400-meter on Saturday, March 26.
by Eddie Carpenter On March 26, Cal Poly Humboldt hosted an invitational track meet. The Jacks have competed in a total of six meets so far. This was Humboldt’s first official home track meet of the season. The event kicked off with the women’s and men’s 4x100 meter relay. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it experience consisting of six rival teams.
I could not contain my excitement all week long. Its just an amazing feeling to be home. -Joy Hano, Track Athlete Sophomore Joy Hano competed in the long jump, 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter open, and the 4x400 meter relay. She described how ecstatic she felt during her events. “I had this energy in my body just being home,” Hano said. “After a really long stretch on the road, it felt amazing. It was super exciting. Literally, I could not contain my excitement all week long. It’s just an amazing feeling being home. So happy that we have great weather today and a great showing.” Hano set new personal records in all of her events. After some hardships in long jump at an OSU meet, Hano was able to come back and PR by five inches. She placed first place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time
of 14.85 seconds, third in the 100-meter run, and PR’d by 0.2 seconds with a time of 12.63 seconds. She also competed in the 400-meter relay where she dropped a second from her personal best time. Decathlete Travis Allen believed that the invitational helped him prepare for upcoming meets. “I had some highlights. Did pole vault---cleared a couple heights,” Allen said. “Did the hurdles got a PR there…Going to these events, you’re not going to see improvements every single time, but if I can get more points here and there overall, that’s going to help my decathlon.” Distance runner Elliot Portillo was enthusiastic about his performances and those of his peers. “Today I ran the 1500 meter and the 1000 meter. I think that the training we’ve been doing- we’ve been out here pretty much since January,” Portillo said. “I think now as we get into the mid of our season, everyone’s been seeing a lot of improvement. Even if you see today, a lot of people came away with personal bests in a kind of more low-key event… Everyone came out today much more confident in their ability to execute when it matters.” Portillo hopes to put a time on the record list at the school before he leaves. Humboldt’s first section of 4x100 men’s relay team placed third with a time of 3:34.02. Their second section of 4x100 men’s relay was not recorded because they did not finish. In the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Humboldt placed second with a time of 4:02:87. Now Humboldt athletes are preparing for the Mike Fanelli Track Classic on March 31.
Photo by Morgan Hancock | Joy Hano leads the 100-meter hurdles at the Cal Poly Humboldt Track invitational on March 26.
Humboldt Hogs go ham by Morgan Hancock This week saw two home games for the “Humboldt Hogs,” Cal Poly Humboldt’s own men’s lacrosse team. The team put up a fight during their Saturday game but ultimately lost to Chico. They didn’t let the wildcats go easily. A strong defense led by goalie Zack Gamble held off the Wildcats for nearly the whole game. The score stuck at 1-7 until the last five minutes of the game. The Hogs were down but not giving any room for the wildcats to score. At around four minutes left on the clock,
Humboldt goalie Zack Gamble received a penalty after a less-than-savory hit from one of the Wildcats. “We may lose on the scoreboard, but we send that other team back to where they came from hurtin’,” Gamble said. “This season, we’re not underdogs– we’re like the junkyard dogs. The one thing every team has said about us is we never quit.” The Hogs only have twelve members on their team, leaving only one sub. The Wildcats continuously pulled from athletes on the bench while the Hogs gave
Photo by Morgan Hancock | Humboldt Hog Riley Swiztler clashes with Chico on the LAX field on the Saturday game, March 26.
them sixty minutes of hell. With Gamble out on penalty, there were no subs. River Galas, another defender, quickly swapped out stick and pads to fill the Gamble-sized hole in front of the net. The final score of 1-13 was a vast improvement from Wednesday’s game. “It was one of our closer games,” Hunter Hartman said. “Chico is normally a really good team, so it was cool to see this game be a close one. It’s really hard with no subs. We’re definitely gassed. The better half of our game is usually the second half since we’re used
to being gassed and the other team isn’t.” The team is already getting psyched for the next game on April 9 against the UC Santa Cruz’s Banana Slugs. Substitute coach Sam Barton thinks the team is improving and putting up a good fight for their size. “These kids got some good fight in them,” said Barton. “These guys are working hard, they got three more games left, and Santa Cruz has always been a good rival game.”
THE LUMBERJACK
OPINION
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Lifted mask mandate polarizes student opinions Students are divided on the mandate by Eddie Carpenter
unmasking anytime soon. If we can all come together a little and see some of On March 14, face mask require- the basic logic behind protecting each ments were lifted on Humboldt’s other, our elderly family memcampus as a way to transition bers- I think we can all help out back to normal operations. This and just keep has created polarizing views tothe mask on a little longer.” wards how students and staff Carlos Ochoa-Silvas, a going maskless might afrangeland resource major, fect the local community. expressed how masks gave Some students him skin problems. have chosen “Wear a mask if you to ditch the have symptoms of anymasks while thing or if you feel like others still you’re not a hundred-perembrace cent,” Ochoa-Silvas said. them. When I heard about it, Local muI was mostly excited sician Dillon just because I didn’t Harp exlike wearing the pressed how mask. I kept breakone’s pering out underneath Graphic by Ione Dellos sonal choice and it was really irrican affect the community as a whole. tating my skin.” “As an African-American and knowPolitical science major Lake McLeod ing that my family has elders in it…the believes that Humboldt’s recent tranmask is just really there to protect oth- sition could not come at a better time ers,” Harp said. “Obviously the mask than this. can let particles in like more so than “Personally, I agreed with it. I think let particles out…Wearing your mask that eventually, we do have to kind of is really just about kind of looking out return to some kind of sense of normalfor the community for me. I ain’t really cy,” McLeod said. “You know after two
years of being masked…and the cases are down, so I feel like at this point we should learn to live with COVID like we do [with] the flu.” English and CRGS major Mireille Roman thinks of wearing a mask as an act of solidarity. “I would say that because it’s not a mandate now, it’s kind of become a personal choice to what you want to do with it,” Roman said. “But your personal choice still impacts people at the end of the day. I think the best way that my professor put it was like ‘I’m going to stand in solidarity with people who can’t take off their masks.’ Because there’s people who [are saying] ‘I’m perfectly healthy. I’m vaccinated. I’m good.’ Yeah, but just because you’re fine doesn’t mean that other people are going to be in a position to do so as well... but I think it really dictates the environment of a classroom when the professor chooses to wear a mask or not. Until the numbers are better and just nationally we’re more responsive to this, I’m probably going to keep wearing my mask.” Between March 15 and March 22, Humboldt County Public Health reported 72 new COVID-19 cases with 2 new hospitalizations.
I’m a first generation college student
by Mekiah Glynn
My mother dropped out of college after one semester and my oldest sister dropped out of two different colleges within the span of two years. I am the definition of a first-generation college student. A third of undergraduates are first-generation, yet we hear very little about the perspectives of these college students. Luckily for the third of us here at Cal Poly Humboldt, there are a lot of resources for students who don’t have parents that know how to walk us through each step of college life. With mentors and workshops, Humboldt has helped me with the transition into college. Moving eight hours away from my hometown to Humboldt was already a big transition for me, but it was significantly more difficult as a first-generation college student who didn’t have a lot of people to talk to about college. My mother has supported me throughout all of this as best she can. Still, no one prepared me for the mundane things
you have to go through in college that most students just know about, such as which meal plan to pick, what you really need for classes, and how to manage your time. Those questions were answered by my RAMP mentor for the most part, which was really helpful during the year, but less so before the year started, when I was signing up for classes, housing, and meal plans. During the summer before I started, the only resource available was my sister who is a communications major at UC Davis. She didn’t have much knowledge about a smaller college or classes for an environmental studies major. Because of this, my first semester was really rocky. I failed a class, edited my meal plan, and struggled with online college classes. The workshops about organization, mental health, and finding a job werereally helpful mid-way through my first semester. The school’s resources
weren’t directed at first-generation college students, but they were still
Graphic by Abraham Navarro
helpful. Going into my second semester of college was a bit easier. I was more used to the day by day and was more
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NIMBY FROM PAGE 1
College students all over California are beginning to feel the effects of the housing crisis. Demand is rising while the options are dwindling. There is a lack of options and if this does not change other colleges will soon be forced to cut their enrollment. NIMBYs recent win highlights the division between single-family housing communities and the growing need for affordable housing. College towns are at the epicenter of this issue. College campuses will never be able to house their entire student population. Students rely on the surrounding community to find housing. The NIMBY movement is fighting against this change, wanting to preserve a way of life that does not exist anymore. The single-family home is not possible anymore in a changing climate and ever-growing homeless population. NIMBYs are clinging to their current comfortability instead of adapting to the needs of the next generation. Cal Poly Humboldt Students will soon feel the effects of this landmark decision. The influx of new students is a great thing for the university’s status but the campus will soon face tough decisions if they do not adapt to the changing times and work with the community to build more affordable housing in the surrounding area. A giant problem this semester has been the lack of parking on campus. Students must park farther and farther away from their housing because of the increase of students and stagnation of parking spaces. I had to spend months trying to find an apartment off-campus this past semester. There are already tell-tale signs of the strain the student body is putting on the schools’ resources. If UC Berkeley is a sign of things to come we must adapt before it is too late.
aware of the resources that were available. It was still a struggle. I couldn’t ask my mom about things that I’m sure most of you could ask your parents without even thinking about it, such as questions about how to contact my professors or how to deal with a roommate. Being a first-generation college student is hard. The pressure of wanting to succeed where your parents couldn’t and the need to figure out a lot of it completely by yourself will never be easy. There can always be more resources put into place that could help out the third of us that are here alone, but I do believe that Cal Poly Humboldt does a great job trying to help. Make sure to check out the basic needs section on Cal Poly Humboldt’s official website if you need any help with mental health, housing, food, etc.
The rising cost of visiting Humboldt by Cheyenne Wise As May is fast approaching, so is the dreaded inflation of renting in Humboldt. During the year you can get a hotel room or rent an Airbnb for a couple of bucks. On spring graduation weekend, hotel rates double and even triple in price. It’s not something uncommon in Humboldt but usually, high prices make it hard to find a place to rent. It’s an opportunistic extortion to get college students to overpay for rundown places. Housing is first-come, firstserve but to take advantage of people who don’t have money is gross. For some people, this is the first and only time they can make the trip to Arcata, and it’s to see their family member graduate which is an incredible opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Just checking the hotels near campus the usual cost of a hotel room for two people is at most $150 at any point
Graphic by Cheyenne Wise
during the year. But when you look at the same exact hotels during the week of graduation is $600 for two people a night. At Cal Poly Humboldt, about 78% of
full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid. That’s 78% of people whose families might not have the ability to see them walk across the stage and be handed their di-
plomas. Hotels and Airbnb hosts take advantage of people who want to support their loved ones. Forget peoples’ families for a second. What about the people who are graduating and haven’t lived in the area for some time because of the pandemic, who are trying to find a place to stay so they can be there for their own graduation? It’s not just the issue of finding a place to stay. The prices of buying a cap and gown are so high for something you will only wear once and not for a long time. I guess you could say the same thing about a wedding dress, but even those are absurd. Maybe I’m just someone who likes to count pennies and is a bit of a pessimist, but the price of graduating is excessive. We’ve already shoveled a bunch of money into the burning money pit of college so it would be lovely to be able to step away from the flames and not have to worry.
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Wednesday, March 30, 2022
FEATURE
THE LUMBERJACK
Students jam out on campus by Lex Valtenbergs On a sunny day in early March, Wildlife sophomores Olie Espinoza and Dee Naranjo played guitar and conga drums in a hidden alcove near the Art Quad. The sound of the impromptu music could be heard from several feet away. Espinoza (@itsolie_909 on Instagram) just started learning how to play guitar last year and has been playing it ever since. “I picked it up in maybe June of last year,” Espinoza said. “It’s definitely something that I always wanted to do and I never got a chance to do it.” Espinoza and Naranjo met in the dorms during their freshman year and jam together whenever they get a chance. Naranjo (@deedeedeedeedeedeedeeeeeee on Instagram) didn’t play any drums prior to learning how to play the congas in a class that they took to fulfill a General Education requirement. “I just took it as a GE class for the credits, for the art section of GE,” Naranjo said. “I saw it, it sounded cool. I’ve only been taking it for a month so far, so I don’t know much but it’s been really fun.”
Photo by Abraham Navarro | Olie Espinoza plays the guitar under shaded rhododendrons below the art quad on March 7.
Photo by Abraham Navarro | Dee Naranjo Plays the Conga drum he uses for for class near the art quad on March 7.
Photo by Abraham Navarro | Cal Poly Humboldt students Olie Espinoza and Dee Naranjo jam out under the blooming rhododendrons on a sunny afternoon near the Art Quad on March 7.