Osprey Fall 2012

osprey fall 2012 student-run magazine humboldt state university

hazing kills a soccer season

the knife sharpener the devil’s playground strong at the broken places

| Jeremy Smith-Danford

editor’s note

I

W LV GHJUHHV LQ $UFDWD DQG , VLW RQ DQ DWKOHWLF WUDLQHU WDEOH E\ WKH ORFNHU URRPV RI WKH &ROOHJH &UHHN ÀHOG with four members of the Humboldt State men’s soccer team. They are sharing with me the story of how the university charged their team with hazing and how they lost their soccer season this year.

As the players tell me what happened at the rookie party that was the source of their hazing allegations, it starts raining. The heavy clouds buckle underneath the weight of the rain and the wind picks up.

Taking notes, my computer screen gets wet from the sideways rain and my Àngers become numb from the cold -- I am happy. This is the moment I will remember from my time as a student journalist at HSU. It is in this moment that I understand what I had always believed true, but had yet to experience in earnest: I love investigative journalism.

In over 15 hours of interviewing soccer players and university administration, I got the story I was looking for. But what I came to realize throughout the process was that the story was not simply my journalistic scoop, but rather the experiences of Àve soccer players who talked with me throughout the semester. They told their own story, and rightly so -- it was theirs to tell.

My investigation was one that not only needed accuracy, but altruistic reporting. I wanted to tell the story for the sake of the soccer players that I interviewed -- to allow them the capacity to share their own story.

I am honored to have gained their trust and have the responsibility of being the Àrst to report the real story.

I would like to thank Peter Darquea, Austin Swartz, Jordan Zogg, Michael Powell and Tamra James -- without their honesty, this story would not exist. With this, I give you Hazing Kills a Soccer Season.

When I graduate in the spring, I will have spent Àve years at HSU -- I leave with a degree in news-editorial journalism, with a concentration in art photography and a minor in Native American studies.

Thank you to my editorial staff -- especially to Jeremy Smith-Danford. I am grateful to have had the experience of being an editor-in-chief in my time at HSU. -Colleen Chalmers THANK YOU: Theresa Lamb & Brian Chalmers: for the unequivocal support of family.

Vicky Sama: for pushing me to be a better journalist -- one day at a time.

Kevin Bunch & Hilary Johnson: for being there for me with excitement and encouragement.

Special thanks to Casey Vaughn & Hank Sims.

The Osprey would like to acknowledge three HSU teachers that lost their lives this semester. We honor your memory: Suzanne Seeman, Scott Guild & Linda Scott.

&over 3hoto 0embers of the men’s soccer team stand together on the soccer Àeld at +umboldt State’s &ollege &reek Àeld on 2ct 23 | &olleen &halmers

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osprey EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Chalmers DESIGN EDITOR

Jeremy Smith-Danford

PHOTO EDITOR

Kristina Naderi

COPY EDITORS

Margaret Budd Colleen Chalmers

WRITERS & REPORTERS

Nate Abaurrea Bianca Boykin David Broome Jr Margaret Budd Misha Burke Steve Castillo Colleen Chalmers Cassandra Klein Chelsea LaRue Kristina Naderi Jazmine Quintero Gilbert Upton

PHOTOGRAPHERS

MARKETING MANAGER

Margaret Budd Misha Burke Steve Castillo Colleen Chalmers Kristina Naderi Jeremy Smith-Danford Gilbert Upton Chelsea LaRue

ADVERTISING STAFF

David Broome Jr Caitlyn Carralejo Chelsea LaRue Matthew Chonis

DISTRIBUTION STAFF

David Broome Jr Cassandra Klein

WEB STAFF FACULTY ADVISER

Bianca Boykin Isak BrayÀndley Vicky Sama

The Osprey is a student-run magazine, produced through the journalism department at Humboldt State University.

2sprey c/o Department of Journalism Mass Communication 1 +arpst Street Arcata CA 21 website ospreymagazine com email editor#ospreymagazine com osprey/ fall 2012 / 4

table of contents 6 the knife sharpener 12 the college life of a

12

volunteer ÀreÀghter 16 a day in the life of the volunteer patrol 20 an interview with mike thompson

22 for the love of dogs 24 how to get your renters

deposit back 26 hazing kills a soccer season 35 hazing at humboldt state

36 humboldt roller derby

36

38 the devil’s playground 44 strong at the broken places 50 biking the hammond trail

44

54 bread to make your home smell like the holidays osprey/ fall 2012 /

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The Knife Sharpener Written by Margaret Budd Photographed by Margaret Budd Colleen Chalmers osprey/ fall 2012 / 7

L

ittle dots of oil drip onto the sharpening rock before Dan Brewer starts to scrape the knife back and forth over the stone.

His rough, aging hands are strong and precise with each stroke. The frayed ends of his long, gray beard are looped and tucked back into a braid, hiding behind his blue and purple tie-dyed apron.

Brewer sharpens knives at WildÁower Cafe, Japhy’s Soup and Noodles, and other restaurants in Arcata. He even sharpens scissors at Fabric Temptations and other businesses around town. After 30 years of sharpening, he still makes the 80-mile

couldn’t Àgure out why my pants kept wearing out.”

With no electricity in his mountain home, Brewer traveled to a Sonora hardware store to Àll his kerosene jugs. Each time, he would sharpen the store owner’s pocketknife to be neighborly and share a skill, as Brewer puts it.

The store owner suggested he start a business sharpening knives and scissors. With that, sharpening for exchange began. Brewer did not usually charge for his services; instead his customers would give him Àrewood, or share their other trades.

Knife sharpening brought Brewer closer

written poem is going to take you somewhere you never would have imagined going,” he said.

Brewer realizes he is in a world of the lost arts. “The art of sharpening is lost. Poetry comes and goes, but it’s a lost art,” he said.

Back in WildÁower Cafe’s kitchen, Brewer checks each knife by swiftly running his Ànger along the blade. He starts sharpening on the coarse side of the stone, then slides his Ànger delicately across the blade again before Áipping the stone to the Àne side. He pauses in between sets of knives to scribble down the length and number of what he sharpened.

´I’m just a poet who sharpens knives µ commute from his home in Briceland, Calif. every few weeks. “It’s not a matter of money, it’s a matter of convenience for the people,” he said.

Brewer was quite literally born with a knife in hand. The day he was brought home from the hospital, his grandfather placed a hunting knife made from Lancaster steel in his cradle. Brewer shrugs when asked if having a knife next to a newborn baby was alarming to anyone. Coming from a long line of hunters, it was not unusual. The knife was in a safe sheath. In fact, his three brothers also received one of these knives from their grandfather at birth. Working as a smith for Kennecott Copper in the 1930s in Ely, Nev. during a major steel shortage, his grandfather had stashed the Lancaster steel. Brewer is the only one in the family who still has that knife.

As Brewer grew up, he learned how to use knives and to sharpen his own. At 21, he served in Vietnam in 1965 on a small boat as a crew seamen, often cutting rope with another pocketknife his grandfather gave him. After the war, he made the decision to start raising and butchering his own meat in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. “The whole thing in Vietnam was a hired-killer routine. If I was going to eat meat, I was going to raise it and slaughter it myself,” Brewer said.

He worked as a caretaker on a 280-acre farm in the Sierras with about 30 to 40 goats, which he milked, butchered and relied on for his main source of food. He always carried a stone in his pocket, sharpening knives and other tools throughout the day. He eventually started to carry the stone in a leather pouch in his pocket after discovering it’s abrasiveness.

“For years, I just kept it in my pocket, and I osprey/ fall 2012 / 8

to his other passion -- writing. He would often attend poetry readings around California and meet other poets. Brewer especially admired Naomi Shihab Nye, a Palestinian-American author from Texas, who he met through a mutual friend at one of the readings. She is an award-winning poet and was the chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2010. To make a connection, Brewer sent her scissors and knives that he sharpened. “I’ve always appreciated his selections, his general spunk, and his motto relating to knife-sharpening skills -- ‘Stay sharp and shiny,’” Nye said.

He also met Mayumi Oda, a Buddhist artist from Japan and anti-nuclear activist.

Her artwork is part of permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C and others around the country. She sends Brewer imagery for the broadsides he creates, which pair a poem and artwork on one page.

Brewer also collaborates with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kay Ryan and this year’s Academy of American Poets chancellor, Jane HirshÀeld.

Brewer created a mail-a-poem project about 24 years ago -- almost as long as he has been sharpening knives. His goal was to Ànd poetry that could appeal to a wide audience.

He sent the poems to about 17 friends twice a month to receive feedback. Soon, word traveled and more people asked to be on his mailing list.

Today, Brewer has 150 subscribers. They pay $2.50 a month for the broadsides that have artwork from Oda and a poem on them. He uses poems from authors he has worked with like Nye, Ryan and HirshÀeld. He includes one of his own about once a year. “A well-

At Japhy’s Soup and Noodles, he receives free meals in exchange for his work. “I like to sharpen here,” he said. “I like to eat here.”

Japhy’s owner Josh Solomon appreciates Brewer’s jokes and stories. “Well, we have a little trade set up with him. I look forward to him coming here for more than just sharpening knives,” he said.

In the Japhy’s kitchen, Brewer talks with employees as he sharpens. “Got any new jokes today?” he asks them. Before he leaves, he orders a cold rice noodle salad with double chicken and peanut dressing -- his usual.

Brewer explains sharpening the best way he can, through poetry. He is currently working on a poem titled “Two Hands and a Cradle,” which describes how he sharpens.

“It’s these two hands,” he pauses and holds up both palms. “And this here is the cradle,” he says as he points to the device that keeps the stone from slipping while sharpening.

In all of his years working with knives, Brewer has only seriously cut himself once; it was while sharpening a knife in the Sierras to skin a squirrel. He was distracted by an attractive woman driving by in a red corvette, and the blade slipped off the stone and sliced his hand. Despite this mishap, Brewer says he does not take chances with knives. “I’ve slowed down. I don’t sharpen as much as I used to,” he admits.

At one point, he injured his right elbow so badly he could barely move it. Instead of taking a break, he taught himself to sharpen with his left hand for about a year until his elbow healed.

Brewer doubts he will ever quit sharpening. Still, he remains humble. “I’m just a poet who sharpens knives.”

Dan Brewer behind Japhy’s Soup and Noodles after he sharpened knives on 2ct | Colleen Chalmers

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A broadside with Brewer’s poem and Oda’s artwork. This broadside and others are on the menu board at Japhy’s Soup and Noodles.

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Firefighting

Ryan :immer on the far left takes part in an auto extrication demonstration outside the downtown Arcata Àre station on 2ct 13

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SCHOOL, SMOKE & FIRE

The college life of a volunteer ÀreÀghter Written by Bianca Boykin Photographed by Kristina Naderi

R

yan Wimmer remembers the crackling Áames of the Àrst Àre he ever fought -it was in his freshman year of college. It was a trailer Àre in McKinleyville and he could not see anything through the smoke. “It’s hard battling something that you can’t see when all you really want to do is know what you’re up against,” he said.

Wimmer is a volunteer ÀreÀghter with the Arcata Àre department.

During his Àrst year at Humboldt State, students would sometimes ask him to help since they knew he was training to be a ÀreÀghter. “So-and-so bumped their head, or so-and-so passed out drunk,” he said.

Wimmer recalls it was tough being in a Àre academy while he lived in the HSU dorms. “Sometimes we would get a Àre, or I’d have a long weekend of training at the academy. My turnout gear would be soaking wet from the rain, or water from a drill we had,” Wimmer said. “I would usually just hang them in my room and let them dry overnight, so my room probably smelled.”

Now in his third year studying forestry at HSU, Wimmer, 20, is also trained as an emergency medical technician.

One afternoon during a shift at the downtown Arcata station, Wimmer stops in mid-conversation with another ÀreÀghter as they hear three beeps from a handheld radio. It is followed by a woman’s voice: “Arcata medical ...

44-year-old male, diabetic emergency.”

Wimmer rushes down the stairs of the station to meet Àre Capt. Rick Gomes. They hop into an engine and osprey/ fall 2012 / 13

´YoX FaQ see little traFes oI Áame dancing across the ceiling almost without noise. It sounds kind of romanticized, but this is what my little amount of experience in this world has revealed to me.” sirens blare as they speed down the streets towards Westwood. The men snap on their latex gloves and listen for new information from dispatch. A few minutes later, an ambulance appears behind the Àre truck, both now speeding towards the emergency. The two vehicles pull in front of a house where a man is lying unconscious on the ground. Paramedics administer dextrose solution to the man, and insert a needle into his vein. His eyes start to Áutter and he comes to.

Wimmer recalls how quickly the patient responded to the paramedics. “For a diabetic emergency that has a real potential to kill somebody, it’s impressive for modern science to reverse that condition in such a short period of time,” Wimmer said. “One second this person was close to dying and the next, they’re awake and talking to you.”

Calls like these are routine for the Arcata Fire District, which operates three stations -Arcata, McKinleyville and Mad River. These Àre stations are staffed by career and volunteer ÀreÀghters.

Gomes is a career ÀreÀghter at the Mad River station. He recalls when he was a volunteer like Wimmer. One time, he was at his parent’s house for Christmas, and his family had just sat down to dinner. “Then my pager goes off -- structure Àre -- and my mom’s like, ‘can’t you just eat and then go?’ I said, ‘no I don’t think the Àre’s gonna wait for me to eat.’”

Arcata Fire Chief John McFarland, who will be retiring in December, worked in Eureka for 32 years. Before that, he volunteered in

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Crescent City. “We depend immensely on the volunteer folk; we treat them exactly like every other ÀreÀghter,” he said. “They don’t look any different, they don’t act any different, they have all the same training.”

Being a student, Wimmer cannot deal with every emergency that comes his way.

“Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and honestly sometimes I just gotta leave the pager at home,” Wimmer said. “Like, today is going to be a bad day to get a call; I’ve got two midterms, I got this class, and my professor hates it when I pull my phone out. So you have to have a good feel for what you can do and what you can’t do.”

Sometimes the Àre department hosts community events in Arcata. At an open house during Àre prevention week in October, ÀreÀghters gave kids a ride around the Arcata Plaza in an old 1920’s American LaFrance -one of the station’s antiques.

Later on, ÀreÀghters in turnout gear demonstrate what an auto extrication looks like. A dummy sits in the driver’s seat of an old Volvo as the ÀreÀghters cut into the car so that they can get him out. The driver’s side door is supposed to be stuck, so they break the windows of the car and use hydraulic cutting tools to enter. The demonstration ends with the crew peeling the roof off the car and Wimmer using a spreading tool, called the “jaws of life,” to get the door open. The dummy is hauled off on a stretcher. Spectators around the station applaud. “I love training on Volvos, ‘cause those things are rock solid,” Wimmer said.

His favorite part about being a ÀreÀghter is helping people, solving problems and using different tools. Still, he is humble about his job. “I don’t know it all, not by any means -but with what jobs that I’m expected to do, I think I can perform well.” After he graduates from HSU, he wants to go to College of the Redwoods to study and train to be a paramedic.

From the few years of experience Wimmer has with being a ÀreÀghter, he still sometimes Ànds himself in awe of Àre. “One thing that’s really incredible is when the Àre origin starts, say in a corner of a room, and it builds in size -- from there, it will usually hit a ceiling and begin licking Áames across the room. If we’re advancing through a hallway, sometimes you’ll catch a glimpse of Àre rolling over your head.

You never want Àre to get behind you and cut off your method of egress,” Wimmer said.

“It’s actually a really beautiful thing though, to see Àre rolling over your head.”

He now understands Àre in a more intimate way. Before he got into the Àre service, his idea of a burning building was loud and chaotic.

“When it really comes down to it and the radio stops squawking, engines idle and sirens wind down -- it’s actually pretty quiet inside. You can see little traces of Áame dancing across the ceiling almost without noise,” Wimmer said. “It sounds kind of romanticized, but this is what my little amount of experience in this world has revealed to me.”

Ryan :immer waits to be a part of a demonstration outside the downtown Arcata Àre station on 2ct 13

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Fred Jamison and Lil Stodder work together to remove yard sale postings on a utility pole on Alliance Street in Arcata on Sept 28

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Lil and Fred’s Excellent Adventure A Day in the Life of the Volunteer Patrol

Written by Nate Abaurrea Photographed by Colleen Chalmers

F

red Jamison, 70, drives the Arcata Police Department volunteer patrol car down Highway 101 on a sun-drenched September morning.

87-year-old Lil Stodder sits in the passenger seat. Stodder cannot drive the car.

At 5 feet tall, she is unable to see over the wheel.

As Jamison hits the 50-mile-per-hour corridor, he slows down and puts the vehicle into cruise control. He turns up the radio.

“Another beautiful day in paradise,” he said.

The Arcata police department started the Volunteer Patrol in 1995, with a few senior citizens involved. There are now 17 seniors on the force, who complete lower-end jobs

to relieve the workloads of regular ofÀcers.

On a daily basis, the Volunteer Patrol might drop off paperwork at the District Attorney’s OfÀce, check on homes while residents are on vacation, serve subpoenas or ticket cars that should not be in handicapped parking spaces.

Volunteer ofÀcers do not carry weapons, they cannot make trafÀc stops, and they are not allowed to take the law into their own hands. The basic philosophy behind the patrol is that the mere presence of a police vehicle will deter criminal activity.

“It’s amazing how other cars will slow down when they see us, not realizing that we can’t stop them,” Jamison said. “One time, this guy was going 75 in the 50-mph corridor,

and as he was passing me, I just grabbed my microphone and made sure he saw me. He was scared stiff and immediately slowed down.”

Jamison is a retired schoolteacher with no prior history in law enforcement. He was in the Marine Corps as a young man, and spent over a year stationed in Okinawa in the early 1960s. Once his tour was served, he came back to America. Two days later, on Nov. 24, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced escalating American involvement in the South PaciÀc. “I missed Vietnam by two days,” Jamison said. “My paperwork was already done. Two days. I still get chills when I think about it.”

When the duo spots grafÀti, Jamison will osprey/ fall 2012 / 17

spray over it, usually with the same color paint as the wall. They also remove yard sale signs and other posts around town. “My favorite part is tearing the signs off the utility poles. It just looks so messy, and I want to make it look nice,” Stodder said.

Since graduating high school in 1944, Stodder has been a nurse, carpenter, teacher, safety inspector, avid traveler and extreme hiker. Now she is an ofÀcer in the Volunteer Patrol.

Stodder never backs down from a physical challenge. She has hiked the Inca Trails of Peru, and climbed the snowy mountains of Nepal at over ten thousand feet above sea level. In the next few years, she hopes to climb the mountains again. “I know I’m pretty short, but that was my favorite part of Nepal,” she said. “It’s the only place I have ever been where I felt tall.”

She said that her height is not the reason why she does not drive the patrol car. “Fred just likes to be in control. So I let him do the driving,” she said.

“You certainly get to know your way around Arcata with this job,” Jamison said. “We’re still Ànding roads everyday that we didn’t even know existed.”

On this Friday afternoon, they ventured to the top of Diamond Drive, where Stodder and Jamison talk about the other volunteers. “I love all the people I get to work with,” Stodder said. “We all come from different walks of life, and we all have very different political points of view.”

“If you’re voting for Romney, I’ll dump you out of this car right now,” Jamison said to those in the patrol car.

While their vehicle lacks many of the sophistications of a normal squad car, it does have a working siren.

Jamison reaches for it as their shift comes to a close with a cruise of the Arcata Bottoms. Red and blue lights Áash as a piercing siren Àlls the air.

“One of the other volunteers lives out here. Maybe we’ll wake him up,” Jamison remarked.

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Stodder said, “I’m actually the hardcore one in this tandem.”

Lil Stodder peers into a car to check if they have a handicap placard displayed while Fred Jamison gets ready to write a ticket in the parking lot of +ealth Sport in Arcata on Sept 28

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An Interview with Congressman Mike Thompson

By Colleen Chalmers New congressional district lines have been drawn in California and that means a new district number and a new congressman for Humboldt County. It will no longer be District 1, and Mike Thompson will not be the congressman anymore.

On Nov. 6, Mike Thompson won election to the newly drawn 5th District. Jared Huffman will be Humboldt County’s new congressman in the newly drawn 2nd District. Changes will go into effect along with the presidential inauguration day on January 20.

Before he changes districts, Thompson spoke with The Osprey on the telephone for a half hour on Oct. 23.

The Osprey: California has the highest Native American population in the country, according to the 2010 census. Native Americans make up one percent of HSU’s student population. What can be done to ensure Native American students have support in their education, speciÀcally for retention" Mike Thompson: There are some speciÀc grant funds that are made available to different schools to beneÀt the Native American population. It’s very important that that’s maintained. We should continue to do that and I support that. Another thing is making sure all students have K-12 skills necessary to articulate educationally. We need to make sure that higher education is affordable. Also, there’s probably some programs that would beneÀt Native American students -- I’m just not sure.

O: Earlier this year, it looked like student loan interest rates might double. What steps are you taking to ensure that everyone can afford a university education" T: In our district, in the last two years, we’ve had over 90 million dollars available to all students. We need to make sure that student loans and pell grants are upheld and funded at a level that allows students to move on and get

osprey/ fall 2012 / 20

an education either at a four-year, two-year or vocational school. We were able to do some good work to keep interest rates on student loans at a lower level. Affordable education is hugely important. Part of that is to make sure that interest rates on student loans stay at an acceptable level. We were successful at doing that and making sure they stay at affordable levels. We will continue to provide access to student loans and support pell grants.

O: Sequestration is a solution that both Democrats and Republicans came up with for negotiating national debt and budget deals. This created a bipartisan “super committee” within Congress to solve the budget problem. Beforehand, a bill was passed that said if this committee failed, there would be cuts to everything, including social programs, defense, education and oil subsidies. Those cuts are known as sequestration. The committee did fail. So now the budget must be Àgured out before the end of the year, or sequestration cuts go through. These cuts will be to federal programs and discretionary spending, which in turn would affect state programs. ,f the budget isn’t À[ed by the end of this year, major cuts will take place. What will you do to avoid sequestration" T: Well, I don’t think we’re gonna go into sequestration. I think the best way to deal with the overall problem is to have a balanced approach. The reductions in federal spending need to be done in a smart way. Everything needs to be on the table. Listen to some of the candidates running today that say that defense spending shouldn’t be touched, and that’s nonsense. Everything needs to be evaluated.

If a program isn’t doing what it needs to do, do away with the program. Everyone needs to share in the responsibility to fund government.

I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more.

That’s the way we should move forward with the whole issue.

O: What are you fears in regards to the moderate wings

of both parties disappearing and how that may affect you as a blue dog democrat" T: I think we need to work together to solve the problems that face Americans. People on the extreme fringes of any party, bring little to the picnic. In order to solve the issues, I would like to see more people work together. You don’t check your values or priorities at the door. We don’t do that just to compromise. Everyone needs to defend their core principles and values. But there are a lot of areas where we can Ànd common ground to beneÀt American people.

O: When do we ofÀcially call the .lamath Settlement Agreement dead in Congress" What is currently going on at the congressional level, to support the .lamath River in your district" What are you doing right now to protect the salmon" T: There is a pretty good difference between some folks in Congress as to what should be done in Humboldt County for the Klamath.

There’s a pretty local group in majority party led by a California Congressman, Tom McClintock, who is a right-wing republican currently in Central Valley who doesn’t want to remove the dams and does not want to restore Àsheries -- and quite bluntly -- doesn’t give a damn about people of Humboldt County and the Àshing community. He is dead wrong, and I will continue to work to make sure we restore the Àsheries. This has been something for 20 years that I’ve been invested in, with time and energy on Àsheries and I won’t forget about that just because an arbitrary line moves me off of the North Coast. I look forward to working with Huffman and joining efforts and continuing to Àght for Àsh and families on the coast. And I absolutely consider the Native American community a part of this. They would beneÀt greatly from the restoration of the Àsheries.

photo courtesy of Mike Thompson

O: What has the House Permanent Select Committee on ,ntelligence, on which you serve, done to e[amine the current administration’s drone warfare policies" T: Well, one thing about serving on the Intelligence Committee, is that much of the information that we deal with is classiÀed information. There is very little that I can disclose on that committee. What I can tell you is that if there are terrorists attempting to do harm to America or Americans, I think we should use the full force of our intelligence to ensure that they are not successful.

O: You have introduced legislation to ban offshore drilling along the California Coast. What is the current status and should Humboldt County fear potential offshore drilling in Northern California anytime soon"

matter where lines are drawn; my heart will always be with the North Coast and making sure the oil drillers are off the north shore.

Humboldt County?

T: The California waters off the coast of District 1 make up one of four major under dwellings in all of the world’s oceans. If there was an oil spill out there, that would be devastating. It is totally inappropriate to drill off our coast. We should always be diligent and we should always worry that someone is wanting to stick a drill in the ground. It doesn’t

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For The Love of Dogs Written & Photographed by Kristina Naderi

Amber +eidinger laughs as a dog leaps into her lap at the North Bank Kennel in Arcata on 2ct 18

A

mber Heidinger sits at the front counter of the North Bank Kennel when the doorbell rings. A mufÁed roar comes from outside. She opens the door, and lets in a customer who is there to pick up her dog.

“You’re Trudy’s mom? I’ll go get her,” Heidinger grabs a pair of sturdy, red headphones and goes to the back door.

“Sometimes you need it,” she said.

Fifty dogs bark, play and scurry around in the backyard. Heidinger walks to the play area.

Three dogs jump onto her as she makes her

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way through the maze of wagging tails to pull out a German Shepherd.

Heidinger is manager of the North Bank Kennel. As a part of her job, she lives in the apartment above the kennel to make sure someone is always there to take care of the dogs. Her job includes picking up poop, cleaning kennels, feeding dogs, giving the animals medicine and making sure they are safe and happy.

Heidinger, 24, grew up in McKinleyville and considers herself an animal person. She was the kind of girl that would bring home

any stray she could carry. It runs in the family.

Heidinger’s father, a truck driver, brought home turtles he would Ànd on the side of the road. “I once brought home a pet snake, but that’s where my mom drew the line,” Heidinger said.

All of her brothers are hunters, but she said she cannot bring herself to hunt with them. “I Ànd myself in the back >of the truck,@ ‘Don’t kill that one! It has a personality!’” she said.

After high school, Heidinger began to volunteer and work at animal shelters. First at

the Sequoia Humane Society in Eureka, and then at the Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation shelter in Oak Harbor, Wash.

Last summer, Heidinger returned to Humboldt County and started work at the North Bank Kennel. Genna Dove is the owner. “She loves animals so much,� Dove said. “I really can’t imagine anyone who cares more than her.�

In addition to the dogs she is responsible for at the kennel, Heidinger has Àve of her own. A dachshund named Addie with one blue eye and one brown eye, and four black labrador retriever mixed breeds named Autumn, Sequoia, Lugnut and Koda.

Heidinger also fosters dogs through an

adoption program called “Little Dogs, Big Love� at The Companion Animal Foundation in Sunny Brae. The foundation’s executive director is Kim Class, who rescues dogs from as far away as Oakland Animal Services.

The program takes in dogs that would otherwise be euthanized and brings them to Humboldt County for adoption. “I can understand how people would not be happy about this,� Class said. But she said these dogs from Oakland do become adopted and are needed in the community. “Some residents want little dogs,� Class said.

It is not just dogs that get Heidinger’s affection. She joined Soldier’s Angels, an organization that connects Americans with

soldiers and their families, and allows them to “adopt� a soldier. Heidinger supports a soldier in Afghanistan by writing him weekly.

Heidinger would eventually like to open her own kennel and says she would donate proĂ€ts to rescue dogs. “God created these creatures,â€? she said. “They need to be taken care of. God did that for a reason.â€?

The days are long, loud, and sometimes a little messy -- but Heidinger says that she has the best job. There is one way her job could be better: “If I could teach my dogs how to Ă€le paperwork,â€? she said. “That would make my day.â€?

Charlie a yellow labrador smiles for the camera at the North Bank Kennel in Arcata on Sept 27

osprey/ fall 2012 / 23

How to

Get Your Renter’s Deposit

Back

Written Photographed by Chelsea LaRue osprey/ fall 2012 / 24

T

rying to get your housing deposit back from your landlord? You are not alone.

There are 8,046 students at Humboldt State University.

Most students rent in Arcata, Eureka and McKinleyville.

According to the U.S Census Bureau, there are 21,348 occupied rental units in Humboldt County -- this includes students, families and other residents.

When these renters move, housing deposit battles can occur.

WHAT IS A SECURITY DEPOSIT? Most tenants are required to pay a security deposit and Àrst month’s rent to move into a new rental. It protects landlords from tenants who damage the property or who do not pay rent.

Read your entire lease. Check if you are responsible for cleaning and other repairs when you move out. If you are, you could be charged for professional cleaning of your house or apartment.

After you move out, the landlord has 21 days to return the full deposit or

an itemized list of charges. According to California Tenants: A Guide to Residential Tenants and Landlords Rights and Responsibilities, the landlord can keep all or part of your deposit if certain conditions exist. But if you think you deserve your deposit back, here are some tips to follow.

HOW DO I GET IT BACK? Talk to your landlord or property management.

If you do not get your full deposit back, immediately contact your landlord. Put your complaints in writing and make sure the letter is dated. Send one copy to your landlord and keep one for your own records. This could help you when providing evidence, if you choose to Àle a claim later.

Request an itemized list of repairs and cleaning. Keep in mind, the landlord is not required to send you copies of receipts, if the repairs or cleaning are less than $126. Hopefully, your landlord or property management will allow you to clean or Àx the place yourself.

If you do not receive a list or you

think the charges are too excessive, try contacting a mediator such as Humboldt Mediation Services. They may be helpful in solving a dispute between you and your landlord. Mediation fees are based on your income, and in some cases fees are waived.

TAKE LEGAL ACTION, IF NEED BE. If you still have not gotten your money back from the landlord, you could Àle a claim in small claims court. But do not jump the gun. This process can be expensive and timely.

If the amount of your claim is $1,500 dollars or less, it will cost $30 dollars to Àle a court claim. If you decide to Àle, be prepared to devote some time and effort to it. This includes preparing for the hearing, gathering evidence, meeting with witnesses and attending the hearing in person. Put as many things in writing as possible and hopefully you will have enough proof to win your case and Ànally get your deposit back.

The landlord can keep all or part of the security deposit if one or more exists: You Owe Rent You leave the rental less clean than when you moved in You damaged the rental beyond normal wear and tear You fail to return personal property (such as keys or furniture) Otherwise, the landlord must return the entire security deposit.

Source: California Tenants: A Guide to Residential Tenants’ and Landlords’ Rights and Responsibilities

osprey/ fall 2012 / 2

Hazing Kills a Soccer Season

+ow the +SU soccer teams

Written by Colleen Chalmers Additional reporting by David Broome Jr Photographed by Colleen Chalmers Kristina Naderi Jeremy Smith-Danford

osprey/ fall 2012 / 26

were punished for hazing

osprey/ fall 2012 / 27

Editor’s note: The Osprey chooses to not share the names of the rookies involved.

I

t was Saturday, Aug. 4 and the Humboldt State men’s soccer team held its annual initiation for nine new players. The rookies wore nothing but adult diapers and were forced to take turns holding a dildo at a house party in Arcata. The teammates played drinking games together, but none of them would go on to play a soccer game this season.

On the same night, the women’s team held a party for its eight new members, who they dressed up in costumes and makeup while drinking pink-panty-droppers -- a punch made with vodka, beer and pink lemonade.

The university punished the soccer teams for hazing; the men lost their whole season and the women were banned from playing their Ă€rst three games. The Osprey interviewed HSU president Rollin Richmond over the telephone. He gave detail of the two parties: “They were made to take their clothes off and put on diapers, and there were drinking games of much too much alcohol,â€? he said of the men’s party. “And for the women, they had to run up some stairs and drink some alcohol and then run and go back like a relay,â€? Richmond said.

The Osprey found out from the soccer players what really happened that night, as well as the story of the university’s investigation.

men’s soccer team were at the party, and they crowded one of the member’s houses near H and 18th Streets. The men were dancing and singing along to Carly Rae Jepson’s Call Me, Maybe -- the song made famous by the summer’s U.S. Olympic Swim Team. “It was stupid dancing, more than anything,� said senior player Austin Swartz. “We were just letting loose, like laughing and making fun of each other.�

After they ate pizza and drank Pabst beer from a keg, they played an initiation game where the rookies changed into adult diapers and passed around a dildo throughout the night. “They didn’t have to do a strip dance, some just went around a corner to change. And no one was not allowed to go to the bathroom during the party. No one shit their diaper,� said junior player Jordan Zogg. “They had to keep the dildo amongst themselves -- one of the nine had to hold it the whole night, like hot potato. But they just had to hold it, they didn’t have to do anything with it,� he said.

Every time Darquea blew a whistle, the one holding the dildo took a shot of rum and if the dildo was found out of a rookie’s hands, each had to take a shot. For this game, the upperclassmen poured the rum into shot glasses for the rookies and handed them out each time.

The new players then had to share a mystery drink from a big gulp cup with beer, hard alcohol, instant noodles, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and other food items in it. “We

“But we would ask ‘hey man, are you good to do this?’ and we would check on them. We didn’t force it down their throat,� he said.

After the initiation, the rookies took off their adult diapers and put their clothes back on. All the teammates then played drinking games such as king’s cup, à ip cup and beer pong.

Later in the evening, Arcata police arrived at the house for a noise complaint, according to Swartz. “I was in the back of the house when they came, so I didn’t physically see them,� he said. “But they came after the initiation, so nothing was really going on other than loud music.�

A block south of campus, all 27 members of the women’s team attended their party at one of the player’s house. They started off their initiation by dressing up the rookies in costumes and applying makeup to their faces. “Some of the costumes were like a funny old woman’s dress and a red wig, a leotard and a swim cap, and a nightgown,� said senior player Tamra James.

First, they played a game called “stairmaster,â€? where most of the rookies would stand at the top of a staircase and chug half a beer before running to the bottom step to chug the rest. “That was the Ă€rst game we played, because we thought it was kind of dangerous, so we had them do it when they weren’t drunk,â€? James said.

Then, some of the women drank pinkpanty-droppers in a relay game where rookies had to run to a bowl of the punch and chug it

´I was hazed that night but I also never laughed so much since that party Âľ They were like most college parties: there was pizza and beer. But then the initiation began. “I guess if you look at the technical deĂ€nition of hazing, then it was hazing,â€? said senior team captain Peter Darquea. “But if you asked any of the rookies if they had a good time, they’d say yeah.â€?

The Osprey spoke with one rookie on the men’s team who admitted that he was hazed during the initiation. “I was hazed that night, but I also never laughed so much since the party,� the rookie said.

All but one of the 34 players on the osprey/ fall 2012 / 28

requested that the drink was consumed,� said senior player Michael Powell.

Then red, plastic cups were secured to their hands with pink duct tape. “We didn’t pour alcohol in the cups for the rookies to drink.

The taped cups were just to make it awkward for them to move around,� Powell said. The new players used the cups taped to their hands to drink alcohol they poured for themselves.

Later, the rookies competed in a winechugging contest, with two four-gallon bottles of wine between the nine of them. “You have to Ă€nish this,â€? Darquea told the new players.

from a large soup ladle.

According to James, one of the rookies informed the seniors that she had never had alcohol before. “We had one freshman who didn’t drink at all, so we made sure she was okay and didn’t drink,� James said.

To Ă€nish initiation, the rookies changed out of their costumes and all the team members joined in a music game where each player chose a song to sing out loud for the group, with the music playing only in the woman’s ear. “It wasn’t by any means trying to hurt someone or initiate them,â€? James said. “We just wanted

Tamra James with her teammates in a pregame huddle at the +umboldt State College Creek Àeld on 2ct | Kristina Naderi

osprey/ fall 2012 / 2

to get drunk, have fun and be girls for a night, and not just soccer players.”

In the case of both parties, senior players planned the initiation events. Darquea and James conÀrm they took part in the party planning. “The seniors chose the potential games to play,” James said.

“I got together with three other seniors a week before, just to talk about getting things organized, getting people there and getting a keg,” Darquea said. “Not all of the games are traditions, but they’ve happened in the past.”

Darquea, Swartz, Zogg and Powell all conÀrm they wore a diaper for their rookie initiation when they were a new player.

Two days after the parties, someone called the university and reported the men’s rookie initiation, according to HSU vice president of student affairs Peg Blake. The university began an investigation of the men’s team, looking into possible hazing allegations. Soon after, the university received word of the women’s party and started to look into similar allegations.

Darquea, Swartz, Powell, Zogg and James do not know who reported their parties. “We have our suspicions, but we aren’t going to act on it,” Powell said.

Darquea said the soccer team is family.

The team began practicing in late July -- almost a month before school started. During this time, the rookie players lived with some of the upperclassman on the team. “We try to instill a brotherly bond in the beginning,” Powell said.

“They’re comfortable enough to live with us, and they realized even more that we are family on the night of the party,” Zogg said.

“It hits them, and we show we want to be a family. You should be able to show humility in front of your family.”

Players on the team said they were punished for something they did not understand. “We didn’t know we were hazing.

It was never meant to be something harmful.

It was supposed to be bonding,” Swartz said.

“We weren’t trying to kill people. They’re our teammates.”

James agrees. She says her teammates are all best friends and they would not hurt each other. “I guess we did haze, but we didn’t know that was the deÀnition. We thought that it was okay if they agreed to it,” James said.

Before the women’s party, the rookies signed a release the seniors wrote, stating the rookies were aware they would be drinking alcohol and gave consent for the activities.

“That sounds bad because we had them osprey/ fall 2012 / 30

Team captain =ach +ammond and defender Jordan =ogg run toward the soccer ball at a captain’s practice on 2ct 18 at +umboldt State College Creek Àeld | Colleen Chalmers

sign something, so I guess we were doing something wrong, and I guess the consent doesn’t matter because hazing is singling someone out and we did that,” James said.

“If we had known the deÀnition of hazing, then we as the upperclassman would have dressed up and participated in everything with them, so it wouldn’t be hazing -- it would just be girls being silly.”

Assistant dean of students Tomas Aguirre, who led the investigations of both teams, said the soccer initiations on Aug. 4 were much like any college party. “Hazing is something with a lot of gray area. There’s a big difference between hazing and initiation and I don’t think it is clear what that difference is.”

According to the California code of regulations’ student conduct standards, hazing is deÀned as “any method of initiation or

pre-initiation into a student organization or student body... which is likely to cause serious bodily injury... and in addition, any act likely to cause physical harm, personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm.”

Blake said that hazing can happen when individuals want to belong. “It’s possible that they did feel degraded or humiliated, and they will never admit that. It’s also possible that they didn’t, but someone else could have,” she said.

Assistant athletics director Stephanie Lane said some students and parents were unhappy with the investigation, which involved interviews and meetings between administration and team members.

Lane said the students did not trust the interviewers. “The interviewers weren’t monsters, but students were uncomfortable

with how the investigation was going and didn’t feel safe,” she said. “They felt like everything they said was misconstrued, like whatever they said was going to be used against them.”

Aguirre had prior knowledge of the parties and the initiation games before the investigation began. “If the student doesn’t own their behavior and if they’re lying, that’s going to be another part of the student code of conduct. If you lie to an ofÀcial, that’s another charge,” he said.

Darquea said that Aguirre tried to catch them not telling the truth. “It was like they wanted to catch us up in lies because they already knew,” he said.

Between both investigations, seven other administrators helped Aguirre conduct the interviews: dean of students Randi Darnall Burke, student affairs director of special projects Robin Jones, director of housing John Capaccio, associate director of housing Patty O’Rourke-Andrews, residence life coordinator Nathan Meints, residence life coordinator Heather Pearson and area coordinator for residence life Yashvin Madhak.

Five days after the parties, the men’s soccer players found out they were in trouble.

While the team was practicing at the College Creek Àeld on Aug. 8, director of athletics Dan Collen walked up to head coach Christian Johnson and told him about the allegations.

According to Swartz, Collen told the players, “You guys have to get changed real quick and I need to talk to you.”

The team had to stop practice and go to the student affairs ofÀce in Nelson Hall, where they were interviewed one-on-one with either Aguirre, Darnall Burke, Jones, Capaccio, or O’Rourke-Andrews. Swartz was the last to be questioned and had to wait for three hours.

Darquea, Swartz, Zogg and Powell said the investigation process was not fair -- sometimes

Willow Creek for a day at the river. At Kimtu Beach, one of the players was Àshing and got a hook caught in his eyelid and they drove back to Arcata to go to the hospital. According to Zogg, the administration knew of the Àshing incident and discussed it in the interview process. “I don’t know if they used it for sure, but I feel like they did not understand that the hospital had nothing to do with the party the night before,” he said. “It kept being brought up in the investigation.”

“It did get confused in there,” Blake said.

“It was bad timing and for a while, it was a part of the mixture. But in the end, it all got sorted out.”

Richmond cannot recall news of the Àshing trip and he and Blake deny that it had any part in the decision to suspend the team.

“I highly doubt that the Àshing incident had no part in their decision,” Powell said.

Six days after the party, the 33 members of the men’s soccer team received an email from Aguirre with initial charges. Each soccer player had to schedule an individual disciplinary conference with Aguirre in the next week.

On the Àrst day of the fall semester, members of the women’s team found out they were in trouble too. Collen and associate director of athletics Tom Trepiak came to the College Creek Àeld during the team’s practice to inform coach Johnson that the women had hazing allegations against them. Like the men’s team, they had to go to Nelson Hall for one-on-one questioning. For each woman, the individual interviews were done by either Aguirre, Jones, Meints, Pearson or Madhak. A few days later, members of the women’s team received an email with their initial charges.

They were asked to schedule their disciplinary conference with Aguirre.

On the same day the women’s investigation began, Richmond wrote the decision on the

“It truly doesn’t matter whether they felt it or not +azing is hazing µ using information that had nothing to do with the rookie party.

The day after the parties, some of the soccer players on the men’s team went to

men’s team.

The second day of the fall semester, the men’s season was cancelled. Richmond emailed a memo to the campus community with his

decision. “We have concluded that a hazing incident did indeed occur... I have decided to suspend the team’s 2012-13 season effective immediately. The team will not participate in any California Collegiate Athletic Association games or any University-sanctioned games for the entire academic year,” his memo read.

“Given my understanding of what occurred with the men’s team, I am immensely relieved that all of the students involved are safe. I hope that the team discipline, along with individual disciplinary actions, send a clear message that this was unacceptable. Hazing is not tolerated at Humboldt State, not in Athletics and not in any other area,” the memo continued.

When Swartz found out he would not be playing soccer games this season, he cried.

“It was the reason I came to school here and now it’s taken away,” he said. “It’s pretty heartbreaking.”

The campus community got word of the decision before the soccer players did.

On Aug. 21, Richmond sent out the memo at 12:30 p.m. But the men’s team learned of their fate when Collen and Trepiak came to tell them at their practice after 1 p.m. “None of us had our phones to check our email because we were on the soccer Àeld. When we were told the season got cancelled, we went back into the locker room to cool down and I saw my phone and I had a bunch of text messages from friends saying how sorry they were,” Zogg said. “It’s like everyone knew before us.”

Darquea had class during the time Collen informed the team of the decision and he found out the season was canceled through reading his email. “I was greatly disappointed and upset,” he said. “It’s a complete disrespect to us.”

Collen said the punishment is appropriate, but regretted having to tell them the season was cancelled. “It was a sad day for all of us,” Collen said.

According to Powell, Trepiak was tearful about the lost season. “I believed in the process and it did not work the way it should,” Trepiak told them.

In the end, every member of the men’s team who attended the initiation party was charged with hazing or conspiracy to haze under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, according to Darquea, Swartz, Zogg and Powell.

Zogg questions why the whole team was charged with hazing, even the rookies. “How come the ones who got hazed got charged osprey/ fall 2012 / 31

with hazing?” he said.

The university sent each player a settlement agreement after Richmond emailed his memo. According to Blake, if they did not sign it, they would have a formal hearing. “Students were informed of the range o possible sanctions of aavailable, av ailable, including no sanction to expulsion the CSU from system. There are many other possible ssanctions sa nctions available, andd sanctions are an aalways al ways y determined based base ba ed upon the severity off the violation of the code co ode d of conduct. No student was told that they would be expelled if they did not sign the agreement,” she said.

Swartz’s settlement reads, “Without admitting that Austin Swartz engaged in the c o n d u c t described in the University’s charges, A u s t i n S w a r t z waives the right to contest the University’s charges...

As discussed during o u r meeting,

you have b e e n placed on disciplinary probation through May 17, 2013. This action is based on your violation(s) of section 41301 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.

You understand any further violation of the osprey/ fall 2012 / 32

student code of conduct may result in your suspension from HSU and the CSU system.”

The settlement agreement states that each player is sanctioned to 30 hours of community service to be complete by the end of the school year. The team’s community service involves educating local high schools about hazing.

The settlement agreement ends with declaring, “The University agrees to take no further disciplinary action with respect to the conduct described in University’s charge dated August 21, 2012, assuming compliance with the terms of this Agreement.”

Swartz said all the settlement agreements for the 33 members who were investigated are exactly the same.

Blake said the administration had enough evidence to charge the players with hazing.

“I know the students didn’t believe that, but some of the teammates did come forward with information,” Blake said. “They were scared, and we heard from more than one.”

Blake said she was told some players vomited during the men’s party; therefore, she concluded they had alcohol poisoning. “No one was hospitalized, but we believe, without doubt, that some of any them were suffering alcohol from poisoning were and in serious

jeopardy,” Blake said of the men’s party.

“We don’t even know where that came from.

No one was in real jeopardy. We made sure they got home, that they were taken care of,” Darquea said.

According to Swartz, no one at their party blacked out that he knew of. “Yeah, some people vomited. But no one was really stumbling,” he said.

Swartz did not drink during the party, so he could help take care of his drunk team members. “I feel like I was being punished, even though I did the right thing,” he said.

Zogg said he did not drink either. “I’m not 21 and I didn’t even drink, but they still

charged me with underage drinking,” he said of his initial charges from the Àrst email.

Parents and players plead to keep the soccer seasons, according to Blake. At the same time, the chancellor’s ofÀce, alumni and other CSU campuses pressured HSU to expel the players from school.

“Those were some of the hardest weeks of my life. I had so much pressure from both sides,” Blake said.

“No one was out to get anybody. We made the best decision based on our Àndings,” Blake said. “A different president might have made a difference decision.”

Trepiak said the administration did not educate the students about hazing before this all happened. “We failed the athletes,” he said.

Swartz remembers a team meeting they had last year to Àll out paperwork. “There was a slideshow, and one slide said: hazing is wrong,” he said. “But we didn’t know the deÀnition.”

Blake said students are still held responsible for hazing, whether they know what it is or not. “I think it’s true that they didn’t know their actions were considered hazing, but it is also my understanding that every year, each student has to sign a student athlete code of conduct. My suspicion is that none of them had ever really read it,” she said.

“It truly doesn’t matter whether they felt it or not. Hazing is hazing.”

Richmond said the soccer player’s prior understanding of hazing does not matter.

“We often forget that there is a psychological component to it as well as the physical. Hazing is degrading behavior. Just because you weren’t informed, well that’s something that I think most people recognize as part of our ethical system that you don’t degrade other people -I don’t think a socially responsible individual would do that,” he said. “But I know human beings aren’t perfect.”

Richmond said he punished the soccer teams because of what might have happened.

“What concerns me is how difÀcult it would be to call up a parent and say that I’m really sorry we didn’t do our job of policing our athletes, but your student is dead.”

During the investigation, Richmond met with vice president of student affairs Blake and director of athletics Collen to make his decision on the fate of the teams. The three met with all 60 players from the men and women’s team on Aug. 24 to answer questions the students had. Neither Richmond or Blake ever met individually with a soccer player.

The meeting happened after the men lost their season and before the women’s decision was made. “At the meeting, they made the girls feel like they had the same fate as us, after they took away everything from our team,� Powell said.

On Aug. 29, Richmond sent an email to explain the women’s ban from three games. “There were important differences between the two incidents, including the severity of offenses, and the amount of physical and psychological danger created. Our policies provide for discretion in determining sanctions related to conduct violations, and I am conĂ€dent that the actions we have taken are appropriate to each of these situations,â€? the memo read.

Each woman was charged differently.

James’ settlement agreement included hazing and providing alcohol to minors. “Some were charged with hazing and some were not,� she said.

Some soccer players said the two decisions were not thoroughly investigated. “They jumped to conclusions and there wasn’t enough interviewing,� James said. “They didn’t even meet with us until after the decision,� Darquea said of Richmond and Blake. “That was unprofessional,� he said.

Blake said the investigation process was rushed because the administration had to make a decision before both team’s Ă€rst games scheduled for Aug. 30. “We were up against matches, so with the women’s team in particular, the coach and athletic director asked us to get through it as fast as we could so they could know if they were playing in the Ă€rst match,â€? she said. “Everybody involved wanted to have it out of the way, so we were just trying to get it done.â€?

Some of the players said the decision to cancel the men’s season but not the women’s was hypocritical. “I guess the fact of the matter was, we did haze. But then if we did and it was true, why didn’t we get our season taken away too?� James said. “The administration says we have a zero tolerance policy for hazing. So then wouldn’t the women lose a season too?� Darquea said.

Richmond decided that what the women’s soccer team did was less degrading than what the men did. “It was still hazing, but it was a reduced effort,� Richmond said. “I don’t understand it. It’s hazing, if it’s hazing,� Swartz said. “Yet the girls got a threegame suspension. It’s like they were trying to die down the situation. Giving the girls their

season is a poor attempt to try and patch things up. They made our decision and then realized they can’t do that again. The girls had boosters who threatened to not give money if they lost their season.�

Richmond said Ă€nancial support did not inĂ uence his decision. “It’s certainly conceivable, but that was not a consideration of mine,â€? he said.

At least Àve of the soccer players -Darquea, Swartz, Zogg, Powell and James -said their initiation parties pale in comparison to other acts of hazing they think exist at HSU.

common sense in the administration is miniscule,� he said.

Blake said the decision was important. “Maybe 10 years from now, I’ll run into some of these students and we’ll be able to have a good conversation. I hope someday they will understand, this really is all about them. It’s about safety and health, and making good decisions,� she said.

The loss of the men’s season and the cancellation of the women’s Àrst three games has an effect on the players and the soccer program.

JORDAN ZOGG Age: 20 +ometown: Kirkland :ash Position: defender Major: Kinesiology <ear at +SU: Junior

Senior

Senior

MICHAEL POWELL Age: 21 +ometown: Petaluma Calif Position: defender Major: Kinesiology <ear at +SU:

AUSTIN SWARTZ Age: 21 +ometown: Cameron Park Calif Position: center mid-Ă&#x20AC;elder Major: +istory

PETER DARQUEA Age: 21 +ometown: Apple Valley Calif Position: defender Major: Business administration <ear at +SU:

James said that on the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soccer team, the rookie parties years ago were harsh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We actually have changed how we treat our freshman. In the past, before I came, they would be like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;no you have to drink.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; They were pretty brutal,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But for us, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just for fun. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drink, who cares?â&#x20AC;?

For the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s party, Swartz said it was not mandatory for the rookies to drink or participate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We told them that it was supposed to be fun and if they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do it, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ă&#x20AC;ne,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a tame night, compared to other parties Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been to.â&#x20AC;?

As for next year, there just might not be a rookie party. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We probably wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it anymore. Now they have put us on edge about it,â&#x20AC;? Swartz said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worth it.â&#x20AC;?

Zogg said the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions did not warrant the discipline. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The amount of

On Sept. 14, the women played their Ă&#x20AC;rst game after the three-game suspension.

Some members of the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team sat on the sidelines to watch.

The women wore a black band around their socks that read, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Family,â&#x20AC;? which they wore at every game this season. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was good, but we were so overly excited to play a game and so we just played too excited. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as clean,â&#x20AC;? James said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were also pissed off. We had so many fouls that Ă&#x20AC;rst game. It was all out of anger.â&#x20AC;?

They lost the home game against Cal Poly Pomona 0-2.

In 14 games this season, the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team only won one. It was against Chico State on Sept. 23. James said her team was never the same after losing two weeks of practice during the investigation and then being cancelled osprey/ fall 2012 / 33

from three games. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shown in our season.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not where we were before,â&#x20AC;? she said.

The womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team cannot qualify for the California Collegiate Athletic Association conference tournament this year because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ă&#x20AC;rst three games are considered forfeits. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re playing for nothing,â&#x20AC;? James said.

The men did not get to play a game this season, but they still practiced as a team three days a week during the semester. At practice, they scrimmaged against each other. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This can go one of two ways. We can bounce back and have a good season next year, using this as motivation,â&#x20AC;? Darquea said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Or it can hinder us because we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t played in a year.â&#x20AC;?

Zogg said the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intensity and level of play had been improving each season. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now we just hit a wall. Can we push through it? We have to wait and see,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We could have done great things this year.â&#x20AC;?

Team captain Darquea said the lost season will hurt the rookies because they do not get any game experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only thing that kept me sane and happy during my freshman year was playing soccer,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now nine new players still have a whole four seasons to play.â&#x20AC;?

Coach Johnson said he will only be looking for standout talent that can make immediate impact because he expects the entire team to return at this point.

Seniors Daquea, Swartz and Powell on the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team will not be graduating in May. Darquea is prolonging graduation to play one more season with his team. Swartz and Powell now need to stay at HSU for two extra soccer seasons. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be here anymore, after the way we were treated with disrespect, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m staying for my team, coach and for myself to Ă&#x20AC;nish out my soccer career,â&#x20AC;? Darquea said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want my last year to end like this.â&#x20AC;?

Johnson said that the two team captains, Darquea and Zach Hammond, have the potential to play at the next level and that he has some good connections with professional teams.

Blake does not think the lost soccer season will affect the playersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; athletics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I doubt very many of them are going on to a pro-career,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know us personally,â&#x20AC;? Zogg said of the administration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yet their whole mentality is that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re better than us.â&#x20AC;?

Some of the soccer players feel the administration made an example out of them.

Swartz said that initiation might be wrong, but osprey/ fall 2012 / 34

that it is everywhere. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They said they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to make an example out of us, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactly what they did. They lied to us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were preparing to have the season cancelled -- I can feel it. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how hard we work. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re so disconnected.â&#x20AC;?

Blake conĂ&#x20AC;rmed that the decision is now being used as an example at other CSU campuses and beyond. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I certainly know that people across the country are now using it as an example for other teams and groups, but that was not the intent,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be an example. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hard lesson, and sometimes our lessons are played out in public and that makes it more difĂ&#x20AC;cult,â&#x20AC;? Blake said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They can be angry for as long as they need to be.â&#x20AC;?

Darquea said what the administration knows is only hearsay. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This affects 34 peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives,â&#x20AC;? Darquea said of his team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not the only sport on campus that does partying and initiation. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just using us as an example,â&#x20AC;? Darquea said.

Darquea, Swartz, Zogg and Powell said the administration has labeled their soccer team as athletes who haze, which causes the HSU community to judge them.

According to Darquea, a logic teacher used their situation in the classroom to make fun of them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were making one of those truth table things and wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We are not the Humboldt State soccer team, so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t haze.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

Powell said he has felt harassed even outside of campus. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A few days after the decision was announced, I was with my parents at Costco and I was wearing a Humboldt Soccer sweatshirt,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A protein-shake sample lady looked at me and said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sorry that happened to you, but I agree with the president and I agree you guys did something wrong.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel like some people now look at us negatively. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to play into that further by being hostile back, so I just said said â&#x20AC;&#x153;there are two sides to every story, maâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;am,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Powell said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I still sport my Humboldt State soccer gear. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m proud to be on this team and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care what people think of me,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made some mistakes in my life, but people should still respect me. I feel like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m getting hazed by the entire campus and the community based on hearsay.â&#x20AC;?

Timeline of events Sat Aug 4 -- Men and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s separate team parties.

Mon Aug 6 -- Unknown person reports menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s party to the university. :ed Aug 8 -- Investigation of menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team begins. Thirty-three players are interviewed.

Fri Aug 10 -- Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team receives an email with initial charges.

Mon Aug 13 through Fri Aug 18 -Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual disciplinary conferences with Tomas Aguirre.

Sun Aug 1 -- Unknown person reports womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s party to the university.

Mon Aug 20 -- Investigation of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team begins. Twenty-seven players are interviewed.

Mon Aug 20 -- HSU President Rollin Richmond decides to suspend menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team for entire season.

Tues Aug 21 -- Richmond emails his decision on menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team to university community.

Tues Aug 21 -- Aguirre emails settlement agreement with Ă&#x20AC;nal charges to members of the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team.

Thur Aug 23 -- Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team receives an email with their charges.

Fri Aug 24 -- Richmond, student affairs vice president Peg Blake and athletics director Dan Collen hold a meeting with all 60 soccer players.

Fri Aug 24 through Tue Aug 28 -Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual disciplinary conferences with Aguirre and coach Christian Johnson.

Tue Aug 28 -- Richmond decides to suspend womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team for three games. :ed Aug 2 -- Richmond emails his decision on womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team to university community. :ed Aug 2 -- Aguirre emails settlement agreement with Ă&#x20AC;nal charges to members of the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team.

Thur Aug 30 -- First scheduled game of the men and the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season, both against Dominican University of California in San Rafael. HSU soccer not allowed to attend.

Fri Sept 7 -- Second game of the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season against Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

HSU soccer not allowed to attend.

Sun Sept -- Third game of the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season against Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside. HSU soccer not allowed to attend.

Fri Sept 14 -- Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ă&#x20AC;rst game played since suspension, against Cal Poly Pomona at home Ă&#x20AC;eld. HSU lost 0-2. Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team watches on the sidelines.

Hazing at +umboldt State Written by Cassandra Klein

W

hen University Police Chief Lynne Soderberg played outĂ&#x20AC;eld for the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s softball team at Humboldt State in 1979, the pre-season activities consisted of Ă&#x20AC;eld hockey and shoe-shining parties. The women liked to look sharp for their games. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was absolutely no hazing when I played softball for HSU,â&#x20AC;? Soderberg said of her own experience.

Soderberg said hazing does most likely happen at the university, and the deĂ&#x20AC;nitions can vary. According to Soderberg, the educational code of student conduct outlines hazing as demoralizing, demeaning and consisting of emotional detriments. Soderberg said some people consider hazing forced submission of another person, while others may consider it a rite of passage or tradition.

Where the law is concerned, penal code 245.6 deĂ&#x20AC;nes hazing as unlawful when it involves the likelihood of bodily injury or death. Hazing means any method of initiation or pre-initiation into a student organization or student body, whether or not the organization or body is ofĂ&#x20AC;cially recognized by an educational institution, which is likely to cause serious bodily injury to any former, current, or prospective student of any school, community college, college, university, or other educational institution in this state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Voluntary participation does not matter,â&#x20AC;? Soderberg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some people may

wholeheartedly be having fun while others are intimidated into these acts,â&#x20AC;? she said.

If the hazing does not result in bodily injury or death, then it is not considered a criminal case for UPD -- but they still may become involved. It is a felony if it causes injury or death, and a misdemeanor if it is likely to cause injury or death.

In wake of the HSU soccer team investigations for hazing, some groups on campus now try to create preventative measures to ensure hazing does not occur.

Erica Cuellar is a junior psychology major and the risk management coordinator for sorority Delta Phi Epsilon at HSU. She said because the sororities and fraternities rush at the beginning of each semester, members attend hazing workshops to prevent hazing incidents among pledges, who are members of a Greek organization who have not yet been initiated.

At these workshops, members are asked to deĂ&#x20AC;ne what they consider hazing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hazing means to subject a person to potentially dangerous activities or acts of humiliation, embarrassment or physical discomfort,â&#x20AC;? Cuellar said.

Excessive drinking, errand running, line-ups, pulling rank, and required physical activities such as push-ups are some acts that they decided to consider hazing, according to Cuellar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If anything, Greeks know more about

what hazing is because we are constantly Ă&#x20AC;ghting hazing stereotypes,â&#x20AC;? Cuellar said.

When students rush HSU sororities, she said they are asked to attend events such as tea parties, barbeques and community service events.

Justine Marroquin is a sorority member of Gamma Alpha Omega at HSU. She said Hollywood portrays Greek life in a bad light. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our sorority really tries to keep events PG-13,â&#x20AC;? Marroquin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we are not willing to do it ourselves, then why make others do it?â&#x20AC;?

Marroquin is a senior double major in art and child development, and said students need to better understand hazing so that incidents like the one with the soccer teams do not happen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With workshops, this could have been avoided,â&#x20AC;? Marroquin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to get hurt.â&#x20AC;?

Chief of university police Soderberg says that in her opinion, hazing probably still happens on campus. She said fellow ofĂ&#x20AC;cers and co-workers have shared stories with her -dating back 50 years -- about hazing that their parents or they experienced at HSU. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has likely been going on for years and years and this is the Ă&#x20AC;rst time they were caught,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe hazing on campus happens more than we know.â&#x20AC;?

FINDINGS FR2M A NATI2NAL STUD< 2F STUDENT HAZING: 1) More than half of college students involved in clubs teams and organizations experience hazing 2) +azing occurs across a range of student groups 3) Alcohol consumption humiliation isolation sleep-deprivation and sex acts are hazing practices common across student groups 4) Knowledge of hazing extends

beyond the student groups engaging in the behavior ) More students perceive positive rather than negative outcomes of hazing 6) Students are not likely to report hazing to campus ofĂ&#x20AC;cials 7) Students recognize hazing as part of the campus culture 8) Students report limited exposure

to prevention efforts that extend beyond a â&#x20AC;&#x153;hazing is not toleratedÂľ approach ) Students come to college having experienced hazing 10) A gap exists between student experiences of hazing and their willingness to label it as such SOURCE: Hazing in View: College Students at Risk, Initial Findings from the National Study of Student Hazing

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HUMBOLDT RO Written by Jazmine Quintero

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ROLLER DERBY Photographed by Colleen Chalmers Kristina Naderi

Loren Thompson -- Widow Makerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s +arley San Quinntin -- charges out in front of other skaters at +umboldt Roller Derbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last game of the season in (ureka on 2ct 13 | Kristina Naderi

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Andrea Nieto of the Redwood Rollers also known as Rust ( Machete on the track focuses in between jams during the last bout of the evening on 2ct 13 in (ureka | Colleen Chalmers

osprey/ fall 2012 / 38

I

t is Saturday night and Redwood Acres in Eureka is sold out for Humboldt Roller Derby.

The starting players of each team line up on the track. The spectators are rowdy. Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Another One Bites the Dust is blaring over the speakers as the commentator welcomes the crowd.

Humboldt Roller Derbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two teams, the Widow Makers and the Redwood Rollers are up against the Harbor Hellcats and the Boardwalk Bombshells from Santa Cruz.

A referee blows his whistle and the pivots and blockers create a human wall for the opposing teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jammer. The referee blows his whistle a second time and the jammers skate towards the pack -- the Ă&#x20AC;rst of two bouts begins. Widow Makersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Loren Thompson, who goes by Harley San Quinntin on the track, pushes through the opposing blockers. She cannot get through. She slows down, then sees an opening at the right.

Her small size helps her skate with rapid stride. Her arms swing and she breaks through the pack. Thompson scores nine points on the Ă&#x20AC;rst jam.

Chelsea Jensen -- known as Chealousy of the Widow Makers -pushes her way through the pack and leaps onto a skater from the Harbor Hellcats. She falls hard on her knees, taking a few skaters down with her.

Elbows are bumping, skates are

sliding and a few Ă&#x20AC;ngers are run over. In the end, Harbor Hellcats beat the Widow Makers, 185 to 92.

Derby players put their bodies through stress. The sport takes a toll on joints, muscles and ligaments.

Humboldt Roller Derby founder Jennifer McMahon has early stages of arthritis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My doctor told me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you rest out or wear out.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I can do what I want and have fun or have arthritis,â&#x20AC;? she said.

McMahon no longer uses a derby name and just goes by her Ă&#x20AC;rst name on the track. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you have a derby name, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re kind of incognito and that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t my intent,â&#x20AC;? she said.

When the skaters hit the Ă oor, they hit concrete. Derby referee Linsey Wegler said that it is empowering what roller derby players do to their body. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just skating around, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a whole mental aspect to it. They fall and get hurt all the time,â&#x20AC;? Wegler said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They endure so much pain and have to overcome a lot to be able to play.â&#x20AC;?

Referees have derby names too, and Wegler goes by Raven Maniac.

Widow Makersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Elena Cattaneo, known as Pain du Jour, could not skate this bout because of a torn knee ligament. And when her teammate, Laura Short -- Duty Booty -- began playing a year ago, her knees were twice their original

size and covered in bruises, swollen from all the training in her Ă&#x20AC;rst few practices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a contact sport, anything can happen on the track,â&#x20AC;? Thompson said, who suffers torn and pulled muscles from derby.

The energy on the track can get feisty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The league does a good job at holding it together. While on the track, we put all issues aside,â&#x20AC;?

Cattaneo said.

During the nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second bout, the Redwood Rollers battle the Boardwalk Bombshells. The Rollersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lead jammer, Rust E. Machete -whose real name is Andrea Nieto -- passes the pack twice and scores 14 points. The commentator skips around on his tiptoes with one hand in the air while cheering into the microphone, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rust E! Rust E! Rust E!â&#x20AC;? The crowd cheers too. Despite Nietoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort, the Rollers lost to the Bombshells, 101 to 139.

For the skaters, the connection to the sport makes the pain they endure worth it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m playing, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in my element,â&#x20AC;? Short said.

McMahon agrees. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To have the heart and soul it takes to push through and to get the crap knocked out of you and love your team at the end of it all,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pure love of the sport.â&#x20AC;?

DERBY TERMS BOUT: A match is a Ă&#x20AC;ght to the end It is composed of two halves each 30 minutes JAMS: There are multiple within a bout each usually lasting two minutes JAMMERS: They wear helmet covers with stars on them to differentiate from the rest of the players The only skater that can score points -- they do so by passing all opposing blockers and pivots on their second lap The Ă&#x20AC;rst to pass everyone is the lead jammer PIVOTS: They wear striped helmet covers Pivots set the momentum for the pack -- they are the last line of blockers that jammers need to pass to score points BLOCKERS: They do not wear helmet covers Blockers work with pivots to block the opposing teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jammer and make way for their own jammer

HOW IT ALL WORKS The bout begins with Ă&#x20AC;ve players from each team -- one jammer one pivot and three blockers -- lining up counter clockwise on the track When the referee blows the whistle the pivots and blockers move The lead jammer can call off the jam at any time by Ă apping their hands to their hips After the jam is called off or it ends points are counted osprey/ fall 2012 / 3

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The Devils Playground Written by Gilbert Upton Photographed by Kristina Naderi Gilbert Upton

osprey/ fall 2012 / 43

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| Gilbert Upton

B

ehind Eureka’s Bayshore Mall is The Devil’s Playground, a concrete jungle with broken glass, rusty cans and syringes all over the ground. This old, abandoned logging facility serves as a haven for grafÀti artists. It has at least 10,000 feet of concrete wall, providing a massive canvas for artists to share their work and still keep a low proÀle.

Enero, 21, whose real name we withhold to protect his identity, is a local grafÀti artist who has been painting at The Devil’s Playground for more than four years.

To him, grafÀti culture is underground and uncontrolled. “It’s really the only art adults haven’t taken over and formalized,” Enero said.

He believes grafÀti is public art and deserves a space of it’s own.

He has been a grafÀti artist since middle school. “It’s something that I started doing when I was a kid,” he said. “Then I got really into the science of letters and the science of color and I realized it was a whole art form that is pretty unexplored.”

Now, Enero is an art student at Humboldt State. He will spend about seven hours on a single piece at The Devil’s Playground. “I use a lot of color and make sure things stay vivid. I take into consideration how I’m feeling that day and use it in the grafÀti,” he said.

The Devil’s Playground area has been abandoned for 25 years. “When it was a logging facility, they used to get all the cut lumber and load it onto stocks and put it onto trains there,” Enero said.

He is inspired by the community for much of his work. “There is a really big homeless population there --

they’re pretty friendly,” Enero said. He once painted a piece with a 40-foottall character that was a homeless logger leaned up against a wall. “It was supposed to be about the failure of the logging industry.”

Enero also paints about drug use in the community. “I did a piece on meth abuse in the area. It looks like a character of a skeletal man, holding a pipe with a frown on his face.”

His most recent grafÀti was a black-and-white memorial piece in honor of a friend who committed suicide when they were teenagers.

Enero does a new piece for him every year.

Growing up in Oakland, Enero had more freedom in the city to express himself through grafÀti. “The Devil’s Playground is kind of the only place we can use around Humboldt County,” he said.

| Gilbert Upton

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| Kristina Naderi

| Gilbert Upton

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STRONG AT THE BROKEN PLACES A young woman’s experience wtih her abortion Written & Photographed by Misha Burke

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”

- Ernest Hemingway Farewell to Arms

osprey/ fall 2012 / 4

I

t was the day before her regional softball tournament, and Mary Flora told her parents she was going to the mall with a friend. She lied. Sitting in the passenger seat of her best friend’s car, her hands shook.

She popped her knuckles. Her cheeks were Áushed red. As the car approached the abortion clinic, she took a deep breath.

Flora, whose real name we do not use to protect her privacy, is a 21-year-old student at Humboldt State. She got pregnant at 17, during her junior year of high school in Claremont, Calif.

She and her boyfriend had unprotected sex. Flora had never taken birth control before.

One day, she went to Planned Parenthood in Pomona to get a prescription for the pill. As standard procedure, she gave a urine sample.

The doctor then told Flora she was pregnant.

“I was a little surprised, but a part of me knew already, and I had been denying it,” she said.

Flora’s Àrst thought was that she could not have a baby. “I didn’t have the support that I would need to have a child at that age,” she said. “I knew that I could probably give it up for adoption, but I was pretty set on the fact that I couldn’t keep it, and my parents couldn’t know.”

Before she could get an abortion, she had to Àgure out how she was going to pay for the surgery. Flora could not rely on health insurance, because she could not tell her parents. “I had to apply for some kind of welfare or help. I do not remember exactly how it worked. I just know I had a chance to apply for this one-time help that covered the costs for me.”

Sitting inside the clinic examination room, the paper underneath her crackled. The nurse’s ice-cold hands grasped Flora’s arm as she poked her with an IV needle. The nurse lifted Flora’s shirt and poured a cold jelly-like substance on her stomach. The nurse grazed her belly back

A short time later, Flora entered the surgery room. The doctor gave her an option of being sedated or awake. She chose sedation. “That would be so traumatizing to be awake while they were doing that, whether I could feel it or not,” Flora said.

told her sister she got an abortion. “She said it was crazy and intense and that she loved me,” Flora said.

About an hour later, her boyfriend came to get her. Sitting in the backseat of his car, she got dizzy and vomited into a shoebox. She tried to

´I think I’m strong because of it. It deÀnitely gives me the motivation I need to get somewhere in life, to Ànd a career and to bulid a foundation to have a family.” and forth with a heavy, plastic wand. “Would you like to see?” asked the nurse. Flora did not want to but she could not resist looking at the black-and-white ultrasound screen. “I was like, okay cool, now I get to see that for rest of my life,” she said. osprey/ fall 2012 / 0

The next thing she remembers is waking up in a chair in the recovery room. “The Àrst thing I thought was, I want to throw up,” Flora said.

When she looked at her phone after the surgery, she had missed calls and text messages from her parents. She ignored them. But she

hold the box still, but it was full of stomach Áuid and now sagging in her hands. That afternoon, she would rush off to Lancaster, two hours away, for her softball game the next day.

As the years passed, Flora blocked out the memories. “I think that’s just my dealing. It’s

Mary Flora sits in the bleachers on a softball Àeld in Arcata on 2ct 2

not good,” she said. Coping became difÀcult.

During her freshmen year at HSU, she started to drink too much to try to forget. But all of a sudden, the memories resurfaced. “There were some days that I would be thinking about it and then I would go out that night and get a little bit too drunk. It would just kind of slam me emotionally,” she said.

“I would feel like an awful mother, and I would be worried because I always wanted to have a son Àrst, then a daughter. I was worried I’d lost my chance to have that,” Flora recalled.

Her new boyfriend lives in Santa Rosa. She told him about her abortion. “He feels a lot of sadness and sympathy for me. He’s constantly looking out for my stability,” she said. “He’s extremely understanding.”

And she gets help from others too. “It took a while, and support from a bunch of different friends, to realize that it doesn’t make me a

bad person, but that I can look at myself as someone who is a bit stronger because of it,” Flora said.

She became friends with other women who had abortions. “The way we always describe it is that there is always a hole. Like in the stomach area,” Flora said. “The worst part when you know you’re pregnant is that your brain just kind of goes with it and you feel like you have some motherly instinct. That’s kind of where the missing piece feeling comes from. Sometimes you look at another kid and think, I could have been a mom right now.”

She eventually wants to marry and have kids. “I think I’m strong because of it. It deÀnitely gives me the motivation I need to get somewhere in life, to Ànd a career and to build a foundation to have a family.”

After the surgery, Flora took antibiotic pills that the clinic doctor prescribed her. From time

to time, she would stare at the blue pills and hold the bag they came in. “I even kept the baggie for a bit,” Flora said. “I wish I would have kept the ultrasound picture in hindsight.”

Flora had to play in the softball tournament the day after the abortion, while no one knew her secret. Flora remembers feeling weak and nauseated. “I informed my coach I wasn’t feeling well,” Flora said. “He sat me out sometimes, but not very much because he was kind of a hard-ass.”

Flora played right-Àeld during the twohour game, with the sun beating down on her. The softball tournament lasted three days. “DeÀnitely that Àrst day, I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t need to win. I cried in the bathroom a little,” she said.

“The effort it took to play was difÀcult to summon,” Flora said. “There was some bleeding throughout the day. I had some cramps and took some Advil but nothing more than that. I didn’t play well at all that day and sat for most of the games. I ran occasionally and played right when I could. I had to go home from the last game because I wasn’t feeling very great.”

Today, Flora still plays softball. “It’s different for me now,” she said. “It’s what I’m good at and only rarely does it remind me of it.”

In October, her 18-year-old sister thought she might be pregnant and asked Flora to help her with the decision to have an abortion. “I’m losing my mind right now,” Flora said. “She’s so scared and I don’t think she’s strong enough to handle it. I barely got myself through it. I wish she, of all people, wasn’t someone I have to help go through this.”

Flora said that she did not want her sister to know what it is like to regret something so heavy. “It’s like a worst fear come true that she should have to feel the loss and crazy that I feel,” she said. “I really don’t know how she’ll deal with it years later when she realizes she lost a child -- that is what I’m most afraid of. Not during now, but later.”

A few weeks later, she was relieved to Ànd out her sister was not pregnant and would not have to get an abortion -- but the scare still brought up fresh memories for Flora. “I know that it broke me and I still feel broken,” she said.

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by Colleen Chalmers

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read to make your home smell like the holidays

Written and Photographed by Steve Castillo

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f youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to throw a winter dinner party, be sure to try butterscotch pumpkin loaf for dessert -- it will leave your home smelling like the holidays.

For simple decor at your party, go to JoAnnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fabrics in Eureka and

buy some material to use as a table runner over a white tablecloth. For lighting, pick up a few tea candles at Dollar Tree in Arcata and place those inside small mason jars for a cheap and easy accent to your dinner party and an organic aesthetic perfect for Humboldt County.

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Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x5â&#x20AC;? loaf pan.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients together in one bowl. In another, mix together all the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry, along with the butterscotch chips and walnuts.

3. Fold everything together, just until combined -- do not overmix. Pour into the pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean.

4. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then relocate to a cooling rack to cool completely. Then devour. osprey/ fall 2012 /

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