Osprey spring 2014

Osprey Spring 2014

See inside Father Freed page 23 Online Education Page 39

Executive Editor Sebastian Hedberg Managing Editor Lillian Boyd Head Layout editor Tabitha Soden Photo editor Sebastian Hedberg Asst. photo editor Alexander Woodard Copy editors Maggie Budd Jessica Renae Lillian Boyd Advertising Alexander Fest Anthony Fluker Marketing manager Chelsea LaRue Distribution managers Karel Vega Zirui Dang Contributing editors Eduardo Barrigan Diover Duario Rebecca Gallegos Ryan nakano Moose Faculty advisor Vicky Sama

Table of Contents

3

Media

Beating the system Women in Action Now hear this!

Rock Solid CUlture shock

19

Local

Special interest Green Timber Father freed crabs Baseball A heavy burden

.Edu Student aides

Science

47

9

RV Coral sea Humboldt innovators

Education

39

3 I Osprey

Beating the system

by Denita Turner

On a warm and sunny Los Angeles day, when most people are out enjoying the weather, Branden “BeatBoy” Martin is secluded in a studio creating beats.

“My uncle taught me how to D.J. when I was a toddler,” BeatBoy said.

At 20, BeatBoy has already produced for rappers such as Snoop Dogg, T.I. and E-40. He has come a long way since making beats on Fruity Loop’s software in his mom’s dining room at 12 years old. Born and raised in L.A., he’s been surrounded by music since he was a kid. Before he began producing he played the drums, wrote music and taught himself how to play the piano.

Spring 2014 I 4

He has worked with artists in- show for that shit, all the trips I took, cluding Vince Staples, Dom Kenne- all the diamond lane gear; I came dy and Diamond Lane Music Gang, out of pocket for that shit. I didn’t which is a group of West Coast rap- even graduate because of them.” pers and producers who make parHe even attempted to go back to ty music. BeatBoy began working the group, but he says the vibe was no with them after his mother plugged longer the same. He didn’t like people him to their CEO. “I hate jerkin’ music,” BeatBoy said. “The only reason I got into it was because someone said I couldn’t do it.”

He produced several tracks on multiple mixtapes from artists Problem, Bad Lucc and Teeflii. Although a lot of his recognition came from party beats, his first break was with a track titled Stapleton

by Earl Sweatshirt of Odd Future, which is BeatBoy uses an electronic keyboard to create chords. | Denita Turner more melodic and synthy than his heavy-bass party beats. telling him how to create his sound.

He says he’s trying to improve; Instead, he decided to create his progression is his main focus. own label—Cake City Music, consist“I’ve worked with so many [main- ing of himself and his artist Danny B. stream artists], it’s like I don’t really “I went through so many peocare who I work with in the future, as ple without being signed, a lot far as big names go,” BeatBoy said. “I of people can’t really say that,” want to put on with the young niggas.” BeatBoy said.

“Cause that’s He says young people try- what they use the labels for.” ing to enter the industry should Humboldt State’s Daryion Mobwatch their backs because it’s ley also aims to be a producer. An easy to get taken advantage of. L.A. native, the 21-year-old business “You gotta really love this shit major sits on a black reclining chair to be able to do the business side in his Arcata apartment as he talks to of it cause it’s really janky,” Beat- Mardy Sparks, a rapper who attends Boy said. “You really gotta know Humboldt State. Mobley started to how to deal with people, make sure take his talents seriously after getting that they know you ain’t no bitch.” accepted because he feels he has a betBeatBoy had his share of dis- ter chance in a different environment. putes with Diamond Lane Mu“I’m easier to find for losic Gang. He says they cared cal people,” Mobley said. “In little about his well-being. L.A. it’d be harder for me to [be “I regret working with them,” found] but there’d be more peoBeatBoy said. “I don’t have nothing to ple wanting to work with me.”

Mobley doesn’t agree with everything the music industry has to offer, but he wants to be closely affiliated with it.

“I don’t want to be under someone’s label legally but I would like to work with the label,” Mobley said.

“If the deal was good enough then maybe I would, even though I feel like I would be cheating myself no matter what.”

He says that the more the industry changes, the more negative it becomes, but the revenue makes it all worth it. He believes that record labels look for artists who will heavily influence the youth.

“Every four years I see some new sensation come from nowhere,” Mobley said. “I want to be a part of that because it’d give me the chance to showcase who I really am.”

The music industry is on its road to fiscal recovery, according to the New York Times. There are three major record labels left in the United States; consisting of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Many artists, such as Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, have created their own labels. Although they are still under major record labels like Sony and Universal, they do get the rights of signing their artists and managing them. BeatBoy and Mobley say that the only way they’ll join these labels is if the contracts win them over. Seems like the only way to beat the system is to join it.

5 I Osprey

Women in action In McKinleyville, a few blocks away from the elementary school, there is a well kept old barn. Inside the barn are picnic tables and hay bales positioned in front of a stage. Christmas lights line the walls and the sun is setting.

Film students from Humboldt State set up tungsten lights and two cameras; one under the stairs and the other one across the room. The actors arrive, rehearse their parts and when everything seems ready, the assistant director’s booming voice takes over the barn,

“Quiet on set, this is for picture.” at HSU, lifts the microphone above the crowd of extras and out of the frame of the camera.

Hall is one of seven women in her Filmmaking II class, which has sixteen students. Hall ily with people of color, women and queer community actors and actresses — in order to show the struggle that these people face.

“I chose this major because I love movies, like really love them,

by Lisa Maciel

and they changed me. I want to be able to be a part of something that changes someone else like that,” Hall says as she writes a script for her Writing for Film class. “I also feel that I can change the world and educate through movies.”

Hall had her own personal struggles after moving to Scotland at age 8.

“It was a culture shock, and they were totally different in everything they did,” Hall said.

She moved back to the United States when she was 9, after her diagnosis of Idiopathic In-

Spring 2014 I 6

tracranial Hypertension (IIH), a rare condition commonly diagnosed among women of childbearing age. Where the body acts like there is a tumor in the brain when there isn’t.

She remembers having to go through MRI’s when she

University. She said she was the only woman in her class. er because she was tired of hearing sexist comments such as, women can’t handle heavy equipment.

few symptoms of IIH are extreme headaches and a possibility for blindness — from too much pressure in the brain cavity.

She went to live in England during her sophomore year of high school where she was part of a private school with an International Baccalaureate Theater program.

Living in England and with IIH inspired her to educate people about cultures and rare conditions like IIH. She especially liked to talk about how storytelling is taught in school.

“I think that they focus too much on structure and not on imagination, causing kids to not be able to think outside the box,” Hall said.

“I think that the reason I love writing so much is because I looked for outside resources.

I just wrote and it had nothing to do with academics.”

Hall accepts that she is en rarely win awards for directing, let alone become ac-

commercials and music videos in Humboldt County. She stud-

woman to win an Academy Award for best director. Her is a genre not commonly directed by women. Only three tor in the Academy Awards: Lina Wertmuller in 1977, Jane some of the small number of well known women directors and freelance camera operator in the mid 80s and early 90s. She recieved her Master’s of Fine Arts degree at Ohio

in her classes. She received an A-, even though she got A’s on all assignments and did extra credit. She protested the grade and her teacher changed it.

“I didn’t let it bother me, as I always saw to it that I was directing all of the projects I worked on in school,” she says. of Summer,” which is about a playwright and a young actor looking for purpose and love, in life. The movie won top prize in its category in the 2013 Douro Film Festival in Porto, Portugal. of the Canyon” is based on a true story and takes place in Colorado in the 1870s. I am enjoying writing a hisfemale lead,” Matteoli said.

Danielle Durand, one of the co-directors for the Humboldt Film Festival, which claims to be one of the oldwere submitted this year; female directors and only 10 were accepted into the festival.

“Women buy half the movie tickets, so we see as many movies as men, pay for as many movies as men, and yet continue to be super underrepresented on the big screen,” Matteoli said. acters are often just sidekicks or girlfriends to the male leads.”

Now Hear This!

Student-Run Station KRFH Moves to FM

by Dane Corle Photo by Marissa papanek

Spring 2014 I 8

Derek Burns walks into the KRFH radio station in Gist Hall at Humboldt State at 7:30 a.m. It’s Wednesday, he’ll be on the air in 30 minutes as DJ Siras and he’s roll show “The Music Box.” He browses the station’s narrow hallway of CD racks and debates whether to play Space Lord.

Derek Burns is one of 75 DJs at the student radio station Radio Free Humtransition by expanding from an Internet and AM radio station to one on the FM able to listen to KRFH on their car radios beyond the university’s parking lots.

The student responsible for putting it all together is Alex Fest, KRFH’s Low Power FM project coordinator. He applied for and got the FCC license. He also was able to get funding and equipment to move KRFH online to 105.1 FM. “The ball’s been rolling for quite a while, actually,” Fest said. “Students looked into it before, but they had been blocked and blocked.

We weren’t eligible until recently.”

KRFH was founded in 1990 by then journalism faculty member Gary Melton. Before that, students interested in radio had to learn their craft in a student workshop at KHSU 90.5 FM, the National Public Radio station housed in the theatre arts building. The late Professor Pete Wilson started the workshop in 1970. Retired journalism professor Mark Larson said giving inexperienced students a timeslot on a professionally run station came with a few road bumps.

“The audience basically had to endure the learning process, which could sometimes be pretty disastrous,” Larson said.

That all changed when Larson

helped convince the dean to allow Gary Melton, a speech communication faculty member, to start a new radio station exclusively run by students.

Jesse Ettinger joined KRFH as a DJ during the station’s infancy and eventually became its third program director. He graduated from the journalism program in 1993 and is now a video editor at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles. Ettinger says Melton’s contributions to the station and to his students was something beyond measure.

“I would not be where I am if I hadn’t met him,” Ettinger said.

“He gave me the courage to ask questions and make mistakes.”

KRFH was originally a workshop where students would learn how to be DJs and run the radio station. Over time, the station added live music production, or LIXX, and live radio newscasts, which won prestigious state and regional broadcast awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

There were plenty of successes but some rough times too. Melton was diagnosed with cancer. To add to the station’s woes, KRFH was a carrier-current broadcast station on 610 AM, a weak radio transmission that could only be heard in the dorms and The Depot. Eventually, KRFH began to fall into a state of disrepair.

“With a declining budget and aging technology, KRFH was struggling to keep itself alive,” Larson said.

Melton died at his home on Sept.

27, 2005.

After that, the journalism department hired Zoe Walrond to be the radio station’s adviser. She had a long history in public radio including news anchor at KFWB

in Los Angeles. Walrond said Melton’s “It was hard, because they were all emotionally struck,” Walrond said.

“Eventually as the semesters went by and more new students starting pouring in, things got better.”

Cliff Berkowitz became the KRFH radio adviser after Walrond resigned her position in 2011. He had travelled from from San Diego and LA to San Francisco working in radio and he came with a few changes in mind.

“I wanted to place a heavier emphasis on really teaching students the skills required for radio, about what does and doesn’t work in the industry, skills they couldn’t really get anywhere else,” Berkowitz said.

As for the transition to FM, Berkowitz cites it among his proudest moments.

“Internet radio will always be important, but having an actual broadcast station adds an important new layer to KRFH,” Berkowitz said.

Up until recently, a transition to FM radio was inconceivable due to budgetary restrictions and the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, which prevented KRFH from being eligible for such a transition. However, with the revision of the Local Community Radio Act in 2010, KRFH’s eligibility was back on the table.

Fest says KRFH’s move to FM will open opportunities for future students, especially with a larger base of listeners. The new signal reaches from Ferndale to Big Lagoon.

“If you have an idea, this is the best place to follow it through,” Fest said.

Rock solid

Story by Madi Whaley Photos by Alexander Woodard

11 I Osprey

Ben Flores grips the edge of a rock at Moonstone Beach. He shakes his left hand letting it rest before continuing the climb up Urchinhead, a route up the tallest rock face at the mouth of Little River.

He twists his body slightly, adjusting his feet before he switches his grip, now resting his right hand. Flores dips his hand into the chalk bag dangling from the back of his harness to help maintain a strong grip.

“When you’re climbing a route like this, it takes a self as a climber,” Flores says. “The climbing gear needed and that particular type of sandstone isn’t very solid so you have to get it into your head that if you fall, you’re going to end up on the ledge or worse, on the ground.”

Flores jams his camming device into a small fracture in a wall at Urchinhead.

A rope attached to his body pulls on the

ing — a timed event of dynamic jumps from rock to rock up a 50 foot-high wall.

but so fun, and that keeps me going.”

King remembers when she “I harnessed up and climbed up. I was barefoot. I didn’t have any shoes,” King recalls. “It was really easy, and then it got to this

“I was so tired and so afraid, and I just keep going back to that fear. But it’s such a thrilling fear.”

space of the fracture. With more force it becomes secure enough to hold Flores’s weight if he were to slip. This technique is a part of traditional or “trad” climbing.

Flores, 25, a Humboldt State University biology major, has been climbing since he was 12. He placed sixth in the 2013 USA Collegiate Climbing Series National Championships in Melbourne, Florida. He competed in speed climb-

that wall was 9.8 seconds,” Flores says.

“Speed climbing is all about attitude. sonality. I like to exert myself without any kind of rational thought behind it.”

Flores wasn’t the only HSU student at the national championships. Caylin King, 20, a third-year math major, and Nic Sabo, 22, an environmental resource engineering major, competed in bouldering events.

King placed eighteenth in her “I can’t get enough of it,” King says. “The best part about climbing is just that thrill factor, and it’s so scary

hard. I was so tired and so afraid, and I just keep going back to that fear. But it’s such a thrilling fear.”

Sabo has been climbing for four years and

bouldering event.

“I used to be really nervous trying new climbs. I think everyone is,” Sabo said. “One of the life lessons I’ve learned from climbing is not to be so focused on the outcome and to just be focused on enjoying the moment. I’ve just learned how to relax and enjoy it, and don’t think too much about success or failure.”

This season at Cal Poly San Luis nals, where he and two other comroutes. They were kept in a separate waiting room, unable to examine the routes before it was their turn to climb.

Coming out of the waiting room, Sabo shook his head as he looked up at a peculiar object dangling from an overhanging boulder wall. A green spherical

Spring 2014 I 12

Ben Flores holds Caylin King’s harness as she retrieves her rope. | Alexander Woodard

hand hold — a place for a climber’s grip — hung from one carabiner. To reach it, Sabo would have to jump or “dyno” from the holds before it. He studied the wall, his eyes skimming over each feet on the wall and begins his ascent.

“Walking out of isolation, I was excited to see the climb,” Sabo remembered. “Jumping to a basketball-sized

hold dangling by a chain was the wackiest move I’ve ever had to do in a climbing gym. When I stuck the move, I was struggling as hard as I could to resist my own momentum as my legs ing that hold and hearing the audience erupt in cheers behind me felt heroic.”

Flores calls the 2014 national competition his “last hurrah.”

“I enjoy the competitive aspect of climbing but what I enjoy way more is just spending time with my friends outside and envisioning routes and projects,” Flores said. “I want to go back to my hometown, which is a very rural, depressed community and help my friend build a climbing gym that focuses on after-school programs for kids.”

13 I Osprey

Culture shock By zirui Dang Zirui Dang is a Chinese exchange student and journalism student. She wrote the following story in both Chinese and English.

The room gets quiet. Seven women dressed in red, long Tibetan skirts step onto the stage. All the lights are shining on the stage as the music starts to play.

The Zhuo Ma show begins. Sometimes they dance in a line and sometimes they make a circle and spin. This is the most popular performance in the spring festival at Humboldt State University.

The celebration showcases ten different nations and eras’ clothing on stage, like the Miao nationality, Dai nationality, and Han Dynasty. At the

end of performances, they send red envelopes to every audience member to symbolize luck and happiness.

There are around 32 Chinese students at HSU. Most of them have already lived and studied here for more than one year, myself included. As a foreign group, we would like to get involved in the American lifestyle.

During this process, Chinese students have to overcome many challenges.

Business and administration is the most popular major for Chinese stu-

dents, followed by biology, journalism and art. Regardless of the major they choose, they have to adapt to plenty of differences. Language barriers in the classroom are the biggest challenge and most of us are not comfortable asking questions if we are confused. nance student named Xiaoyu Guo says, “I tried to talk with our professor but she seems confused about what I am talking about. I feel really embarrassed about that. I need to im-

Spring 2014 I 14

Clockwise from left to right Zhen Kun Lei, Fei Tang, Ge Lu and Chang Liu sit on the bleachers at HSU. | Zirui Dang

15 I Osprey

prove my spoken English at once.”

Mohsen Modarres, an HSU business and administration professor, thinks that teachers should have more patience towards foreign students. “This is the element for international students to adapt to the current environment.

Professors should be available after class to give more details.” Modarres said.

The biggest difference between American and Chinese education is that Chinese students prefer independence while Americans implement more cooperation and collectivism. In China, teachers order students to do

homework or projects by themselves.

Because of this, Chinese people have a sense of competition at a young age.

However in America, most teachers prefer students to work in groups.

Professor Modarres makes an effort to be inclusive for Chinese students when assigning group projects.

While students have to collaborate within a group, they can still be competitive toward other groups, he said.

“This is a cultural challenge for Chinese Students. I would like to push my students to the highest. Working as adapt everybody. Professors need to

teach them team process and progress.”

Professor Modarres also says, “It is a learning process. You come here to learn and you have to do the best.

Don’t even think about the grades ing, you’re happy that you’re learning.”

Chinese students also struggle adjusting to American food. Chinese people cannot live without rice and noodle. We prefer not to eat raw foods, like vegetable salad — all Chinese vegetables are cooked. Additionally, not all the Chinese food materials can be found here, which is a common problem for all international students.

Spring 2014 I 16

A table at the International Cultural Festival displays Chinese trinkets.| Zirui Dang

As a solution, we use American ingredients for traditional Chinese cooking. During the week, we do not have enough free time because of school.

We set aside time every weekend to get together and cook Chinese food, sometimes with American friends. It is a wonderful way to build friendships with Americans and exchange culture. We have a funny saying, “we are not sure how much we can learn that we have become good cooks.”

Americans are not only interested in Chinese cooking, but the language as well. HSU has courses designed to teach American students the Chinese language. There are four different levels, from beginning to advanced, with a total of 14 students.

“I would like to learn Chinese because I like it, then I will go abroad to China one year later.” said Elizabeth Rovnak, an American student in Chinese language class. She is currently in a level 1 course with six other students.

Wu Ming is one of the course instructors from China. Every year, Ming’s classes perform in the spring festival.

“Only staying in the classroom is not enough. They must be involved in real Chinese culture. It is really a good performance to show the interaction of the culture.” Ming said.

This year, the students sang a famous Chinese song called Happy New Year, nese, and English the second time.

Chinese students here are active in

17 I Osprey

many clubs and organizations.The Chinese Students Scholarship Association is among the Chinese clubs in HSU. “We make this organization in order to let more and more Americans know Chinese people and Chinese culture,” the chairman of CSSA, Xuefei Yang says, “Every autumn festival and spring festival, we hold the celebration in KBR and invite all HSU students to join us. It is a wonderful platform to advertise the Chinese culture.”

The Multicultural Center (MCC) supports every event that is held by CSSA. Marylyn Pike-Nicely is the director of MCC. “We are here to provide the space for students from different backgrounds, and we help students put on events and help them form a club.

When students come and say they want to do this celebration or that social event, then we help them make it happen. it is a lot of fun working and

planning with the Chinese students.”

China is a really big country and is very different from south to north. Sharing that diversity on campus is important, she said.

“I am so happy Chinese people formed a club, it was great because it brought students to work together and CSSA has been really helpful with mid-autumn festival and Spring Festival,” Pike-Nicely said.

Humboldt's Premiere Vapor Lounge OPEN:

Organic E-Liquids Tasting Bar

Sunday-Wednesday Noon-8pm

Quality Personal Vaporizers

Thursday-Saturday Noon-3am

and 18 & up!

Like us on Facebook!

Between TJ's and Everett's on the Arcata plaza.

19 I Osprey

Brad Job overlooks land owned by the Bureau of Land Management. | Alexander Woodard

Green Timber: The Environmental Impact of the Marijuana Industry

Spring 2014 I 20

by Karel Vega

It’s Friday afternoon, and Brad Job is driving his large, white pickup truck on Highway 299 to Lacks Creek for a routine fence inspection.

As he reaches Lord-Ellis Summit, he looks over at the wide expanse of trees covering Green Point Ridge.

“Wilderness is not for people to grow pot. It’s for wilderness,” Job says.

Job is a civil engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. His job entails finding illegal cannabis operations on publicly owned land and evaluating their environmental damage.

“Some people go to church to get their spiritual fulfillment. I go to wild places,” he said. “So I really hate it when I come across gigantic piles of trash, poly pipe, fertilizer, rodenticide, dead animals, and in-

secticides that were banned in the United States 20 years ago that get illegally imported into the country.”

On Sept. 20, 2012, federal and county agents arrested three men in the King Range National Conservation Area for allegedly cultivating and manufacturing marijuana.

“The perpetrators were discovered by our special agent. He has a number of ways to find people growing in the hills including helicopter flights with forward looking infrared cameras, fixed-wing flights, and evidence from other associates that get busted,” Job said.

After the bust, Job came to the site to evaluate the damage done.

“By the time I got there, all of the marijuana had been seized and

we were looking at erosion, cost to remediate the site, and the use of agricultural chemicals in a federally designated wilderness area,” Job said.

In Humboldt County, where forests are already damaged from a history of logging, cannabis cultivation has emerged as a serious threat to resources such as water and electricity. Perhaps even more alarming is the irresponsible use of chemicals used for pot growing that damage flora and fauna.

According to Job, irresponsible cannabis growing on private and public lands is to blame for ecological problems such as chemical leaching, animal poisoning and drought.

Fertilizers such as Urea can pollute the groundwater. Urea is a ni-

21 I Osprey

trogen-based fertilizer that is extensively used in agriculture.

Nitrogen is an element necessary for plant growth. Used responsibly, the chemicals are generally harmless. When used in excess, Urea breaks down into ammonia and is absorbed into the groundwater. The water then becomes toxic to animals and plants. Job says cannabis growers use these chemicals irresponsibly.

“We’ve spent millions, tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on watershed restoration. And then you see these pot growers come in and kinda screw up all that work by really not having a clue on how big their environmental footprint is,” Job said. “We’ll go back to a grow four years later and the vegetation community around the grow is completely different than everything else around it.”

The use of Urea fertilizers may be the source of another threat: sudden oak death, a highly infectious disease affecting the oak trees of California and Oregon. The disease causes rapid degeneration and eventual death.

Once a tree catches the deadly pathogen, it’s difficult to contain.

“Our botanist is relatively convinced that the rapid spread of sudden oak death is due to the rapid spread of compost by people growing marijuana,” Job says.

“The fertilizer compost may be the vector for sudden oak death.

That has yet to be proven but it certainly makes sense to me.”

Job says the environmental damage is an indirect result of federal policy on cannabis.

“In the late 80s early 90s, people were busted for growing on their private land and then the government would seize their assets: their land, their car, their furniture, everything, before they ever even went to court,” Job said. “It was kind of an extrajudicial process. And even if you were found innocent, your stuff was still gone.

So that encouraged people to move out onto government land and start growing on public land.”

Anothony Silvaggio, Ph.D, is a sociology professor at Humboldt State University and researcher at the Humboldt Institute for Inter-

disciplinary Marijuana Research.

Silvaggio compares the effects of industrial scale marijuana grow operations to that of other industries.

“First and foremost we have an impaired ecosystem already. We have 50 plus years of industrial logging, industrial mining, industrial fishing, we have a damaged ecosystem,” Silvaggio said. “So we have poor federal and state management of all of our natural resources. Horrible management over the past hundred years. And the evidence is, if we had good management and regulation, we would have a timber industry.”

Silvaggio said a key difference between timber and cannabis industries is the lack of regulations to protect the environment from irresponsible cultivation practices.

The Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 made it harder for logging companies to clear-cut vast areas of forest. But there is no such law that applies to marijuana growing. Silvaggio says that it’s impossible to con-

Spring 2014 I 22

“Our botanist is relatively convinced that the rapid spread of sudden oak death is due to the rapid spread of compost by people growing marijuana.”

trol the environmental effects with prohibition.

“Federal policy is the root cause of environmental degradation in the forest as it relates to marijuana agriculture, and we can’t simply blame bad growers,” he said. “Bad growers are there because there’s an economic incentive to do it. Federal prohibition artificially inflates the price of marijuana, which provides the incentive.”

Silvaggio says that pot growers also see the environmental mess left over from other industries and don’t think they’re doing as much harm.

“They look at the landscape and see fifty years of resource degradation. They look at the silted creeks from timber companies and they look not doing that bad.’ They look at the water that other bulk farm industries much water.’ We are now immune to any sort of impacts that we see. We

have almost a century of normalizing environmental degradation are now blinded to the real impacts that we are seeing out there. We’re desensitized, because it’s everywhere.

So the growers themselves don’t see it as destructive,” Silvaggio said.

In regards to the future of cannabis, both Job and Silvaggio are uncertain whether possible legalization in California would have a positive outcome.

“I don’t know that it will. There’s still people that don’t wanna pay taxes, or people that don’t have land to

grow pot, so there will still be trespass grows on BLM land,” Job said.

Silvaggio doesn’t believe legalization would stem the environmental damage that has already been done.

“We can legalize it tomorrow in California, we’re still gonna see increased growing on public lands, increased growing on private lands. We’re still gonna see increased water-taking on public and private lands.

We’re gonna see fish die, because the price of pot is artificially inflated. End of story,” Silvaggio said.

Job says that cannabis production in Humboldt County is here to stay.

“I don’t care how many law enforcement officers you put on the task, you’re never gonna eradicate all the growers out of Humboldt County,” Job said. “It’s been here too long. It’s woven into the socioeconomic carpet.”

23 I Osprey

Father Freed by jessica renae

Rev. Freed conducting mass alongside Deacon Weber.| Provided by Lindy Lentz

At the end of New Year’s Eve Mass, Rev. Eric Freed stood in front of his congregation at St. Bernard’s Church and thanked everyone for attending.

“I know that some of you are going to go out and party tonight and that’s good, but it’s not for me. I’m going to go next door, watch a little football and will probably be asleep by 9,” Freed said. “And tomorrow, I’m going away. And where I’m going I’m not telling you. But I’m sure wherever I am The following morning Deacon Frank Weber was in church waiting for Freed to show up for New Year’s Day Mass. It was unlike Freed to be late, so Weber went into the rectory to check on him.

Weber walked up the stairs to Freed’s bedered in blankets drenched with alcohol. Bundles of wet newspapers laid across the body and empty bottles of whiskey and broken pieces of wood were scattered about. Weber dialed 911.

Weber went back into the church,

canceled mass and rushed back out.

“He came down the side aisle, looking at the ground dejected, but he was walking really fast like he had a purpose,” Mary Lentz, a parishioner in attendance, said. “It seemed like he was pushing himself forward sort of, but I saw no hope in his face.”

People gathered on H Street in Eureka in front of St. Bernard’s Church that afternoon for a press conference. Crime scene tape wrapped around the sidewalk and rectory as everyone waited for information. Dance Farrell, a deacon in formation at the church, stood in the crowd.

“It was hard that day standing in front of the rectory with the yellow tape all over my house, you know this is our family house, we live and breathe there, it was as if someone coated my bathroom or kitchen in police tape,” Farrell said. “It was so gut-wrenchingly uncomfortable for everyone and we all knew what it meant.”

Police Chief Andrew Mills announced that a body was found and a murder investigation was underway. Mills would not release the identity of the deceased. Then

Mayor Frank Jager took the platform.

“We all know it’s Father Eric,” Jager said.

Mouths gaped and arms reached out to one another. The crowd broke down crying in disbelief.

“There’s good reason why you don’t tell if someone was killed because you to know,” Farrell said. “But this was his family and Frank Jager recognized that.”

Freed’s sister, Lisa Wienke, was getting ready for bed close to midnight on Jan. 1. She checked the news online and noticed the headline “Northern Californian priest found slain.”

“That’s my brother!” Wienke yelled, grabbing her husband’s arm. She immediately called the rest of her family to notify them before they too, checked the news.

Freed’s twin sister, Kari Freed, woke up to her sister’s phone call.

“He’s been found dead,” Wienke said.

“No!” Kari Freed shouted in bed. Wienke pulled the phone away from her ear as

Spring 2014 I 24

“I was so tired and so afraid, and I just keep going back to that fear. But it’s such a thrilling fear.”

Freed said, “Ok, I’m going to hang up the phone now because I’m having a nightmare.”

Wienke replied, “Kari, I love you and it’s your sister, Lisa, and it is a nightmare, but you’re not sleeping.”

Kari Freed stayed up the next four nights scrubbing her kitchen counters, cabinets and At the Jan. 5 vigil in St. Bernard’s Church, Betty Chinn, a friend of Freed, touched his arm in his casket. She felt the bones underneath his skin. They felt like broken pieces put back together. The bones in his skull seemed broken too and placed back together. His hands were swollen and had little nicks and scratches on them. The bruises on his face showed through the makeup.

“That’s not my Father Eric anymore,” Chinn said.

His face lacked the animation that Andrew Rutledge, a Humboldt State student, remembered about Freed.

“He would engage you with these

bright, blue eyes that made him seem very connected to whomever he was speaking to. He was present,” Rutledge said.

Freed died of blunt force trauma to the head, trachea and suffocation by compression, in which something--assumed to be a broken vase--was lodged down his throat.

HSU Religious Studies Department held a memorial for Freed on Feb. 9 in the Native American Forum.

Deborah Addington, a Religious StudFreed in his Intro to Christianity class in 2007.

“He stood up in front of the class and said, ment I knew I could trust him,” Addington said.

She explained that Freed felt that his faith was what moves him through but it is by no means complete or assured.

At the end of her speech, Addington pulled a can of Tecate beer out of a paper bag.

“Eric loved this cheap, nasty-ass beer. It made him happy,” she said as she opened the beer. “I offer this as a sym-

bol of love and humanity, to do the best we can for the least of all humans,” she said and placed the beer on Freed’s shrine.

HSU Religious Studies professor, Sara Jaye Hart, walked up to the center of the room.

“Eric knew of and thought deeply about human violence. He knew that though we face incomprehensible violence, loss and grief, a life lived well is a life that, despite the horrors and pain, has the courage to stand on the side of faith and hope and love. He had that courage, that strength,” Hart said. “And as his soul remains with us, we carry that courage and strength into creating a society that’s more just.”

On Sept. 8, 1957, Father Freed was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His family later moved to Covina, Calif. where he grew up the third oldest of eight children, four boys and four girls.

“He was a typical brother, he pulled his pranks, he was a jokester,” Kari Freed said. dragging across her window screen late one night. She ran upstairs to her parents yelling, “Mom, mom! There’s someone at my win-

25 I Osprey

dow!” Freed walked into the house laughing.

“That kind of sibling stuff,” Kari Freed said.

“But it was fun, he wasn’t trying to be mean.”

From a young age, Freed helped others.

“He’d befriend the person being picked on,” Kari Freed said. “Eric wouldn’t -

After spending 25 years in a Christian monastery in Japan, Freed moved back to the United States and eventually settled in Humboldt County where he worked as a priest and an HSU Religious Studies professor.

Rutledge, a Newman Center student,

you, just ignore them, things will change.’

He always enjoyed helping people.”

Freed loved reading and learning and was

like “time heals all wounds” but hearing that didn’t make him feel better about his pain.

After a Newman Center Mass, Rutledge talked with Freed about losing his girlfriend.

“We can’t have people because the things in our life are gifts,” Freed said. “It’s like buying life insurance, you’re not going to get that person back when they go.

You can buy house insurance and get a new house, but people are different. They’re just in your life for a time. Eventually we have to give them back and we should be happy for the time we did have with them.”

and Japanese. He was also a dedicated athlete.

Growing up, his mom participated in a foreign exchange program with Japanese students. The summer of his senior year in high school, a Japanese student stayed with Freed’s family that he connected with. He became very intrigued by Japanese culture because of this man and learned Japanese. When he lived in Japan for 25 years, he performed this man’s wedding and Wienke believed the two were still in contact up to his death.

Wienke does not remember the man’s name.

Although Father Freed was raised Catholic by his mom and very involved in the Church, he often stated the last thing he wanted to be was a priest. As a kid, he believed priests were old guys who never had any fun.

But then he met a group of Salesian priests, whose order is devoted to caring for children and the poor.

“I met these priests and they were pretty darn good basketball players and Freed said. Freed was ordained into the Salesian priesthood in Tokyo in 1990.

time Rutledge started to feel better about the world after his breakup.

“In that moment, he was my friend, my mentor,” Rutledge said.

In between his busy days conducttime to relax in the privacy of his home.

He would snack on sushi and drink beer next to his friend, HSU Religious Studies professor, Bill Herbrechtsmeier, as they watched the USC Trojans’ game together. He would jump up and down, wave sion every time a referee made a bad call.

“He needed to be able to be more

than a priest too, such as being a friend, a sports fan and the like,” Mary Bockover, HSU Philosophy professor and Freed’s friend said. “He was a human being.”

Freed was a New Testament scholar and an expert in the Historical Jesus. In his classes, Freed created an open discussion where students were allowed to question and disagree.

In his New Testament class, Freed wanted his students to research the term Jew. HSU student, Greg Kilpatrick, expanded his search to include the terms Pharisees and Sadducees. Freed disagreed with Kilpatrick’s decision mostly because of translation issues of these different terms.

“Instead of being confrontational about it, he asked me after class if I wanted to get coffee and talk about it,” Kilpatrick said. “What he wanted to do was not to say you’re wrong but instead say this is my knowledge and this is why I view it this way. In his classes, I feel like he was equally teacher and participant. When we looked at passages he actively explored them with us and allowed us to build ideas.”

Kilpatrick took him up on his offer and Freed sat with him for 45 minutes after class in the Green and Gold Room at HSU discussing these terms.

“He was in charge of St. Bernard’s and involved with the Newman Center, but still made the time to sit down with a student for an hour,” Kilpatrick said. “It goes along with his view of of the New Testament. There’s a verse that talks about focusing on the least of these, the widows, orphans and that whole group. I feel like he really had time for everyone, actively making everyone feel like they mattered.”

Spring 2014 I 26

In studying the Historical Jesus, Freed was able to gain a more radical perspective of who Jesus was.

“What is the discussion in American Christianity? Family values, we’ve got to have a solid nuclear family!,” Herbrechtsmeir said. no solid families in the New Testament, they’re all dysfunctional. In fact, what Jesus offers is an inclusive community where he’s pulling in all those who are shunned by society because sus created a family in a community of people Freed used this message of inclusion to break down barriers between him and society’s marginalized members. When he was pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Arcata, he took a donation and turned it into McDonald’s gift cards which he handed out to people in need on the street. Freed also never turned on the alarm system installed in the St. Bernard’s rectory. He knew, from the video camera monitors, that homeless people were sleeping around the rectory at night and he allowed it.

“As soon as he turns on that alarm system, he sees people as a threat, instead of in need of God’s love,” Herbrechtsmeir said.

On Dec. 30, Gary Lee Bullock barged into the Brass Rail in Redway and asked for a glass of water. He had this vacant, blank stare in his eyes and he seemed like he was on auto-pilot, according to an anonymous source.

According to Melodie Scalf, Brass Rail

Inn’s manager, Bullock was hanging around his brother Daniel Bullock’s shutdown motel — the Redway Inn Motel across the street.

It is unclear whether or not he was staying with him. Bullock’s mother, Carol Bruno, believed he was staying with his wife at the time.

At around 5 a.m. on Dec. 31, Bullock knocked on the guests’ doors of the Brass Rail ock standing there with a distant look in his eyes. According to Scalf, his pupils were not dilated. He then turned around and began knocking on the laundry room door yelling, “The love of my life is in there!”

Scalf told him no one was in the laundry room and that maybe he should leave. Bullock walked away from her and up the stairs of the motel, peering into the windows of the guests’ rooms.

She then asked him to leave the property.

Bullock walked out into the street and Scalf called the Sheriff’s Garberville substation.

Martin, a resident in Redway — who declined to give his last name — woke up New his residence for his wife, checking the rooms and the inside of the microwave. Martin’s wife had opened the door to let Bullock in when he knocked and said he was the police. Bullock stuck his nose into one of the hung-up coats, pressing the fabric close to his face.

“I know she’s here,” he said.

Bullock leaned his body forward and stuck his hand into the back of his pants as if he had a gun tucked away, as he told Martin to open doors of different rooms he be-

lieved his wife was in. Martin had enough.

“Get the fuck out of my house,” he said.

Bullock and Martin then began wrestling outside.

Martin looked into Bullock’s eyes and said, “Gary, calm down. You need to go to sleep.”

But Bullock couldn’t comprehend.

He pulled Martin’s shirt over his head and yelled, “Repent! You must repent!” house, across the street and back to the Redway Inn Motel. Martin, wearing his slippers with his hair wild, chased after Bullock holding a stick.

He found Bullock curled up and crying inside a closet in the motel, near him were two parrots, one he held in his lap, the other in a cage. Holding the stick, ready to swing, Martin paused.

“I just couldn’t do it,” Martin said. “Maybe if I had that priest wouldn’t be dead.”

Bullock extended out his arm presenting the parrot perched on his forearm to Martin, who grimaced and pushed it away. Bullock then threw both live parrots at Martin. In response, Martin popped Bullock in the leg with his stick.

The police were across the street at the Brass Rail Inn. After the brawl, Martin noticed them walk over and talk to Daniel Bullock but not to Bullock.

Bullock was later spotted by a resident of Shady Grove Mobile Home Park crouching in the bushes near her home. She noticed his eyes were glassy and he could barely walk away. According to Don Emard, the resident’s next door neighbor, Bullock was looking for him. Emard knew Bullock as a kid and had not seen him for a while.

“I liked Gary, he was nice and

27 I Osprey

polite. Always wanted to help if I needed something,” Emard said.

But Emard also mentioned that while Bullock did not get into any serious trouble growing up, he did develop a drug problem as an adult.

Emard assumed Bullock stopped

by Emard’s residence to ask for money.

“Probably would’ve wanted money because he had to have drugs,” Emard said.

Emard was not home at the time Bullock came to the park. The mobile home park resident reported Bullock to authorities and he was arrested at about 1:30 p.m. for public intoxication. On the way to Humboldt County jail in Eureka, Bullock kicked open the windows of the patrol car. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka, but eventually was medically cleared and booked into jail at 4:30 p.m. Bullock was released at about 12:42 a.m.

Bullock entered Courtroom 1 in the Humboldt County Courthouse on a Wednesday afternoon in early February.

Wearing his orange jumpsuit and still handcuffed, he sighed as he sat down behind the jury box, his worn face continuing to sink.

Bullock is accused of breaking into the rectory of St. Bernard’s church New Year’s Eve, torturing and murdering Freed, attempt-

ing to burn his body and blow up the rectory and stealing Freed’s Nissan Altima--the vehicle in which Bullock allegedly drove from Eureka back to his parents’ home in Briceland Jan. 1 and parked the vehicle in a wooded area near his parents’ home partially covered in branches. The branches on the front

“If he was sober, he never would have done something like that. But drugs can change a person. Drugs changed him,” Emard said. rum to discuss the jail’s nighttime release policies.

Sheriff Downey explained when a person is arrested under code 647f, public intoxication, the person can be released under code 849b2 once threshold is reached of being able to care for themselves, typically ter admittance to jail. Under

“He would engage you with these bright blue eyes that would make him seem very connected to whomever he was speaking to.” window resembled the shape of a capital A. Bullock pleaded not guilty to all these charges and waived his right to a speedy trial.

The trial date was set for Aug. 4 at 8:30 a.m.

His family--wife and twin fourteen-yearold daughters--moved to Southern California.

When Emard heard the news about Bullock, he couldn’t believe it. Emard could hardly recognize Bullock from the news photos because he looked so mentally beat, according to him.

legal authority to hold a person.

While ACLU stated that a person can be held for up to 48 hours before seeing a magistrate, both Sheriff Downey and Police Chief Mills believe holding a functioning individual with daily commitments, such as a job, for longer than necessary is impractical and a potential liability.

Sheriff Downey briefed the forum attendees on code 5150, under into a mental health facility for 48 hours. duct and notice indicators, such as disorientation, that may suggest the person is undergoing a psychosis and is in need of psychiatric

Spring 2014 I 28

to use a 5150 and turn over the person to competency and will detain a person if feel the person is a danger to them self or others.

Lieutenant Wilkinson stated during the forum that six rural counties do not hold inmates overnight.

These counties’ reasoning is for public safety.

Undersheriff William Honsal discussed how jail

expect to decide on a policy change and announce it to the public within 20 to 30 days.

Down in Victorville, Calif. Kari Freed looks up at the stars every night.

After his death, she noticed a big, bright one appear. She mentions how on the

ing, Eric, I’m trying.’ But I know he’s proud of me because on our last conversation he do what you do,” Kari Freed said, crying.

She still suffers from insomnia and is going to a bereavement group for support.

“Maybe God wanted Eric up there for something but maybe I am very

Freed said. “I can’t call him on our birthday and tell inmate’s release, what his him have a Foster’s, beplan is, if he has a ride cause that was his favorite home for instance. Howbeer. Bullock’s family can ever, when questioned by a spend his birthday with forum attendee about dochim and I can’t! I have to go umentation of said plan, outside at night and talk to Honsal said, “No, his star or go to a gravesite there is no checkbox that and that’s not fair.” someone has a plan.”

On a Sunday morning Currently, the pubat St. Bernard’s Church, six lic forum’s panelists meet weeks after Freed’s death, weekly for about two hours Deborah Addington offers a can of Tecate beer. | Provided by Nick Adams Rev. Gregory Villaescusa to discuss the possibility of changing cur- last page of Freed’s book a haiku reads, conducted mass. During his sermon, he “In the next life, a shining star will I be.” told the story of a hermit who was wanderare looking for case laws of other counties’ She believes the new star is Freed and ing the desert. He had left his belongings policies for holding inmates overnight to goes outside every night to talk to it. at his camp and when he returned found then back up a new policy change regardKari Freed works with peo- them stolen. When he saw the thieves lating nighttime jail release in Humboldt. ple with disabilities helping them er, to their surprise, he handed them his The panelists discussed using formal to learn to live independently. walking stick and said, “You forgot the documentation when asking a person about walking stick.” This story was part of the their plan upon jail release. The panelists - larger idea of not seeking revenge or jus-

29 I Osprey

tice through using the Latin code an eye for an eye during that time. Instead practicing what Jesus sought--perfect peace.

“I know a lot has happened to this community,” Villaescusa said, his voice booming as he stepped closer to the congregation.

“But, do you seek revenge? Do you seek justice? Or do you seek perfect peace?”

John Chiv, a parishioner, struggled with anger and shock in the aftermath of Freed’s death. But he learned to forgive Bullock quickly.

He prayed for forgiveness and went to confession so he could see Bullock as a human being and not feel hatred towards him. Chiv does not want Bullock to receive the death penalty but does not want him out of prison either.

“Somewhere this man lost his way, but I feel that if Bullock could come to terms with what he did and take responsibility, then regardless of the what the sentence is, I feel there could be true conversion in his heart,” Chiv said. “I wish one day he comes and takes communion in this church. It’s coming around full circle.”

During the court testimonies, Chiv noticed Bullock was dis-

turbed and uncomfortable as the killing was described. He would grunt and look around the courtroom.

“A person without a conscience wouldn’t be bothered,” Chiv said. “If he was a cold-blooded killer, he would’ve just sat there in the courtroom and wouldn’t have been shaken by the brutality.”

Freed hoped to begin a peer support group this year to help parishioners cope with death. With his passing, the group was geared towards helping parishioners handle the loss of Freed.

The group met every Wednesday from Feb. 12 to April 16. It now meets on the third Wednesday of every month.

Seated in a circle in St. Joseph’s Hospital Chapel in Eureka, Lindy Lentz, Freed’s friend and a parishioner, has not felt any anger since Freed’s death, only deep sadness for the loss of his friend.

“We meet very few people in our life who truly know us. There’s those people you rarely meet but accept you for who you truly are,” Lentz said, his voice soft and high-pitched. “He wasn’t Father Eric, he was just Eric. I don’t know if I’ll have that again. It’s a rare

Spring 2014 I 30

“I know a lot has happened to this community, but, do you seek revenge? Do you seek justice? Or do you seek perfect peace?” gift that doesn’t happen very much.”

Group facilitator, Judy Weber, volunteers at the Morris Graves Museum of Art and from her desk she can see St. Bernard’s Church and the rectory.

“Every time I’m there I run it all through my mind again what happened.

I always loved that church,” Weber said.

“But it’s a different thing in my mind now. It changed that warm, joyous feeling I had.”

At their last weekly meeting, Duane Leal, a parishioner, remarked how he feels that there is a better sense of community and connection among cant friendships through the group.

“It feels more like a family, even A new pastor has been chosen for the parish, Rev. Tom Diaz from Santa Rosa. He will start serving in April.

Greg Jaso and Joyce King, friends of Freed, want to name a bridge in honor of him as a symbol of Freed’s ability to cross-connect between different kinds of people.

“I think that was a driving force in -

alities. He was good at building bridges between historical eras, cultures, religions, social classes and languages,” King said.

“For him, it was like solving a great puzzle to see what the connections were,” On a cold, windy day Bockover visited Freed’s grave at Oceanview Cemetery in Eureka. She touched her hand to his plaque. Freed and Bockover were friends for 12 years and and spent every Wednesday eating lunch together. They shared in many conversations about philosophy and religion that many would calling his cell phone on Jan. 1 after learning of his death, just to hear his voice playback on the voicemail greeting. As she walked away from his grave, she noticed a rainbow peek through the clouds, a sign of hope in the storm. The rainbow reminded her of how Freed always saw the advantage in the disadvantage.

“I hope to live the best life I can, not just by memorializing Eric’s death, but by taking his life as an example,” Bockover said.

31 I Osprey

Humboldt Crabs The crack of a bat echoes across Arcata ballpark as the scent of fresh air. Fred Lomelli, the groundskeeper as he has for 40 years. This signals summer and the start of Crabs baseball.

“The quality of baseball played during the summer in Arcata is unmatched,” said Tyson Fisher, manager of the Humboldt Crabs. “It is the crowd and the atmosphere that make the Humboldt Crabs so great.”

The Crabs started in 1945 and celebrate their 70th anniversary this year.

“You don’t survive 70 years without changing, it is just not possible,” said longtime Crab’s board member John Fesler.

When the popularity of baseball organizations rose the Humboldt Baseball League was formed.

In 1895, the league featured four teams: the Rohnerville Acmes, the Mantells of Eureka, Sperry’s of Arcata and the Port Kenyon Crowns.

The Summer of 1945 marked the beginning of the Crabs. Lou Bonomini, a player at the time, founded the Paladini Crabs since the main sponsor was Paladini Wholesale Fish Firm.

“These teams all contributed to

the rise in popularity of baseball within the county, but the team that stuck around was the Crabs,” Fesler said.

Bonomini played baseball in Humboldt County his whole life ball leagues in Humboldt County. He played for the Crabs for ten years and went on to manage and coach the team for the next 43 years. berjacks at Albee Stadium in Eureka.

“My favorite Crabs moment ter. It was against a team from the Bay Area--the Cincinnati RookRed Hunt, 1944-1948 Crabs’ Alumni.

In the late 1960s, Ned Barsuglia took over as General Manager for the Crabs and expanded the collegiate roster and travel schedule out of California. The team took long road trips to away as Dodge City, Kansas. Along the way, they would pick up players from around the county to play for the Crabs.

From 1963 to 1977, the Crabs won 15 straight California State National Baseball Congress Championships.

The team attended the World Series in Wichita for 23 seasons and was California State Champions for 18 of them.

By 1995, Barsuglia was 75 years old and running the Crabs became too much for him. That February he made the decision to fold the team. This news shocked locals and even made the national news and community members like Jerry Nutter, Larry Zerlang and Carl Pellatz knew that something had to be done to save the Crabs.

“When I heard the Crabs were up Ned and ask him what was going on. Not to long after that me and about 15 other people met at the Goldhow to save the Crabs,” Zerlang said.

Early that year Matt Nutter, former manager of the Crabs’ and son of Jerry Nutter, asked his father if there was any way he could help the Humboldt Crabs. With the help from current board members Pellatz, Zerlang and the Nutters got together and formed what is now the board of directors for the Humboldt Crabs.

Jerry assumed the role of President, Matt as Vice President and they appointed other prominent locals in

Spring 2014 I 32

By aron gonzales the former president of the Orange County YMCA, Jerry had an ability to recruit quality volunteers, which was just what the Crabs needed.

Today the board of directors has a whole year to plan for the next season, but in 1995 the inaugural board had only three months before the season started.

Jerry and the board administered organization. This ensured that no one would pocket the money and fans had total control over the survival of the team.

“Having the organization be the community back into the organization because without the community and the fans, there would be no Crab’s baseball,” Matt said.

The organization made another substantial change. In 1999, the Humboldt Crabs announced that it would no longer use metal bats and became one switch to wooden bats only. That meant fewer home runs, because when a ball makes contact with a metal bat, the ball comes off faster and travels further.

“Our single season home run record was about 21 with aluminum bats, and went down to 9 with wood bats,” Fesler

said. “It may be exciting to see a home run ball hit cars on the freeway every game, with aluminum bats, but it was Since the formation of the board, annual attendance has increased from just over 12,000 in 1995 to over 32,000 in 2013.

“What my dad did was that he took the foundation of the Crabs and built the framework of what it is today, all while giving the team back to the community,” Matt said.

Matt was a true baseball fanatic, having played the game his whole life and for the Crabs from 19881991. He became manager of the team in 2006. In his eight years as manager, he led the team to multiple league championships including the most recent four consecutive ones.

Matt’s overall record as the Crabs manager was 328 wins with only 94 losses giving him a .777 overall winning record. However, his career ended on a low note.

On Aug. 12, 2013, the County ty and found 250 marijuana plants and felonies; cultivation of drugs, operating a property that has drugs on it and

guilty and denied all charges against him.

Earlier this year, the District Attorney dropped all charges against him. His lawyer proved that the marijuana was not his and the guns were family heirlooms.

Matt was placed on administrative leave by the Crabs after the incident.

Matt explained that he decided after 23 years with the Crabs organization that this was a good time to take a break.

“My daughters are nearing the time when they will go off to college and I haven’t had a summer with the family in a very long time,” Matt said.

After the incident Crabs President Victoria Rossi spoke on behalf of the organization, “Matt had warned us the past two years that he might make this kind of decision (to leave) and he decided that this was the opportune time, especially after his phenomenal success as our skipper,” Rossi said.

Nutter commented on the incident and the legacy he left behind, “What I tried to do was make the summer fun for the players. We took 30 random players with different personalities, and had only eight weeks to make them play as one,” Nutter said.

The new manager taking Matt’s

33 I Osprey

Tyson Fisher, manager of the Crabs, leans against the stadium wall. | Sebastian Hedberg

Spring 2014 I 34

place is Tyson Fisher. He is the head baseball coach at Fortuna High School and is looking forward to the upcoming season and the changes that have been made over the course of the year.

“I am excited about the future of the organization. Change is bound to happen in an organization like this, but change is good,” Fisher said.

Fisher played for the Crabs in 2006 and was an assistant coach under Matt Nutter from 2010-2011. Fisher is not the only new member coming to the Crab’s staff this summer.

The Crabs organization decided to allow the new manager to select whomever he wanted to work on his staff as long as the Crabs approved of his choices.

“I am glad that I got to choose my staff. It is nice to surround yourself with people you want to be around. There was a lot of interest with this staff and I was able to pick through and select the top tier coaches I wanted to work with” Fisher said.

Another change made in the offseason was the election of a new president.

At the annual Crabs retreat on Nov. 2, 2013, the board of directors elected Victoria Rossi to a four year term as the president of the Humboldt Crabs.

Rossi grew up in the Bay area and attended Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants games for as long as she could remember. After graduating from HSU in 1999, Rossi stayed while working as a credit and collec-

tions manager at Sun Valley Floral Farms. In 2005, she decided to go to “I knew about the Crabs before 2005, but after the strike in the major leagues in 1995, I lost Current HSU Assistant Athletic Director/Senior Women Administrator Stephanie Lane asked Rossi to join the Crabs Board of Directors in 2011. ting Crabs alumni information together and planning an Alumni Weekend during the season.

“I took on the project and put together a 1,200 player alumni list into a database. I put in over 60 hours of work in just a few months,” Rossi said.

Since then, she’s worked on countless projects for the organization and tries to improve with every season that goes by.

The games attract a variety of fans from all walks of life. It is what makes the atmosphere at the ballpark so unique.

“What makes the Crabs so great is the fans. Crabs games are one of the few places where you can see established businessmen sitting next to college students and parents with children, all rooting for the same team. Even if you don’t agree with each other on the street, you agree on Crabs baseball. The fans are what is special about the Crabs,” said Naomi Schulze, the ballpark staff supervisor.

35 I Osprey

Ryan O’Toole rests in the alleyway near Don’s Donuts to get shelter from the rain. | Dane Cluff

Spring 2014 I 36

A heavy burden Ryan O’Toole hobbles down the dirty sidewalk outside of Don’s Donuts Pizza & Deli, wincing with each pound of pressure applied to his left foot while a heavy traveler’s backpack weighs on his shoulders. The sharp pain induces a zombie-like pace as the downtrodden man with heavy eyes follows his non-domineering friend, affectionately nicknamed “Shorty.”

O’Toole trails 10 yards behind Shorty who stands around 5 feet 6 inches, turns into an alleyway and disappears out of sight. Entering the same alleyway, O’Toole discovers Shorty bent over and heaved- it was somewhere in between hacking and regurgitation.

Each year, homelessness comes at cost to the taxpayer; hospital visits, police encounters and court appearances. O’Toole’s hard, crusted foot requires

treatment, which has been diagnosed as trench foot.

The former Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Phillip Mangano, nicknamed the homelessness “policy czar”, helped push housing-first programs into cities around the country and evaluated their effects on the system.

Sixty-five cities of varying sizes and demographics instilled these programs and Mangano concluded from the data that sustaining people in homelessness cost $35,000 to $150,000 per person per year, while putting them in homes cost $13,000 to $25,000 a year.

Still, the homeless look after one another. O’Toole said. “Vicarious” Terry, is a testament to that. On Fridays and Saturdays Vicarious receives about $50 worth of sandwiches donated to him from an anonymous store; he

by Dane Cluff

37 I Osprey

Shorty, Vicarious Terry and Ryan O’Toole talk outside of Don’s Donuts. | Dane Cluff

mostly gives them to the homeless.

“I stand up for the weak. I stand up for the victim,” Vicarious said.

“The people who fall through the cracks, that’s who I search for.”

Vicarious lives out of his van and has done so for the past 3 years.

He earned the nickname through his own unique form of poetry, where he assumes the identity of someone other than himself and crafts a poem from their perspective.

“When you live vicariously and you live like you ain’t got anymore than a year to live, you can finally do it,” Vicarious said. “When you’re not afraid to die you can finally live properly.”

Both Vicarious and O’Toole jok-

ingly proclaim stakes to fame. Vicarious for being the most famous poet around town and O’Toole for his propensity to get into trouble.

“I’ve been to jail 21 times since Oct. 2,” O’Toole cracked. “I’m Arcata’s most wanted man and most popular.”

Arcata’s self-proclaimed most wanted man may display a lighthearted nature but that does nothing to discredit the stigmatization he, Vicarious and the homeless community receives.

“Most people are horrible, honestly, towards us,” O’Toole revealed. “But you know, you can’t let those bad experiences blind you to the world because otherwise you’re just walking around

with your head down and you miss there’s good people in the world.”

Life has certainly challenged this worldview of O’Toole’s, particularly around the time his father passed away. O’Toole was in a Pennsylvania jail, but eligible for a “take me home” plan, which allows an inmate to get out of jail early as long as they have a place of residence where they can be checked on. He was supposed to go to his mother’s, but when his father died the family convinced his mother to not go through with the plan.

“After my dad died my whole family turned against me because he was the only one keeping them up,” O’Toole said. “My dad was

Spring 2014 I 38

“I stand up for the weak. I stand up for the victim, The people who fall through the cracks, that’s who I search for.”

my hero and I had to deal with his death in a fucking cage, you know, with strangers. And all I wanted to do was get out and give my loved ones a hug and I couldn’t do that.”

O’Toole ended up staying in jail an extra six months.

According to O’Toole, most of his crimes are for stealing food.

He is a double felon however,

for burglarizing stores for alcohol. O’Toole’s been battling alcoholism since he was 15 years old.

Vicarious Terry, who learned long ago that the world isn’t painted in black and white. When Vicarious was seven years old he was slapped by a clown. He was late for the circus when his parents dropped him off, so he sat down in reserved

seating. Not even a minute went by and the clown yanked him up so hard he pulled a muscle in his arm.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Vicarious said.

“Made me learn at seven that nothing is what it seems to be in this world.”

39 I Osprey

eDU

Story and photos By Chelsea laRue

Spring 2014 I 40

Jacob Bechtel sprints across the socbling the ball. As Bechtel steps in to make a tackle, his opponent kicks the ball past him. Bechtel plants his foot to turn. When he shifts his weight, his knee gives out.

“I felt a huge popping and tearing sensation in my knee and immediately knew I did something bad to it,” Bechtel said.

Bechtel, a Kinesiology major and member of the Humboldt State soccer team, tore his ACL at soccer practice on College Creek Field in August.

He left to Seattle for surgery and rehabilitation. Realizing he would miss several days of class during the fall semester, he registered for online courses. ed but I just accepted it and focused on rehab and school,” Bechtel said.

“My initial reaction was just thinking if this is what I have to do to get focused on my goals, then so be it.”

He took 15 units in fall 2013 — four online classes and one that he agreed to attend occasionally with his instructor.

“It was really nice because I could focus on my rehab as much

as possible and not have to worry about crutching around on campus and getting to classes,” Bechtel said.

Online classes allowed Bechtel to go home for surgery and stay in school.

Humboldt State University increased the number of online classes available, schedules in circumstances like Bechfornia state school to offer a full online General Education course program.

Of the 21 online classes in the GE program, 10 are available this spring semester. Another 11 will be added in fall 2014.

Geoff Cain, Director of Academic Technology for the College of E-learning and Extended Education, dent equally as on-campus courses.

However, he said a challenge to online courses is student engagement.

To keep students engaged, courses can be designed using video, discussion forums and blackboard collaborate.

“It’s a combination of all of that, that creates a very engaged and interactive experience for the students,” Cain said.

Laura Hahn, HSU Professor of Communications, taught online GE, Comm 100, last summer and fall. In her class, students were required to front of a ten person audience. She said that online education helps students build a presentable image online.

“In addition to speaking in front of a live audience, students record themselves, then they post their presentation to the class blog, and then their peers watch that and critique,” said Hahn. “So they are also getting skills in how they present themselves in an online environBeing a small campus, Humboldt State allows for a low professor-to-student ratio. If online enrollment becomes widespread, that relationship could be compromised. Online classes allow for learning outside the physicould affect the amount of attention the student receives from the professor.

To ensure an experience that is consistent with a small face-to-face class, the communication faculty made

41 I Osprey

the online classes the same size as the public speaking classes.

“You want to be able to give the same amount of feedback and commentary and help each student, and to do that for over 200 students versus 27, would create a situation where the students couldn’t get that same attention,” Hahn said. “So that was really important to not diminish the quality, and be able to respond to students’ needs.”

For the first time this semester, HSU offers an online Biology lab for non-majors, a class that often overflows.

The biology course allows students to earn a lab credit without setting foot in a classroom.

Chris Callahan is the instructor of Biology 102 human biology and the online lab component of the course, Biology 102L. He said that an obstacle with the online course is how to replicate what students do in the laboratory.

The Human Biology course uses learning tools such as SmartScience, which supplies simulated labs online. Students complete athome experiments with easily accessible materials. They are then required to post a picture of themselves performing the at-home lab.

Biology labs are not easily translated to the online environment. Getting hands-on lab experience in most cases is not possible.

Students taking the online course might not learn how to use a microscope or dissect a specimen.

A lot of trial and error is involved when designing a new course online. With a few weeks left in the spring semester he said he is still coming up with new ideas.

Anthropology Professor Llyn Smith said she was initially skeptical of online teaching. She was surprised, how-

ever, by student insights.

“The students studying online are forced to read the texts more closely or are able to see them with greater clarity because much of the classroom noise is absent – I am not getting in the way,” Smith said.

In most cases, online classes allow more students to enroll. Students in online courses don’t need to print papers or commute to school, saving both time and money but it does eliminate direct human contact.

Hahn says it offers a different kind of challenge for connecting with students.

“I do really miss the faceto-face interaction, and getting to know them and their personalities in that way” Hahn said.

As well as new challenges for professors, challenges may also arise for students as well.

“Students have to be very disciplined,” Hahn said. “In that way, it’s not for everybody.”

Bechtel took a majority of his classes online and he quickly learned that time management was the key to success.

“I definitely learned in about a month that I had to manage my time better,” Bechtel said. “I would tend to prominute to do my homework.”

This spring, Bechtel is playing soccer and taking a full schedule of courses. He said being at home for a full semester was depressing and he is happy to be back on campus.

“This overall experience kind of sucked,” Bechtel said. “But I feel like I’m a better person for it by having to overcome adversity and push myself to do things I never thought I was capable of.”

Spring 2014 I 42

Number of online students in each college in 2013 Natural Resources 19

Arts, Humanities and Social Science 1,105

Professional Studies 1,960

Number students in online classes 3,372

3,084

Average fail rate In-class 11.9% Online 16.4%

Information from Humboldt State Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

Infographic by Tabitha Soden.

1,549

482

2010

2011

2012

2013

43 I Osprey

HSU special education program leader David Ellerd and program coordinator Peggy Kirkpatrick. | Sebastian Hedberg

Spring 2014 I 44

The equation for teaching teacher gave her a book to read, the words seemed to jump out of alignment within the pages. Todoroff was referred to the special education department for extra one-on-one help at Lafayette Elementary School — where she met her teacher “Mrs. Kirkpatrick.” “[Mrs. Kirkpatrick] was different from my other teachers. She was warm, patient, always looking for a long-term solution,” Todoroff said.

“Because of her, the words on the pages eventually started to stand still.

What sets Mrs. Kirkpatrick apart from Todoroff ’s former teachers was her willingness to provide a tailored education. She made sure to acknowledge each accomplishment.

While Kirkpatrick taught at Lafayette, she initiated new programs with incentives for students to succeed. She started a book-reading program and reached out to the community to provide those incentives, such as gift cards and lunches. When Clara Todoroff read the most books out of her classmates, she earned a limousine ride to the Eureka Inn to have lunch with Kirkpatrick, free of charge.

“She got to my level and understood how to help me. She called me her shining star,” Todoroff said.

“She knew how to make her stu-

dents feel good about themselves.”

Nearly 20 years later, Todoroff and sis with Peggy Kirkpatrick. Rather than teaching children with special needs, Kirkpatrick now instructs students enrolled in Humboldt State’s special education teaching credential program.

Framed photographs of colleagues, students and families — past and present Hall. This will be her tenth year as the special education coordinator for the university — but she still keeps in contact with students she taught decades ago.

“That’s just the kind of person [Kirkpatrick] is,” Todoroff ’s mother Joanne said. “She was very involved in the students’ lives and she still is. It’s fantastic.”

Today, people like Kirkpatrick are a rare asset. With an increasing rate of children recognized for special needs, the availability of personnel and equipment is rapidly declining. Gary Eagles, cation Superintendent of 12 years, says there is a shortage of instructional aides.

“Special education is a very expensive program, and there is a shortfall of underfunding,” Eagles said. “We need aides but special education’s greatest need right now is speech therapy. This a problem for California in general.”

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed in 1975 stated that Congress would fund a maximum of 40 percent of special education, under the assumption that the state and local government would cover the remaining 60 percent.

Today, Congress currently subsidizes 18 percent of special education funding.

Funding is not the only obstacle facing special education. Although the federal budget for special education accounts for certain positions, there is a severe lack of applicants interested in them.

It is a county-wide issue, Eagles said.

Many positions for special needs are part-time and do not qualify for beneand legislation that staff and faculty have to worry about, Kirkpatrick said.

Annie Atkinson is a special education teacher at Dowes Prairie who earned her credential through HSU. “It already takes a unique person to work in special needs,” Atkinson said. “It’s more personal. It’s easier to feel undervalued when there are so many hoops to jump through.”

Kirkpatrick had the idea to create a space for student teachers and children struggling with learning math after she attended a special education seminar in Washington. Children in the community

by Lillian Boyd

45I Osprey

who needed extra help could meet oneon-one with student teachers enrolled in HSU’s credential program. She brought the idea to the special education program leader, David Ellerd. Within a year, the department of education founded the Humboldt State University Curriculum Support Clinic, also known as math camp.

“It’s a wonderful way for student teachers to get real experience out in

Sarah Drisko, an HSU lecturer, helps oversee the weekly math camp.

“It’s so refreshing to see the kids engaged in learning,” Drisko said. “It’s like a utopia. If only it could be like this for every student.”

Kirkpatrick encourages the student teachers to constantly look for new ways to teach, whether they or

even greater for children needing a little extra help. By the end of the session, these kids are excited for math.”

For the math lab, each child is assessed for the areas in most need of practice. The child is assigned two student teachers. One student teacher sits with the child to work out math problems, the other will sit behind a one-sided mirror to listen in on the conversation with headphones and observe in order to offer constructive criticism.

After an hour of instruction, the student teachers stand up and sing a song to welcome the children to math camp and invite them for a book read-aloud.

mathematical apps on iPads.

“Every child is capable of learning.

be the most successful.” Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick has seen hundreds of people come and go throughout her career, but she makes an effort to keep in contact with students from her past.

Todoroff ’s mother Joanne catches up with Kirkpatrick to this day. If there is a school graduation ceremony happening in Humboldt County, odds are Kirkpatrick will be there, Joanne Todoroff said.

“I can always tell if a teacher was taught under Peggy… If they have that

Spring 2014 I 46

Top: John Hackenberg reads a story to math camp participants during snack time.

Bottom left: Education specialist student teachers Marie Stone, Matt Dusel and Max Garrison observe their partners from behind a one-way mirror.

Bottom right: Education specialist student teacher Celia Boomer shows a math camp participant where to toss a bean bag for a math game.

Photos by Tabitha Soden

47 I Osprey

pitch black, cold and calm, the only thing visible is what’s illuminated by the sodium lights and the occasional bioluminescent creature hitting bow of the HSU Research Vessel Coral Sea, as it cuts its way through the water. Suddenly four dolphins appear racing and playing in front of the boat as if they were pulling it along in the dark water. Ev-

eryone stops what they were doing, even the captain can be seen on the bridge looking at them.

A nice break on a long cruise.

The Coral Sea is unique in the United States because it is the only research vessel specifically for under-

graduates.

Humboldt State is able to provide the Coral Sea to undergraduates thanks to contracts by outside parties, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA. One of these contracts is for the Trinidad Headline Cruise which provides data for The Pacific Coast Ocean Observing System or PaCOOS a study on the health of the North Coast ecosystem. The contract pays around $56,000 a year to go

Story and photos

Spring 2014 I 48

Roxanne Robertson and Leeroy Haarhaus prepare the bongo nets before going out on the cruise. | Sebastian Hedberg

out on research trips once a month.

This study is gathering information in order to see how the health of the water is changing over time. This includes everything from how much salt is in the water to how cold it is. It is part of a bigger study being done

by NOAA and the National Fisheries Service, where it is contracting boats along the California coast. The North Coast part of the study is run by professor Eric Bjorkstedt who has been in charge of the study since 2007.

Not only do they help fund

the boat, Bjorkstedt helped write the grant, that let them upgrade all the scientific equipment onboard.

“We have a mutual relationship, we lend them tools such as the CTD and in return they help us by gathering data we can use to compare with ours.” said Bjorkstedt.

PaCOOS cruises are great opportunities for students to undergo real world training while still in school.

The main tool of the study is a strange device called a CTD. This stands for conduc-

tivity (or salt content), temperature and dissolved oxygen all of which it can measure in real time.

“The CTD is the most important tool on this cruise, it samples everything from salt, temperature and chlorophyll. Everything we need for the study,” says Roxanne Robertson the Chief scientist on board “It is like a camera, it takes a snapshot of the the condition of the ocean at that moment and linking snapshots together we can start to make predictions.”

by sebastian hedberg

51 I Osprey

Roxanne Robertson managing the crew aboard the RV Coral Sea. | Sebastian Hedberg

Spring 2014 I 52

Greg O’Connell prepares samples collected from the bongo nets. | Sebastian Hedberg

Robertson a Eureka native received her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a minor in scientific diving from Humboldt State and went off to Dauphin Island marine lab in Alabama working on weather stations before coming back to work on the boat.

Working on the PaCOOS trips was not her first time on the Coral Sea. During her time attending Eureka High School she recalls going out on the vessel with her marine biology class and then again while attending HSU. Robertson started working on the boat in May 2012 after a professor at HSU recommended that she applied. She now runs the crew while out on cruises and analyzes the data collected.

53 I Osprey

Greg O’Connell and Leeroy Haarhaus preparing the CTD before it is dropped in the water. | Sebastian Hedberg

As the boat reaches one of its predetermined locations it slows to a crawl. The A-frame starts to move, lifting the CTD over the water slowly, as Leeroy Haarhaus and Greg O’Connell carefully guide it. The CTD is expensive and they can’t have it hitting the side of the boat as it is going down. Then into the water it goes. 10, 50, 100 meters. “Stop!” Robertson yells. Staring at a computer she can see everything the CTD records in real time.

This is to be repeated six times at each different station, with an average wait of 30 minutes between each station.

General biology major Hunter Preston thinks the Coral Sea and especially PaCOOS cruises are important to all science students not only oceanography majors.

“It is an outstanding opportunity for all science majors, it’s a resource other schools don’t have.” Preston said.

Spring 2014 I 54

Humboldt innovators

by maGGie budd young graduates to enter the workforce, no matter their degree or skill set. Some people have begun embracing a more entrepreneurial lifestyle by creating their own inventions.

According to a 2013 report by Babson and Baruch Colleges, about 15 to 20% of the workforce runs a startup.

A few startup companies have established themselves in Humboldt County. in Arcata. The startup was formed about a year and a half ago, and now has four employees. Lonny Grafman is the CEO. “We all wanted to be creating, inventing cool stuff that makes the world a little bit of a better place,” Grafman said.

The company’s most recent invention is an energy monitor that tracks a building or room’s energy use and displays it in a night light that plugs into an outlet. The device is made by a company that Propelsion created called Canary Instruments.

Installation is simple. The unit plugs into the electrical box. Sensors transmit information onto a display so people know how much energy they are using.

One side measures the immediate usage and the other monitors the daily usage.

The whole monitor resets at midnight.

The monitors are geared towards dormitories and apartment complexes, places where residents aren’t paying the whole electricity bill. Propelsion sold 207 ones in San Fernando Valley. While there haven’t been any sales in Humboldt, there is growing interest in the area and a few places have agreed to a contract.

The six-month project came from the innovative idea to develop a device that would increase people’s awareness of their energy usage without confusing them with numbers.

“When your water’s running it’s not that you’re measuring it in cubic feet per second or something, but you know the water’s running and you turn it off. We want to do that for electricity,” Grafman said.

The monitor displays different light colors corresponding to how much energy is being used. The user can also look at the numbers online. Different models of the monitor can measure the entire load of energy use or break it down to certain appliances.

Gabriel Krause is the chief techniand mathematics of each product. He creations. He moved to Arcata from

New York, where he worked on several high-end lighting projects ranging from hotel chandeliers to bar tops, with some in Thailand and Hong Kong.

Krause sees the transition to a startup as a fun challenge and enjoys problem solving with the team.

“We are just three people and when you’re trying to create something for thousands of people, we extrapolate from our combined knowledge and experience to predict what these thousands of people would like. From there, we take it to the streets,” Krause said.

Krause perks up as he drags and drops different frequencies and colors on the computer screen to adjust how the lighting is displayed on the energy monitor. After each switch, he looks eagerly to the monitor to observe the minute changes. His acute attention to detail has contributed to Kimberli Hudson is the CFO, treasurer and secretary and handles most of the business development, which ing long-term business decisions.

“Sometimes it’s really intense because you have to wear so many hats,” she explains.

55 I Osprey

Lonny Grafman demonstrates how the lights on the energy monitor change when a toaster oven is turned on. | Maggie Budd

Spring 2014 I 56

She is Propelsion’s only investor.

She created her own window washing company at the age of 17 and has since worked with 11 other businesses.

“Startups are fragile and temperamental little creatures,” she said. “There’s reasons I get up in the middle of the night, but that’s part of the game and that’s part of the risk you take as a startup and as an investor to realize long-term gains.”

More funding has been proposed to Propelsion but the team is reserving the investors for other projects.

Despite her concerns, Hudson is con“There’s always doubts that an idea will work but I would not be backing this project if I didn’t see great potential in it,” she said.

Propelsion also recently hired Bob Waldron to be the project manager, who is in charge of placing supply orders as well as resource and supply chain management.

“He’s been fantastic. He’s willing to pick up slack anywhere,” Hudson said.

Another startup in Humboldt is WoodLab Designs. Jeremy Harris, the creator, constructed the acrylic wings for Propelsion’s energy monitor with his innovative cutting machinery. Har-

ris started the Eureka-based custom woodworking studio in 2010 with his partner Brad Miller after making stools and tables for Robert Goodman Winery’s wine tasting room.

The duo found a shop in Eureka were able to purchase a piece of equipment that sets them apart from fellow craft folks in Humboldt – a 4x8 Computer Numerical Control (CNC) router.

“During the process we decided that it was worth the effort to establish ourselves into a real shop space and to invest in some fancy equipment,” Harris said.

This device is structured for engineer prototyping and product development by using designs created with a computer program that can then be cut automatically with the router. Harris works mainly with the machine and Miller covThe job with Propelsion fell into their lap after Harris gave a talk at the Humboldt Makers meeting last year about the CNC machine. The Propelsion team helped create these meetings in The Link building, a part of Greenway Partners, which forms a collaborative workspace of over 20 of-

Kraus and Harris were able to create the acrylic wings after several attempts of trial and error and in the end they both learned a lot from the process.

“Having the ability to design on the computer and cut on the machine in the same space has given me lots of opportunity to play around with what is possible with this new technology,” he explains.

While Harris wants to keep the business going and is invested in making money, he avoids get“I do believe that entrepreneurship is a side effect to being a successful artist.”

Humboldt can be a challenging marketplace but Harris started WoodLab Designs from the ground up with limited resources. He doesn’t have a big advertising budget so he relies on word of mouth to get the word out about his business.

“Where this area lacks in large markets for products makes up for in people talking to each other and one job leading to the next,” Harris said.

While the brain drain of Humboldt can push some people out of the area, these two companies are proving that hard work can pay off.

“It’s a very different mindset,” Hudson said. “It’s a very dif-

57 I Osprey

Coming from a background in photography, the look of the magazine was the most important thing from the start. This semester we focused on making the magazine clean, simple and easy to read. The driving motto for the staff this semester was “If it looks good, people will pick it up.�

Our stories in this issue highlight important members of our community. From local rock ment. The stories touch on a number of issues that matter to the staff as well as our readers.

Mixed in with our lighter stories is an indepth article about the late Father Freed, a man loved by the entire community. This story looks at how his life and death affected those who knew him, and even those who did not.

This magazine is the product of the semester-long work of our class and could not have been possible without the work of our staff and editors. We hope you enjoy it.

Sebastian Hedberg

Spring 2014 I 58

Osprey Magazine Department of Journalism and Mass Communication 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521 editor@ospreymagazine.com www.issuu.com/ospreymagazine