Craft Beer Local food Good Times
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1584 Reasor Rd. McKinleyville, CA 95519 707•630•5084 papawheeliespub.com
spring 2016
LOGOS AND BRANDING SERVICES BANNERS AND SIGNS VEHICLE WRAPS AND GRAPHICS stickers and LABEL PRINTING HSU ALUMNI OWNED AND OPERATED
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ONLINE AT ISSUU.COM/OSPREYMAGAZINE
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Rebekah Staub
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photo editor Jared Funk
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Osprey Magazine c/o Dpartment of Journalism & Mass Communication 1Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521
spring 2016
Letter from the Editor Human beings are one out of 10 animals on the entire planet who are self-aware. This means that out of millions of organisms, we are one of the only ones who know our own character, feelings and desires. We have the ability to imagine what other people think about us. We have self-conscious emotions like pride or shame. The stories in this edition of The Osprey are about humans. They are about fellow classmates, students, partners and friends who are made up of the same emotions, thoughts and feelings as you are. They are about one of the only animals who, for some strange cosmic reason, are able to live their life while battling with fear, anger, unpleasantness and unjustness, happiness, bliss, hope and joy. The stories in this magazine will resonate with you. They will soak under your skin and become you. When you see people at a concert, you will wonder if they feel unsafe. When you pass by the gun range on your way to dunes, you will wonder if veteran Bobby Hilton is shooting targets. When you see an image of Donald Trump, you will think of how much Reeham Ramadan’s life will change if he gets elected. When you see a woman with blonde hair on campus, you will wonder if she is Jane Doe. I feel fortunate and grateful to have the opportunity to work with fellow humans who care enough about others to talk to them, write about them, take pictures of them and read about them. However, I feel it is necessary to confront people who have ever questioned what we do. It is because of our hunger for change, our responsibility to inform the public and our desire to tell stories that we, as student journalists, are able to present a magazine heavy with emotions. This staff has been faced with ethical dilemmas and hard decisions to make, like cutting amazing stories from this issue and second-guessing our duty as truth tellers, proving to us that journalism is not an easy path to take. The truth can hurt. Both telling it and hearing it can be painful, but that’s because it’s important. We will always need journalists to protect the truth, and being students at Humboldt State provides us with a supportive outlet for doing the passion we choose. To the people who produced this magazine: Thank you. Thank you for caring. Thank you for solidifying my desire to be an animal with self-awareness. You da real MVP’s. Sincerely,
Rebekah Staub
spring 2016
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table of contents on the cover It Happens at Humboldt
One in five women experience rape during college. HSU is no exception. cover designed by Tyler Marshall
10 Batter Up
HSU pitcher aims for national championship.
12 Salty Waters
Chasing waves on Humboldt County’s coast.
14 ‘magna feminan artifex’
HSU’s ‘great female artist.’
16 The Ultimate Sacrifice
Missing ACL? Not a problem.
18 Locked & Loaded
HSU students were once allowed to have guns on campus, but now they face expulsion.
24 A Man and His Van
An alternative means of dwelling.
36 Humboldt’s Queer Community Rocks
A safer space for Humboldt’s queer community.
40 A Muslim Experience
An inside look at Islam in Humboldt County.
44 Weighting for Gains
Lifting is only half the battle.
46 Gone Fishing
Six Humboldt summer fishing spots.
48 Cruising into Debt
Spring break? More like spring broke.
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40 24 28 18 44 16
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film
review With Desiree Back
vs The Divergent series, a group of thriller/sci-fi movies adapted from the book by Veronica Roth, is about people in a post-apocalyptic world, who don’t fit into society’s guidelines, that must discover how to survive in a world where they are condemned. The storyline for the Divergent series keeps you interested since there is always new truth for the main characters to understand and overcome. The first movie was amazing with a strong plot. But the second movie’s plot was lacking. The third movie was a bit better with some twists and turns buried deep in the conspiracy of the plot.
The Maze Runner, adapted from the book by James Dashner, is about a group of kids in a post-apocalyptic world, searching for answers about where they came, where they are and where they’re going. The Maze Runner series was immensely entertaining with a plot that was nearly impossible to predict. The final movie in the series, the Death Cure is set to be released in theaters on February 17, 2017. I give The Maze Runner series a 4.5/5 rating.
The final movie in the series, Ascendant, is set to be released in theaters on June 9, 2017. I give the Divergent series a 3.5/5 rating.
how they Divergent and the Maze Runner are two young-adult, dystopian, future-world film series released in theaters. Both series focus on main characters who struggle to find the answers they need to improve their world. The Maze Runner series has mysteries, adventures and thrills that make an amazing group of movies that the Divergent series can’t live up to. The characters in the Maze Runner are constantly growing with new experiences while characters in the Divergent series seem to be emotionally flat. Ultimately, of the two, The Maze Runner is the best.
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stack up...
movies Critic’s Grade FC D+ DF C D
My
Grade DAC D AA B OSPREY
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Katie Obemma pitching for HSU during a game against St. Martins. | Allen Hack
Katie Obemma pitching for HSU during a game against San Diego. | Allen Hack
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Batter Up HSU pitcher aims for national championships by Lindsey Vito
K
atie Obbema glares down at home plate as she whips her arm around presenting her specialty rise ball pitch. Strike one. The 2016 Humboldt State softball season has officially begun.
Obbema began playing tee ball at four years old. At 10, she found her true calling on the field: pitching.
“Every hope for every season is to make it to the national championship,” Obbema says. “I want to do it for the people who have pushed me to be where I am now.”
Obbema played softball her whole life with her twin sister Jenny. The two had been inseparable. During their senior year in high school, they realized that they would no longer be playing softball together. They would be playing against each other. While Katie was recruited as a pitcher for Humboldt, Jenny was recruited to pitch at San Francisco State.
Obbema is a fourth-year starting pitcher on the Humboldt State University softball team. She hopes to lead the squad to the national championship in Denver in May. The last time the Lady Jacks won a division title was in 2008. “Knowing it’s my last season to play and possibly could be the last game I ever play, there’s a little bit of an internal stride,” Obbema says. Humboldt State softball recruited Obbema during her senior year in high school. She attended a clinic put on by the Lady Jacks where she threw a 60 mph pitch, which is unusual at the high school level. In her freshman year, the California Collegiate Athletic Association named her Pitcher of the Week. She was honored as Freshman of the Year, and was HSU’s all-time top 10 for single-season innings pitched, wins and complete games. “I think her greatest strength as a pitcher is her appearance on the mound,” Obbema’s teammate Darian Harris says. “Her presence puts somewhat of a fear in each batter she faces.”
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“I fell in love with the sport,” Obbema says. “My coach taught me how to pitch when I was 10 and I’ve been in the circle ever since.”
“It’s been fun,” Obbema says. “But it’s been hard because I always want her to do well, but at the same time I want a win for the team.” Halfway through the season with 16 league games left, Obbema accounted for a 1.81 Earned Run Average (ERA). An ERA measures the average number of runs given up by a pitcher over the course of a seven-inning game. It does not include runs resulting from mistakes made by other players. Out of the innings Obbema has pitched, an average of 1.81 runners have scored a run. At that point, the Lady Jacks lead the league with the best ERA. “Katie never lets herself get down,” Harris says. “When she knows she might struggle, she has no doubt in her mind that she will throw the next pitch with success and get the batter next time.”
The Lady Jacks won the first nine games of the season, but their winning streak came to an end when they lost to the Chico Wildcats 11-3. Obbema’s pitching struggled. “I wanted to beat them so badly that I was trying too hard, which flattened my ball out,” Obbema says. “It was so long since I pitched a game. I was playing head games with myself.” Because of the rain in Humboldt County, the Lady Jacks’ home games with UC San Diego and Sonoma State were canceled. The Chico series was the team’s first game in two weeks. “I don’t like playing every other weekend,” Obbema says. “I like getting in a groove and going week to week knowing that whatever didn’t work I need to fix in practice and then I’m going to fix it in the game.” “Katie knows what needs to be done in order to make herself and the team better,” Head Coach Shelli Sarchett says. “She continues to perform at a high level while expecting her teammates to do the same.” By game 20 of the season, the Jacks still only had one loss and held a record of 19 wins. “Senior year, you have nothing to lose,” Obbema says. “You might as well just leave it all on the field. So just go out there shooting for the stars.” ◆
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Salty Waters Chasing waves along the Northern Coast stor y and photos by Tyler Boydstun
Cold Pacific currents, coastal rock towers and powerful northern storms combine to create what seems to be an unsurfable environment. The conditions on Humboldt’s coastline are ever-changing, making surfing here incredibly difficult. Stephen McAuliffe is a Humboldt State environmental science major from Hilo, Hawaii. He’s been surfing the North Coast for the past five years. “It’s a different type of surfing up here. You’ve really got to be willing to work for it,” McAuliffe says. “You have to be a parttime meteorologist to find waves. You’ve got to know swell charts, tides, winds, buoys and bars. The sand is super dynamic and constantly changing.”
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The surfing in Humboldt takes research, patience and knowledge. This is an unforgiving environment that cannot be taken lightly. On Feb. 27, Humboldt Bay Coast Guard rescued two surfers off of Camel Rock after strong currents threatened to pull them out to sea. The Coast Guard airlifted the two men using a human-sized basket hanging below the chopper. Jenn Soderfelt has been surfing in Humboldt County since the late 1990s. “I always tell people one of the most important things about surfing is learning the conditions and knowing what your abilities are before you go out,” she says.
“This is not Southern California waves. You work for it, and a lot of surfing involves driving.” Websites and webcams that forecasts surf reports make checking conditions easier, but there’s no substitute for driving the coast in search of waves. The North Coast provides those who know where to look with a peaceful escape into solitude among redwoods and sea stacks. ◆
top: Author Tyler Boydstun snaps a turn in front of Trinidad Head. bottom: Dallas Dufrene rips apart a lip in Trinidad. right page, top left: Stephen McAuilffe sends off in front of fellow surfer Cooper Harris. top right: Stephen McAuliffe runs down the trail for a session in Trinidad. middle: Tyler Boydstun during a longboard session. bottom right: Stephen McAuliffe waxes his board in Trinidad. bottom left: Surfers watch the sunset behind Camel Rock.
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Dance and art history major Claire Patterson choreographes a solo during her senior year at Humboldt State. | Kellie Jo Brown
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magna feminam artifex HSU choreographer Claire Patterson embodies equality
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t starts with Claire Patterson walking. Her arms are bent behind her arched back. She looks naked in a cream, silk top and tan underwear that might resemble granny panties had they not embraced her lean legs. A skirt made out of five plastic hoops swings back and forth around her knees. Patterson exhales and stumbles backwards. Her arms shoot forward and her stomach contracts, as if she is throwing all of the anguish and pain females experience at the audience. “It’s like having a panic attack on stage,” she said. “You wouldn’t necessarily want an onlooker at certain points in time. You’re just sort of always dealing with their presence.” Patterson’s solo “magna feminam artifex” is Latin for “great female artist.” It is part of her senior seminar as a dance major at Humboldt State University. What started as commentary on an essay about how women have been oppressed in the art world throughout history became a dance representing societal constraints against females as a whole. “The whole time there is this interplay with me and the skirt,” Patterson said. “The skirt is a metaphor for those societal constraints.”
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story by Rebekah Staub Throughout her piece, her hand slaps her mouth shut. The impact of the smack can be heard from the stage by people in the audience. Patterson struggles to pry her hand off of her face, finger by finger. “Everytime you go through this small amount of pain to show the audience,” she said. “Because that’s what it takes sometimes to show the audience the realness of the struggle.” Patterson started working on her piece in the fall. In March, her solo was one of 10 dances chosen to be performed at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) West Region gala, a dance workshop for universities across the country. “We had judges who were very interested in social justice and were very socially aware,” Patterson said. “Most of the pieces that were chosen had a greater message.” Patterson said the judges picked up the feminist dialogue in her piece. Some of their reviews said her solo was a “freeing of the sexual being,” “legacy of containment on women” and “a battle with entrapment.”
Patterson is also an art history major. She said she has come across the 1971 essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” by Linda Nochlin in a few of her classes. In the essay Nochlin discusses how “white male subjectivity” dominates the art world as well as how women are taken for granted as artists. Sometimes Patterson carries a highlighted copy of the essay with her. “What if Picasso had been born a girl?” Nochlin writes. “Would Senor Ruiz have paid as much attention or stimulated as much ambition for achievement in a little Pablita?” It ends with Patterson walking. She pries her hand off of her mouth and throws her shaking arm. One of the ACDA judges said Patterson is “vulnerable but not defeated.” Patterson says the dance doesn’t solve anything, it is just a view into the battle that continues on once the dance is over. It’s hard to be both the oppressed and the oppressor, she says. “Even though throughout the piece I’ve dealt with this oppressive force,” she says. “It’s still there.” ◆
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Bryce Franklin prepares to throw a forehand “flick” downfield against San Jose State on March. 12. | Diane Bagaoisan
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An Ultimate Sacrifice HSU student returns to the field after knee injury by Albert Rebosura
U
ltimate Frisbee co-captain Bryce Franklin sprints up the field’s sideline chasing a disc thrown too far in front of him. He dives for the disc and catches it with his left hand while sliding across the wet grass in a Slip’N Slide fashion. “I was happy I didn’t tear my knee again,” Franklin said. It’s Sunday, March 13, and Humboldt State’s Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team The Buds is playing its last game against Sacramento State at San Jose State’s weekend tournament. Franklin stands up 10 yards from the end zone drenched in mud. He steps to the right of the defender and throws the disc over a sea of hands for a score in the back left corner of the end zone. Despite Franklin’s effort, The Buds lost 13-6. The team won two of six games that weekend, which was expected during its rebuilding season. What wasn’t expected was Franklin’s return to the field. “My ACL is not there,” Franklin said. “It’s gone, and it’s been gone long enough that it’s gone. There is no ACL -- it’s disintegrated.” Franklin, 29, an environmental science major, played his first tournament after suffering a devastating knee injury in March 2015. Last year, he tore his ACL during the first game of sectionals -- the regional qualifying tournament for the national championship playoffs. After batting the disc high in the air, the opposing player land-
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ed on the outside of Franklin’s right knee, pushing it towards his left leg. “We were back on defense, the other team worked it around, and they threw it to the end zone to my guy, and I defended the crap out of him,” Franklin said. The injury sidelined him for the year. “It was hard seeing him get hurt in the first game,” Franklin’s co-captain Robert Reyes said. “It sucked, but it’s something that happens.” “I wasn’t surprised that I had a tear,” Franklin said. “They said the tear was likely chronic.” While he was unable to play, Franklin contributed to the team off the field. “It was incredibly hard just watching,” he said. “The two hardest times are when they’re playing really bad and I’m just watching and can’t help, or when they’re doing really good and I want to be out there having fun with them.” Freshman Brighton Hayashida began playing ultimate this year. Franklin helped him develop. “He was always so willing and happy to help whenever I had questions about the rules or how to make cuts and throw the disc,” Hayashida said. “He always gave me the encouragement to do my best whether it’s on the sidelines or in the game.” “From the beginning, Bryce has been an incredibly committed captain and leader,” Coach Ben Iberle said. “He’s been on the sidelines at all the tournaments we go to,
supporting the team and being a positive force and encouraging people to really put in their best effort.” Franklin’s knee was a problem even before the tear. “I’ve hurt it playing racquetball,” Franklin said. “I hurt it playing ultimate four years ago. I talked to a radiologist in February and he told me I had knees of a 50-yearold, and I’m 29.” Franklin said physical therapy didn’t help. He was frustrated with doctors and long trips to the Bay Area for knee brace fitting. “If they aren’t going to do anything, then I’m going to play,” he said. “They won’t help me, and they can’t help me, so I’m going to play. That’s what I decided. And that’s why I’m playing again.” In March, Franklin returned to the field a few weeks before San Jose State’s tournament equipped with a custom-made brace that locked his knee in place. The Buds finished in eighth place. “It was really exciting and inspiring for me to be able to see someone who’s so passionate about ultimate finally be able to play after being injured for so long,” Hayashida said. “I played alright considering I didn’t play for a year and I only had five practices under my belt,” Franklin said. “I actually thought I did really well.” ◆
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Humboldt State senior and veteran Bobby Hilton sits in his apartment in Arcata gripping his .357 Magnum revolver. | Jared Funk
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L o c ke d & About 30 years ago State tL oade d Humboldt students were kMiranda Hutchison
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allowed to have guns on campus. Today, things are different.
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H
umboldt State student Bobby Hilton slides a bronze bullet into his .45-caliber pistol. He extends both arms, aiming the Glock at a cardboard target about 50 feet away in Arcata’s Redwood Gun Club. Sparks burst from the gun’s tip and the bullet pierces through the bullseye. “It just feels natural,” Hilton said. “I’ve been shooting my whole life. My family shoots. It’s family bonding.” He says he owns at least five guns but never brings them to school. Humboldt State University does not keep track of how many students own guns, according to university administrators. Hilton is one of them, and he knows others. “I don’t bring a gun to campus, but sometimes I think I should,” he said. “I’d feel safer. You never know what someone’s intentions are.” Hilton, 28, grew up in Chico, a gun-toting town that prides itself for having the state’s longest running gun show. He taught his sister how to shoot and his father served as a military police officer in Vietnam, which influenced Hilton’s own decision to join the military.
“That’s Skippy,” he says. “He’s probably dead now or working for the Islamic State.”
Training was tough and so were the rules on gun safety.
“If you accidentally flagged someone with the barrel, you would get your ass kicked,” he said.
“We were taught to treat every weapon as though it were loaded,” he said. “Never point a weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot. Never take your weapon off of safe until ready to fire and keep your fingers straight and off the trigger until ready to shoot.”
Hilton said all of the boys were named Muhammad, so he and his unit gave them nicknames. He said Skippy was one of his best friends there, even though the boy knew little English. Skippy’s dad was killed by Al Qaeda and his mom became a “sister of Fallujah,” which is a female police officer. Since no one was around to
but they must register them, and they cannot bring them on campus.
“If I stayed in Chico I would have stayed drunk and ended up dead,” he said. “It’s a town that will suck you in, and you don’t leave.” To escape Chico, Hilton enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served seven months in Iraq. His duties included combat patrol and standing security at entry points in Fallujah, a city in central Iraq.
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he said his love of guns grew. The military taught him how to use machine guns and grenades. He learned how to find cover, become a smaller target and avoid getting shot at while walking down a hallway. His training required him to hold a gun at eye level for about 30 minutes several times a day. The hard part was keeping the gun from drifting down or nudging anyone with the end of it.
Students don’t have to state if they “own a gun because it is a right,
At 16, his mom died of lung cancer and Hilton became angry, started picking fights, smoking, drinking and using drugs. He moved out of the family house and slept on a flea-infested mat in a closet while apartment-hopping with his uncle. When he was 18, he said he had to get away.
“I needed to grow up,” Hilton said.
Hilton’s military service earned him a job as a campus veterans outreach coordinator. He sits at his work desk in the university library and opens the cabinet above his computer. He pulls out a little black book and shuffles through a stack of photographs. He shows me one of him standing next to a 9-year-old boy in Fallujah, and they are both smiling. Hilton, clean shaven and then 20 years old, is dressed in army gear with a blue and white bandana tied around his head. The boy with short black hair is wearing a clean T-shirt and shorts.
In Iraq, he carried an M16 assault rifle with an attached grenade launcher. He says the gun weighed about seven pounds but with the ammo and grenade, his pack weighed more than 80 pounds. The rifle became his favorite because it was the one he carried the most. Now, the rifle sits in an armory at Camp Pendleton. When he returned from Iraq, Hilton found himself searching for it.
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watch the kids, Hilton and his unit spent a lot of time with them. “I remember once Skippy was riding his bike down the Entry Control Point lane and almost got hit by a car,” Hilton said. “I started yelling at the driver and kicking the car.” Hilton brought the kids care packages filled with candy, socks and hand warmers. Skippy and his 3-year-old brother Spanky brought Hilton chai tea, which he remembers tasting mostly of milk and sugar. As far as Hilton knew, they were just ordinary kids, and Skippy did not use guns. Hilton was based with the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, where
“If only I could hold her again,” Hilton said. “I would be walking around and be like, ‘Oh shit, where’s my rifle? Oh wait, I’m home and don’t need it.’ It was like a pacifier almost.”
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oday, Hilton has handguns, shotguns and rifles. He stores his shotguns and rifles at his home in Chico, but keeps his handguns in his apartment in Arcata. He keeps bullets in the console of his truck and camouflage gear in the backseat. Reloading ammunition is his hobby. Hilton has been shooting since he was six years old. He remembers his dad took him to the woods and handed him a deer-hunting rifle. They rested the muz-
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HSU’s Student Weapon Violations from 2012 - 2014 Graphic by Miranda Hutchison
A On campus weapon violation referred for disciplinary action Public property weapon violation that resulted in arrest
Source: The Jeanne Clery Act’s Annual Security Report 2015 for Humboldt State
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zle on a log to help him aim, and Hilton shot a gun for the very first time.
“Six-year-olds don’t have good sitting posture let alone good posture for holding a gun,” Hilton said. “I remember sitting down, aiming low and hearing a loud boom. It pushed me onto my back and my dad and his friend were laughing.”
A few years later, he walked out of a Chico gun show with his dad as a new gun owner, holding a rifle that had a scope for aiming and a front post to keep it steady. “I didn’t know anything about guns then,” Hilton said. “But I got my 30-30 rifle that day.” He had a concealed carry permit while living in Chico because his house was near a bike trail where people were often mugged. Concealed carry is when someone carries a gun on them in public, spring 2016
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hidden from view. He forgot to transfer the permit to Humboldt County when he moved to Arcata and then felt he didn’t need it.
According to HSU’s 2015 Annual Security Report, five students possessed illegal weapons from 2012 to 2014. Four of them had weapons on campus. One case in 2012 happened on public property and resulted in an arrest whereas the others received disciplinary action. HSU Dean of Students Randi Darnall Burke said since she started at HSU in 1976, she can recall only one gun-related expulsion. The incident happened in a residence hall in spring 2014. “Students don’t have to state if they own a gun because it is a right,” she said. “But they must register them, and they cannot bring them on campus.” Burke opens the student’s expulsion report on her office computer and says she
2014
cannot show it to me because it is confidential. Without naming him, she says the student had a handgun in his dorm room. University police found the gun after responding to a home invasion at the residence hall that involved suspects entering the room looking for drugs. The student’s suitemates called university police and during the search, police found the gun, she says. As of January, California state law bans concealed firearms from college campuses. The California State University system had already banned firearms and other weapons like most knives, according to the CSU Code of Regulations. Humboldt State University Police Chief Donn Peterson said students were not allowed to carry concealed weapons even with a permit prior to January, nor are they currently allowed to store guns in their cars on campus.
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Above: Bobby Hilton with 9-year-old Skippy in Fallujah, Iraq in 2008. | Photo provided by Bobby Hilton. Right: Nikky Simons’ .22-caliber pistol that she got for Christmas this year. | Photo provided by Nikky Simons
But Humboldt State hasn’t always banned guns. Peterson said HSU once allowed guns and even provided students with on-campus lockers for hunting rifles. That was more than 30 years ago, he said. But he said the presence of a gun in any situation isn’t safe. Peterson sits at his office desk, not in uniform, and tells me he has a concealed weapon on him at the moment. He said officers receive strict training before putting on a uniform. “This is a learning environment,” he said. “And it isn’t advanced by having students walking around campus armed.” According to archives in the library’s Humboldt Room, HSU had a Rifle Club from 1941 to 1945, and its members practiced shooting guns on campus. Now, the only people allowed on campus with guns, open or concealed, are law enforcement.
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But even trained professionals make mistakes. According to a HSU statement, a university police officer accidentally shot his own hand on Jan. 13. Chief Peterson did not name the officer but said it happened when the officer was taking apart his .40-caliber Glock. When he pulled the trigger to disassemble the weapon, a bullet leftover from the previous day’s training shot through the outside edge of his left hand. He was out of work for at least four weeks, Peterson said. “Something went wrong and something was missed,” Peterson said. “When steps A through Z are followed, a mistake is impossible. We investigated what was missed and learned from it and can grow.” Peterson has since implemented new procedures when it comes to cleaning and clearing firearms such as having posted checklists of the steps and requiring officers to observe one another when handling weapons to ensure that none of the steps are missed.
“I oversee an organization of humans where mistakes happen and that wasn’t our brightest moment,” he said. Captain Brian Stephens of the Eureka Police Department lead the city’s first public active shooter training in March. I attended the evening session where Stephens told the 50 or so participants about shooting statistics and safety. “More and more people are applying for concealed weapons,” Stephens said. “God bless them. But it is important that they have the right training.” One of the first shootings on a U.S. college campus that resulted in several deaths happened at the University of Texas in 1966, according to Eureka Police Captain Stephens. Fifteen people were killed and 31 were wounded when the gunman fired from a watchtower. Stephens said people shot back but were not prepared for that sort of situation.
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“You don’t know what it is like to take someone’s life in order to save your own,” Stephens said. “And you need to be prepared for that.” Last year there were 31 shootings on college campuses, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that tracks gun violence in the U.S. The worst ever shooting on a college campus happened at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, where the shooter killed 32 people.
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umboldt State senior Nikky Simons says she wonders what she would do if someone barged in and shot at the classroom. Would she hide under the desk? Climb out the window? Simons is a new gun owner and is considering getting a concealed carry permit. “A lot of crazy shit happens,” she said. “If I don’t carry it all the time, am I going to benefit from it?”
to aim and it’s harder to pull the trigger. My dad makes it look easy, but sometimes I have to use two fingers.” Simons has not fired the gun since she practiced using it in December, but she says she plans to complete a safety course before taking it out again. After Simons graduates in May with a psychology degree, she will begin her nursing training at College of the Redwoods. She says she will be living alone then and having the gun will make her feel safer. “It’s a good back up,” she said. “Everyone is going to stand down to a gun.”
shit happens. “IfA Ilotdon’tof crazy carry it all the time,
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am I going to benefit from it? moving to Idaho not only for his job but for the state’s gun laws, where permits for rifles, shotguns and handguns are not needed. “I would like to shoot a wolf,” he said. “That would be cool. Or a mountain lion or cougar, all of which are illegal to hunt in California.” ◆
Hilton graduates in May with a degree in forestry hydrology. He has already landed a job starting in June as a hydrologic technician in Boise. He’s excited about
She says she spent years asking her dad for her own gun. A few years ago, he gave her a set of hunting knives. But this past Christmas, her dad finally gave her a .22-caliber pistol, which fits tightly in her hands. “With all the school shootings and craziness, I finally made him realize that I should have one,” Simons said. Simons said her mom is paranoid about her having a gun in her house when she has friends over. But she keeps it locked up in a case under her bed, and the case can only be unlocked with her fingerprint. “I feel iffy sometimes and nervous knowing there’s a powerful weapon in my house,” Simons said. “But better knowing that only I can open it.” In her hometown of Templeton, California, her dad set up cardboard targets on his private land for her to practice aim. She loaded the brand new pistol and used two fingers to pull the trigger. “I remember expecting more of a kick,” Simons said. “I like shotguns better than handguns because handguns are harder
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A Man and His Van HSU transfer student Ryan Echeverri creates an alternative means of dwelling story by Domanique Crawford photos by Jared Funk
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HSU student Ryan Echeverri lives in a Ford E250 van, his only means of housing.
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university police car slowly circles a Humboldt State parking lot and pulls up next to a white Ford van, the only car left in the lot.
“Oh shit,” says the van owner, HSU transfer student Ryan Echeverri. The library had just closed at 11:30 p.m. when Echeverri headed back to his vehicle and spotted the cop car. Echeverri slings on his backpack to show off his student status. “I think he was trying to make sure that someone sketchy wasn’t chilling there,” Echeverri said. Echeverri is forced to live in the vehicle, a 1986 full-sized cargo van, for the semester until he can find another place to live. Echeverri is not alone in his search for housing. According to the 2016 study California State University Food and Housing Security Survey, 15 percent of
students reported experiencing homelessness at some point since starting college. Echeverri spent two months searching for a place to live. He considered applying for a dorm room on campus, but said it was too expensive. “That’s the reason I didn’t go to San Francisco State,” he said. “Oh, okay. I will go to Arcata, and it’s probably way cheaper to live there instead of San Francisco, but it is still so expensive.” He continued his search on Craigslist. After applying to about 10 to 20 posts calling for a roommate, nothing panned out. “I was getting anxious because I was going to get here a day before the semester began, and I had nowhere to move, and I didn’t have a car either,” Echeverri said. “I needed to get a car.” Echeverri’s backup plan was to live in a car if he couldn’t find a place to live by the time the semester started. With his financial aid check, Echeverri purchased the Ford E250 from Craigslist for $3,500.
a bottle. “ForAndpee,thenI have for number two, I made sure to have a schedule.
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In addition to its miniature rustic cabin ambiance, the original owner outfitted the back of the van with a wooden platform made to hold a queen sized mattress. Behind the driver’s seat is a countertop that holds a butane burner, a silver pot and a roll of paper towels. Echeverri’s personal items include his historical nonfiction novels, textbooks, a dream catcher and a picture of his girlfriend Alix. “It’s always awkward leaving in the morning when it’s all busy, and everyone is coming in and out of the parking lot, and you just like walk out of your van. I get some weird stares,” Echeverri said. The HSU Library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. on weekdays. It’s Echeverri’s first stop every morning and where
On the weekends, Ryan Echeverri likes to relax outside and listen to music.
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he hangs out for most of the day when he is not in class. He uses the library’s bathroom and makes an oatmeal breakfast using the library’s free hot water. The best things about living in a car, according to Echeverri, is having free time, saving money and focusing on educational goals to make sure he graduates by spring 2017. “I’m here all the time, so it’s pushing me to work really hard in school. I haven’t been this engaged in school since high school,” Echeverri said. Another car dweller Wes Gibbs has been living in his car for the last nine months. “I had a nice house, but I decide I didn’t need all the luxuries of the house without a girlfriend,” he said. Car dwelling is more favorable to Gibbs than living in a traditional residence. Gibbs’ home of choice is an ‘92 Isuzu Trooper SUV. “All of my stuff is so broken down to the essentials, and I can move around. I don’t have to feel like I have forgotten something ‘cause I only have one place where I put everything. It’s just in a car,” Gibbs said. Car owners have to be careful where they park. Echeverri had only been in Arcata for two days when he encountered the seedier side of town. Parked near the corner of 13th and B Streets, he thought the seclusion of the trees and bushes that created an alcove protected him. In the middle of the night, he was startled awake by what he assumed were branches scratching against the top of his van. He then heard what sounded like someone clearing their throat. He slowly lifted the curtain on the rear window and saw a man unscrewing the bolts of his license plate. “Hey!” Echeverri screamed. The man fled with two of four bolts that locked in the license plate and the lid to one of the gas tanks. The thief left behind a container filled with a liter of gasoline that he siphoned from the tank.
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Ryan Echeverri uses a hotplate to boil eggs for his usual egg sandwich lunch.
“The next day, I bought the bat,” Echeverri said.
“When I first moved here, I didn’t know how humid it was,” Echeverri said.
And with his new home security, Echeverri moved his van closer to campus.
During the first few weeks, morning condensation builds up, causing mold - a problem shared by Gibbs as well. To help protect his belongings, Echeverri covered his van with bubble wrap insulation. Gibbs leaves his car window open to prevent mold growth.
Though the Library is where Echeverri fulfills daily tasks, it is only open for so many hours. One of the hardest things about living in his van is taking care of personal hygiene. “For pee, I have a bottle. And then, for number two, I made sure I have a schedule,” he said. He showers at Cafe Mokka, a Finnish sauna and hot tub company in Arcata. When he doesn’t feel like paying the $9 fee, he takes showers at the public pool. “I only shower like once a week,” Echeverri said. Gibbs showers at the HealthSPORT gym in Arcata. “I definitely don’t shower only once a week, though. Sometimes I do it two or three times,” Gibbs said. Another unexpected worry of car living is the weather. Echeverri and Gibbs both agree the weather is a bane to their car living existence.
The University Code of Conduct and the Code of Rules and Regulations 5100 prohibit students from living on campus outside of residence halls. The rules say unless students have permission from the president or the person managing the facility, they cannot camp on school property. If students violate the code, they can receive a citation calling for an appearance in court. “The worst case scenario is you get someone here living in their vehicle that is not a student, for example, a transient or someone that wants to get into a building,” University Police Sergeant Chance Carpenter said. “In that case, they might get one warning.” Echeverri is considering living in his van for the rest of his time at Humboldt State. “I still haven’t decided yet whether or not I am going to get an apartment,” Echeverri said. “It does sound nice, but honestly, living in a van is not that bad.” ◆ OSPREY
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HUMBOLDT One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, according to national data. HSU is no exception. by Rebekah Staub
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n Jan. 26, a Humboldt County sheriff guides Raul Sierra into courtroom five of the Humboldt County Superior Court in Eureka. The Humboldt State University football player is at his arraignment following his felony arrest that occurred on Jan. 21. He is charged with an acquaintance rape by the use of drugs in a campus residence last November. Sierra, 25, transferred to HSU as a junior biology major from Southwestern College where he played football, according to the 2015 HSU football roster. He stumbles in the courtroom, looking at the dark brown walls. He wears the same oversized orange jumpsuit as other alleged felons sitting before him. Sierra leans back in his chair. He is the only prisoner sitting across from Judge Joyce D. Hinrichs. He yawns. His dark hair is tied back into a bun. He lifts both hands towards his face, scratches his nose and smooths out his thick, black moustache. Judge Hinrichs looks across the courtroom at Sierra and reads from a Dec. 18 felony complaint filed by District Attorney Brienne Bennett. “On or about November 7, 2015, in the above named judicial district, the crime of RAPE BY USE OF DRUGS, in violation of Penal Code SECTION 261 (a)(3), a felony, was committed by Raul Eduardo Sierra IV, who did unlawfully have and accomplish an act of sexual intercourse with a person, to wit: Jane Doe, where said person was prevented from resisting by an intoxicating, anesthetic, and controlled substance, and this condition was known, and reasonably should have been known by the defendant,” the complaint says. Sierra’s Attorney Beorn Zepp enters Sierra’s plea of not guilty. As Judge Hinrichs lists dates for the upcoming bail and preliminary hearings, a blonde woman sitting in the courtroom audience bows her head and cries. The black cardigan over her shoulders shakes. The woman is Jane Doe, the protected person of the alleged rape. Someone sitting the row behind her passes her a packet of tissues. She wipes her tears and straightens her back.
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The Superior Court of Humboldt County started preliminary hearings for People v. Raul Sierra in January. For several months over the course of the semester, Doe, a transfer student at Humboldt State University who is 21, spoke with me openly about both the criminal proceeding and the university investigation following the alleged assault. She agreed to have her name published in The Osprey. However, just days before the magazine went to print she asked that she be removed from the story because the court case is still pending. The magazine chooses to keep her anonymous. Judge Hinrichs reads from a criminal protective order and tells Sierra he must stay away from Doe. According to the order, Sierra must have no personal, electronic, telephonic, or written contact with Doe, he must have no contact with Doe through a third party, except through an attorney, and he must not come within 100 yards of Doe. Two days after his arraignment, on Jan. 28, Sierra bailed out of jail for $100,000, according to the court’s jail report.
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umboldt State University Police Department Officer L. Altic is dispatched to St. Joseph Hospital on Nov. 8 for a possible sexual assault report, according to a warrant in support of Sierra’s arrest. It is the day after the alleged assault. Altic states he met with Doe and three witnesses in the warrant. The police report reads as follows: “The suspect was eventually identified as Raul Eduardo Sierra,” Altic reports. “Sierra had been invited to Doe’s apartment to play drinking games with Doe and her roommates. Doe said she had been clear with Sierra that she did not want to have sex with someone she does not know. Doe said she was very intoxicated after the drinking games. Doe acknowledged that she was kissing Sierra in her apartment living room after the drinking games were over. Doe said Sierra followed her to her bedroom. Doe said she had gotten into bed fully clothed but later found that her clothing had been removed and Sierra was naked in her bed with her. Doe said ‘I made it clear to him I did not want to have sex. I had my hand over my vagina.’ Doe said she thought her vagina had been penetrated by Sierra’s penis.”
On March 4, Doe is subpoenaed by email to a preliminary hearing of People v. Raul Sierra to be held at 8 a.m. on March 14. But on March 10, four days before the long-awaited trial, a victim’s assistant calls Doe and tells her the preliminary hearing will probably be postponed. Doe still plans on going. On her way to the preliminary hearing on March 14, Doe walks out of the elevator and says the first person she sees is Sierra. His face and head are now shaved, leaving his head bald. There is no trace of his full beard or bun. Doe runs to a conference room around the corner and starts to cry. Inside the courtroom, Sierra and his attorney Beorn Zepp stand before Judge Bruce Watson, who is sitting in for Judge Hinrichs. It’s the same courtroom as the initial hearing in January. Doe sits in the courtroom audience between her victim’s assistant and a volunteer from the North Coast Rape Crisis Team, both of whom were there for the arraignment in January. During the hearing, Sierra’s attorney requests the trial be postponed for 60 days. According to his Motion for Continuance, Zepp wrote “there are extensive interviews to be conducted and a substantial amount of evidence to be gathered, requiring the assistance of an investigator (funds for whom have not yet been approved). Also, Mr. Sierra is attempting to retain associate counsel, and will require additional time for associate counsel to review all documents and evidence available, and to prepare for evidentiary hearing.” My attempts to get Sierra’s side of the story have failed. “I am not prepared to make any comment at this point in time,” Zepp said during a phone call two weeks after the preliminary hearing. “I need my client’s permission if I am going to discuss anything.” Zepp never returned my call. Doe bows her head and cries as Judge Watson grants Sierra a 45-day continuance. Sierra walks out of the courtroom and Doe hurries into the hallway crying. Sierra watches her walk away. I approach him.
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Raul Sierra leaves the Humboldt County Superior Court in Eureka where he was granted a 45-day continuance during the preliminary hearing of People v. Raul Sierra on March 14, 2016.|Jessica Ernst
“Excuse me,” I say. Sierra looks at me and shakes his head. “Nope,” he says. Sierra refuses to speak to me. On March 22, Doe is subpoenaed for a second preliminary hearing scheduled for April 20.
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elays can be frustrating for both parties when a sexual assault, which includes unwelcome sexual touching, oral, anal or vagainal contact and/or penetration, is reported. Sexual assault is the most under-reported crime and when it seldom is reported, only two out of every 100 rapists serve time, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization. But the outcome of sexual assault cases are not just held in the criminal court. Students who have experienced sexual violence have the option to file a campus spring 2016
complaint, a police report or both, under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sexual discrimination in education. A police report can lead to a criminal case and campus complaints can lead to the perpetrator being suspended, expelled or mandated to counseling. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault. Doe filed both. At Humboldt State, Dean of Students Randi Darnall Burke is the Deputy Title IX Coordinator in charge of investigations for any complaints against students. Senior Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Human Resources Colleen Mullery is the Title IX Coordinator in charge of investigating Title IX complaints about a faculty or staff member, or a student employee. “Title IX investigations are just coming to a conclusion whether or not someone is responsible,” Burke says. According to Burke, each of the 23 campuses in the CSU has the same policy and procedure for handling Title IX com-
plaints. Universities use preponderance of evidence, the same standard as the civil courts, for deciding the outcomes of their investigations. Burke says there’s no one-size-fits-all procedure, it depends on what the actual behavior was and the egregiousness of the offense. If it is determined a party is responsible, both parties are notified and then either party can appeal the findings to the chancellor’s office. “It’s just like the criminal courts,” Burke says. “It’s not like anybody found responsible for sexual violence is automatically expelled.” Two days after Doe reported the alleged rape to Officer Altic at the hospital in November, she walks into Burke’s office in Siemen’s Hall on HSU’s campus. The police told her to go straight to student affairs to speak with Burke, she said. If someone files a sexual assault complaint the school must investigate within 60 working days, according to the CSU Student Complaint Procedure Timeline. However, a police investigation may take longer, delaying the school’s investigation if law enforcement is still gathering evidence. Burke said she can also extend the investigation by 30 daOSPREY
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ys if one of the parties involved is not available for an interview. Doe said on March 2, Burke extended her investigation by 30 days. It had been four months since Doe reported the alleged rape to both the university and police.
creased Title IX reports in the past three years, making her workload increase. As the dean of students, Burke says she also provides care service work to students who are experiencing things like difficulty in their classes or being in the hospital.
Once a Title IX investigation is complete, the conclusion is forwarded to Associate Dean of Students, Student Rights and Responsibilities Ben Witt who is in charge of sanctioning. When I ask Burke if she knows the conclusion of Doe’s case, one month after the 30-day extension Burke says she cannot speak about individual cases.
“It was becoming too overwhelming because I already had a full time job and this has increased it,” Burke said. “But this is good. We want students and survivors to feel that they can come forward.”
After the initial meeting with Burke in November, Doe’s roommate walks her to a counseling appointment at the Student Health Center. Doe couldn’t go on campus by herself for a few weeks, her roommate said, because she was terrified of seeing Sierra and he was still going to school. Sierra, who is planning on participating in the fall 2016 football season, had yet to be arrested by university police at this time. He and Doe were both attending classes. Doe and her roommate walk by the library and see Sierra walking towards them. It is the first time they have seen him since the night the of alleged rape. Doe said she saw Sierra on campus three times after that. “I thought that was so ironic because he can walk around campus, free as a bird, for like a month into the entire semester and she was absolutely terrified and couldn’t walk anywhere without an escort for two weeks,” her roommate said. “I thought that really showed the flaws of our legal system and of the university policy. Or at least the areas where it’s lacking.” Doe’s roommate would see Sierra in the gym and every time they made eye contact, he would look away. “He does not take it seriously,” Doe’s roommate said. “I think he just felt like it was a burden to him. I don’t even know if he knew what he did was wrong. I don’t even know if that was something he considered to be wrong, what he did. Which is the scariest thing.” In February, HSU hired Thomas Hauser to be a temporary, part-time Title IX Investigator. Burke said this is due to a change in policies and procedures that have in32 OSPREY
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n fall 2013 all Humboldt State students were invited to take HSU’s Safer Campus Survey, which asked students’ about their experiences with sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking.
Most incidents of violence at HSU were caused by acquaintances, friends, and/ or partners in a relationship, according to the survey. Kim Berry is the co-chair of Humboldt State University’s Sexual Assault Prevention Committee who designed and implemented the survey. Berry says over 80 percent of time harm comes from someone the victim knows. According to the police report, Doe told Officer Altic she had met Sierra on an online site called Tinder. “That’s the kind of harm that’s actually preventable because that harm is coming from someone who’s already in the campus community,” Berry said. The survey also revealed 187 students reported someone committed sexual acts upon them while they were drunk, drugged, passed out or asleep. A person is unable to consent when they are asleep, unconscious or is incapacitated due to the influence of drugs, alcohol medication, according to Executive Order 1097. According to Officer Altic’s report, “Witness told me they thought that Sierra had been ‘pushing the alcohol’ during the drinking games and he was not as intoxicated as Doe and her roommates.” Burke says Humboldt State has seen an increase in sexual assault reports in the past three years, which is due to new policies as well as the prevention and education efforts of Mary Sue Savage, the prevention coordinator at HSU. Savage said HSU’s results of the survey
mirror or exceed national averages. It’s not just numbers, she says, it’s people’s experiences they have lived through. Savage said the committee is planning on relaunching the survey in 2017. In 2011, the department sent universities a “Dear Colleague Letter on Title IX Coordinators,” reminding universities of their Title IX duties and suggesting guidelines to carry out procedures. Since then, the CSU chancellor has sent several executive orders in response to the implementation of Title IX and the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act. “I wasn’t concerned that the Office of Civil Rights was accusing anyone of doing anything wrong, they were pointing out to us that survivors were not coming forward,” Burke said. “They did not feel supported. So I think it was a good thing. I really do. Because I think we need to change culture. There is a lot of violence in general and sexual violence and a lot of it goes unreported.” In May 2014, for the first time in history, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released the names of more than 100 colleges under investigation for violating Title IX. In February, the department announced it is investigating almost double the amount of U.S. colleges for mishandling sexual assault cases. More than 150 universities, including San Francisco State University, are now under investigation for mishandling almost 200 sexual violence cases. According to Berry, California State University has made more faculty and staff required to report incidents of harm to Burke, even if the student survivor doesn’t
It’s not like anybody found “ responsible for sexual violence is automatically expelled
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The Clothesline Project and the Silent Witness Project on display at the Humboldt State University Center Quad in April. Each T-shirt is decorated by victims of sexual violence, and the silhouettes represent a woman whose life ended violently at the hands of a husband, ex-husband, partner or acquaintance. Both projects are part of Take Back the Night, an annual event focused on eliminating sexual violence in all forms. | Sam Armanino
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want it reported. Burke says she encourages victim survivors to go to HSU’s Title IX advocates on campus, something every CSU campus has. HSU’s official advocates is the North Coast Rape Crisis Team who do not have to tell Burke or university police about any form of sexual violence if it’s reported to them. “We would maybe average one to three reports of sexually assault a year,” Burke said. “And I don’t remember receiving any domestic violence complaints. Since the Dear Colleague letter in 2011, and the implementation of these new policies and procedures, and taking a survivor centered approach, those numbers have indeed increased.” Although not all of the reports are investigated, Burke says women are most often the victim survivors but they’re not the only ones. Burke has had victim male survivors come forward to her, too, she says. “It’s not that the number of incidents of sexual violence has increased,” Burke said. “It’s the number of those feeling comfortable of coming forward to report has increased.”
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ours before Doe informed me she wanted to be taken out of the story, she sits in the hallway of the Superior Court of Humboldt County and waits for the result of her second intervention. I text her an image of herself from a photoshoot we did for the magazine and she tells me she’d love more. An hour later she texts me the results of the second intervention, which is the sixth court proceeding she has been involved with, on top of her pending university investigation and going to classes at HSU. “We waited an hour overtime and they did the intervention in open court,” she writes. “The defendant asked for continuance, we opposed, and they have to file to the court for continuance. So right now we have to go for April 20 as planned, but it may be moved.” ◆ People v. Raul Sierra had a preliminary hearing after this story went to print. Therefore, the conclusion of the hearing is not included in this report but can be read online at www.ospreymagazine.com.
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Jet, the vocalist for Steel Chains, is pleased with the band’s effect on the crowd.
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Humboldt’s Queer Community
ROCKS! Fruit Loops Collective creates a safer space for the LGBTQ community story by Robert Thompson photos by Sam Armanino
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Editor’s note: Some of the characters in this story identify as transgender and use “they/them/their” pronouns to describe themselves rather than “him” or “her.”
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ommon Deer’s muted trumpet player’s last note rang out over a crowd as the band’s set came to an end. Sweaty concert-goers clear out of the living room onto the front porch of The Green House on 11th Street in Arcata. It is a short break before Steel Chains plays their raw, punk-fueled auditory assault. The concert is put on by Fruit Loops Collective, a group of people who plan events at The Green House for the LGBTQ community. Cole Foks started the collective in 2014 because they were afraid to express themselves when they first arrived in Arcata.
it claims to be inclusive and generally fails the people that it claims to include.”
Wood said that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated at the Fruit Loops Collective.
“When cisgender people misgender me and make it about how weird or different I am just based on the fact that I don’t want to be identified with a gender, that’s an attack,” Foks said. “That’s discrimination. When there’s no gender neutral bathrooms on campus, that’s discrimination. When I can’t put my chosen name on my ID card and my email, and the roster, that’s discrimination. That’s every day.”
“Cole’s really good at kicking people out,” Wood said.
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I didn’t really feel like I had a space to be openly queer and trans with other people, and so that’s why I started Fruit Loops Collective
“I didn’t really feel like I had a space to be openly queer and trans with other people, and so that’s why I started Fruit Loops Collective,” Foks said. “It’s a group of people that try to bring some queerness to the community.”
Foks said they have faced physical assault and intimidation.
Caitlyn Wood identifies as queer and has been attending Fruit Loops Collective events every month for the last two years, since she moved from Santa Cruz.
“I’ve been groped at shows,” Foks said. “I’ve had people stop me on the street and not really let me leave until I had to use force.”
“I was 19 and I didn’t have a whole lot of friends in town,” Wood said. “I met so many people going to shows.”
Wood didn’t feel safe at a concert at The Arcata Playhouse and ended up seeking refuge with friends for the night.
Justin Egan is another member of Arcata’s LGBTQ community and said the town does not make them feel welcome. They have been attending Fruit Loops Collective for the past two years as well.
“This one guy came up behind and shoved me kind of hard and there was lots of room behind me and plenty of space for him to watch,” Wood said. “And then he posted up off sort of behind me and just stared at me for a while. I was with two friends and I backed up between the two of them and was like ‘fuck no!’”
“It supposes that it’s more inclusive than it actually is,” Egan said. “I think that Humboldt and Humboldt State are a good representation of liberalism in that
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“House shows are intimate in a really fantastic way,” Egan said. “I prefer any kind of performance at a house show. I had the pleasure to see Phil Elvrum from The Microphones play at a house show, which was surreal to me that this world class Pitchfork reviewed musician was at a house and hanging out with a bunch of nobodies.” Egan’s partner Helen Anker is the creative force behind the solo experimental screaming folk project She Fetus. The powerful performance opened the show the night Common Deer and Steel Chains played at The Green House. “She Fetus is my personal diary,” Anker said. “And also She Fetus is a persona for me to say things. I do what I do because it’s fun. I encourage people to do what they think is fun.” Anker, Egan, Foks and Wood said that Fruit Loops Collective fills a void. “I think the collective is about intentions,” Foks said. “Intentions to create safer spaces and the intention to be true to one another and to create different projects.” “I’ve met so many people,” Wood said. “Having a space for all my friends and the show community - it really has changed my life.” ◆
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Ian Alexander of Common Deer is painted up for their performance. OSPREY 39
A Muslim Experience An inside look at Islam in Humboldt County story and additional reporting by Katelyn Roudebush reporting by Ahmed Al-Sakkaf
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Reeham Ramadan, 23, stands in her host family’s backyard in Eureka. Ramadan traveled back to Egypt in April.|Sam Armanino
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itting in the driver’s seat of his parked car outside of his apartment in Valley West, Dafer Sahab Alqarni notices a piece of paper folded and tucked under his windshield wiper. He opens his car door, steps outside and reaches for the note. A peace sign drawn on the front of the page is unfamiliar to Alqarni. “I thought, ‘Oh my god, they know I’m Muslim,’” Alqarni said. “My first thought I had was that I will make reservations for my wife from L.A. to Saudi Arabia. I wanted her to be safe.” Alqarni skims the rest of the note and realizes it is a friendly message from his neighbors reading, “have a nice trip.” Instances like these are what the Alqarni’s and other Muslims in Humboldt County experience in their day to day lives, due to the current public opinion of Muslims as they are reflected in the media. Reeham Ramadan is an Egyptian Muslim visiting Humboldt County for the first time since she studied abroad at HSU three years ago. Ramadan came back in November and stayed until the end of April. In the middle of March she visited friends in Seattle and Portland. While in downtown Portland, Ramadan, who wears a hijab, was shopping in a H&M clothing store alone when she tripped down some stairs and twisted her ankle. Ramadan said that there were lots of people around her but no one stopped to help her or ask if she was okay. “I’m not sure if this is a thing in American society or if it was because of who I am,” Ramadan said. “I never felt so lonely.” On her way back, Ramadan traveled on a bus from Martinez, California to Eureka. She sat on the front half of the bus and placed her jacket and a small bag on the seat next to her. Ramadan said the bus was soon full except for the seat beside her. A woman who Ramadan described as white and in her mid 50’s entered the bus. Ramadan said the woman initially saw the seat with her jacket and small purse on it but continued walking past it. Ramadan said a different woman on the bus told the woman that the seat by Ramadan was the only seat left. Ramadan 42 OSPREY
said the woman returned to her aisle and stood there silently staring at her but not asking her if she could sit there. Ramadan removed her jacket and small bag allowing room for the woman to sit. Ramadan said the woman sat down with her back to her until the woman got off the bus after an hour or so. “Why do people have to judge people based on what they look like. Looking at me you can tell I’m Muslim, because of my hijab.” Ramadan said. “What else would it be? You don’t just not ask someone if you can sit there or not.” Ramadan first came to Humboldt State in fall 2012. She was studying linguistics at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt at the time but wanted to try something new in America. She enrolled in journalism classes, moved into Creekview residence halls, and began an internship with the HSU library. “I considered this chance a life changing experience for my personality, my education and my life,” Ramadan said. “In a nutshell that was not a year in a life, it was a life in a year.” While she enjoyed her stay at Humboldt State, she had one experience that led her to skip a week of classes. On April 15, 2013, while Ramadan was in the San Francisco airport waiting to catch her flight to Arcata, two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring about 260. Sitting on a chair at her gate Ramadan noticed people staring at her as media outlets began airing images of the men responsible. “Everyone was scared,” Ramadan said. “I can see it in their eyes if they were good with me around or if they were scared.” The terrorists responsible were two brothers who, according to FBI reports, may have been motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs. The Islamic State of Iraq, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 where 130 died and another 398 were injured and at the Brussels airport and subway on March 22 that left 32 dead and 300 injured.
Todd Green, associate professor of religion at Luther College and author of the book Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West spoke to us on the lack of knowledge of Islam in households in the U.S. He referenced a survey conducted in recent years indicating twothirds of Americans admit having little to no knowledge of Islam but continue having substantial opinions about Muslims. “They might have very strong feelings about Islam, and often negative feelings, but not because they actually have been studying this religion, this tradition, so that creates this sort of vacuum of ignorance in the West,” Green explained. Green defined islamophobia as an “irrational fear, an irrational anxiety.” He said that politicians like Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio benefit from islamophobia by galvanizing votes. “They tap into fear and anxiety among certain portions of population who has all these misgivings of muslims,” Green said. “Fear of the other helps you get votes.” Trump has called for banning all Muslims from entering the United States and creating a database where Muslims would have to register and carry around a special I.D. tag. “There has to be a victim for every election,” Ramadan said. “Last election was gays and lesbians, this one is Muslims. We are the victims of this election.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations conducted a six-state survey in January, that included California. It asked 2,000 registered Muslim voters a series of four questions regarding the 2016 presidential primaries and election. It indicated that 76 percent would be supporting the democratic party with only 15 percent supporting the republican party. Clinton had the most support in the democratic party with 52 percent and Trump had the most support in the republican party with 7 percent. Alqarni and his wife Fatimah moved to Arcata in January 2015 from Saudi Arabia through a full scholarship provided by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission. They both took English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Humboldt State before
spring 2016
Emran Essa, originally from Kuwait, sits at his office desk at Desserts on Us in Arcata. “Do you think it’s islamophobia or humanphobia?” he says. | Miranda Hutchison
Alqarni began working on his master’s degree in sociology. Fatimah had previously graduated with a degree in mathematics in Saudi Arabia. They plan to move back home in two years after Alqarni graduates. Fatimah is pregnant with their daughter and is due in July. The couple plans to name their daughter Seba, which means “young and beautiful” in Arabic. Dafer Alqarni said depending on the actions of the newly elected president, he has considered sending his wife and his daughter, who will be less than a year old, back to Saudi Arabia next year. Emran Essa, who moved to Humboldt County from Kuwait in 1979, owns the local business Desserts on Us and serves as the local Imam, a worship leader of a Mosque. He says that a fight of interest and not a fight of religion is what is behind terrorist attacks and other problems in the world. “In religion, does it say go kill people?” Essa asked. “I don’t see that anywhere in spring 2016
the Quran. I don’t see it anywhere in the Bible.” Essa was 18 when he left Kuwait to study English language in the International English Language Institute through Humboldt State’s Center for International Programs. He graduated with a BA and years later with his masters. When he was a student he was part of the Muslim Student Association and would pray on the soccer fields with fellow Muslim students. As Imam, he retains relationships with Muslim students who attend prayers. “Students are mainly acceptive, they are amazing,” Essa said. “They are open minded, educated and when they argue, they argue with a limit.”
Essa emphasized his belief that there has always been good versus evil but that there is no real need for a person to fight with anyone. “Is it people that are causing trouble or is it religion causing trouble?” Essa said. “If you say religion is what is causing people to fight, I would say, prove that.” Dafer and Fatimah attend prayers led by Essa. When we sat down with Dafer we asked him what stereotypes he had heard about Americans prior to moving to California. “I heard all American people are smart,” Dafer Alqarni said. “That’s not true.” ◆
Essa encouraged us to think past islamophobia. “Do you think it’s islamophobia or human phobia?” Essa asked. “If you look at the human history people have always been killing people, it doesn’t matter who.” OSPREY
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Jose De Alba takes a break while working out at Power N’ Fitness in Eureka.
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spring 2016
Weighting for Gains Lifting is only half the battle
J
ose De Alba wakes up at 4 a.m. His eyes are as heavy as the weights he is about to lift. He gets dressed and is at Arcata’s Health Sport gym by 5 a.m. and is back home by 8 a.m. Before he leaves for work, he eats turkey bacon and egg whites for breakfast. “People have a hard time prioritizing what they want,” he says. “You set a goal and reach it.” De Alba is a bodybuilder preparing to compete in the National Gym Association Mr./Ms. Santa Rosa Natural in May. He received his masters in business administration at Humboldt State University last year. This will be the first time he competes in a physique competition. “I have been wanting to do this for four years,” De Alba says. “Ever since my injury I’ve been falling behind, but I am still going to get there.” De Alba hurt his rotator cuff lifting weights last fall and has been recovering from the shoulder pain since. That still hasn’t stopped him from working out. He bulked up to 200 lbs. and is cutting back to meet his ideal weight of 165 lbs. His girlfriend Isabella Linares says she sees improvement since his injury. “Usually that would cause people to give up but he still pushed,” Linares says. “He is working really hard.” To prepare for his competition, De Alba has been going through a series of bulks and cuts, which is increasing or decreasing the amount of calories he eats. The spring 2016
photo and story by Catherin Virgen
United States Department of Agriculture recommends about 2,000 calories a day. De Alba eats 2,700 calories a day to maintain his offseason weight of 170 lbs. When he’s bulking he eats 3,000 to 4,000 calories. But he doesn’t eat pizza, chips and ice cream. He eats foods high in protein. De Alba says this increases the body’s fat reserves and strengthens the muscles as he lifts weights. “You get stronger by lifting and lifting heavy,” De Alba says. “You increase the weight you lift each week.” The first time De Alba went on a bulk was in 2013. It was his first year away from home and in college. While he was always participating in high school sports and working out regularly, De Alba wanted a different challenge. “I’m all about trying new things and figuring out what works and what doesn’t,” he says. Sports Exercise Psychologist Cynthia Clark says bulking is strenuous on the body. “Your body’s systems are working very hard,” Clark says. “You have to have a reason for it. It’s a lot of sacrifice.” “Even though you know what you’re supposed to eat, it is not easy, because the temptation of whatever you’re craving does not have any positive effect,” De Alba says. “One fall off can ruin a whole day’s progress.”
“Anything having to do with performance is mental. It’s nothing you do for a small period time,” she says. Now De Alba is in the cutting stage. When cutting, his daily food intake decreases by 200 to 300 calories. This is done over time so his body can adapt. “For me it’s easier to breathe,” De Alba says. “I feel so much lighter when I’m cutting. It definitely gives me and my body a sense of what is my ideal weight should be.” Now that his competition date is closer, Del Alba is doing double days at the gym. He shops for groceries once a week, spending about $500 a month on food. He sticks to foods low in carbs and sodium. He also stays away from sweets, especially his favorite, which is a jelly-filled donut. “My favorite type of donut is 230 calories. And tell me, who can eat one single donut?” De Alba says. “It just builds bad habits, but what works best is being disciplined and being strict with yourself.” But he’s not about to cheat, not even for his jelly-filled donut. “The only way you will see results happen is when you stay committed,” he says. ◆
Clark says that kind of regimen can be physically and mentally stressful. OSPREY
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Gone Fishing If you like eating fresh salmon or want the adrenaline rush from hauling in a fish of your own, you are in the right place. This is just a scratch on the surface of Humboldt County fishing but it will get you on your way to telling your own fish story.
N
by Jared Funk
Where to Start: Mad River Tackle on Giuntoli Lane in Arcata, or Bucksport
Sporting Goods and RMI Outdoors off the 101 in Eureka are good options for purchasing equipment and asking for tips. Get a fishing license at CVS in Arcata. Read the regulations for each fishing spot because there may be different rules. Surf Fishing
Fish the surf on the local beaches including Luffenholtz Beach, Centerville Beach, the Mad River Mouth, Patrick’s Point and Gold’s Bluff. Common species found in the Humboldt surf are redtail surf perch and smelt. Nine foot rods, weight of at least three ounces, and 15 to 30 pound test line is ideal. For bait, use sand crabs, which can be found during an outgoing tide, or squid or mussels.
Woodley Island
Book a trip on a sportfishing charter with an experienced captain who provides everything to help you catch salmon, halibut, tuna, lingcod, rockfish or crab. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sportfishing says June and July are the best fishing months off Humboldt County’s coast. Trips are 80 percent booked by May, so book early.
Eel River
Salmon, steelhead and trout can be found in the Eel especially around the Ferndale Bridge. Drifting roe is an effective technique here. When drifting, remember to be courteous to others by not casting over other fishing lines or drifting into their space.
Mad River
The best fishing on the Mad River can be found downstream from the Mad River Fish Hatchery where you can catch salmon and steelhead. The hatchery raises mostly steelhead.The fish born in the hatchery are the only ones that may be taken home. The wild must be set free. Roe, which are fish eggs, works as effective bait.
Humboldt Bay
The North Jetty is a popular fishing spot. Cast around the rocks with swimbaits or chunks of squid to catch rockfish or lingcod. Leopard and sevengill sharks as well as skates and bat rays can be found in deeper water.
Trinity River
Salmon, steelhead and trout are native to this system, and good fishing can be found in Hoopa and Willow Creek, or with a guide service. Steelhead or salmon roe work here and can be drifted with the current under a float.
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0 Miles
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A
C
O
C
10
Trinidad R E
Surf
A O P N I O H O A T V R S E
Hoopa
96
Trinity River McKinleyville
I
F
I
Mad River
C
Willow Creek 299
E
A
Arcata
N
Woodley Island Marina
Salyer
SIX RIVERS N AT I O N A L F O R E S T
Eureka
North Jetty
Blue Lake
Kneeland
101
Loleta
Eel River
H E A D WAT E R S FOREST RESERVE
Fortuna
Ferndale Hydesville 36
Rio Dell Map by Harrison Brooks
spring 2016
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CRUISING INTO DEBT
When you try to save money over Spring Break but you get drunk instead. One thousand, one hundred and thirty three dollars. That’s the total bill from my five-day cruise during spring break. My friend Savanna VandenHeuvel and I booked a Carnival cruise to Baja for $374 each. I spent over $500 on drinks. Ouch. Food, coffee, room, shows and dancing are included in the ticket price of a Carnival cruise. Alcohol and soda are not. Savanna and I spent $75 for a Chef’s Table dinner and a Behind the Fun Tour. The seven-course dinner included champagne, wine and a behind the scenes tour of the kitchen, bridge, laundry and storage rooms. We wanted to avoid racking up a bar bill by sneaking our own alcohol onto the boat. We thought we were clever by disguising vodka in a sealed mouthwash bottle. But the security guard knew this trick
48 OSPREY
by Ashley McDowell
and confiscated the goods. Next time, we’ll just bring wine because they allow passengers to bring two bottles aboard. One night I got generous. Really generous. I bought several rounds of Patron Silver and whiskey for people we met at the bar. I found out later that each drink was about $10. If you want to go, know your drink limit.
top: Steering the ship! right page, top left: Getting caught with our vodka-mouthwash. top right: My favorite bartender. middle: Our Carnival cruise ship! bottom right: The morning after St. Patty’s Day... enough said. bottom left: A pink martini.
spring 2016
What are they putting on that ship anyway? 11,950 beers 230 liters of vodka 30 liters of gin 300 liters of rum 85 liters of tequila 230 pounds of Nova (smoked
salmon) 280 Cornish game hens 420 pounds of lobster tail 560 pounds of link sausages 600 pounds of veal 600 pounds of ham 850 gallons of homogenized milk 910 pounds of salmon 1,400 pounds prime rib 1,500 pounds of coffee 1,750 gallons of juice 1,960 racks of lamb 2,100 pounds of shrimp 2,100 pounds of butter 2,800 steaks 3,200 bagels 3,400 slices of french toast 3,700 pancakes 4,000 hotdogs 5,200 hamburgers 7,000 individual boxes of breakfast cereal 7,000 pounds of chicken 10,500 Danish pastries 16,000 slices of bread 35,000 slices of bacon 45,000 eggs spring 2016
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WHICH STRAIN OF MARY JANE ARE YOU? We already know you smoke weed. Why else do you go to Humboldt State? I mean... why else would you be taking a quiz to see if the mason jar full of frosty nugs waiting for you at home is the same type of high you like to see yourself as? According to Leafly, the largest cannabis website in the world, California has its own unique strain landscape compared to the rest of the world. They are memorable, they smell good, they are fun to be around and they taste delicious... just like you! Let’s see if you are as special as four of the top ten marijuana strains in this state.
1.
What is your preferred smoking device?
4.
☐ a. Chill and talk to people ☐ b. Rule the beer pong table ☐ c. Draw ☐ d. Smoke weed
☐ a. Pipe ☐ b. Bong ☐ c. Joint ☐ d. Vaporizer
2.
Who bic’ed your bic?
5.
☐ a. Me... I left it in my car ☐ b. Me... in my pocket ☐ c. I think it was me... oh wait it was my roommate ☐ d. No one, I always have to ask for one
3.
What do you do at parties?
What perfume do you ☐ a. Pine ☐ b. Musk ☐ c. Sweet ☐ d. Lemon
What do you eat when the munchies attack? ☐ a. Chips ☐ b. Whatever’s in my fridge ☐ c. Fruit ☐ d. The cookies I just baked
6.
How are your grades this semester? ☐ a. I feel positive about them ☐ b. They are what they are ☐ c. I think I’m doing really well ☐ d. Do grades really matter?
RESULTS Mostly A’s JACK HERER
Mostly B’s SOUR DIESEL
Mostly C’s BUBBA KUSH
Mostly D’s FIRE OG
Just like this exceptional
You know that one person
People know you not only
You may be relaxed and
blend, you encompass a
who is always down to drive
because of your mellow
easy-going, but you are not
sweet blissfulness wherever
all the way to the beach just
manor, but because of your
to be underestimated. When
you are. You stay positive
to smoke a spliff? You are
sunny smile and joyous
somebody lights you up they
even when you don’t have
that person. Not only do
nature. Sometimes you leave
forget about their stress and
to, resulting in an earthy
you encourage others to get
the universe to make your
their worries, thanks to your
balance of peace and energy
up and go out, your rousing
decisions for you, but when
uplifting and inspiring vibes.
that rubs off on whoever
yet calm energy creates an
you seldom search for your
you are around.
aura of fun and inspiration
own input you follow your
wherever you go to smoke
heart and utmost intentions.
that spliff. 50 OSPREY
spring 2016
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spring 2016
OSPREY
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