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LUMBERJACK MARCH 9, 2022 | VOL. 120 NO. 8
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News.........................3 Life & Arts...........................4 Science....................5 Sports..................... 6 Opinion...................7
Rocking the boat at Big Lagoon The 28th annual Social Justice Summit concluded with a paddleboarding trip to Big Lagoon by Kris Nagel An almost-spring chill in the wind convinced almost all of the attendees present to wriggle into one of the wetsuits piled on the warm sand. The Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion Center (SJEIC), in tandem with Center Activities, hosted a kayaking and paddleboarding trip to Big Lagoon for students on March 6. The event capped off a week of activities as part of the 2022 Social Justice Summit, which was themed around climate justice and intersectionality. Part of a 28-year tradition, the annual Social Justice Summit is a place for students to get directly involved in making our community more inclusive. Frank Herrera, the SJEIC coordinator, helped oversee the student leaders who put together the week’s schedule with accessibility in mind. “Big Lagoon is a cool spot. I would imagine that it’s probably going to be transformational for some,” Herrera said. “Hopefully in a positive way.” The summit was one of the first programs to be offered in person now that COVID-19 restrictions are starting to be lifted. Herrera said this year drew a smaller crowd than it had before the pandemic hit, with around a hundred students attending events over the week. About 16 people went to Big Lagoon on Sunday. In part, the limited itinerary was due to this year lacking a credit program for student organizers of the summit. Normally, a class credit is offered through the Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies (CRGS) department. However, Herrera’s request for the program was denied this year. The summit was a work in progress for months prior to the first speaker taking the stage at the end of February. However, some accommodations took on-the-ground problem solving by the event coordinators. One student registered for the Big Lagoon trip had requested additional assistance in transporting their mobility aid before arriving at the pickup location. Not having planned for the additional cargo, organizers scrambled for an additional vehicle. Fortunately, another van was available that morning
Photo by Kris Nagel | Center Activities guide Mairead Sardina prepares atendees of the Sunday lagoon trip for their journey on the water, March 6.
and the student was able to join shortly after the first kayaks launched. Mairead Sardina works for Cal Poly Humboldt’s Center Activities and helped plan the outdoor programming of the summit. Sardina hoped that the trip would help re-establish a sense of normalcy on campus, now that activities are held in person again. “It gets them out and engaged with the local environment which helps with student retention, makes them feel safer, makes them want to get out and care about protecting the environment and see what a beautiful place Humboldt is to live,” Sardina said, promoting the Center Activities center where students can rent outdoor gear at low or no cost. Cal Poly Humboldt student Tatiana Gamboa joined the journey out to Big Lagoon. A second-semester student, Gamboa was drawn to the school behind the redwood curtain because of its emphasis on the local environment. “It encourages [students] to come out and do something different, without having the funds to rent gear and the previous knowledge of how to paddleboard and kayak.” Gamboa said. “So it kind of gives that gate to students exploring something they might like and I think that’s pretty special.”
Latinx artists collaborate on chorus Intergenerational trauma, vulnerability, and fresh fruit
by August Linton
Like the blossoms of our early spring, genuine and vulnerable artistic collaboration is blooming at Cal Poly Humboldt. The Toyon Multilingual Literary Magazine’s ‘SANA, SANA: Hope and Healing for Latinx Communities in Times of Precarity’ was a contest that asked for submissions of poetry, with the intention of having the winning entries set to music. The poem selected to be interpreted into a choral work by the award-winning composer Carlos Cordero was Alannah Guevara’s ‘Fresh Fruit.’ It is a deeply affecting rumination on vulner-
ability and intergenerational trauma, filled with haunting and tender images of bruised fruit and parental care. Guevara says that she wrote the poem thinking of her father, who passed over ten years ago. She’s a native of California’s Central Valley, where many Latinx people have settled and work on the area’s vast orchards.
SEE LATINX ART ● PAGE 4
Photo by Kris Nagel | Center Activies’ Mairead Sardina educates program participants on water safety, showing how a tight life vest helps keep the head above water March 6.
Humboldt Professors speak in ‘Ukraine in Crisis’ forum by Liam Gwynn
Professors addressed the complex and multifaceted nature of the Ukraine invasion during an event hosted by the political science department on Friday. They addressed the situation from three different angles with professors breaking down the topic relevant to their expertise. Dr. Robert Cliver is a history professor at Cal Poly Humboldt. Cliver gave historical context for the war in Ukraine and explained how the situation is not black and white in his mind. Between the corrupt Ukrainian white Photo by Liam Gwynn | Professors Robert Cliver (left), Allison Holmes (center), and Noah Zerbe (right) at the ‘Ukraine in Crisis’ event in Siemen’s Hall 108 on March 4, 2022.
nationalist oligarchs and Ukraine’s tentative alliance with the west, Cliver doesn’t think Ukraine is as innocent as they are being painted by the media at large. Cliver drew criticism after claiming there were no heroes or villains in war. In his eyes, all of the world leaders are villains fighting over power and resources. “I’m against war, period. I think if you’re resorting to violence to achieve your ends you’re not a hero,” said Cliver.
SEE UKRAINE ● PAGE 3
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UKRAINE FROM PAGE 1
Cliver warned students against glamorizing and glorifying political figures like Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Cliver supports the Ukrainian people, but thinks people need to look into the historical context of situations and understand that their perspective may have been altered by nationalistic rhetoric they have been exposed to. “It’s very difficult to find heroes and villains historically and when people do, it’s usually for nationalistic reasons and I’m very skeptical of that,” said Cliver. After Cliver’s talk, Noah Zerbe from the political science department gave a thorough breakdown of the international relations situation currently unfolding between Russia and the rest of the world. In particular, he explained how the sanctions put in place by NATO would affect both Russia and the global economy.
EDITORIAL
NEWS “Russia and Ukraine account for about 20% of the world’s corn exports and about 30% of the world’s wheat exports,” said Zerbe, continuing. “So cutting that off from global markets is going to have a huge impact on food prices.” Zerbe went on to explain how Russia also accounts for about 20% of the world’s fertilizer so not having that on the global market will impact many types of agriculture on top of the ones previously mentioned. Allison Holmes from the international studies department took over after Zerbe. Holmes gave an urgent speech about the importance of fact-checking what you read online and the unreliability of news in the era of social media. Holmes explained how social media has changed the way people digest information which has, in turn, made times of crisis like this even more disorientating. “Everyone became their own spokesperson, nobody needed to wait for the official statement, nobody waited for a press officer to tell you what was happening out there, the feeds from Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, went straight to the news headlines,” said Holmes. She explained how this massive change has resulted in a repetitive news cycle where the most TV-ready looking civilians are asked the same questions over and over and other important developments are pushed to the side. “This has produced hours and hours of interviews with young women, most of whom happen to be lovely blondes who all speak perhaps halted but excellent English with at least one if not preferably two children sitting on a train platform going they know not where,” said Holmes. Holmes did not want to downplay the situation in Russia, but she does think it is being overplayed by the media, especially in comparison to how other conflicts outside of Europe are covered. “I’ve lost the number of times I’ve heard ‘we haven’t seen this since world war II’ which is simply not true,” Holmes said, continuing. “What about Yugoslavia, what about Syria’s impact on Europe and the estimated 13 million refugees or displaced people who are still not home?”
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
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Library Cafe sees light of day by Lex Valtenbergs The Library Cafe lifted its shutters for the first time in several years on Friday, Feb. 26. The cafe serves delicious coffee blends from Muddy Waters Coffee Co. as well as pastries, veggie wraps, drinks, and more. Recent biology graduate Kate Mendoza was just hired by the private company Chartwells Higher Ed to work at the newly reopened cafe. “Chartwells is really awesome,” Mendoza said. “Honestly, they work really well with students from what I’ve seen.” Mendoza’s go-to drink is the cappuccino. “I usually like to do the cappuccino,” Mendoza said. “It’s just espresso, steamed milk, and a lot of foam. I think the foam is my favorite part.” Mendoza’s coworker Ahmad Shah, a senior majoring in communication, recommended the hazelnut mocha. “I like a hazelnut mocha,” Shah said.
“Sometimes coffee is a little bit bitter. The sweetness helps balance the bitterness of the espresso.” Communication senior and Learning Center academic peer coach Kas Colwell ordered a vanilla latte with two espresso shots from the Library Cafe on March 3. “I’m so glad y’all are open again,” Colwell said to Mendoza while ordering. “It’s exponentially improved my quality of life.” After getting her drink, Colwell sat down at a nearby table in the dining area. As a library employee, she appreciates how easy it is to get to the cafe. “It’s the convenience because I literally work in the library, so it’s on my regular route,” Colwell said. “I don’t have to go walking somewhere else to get coffee.” The Library Cafe is available to all Cal Poly Humboldt students and faculty and is currently open on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo by Lex Valtenbergs | Communication senior and Library Cafe barista Ahmad Shah posing with a small hazelnut mocha in the Library Cafe on March 3.
Sharing is caring… unless it’s propaganda by Kris Nagel Everyone has an impact on someone’s perspective of the world. Almost anything we do or say affects someone in some way. The same holds true for the things we post on social media. We are all influenced by the people around us. When the subject of our virtual discourse is something as poignant as international conflict, our sympathies can be weaponized without us even knowing it. Roughly half of Americans regularly get their news from social media, according to a 2021 study from the Pew Research Center. The information we share online can challenge our belief system but oftentimes reinforces it. Al Tompkins, a journalist with the Poynter Institute, says that truth gets little consideration when the content we share aligns with our worldview. “We tend to support those things that agree with your position on anything,” Tompkins said. “Whether it’s the designated hitter in baseball or invading Ukraine, we tend to repeat and share things that we agree with.” The internet has changed the way information is spread through society. It’s easier than ever to produce fake information. “The other piece of it is this,” Tompkins said. “Disinformation is a very powerful weapon. The Russians know it but, let’s face it, the Americans know it too. The American government, particularly through the CIA, has done lots of disinformation over the years. You would expect that they do, it’s kind of part of what they do.” Understanding that misleading content is built into our news feed requires us to take a critical look at what we share before we share it. Tompkins’ approach asks four questions:
What do I know? What do I need to know? How does that source know what that source claims to know? And is there any other way to look at this other than the way that source is telling me? Vicky Sama saw the real-time effects of media coverage and propaganda in the several wars she covered during her career at CNN. Sama is now the department chair for Cal Poly Humboldt’s journalism and mass communications program. “So there’s two parts of war, usually,” Sama said. “You have the war, the actual war with fighting and then you have the information war, the propaganda war, and that is an essential part of what happens in war as well.” When we see things happening live, there isn’t an editing process that we can rely on to verify what we see. Live television, live broadcasting, and live streaming allow for that to happen. Now that consumers are a part of the distribution process, Sama argues they also need to be part of the editing process. “If everybody’s going to start considering themselves a journalist just because they have a cell phone, then they need to start doing the work of a journalist and start verifying the information before they put it out there as well,” Sama said. However, verifying everything we see is seldom an intuitive process. Kirby Moss, a Cal Poly Humboldt professor in the journalism department, teaches a range of media analysis classes. Moss said that the fundamental way to verify information is to look for other sources reporting on the subject. “I tell students, if you find some information that you’re researching on, try to cross-check it with at least three
sources if you can,” Moss said. “And then they find out sometimes like, ‘Well I went to one source but the other source says something else, the other says something else,’ and so then they begin to question that message.” It takes familiarity to be confident that the information you get is credible. That is not to say that there aren’t tools we can use to check the things we share. Vicky Sama is working on adding a media literacy course for freshmen to the department catalog. In the meantime, Analyzing Mass Build to edgeJMC of the 309: document Margins are just a safe area
Media Messages will be open for registration near the end of the semester. Online courses on media literacy are also available to everyone through the Poynter Institute. [DISCLAIMER: The Lumberjack rarely uses journalism department faculty as sources for stories. However, an exception was made for this story due to the expertise our professors have on this particular subject. Vicky Sama and Kirby Moss do not exercise editorial oversight on the content The Lumberjack publishes.]
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Life & Arts
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
THE LUMBERJACK
Humbold Hot Air takes over local airwaves Meet the brainchild of KHSU and KZZH
by Eddie Carpenter Nearly four years ago, Cal Poly Humboldt decided to abandon local-based programming for KHSU. This heartbreaking decision left local radio personalities with no creative outlet to broadcast from. Recently, some of those same people were able to redeem themselves on a radio station known as Humboldt Hot Air. In its humble beginnings, the station began as a simple recording studio. Any content that was created would be sent to a community-based radio station known as KZZH. In October 2021, station manager Neroli Devaney had set up a live streaming service, which gave rise to an underdog known as Humboldt Hot Air. “We are an online internet radio station,” Devaney said. “We are based in the Arcata Playhouse. We are very eclectic and diverse in our programming. We have talk shows [and] lots of music shows. We program every other day of the week except for Tuesdays.” Devaney made it clear that she was
not the one who founded Humboldt Hot Air. However, the 24-year-old manager also shared what inspired her to take on this role.
I came back to Arcata. When I was in high school, I used to volunteer with the Arcata Playhouse with their teen program, which is called Apprentice
“I just found myself really into radio and really passionate about it.” Neroli Devaney - Humboldt Hot Air station manager
“I did four years of radio at UC Santa Cruz. When I was there, I worked at KZSC, which is the radio station on campus there,” Devaney said. “When I was there, I did a bunch of different stuff, I was also a hip-hop director through a bunch of events, I just found myself really into radio and really passionate about it. I am from Arcata and when I graduated from UC Santa Cruz,
Entertainment. Jackie Dandeneau, who is executive director of the Arcata Playhouse reached out to me. [She] said that she started this project called Humboldt Hot Air. They were recording audio and they had this goal of eventually having a live stream…She asked if I wanted to get involved and I said yes. [I] thought it sounded really fun.”
Devaney also explained how the former KHSU audience had become her most avid listeners. “When we started a lot of people felt that there was this need for community radio in Arcata. A lot of the DJs saw that we were doing Humboldt Hot Air and I started getting a couple old KHSU DJs,” Devaney said. “We’re still kind of attracting that crowd, which has been really awesome, especially for our own publicity,” Devaney said. “KHSU had this huge fanbase in the community, so to be able to bring DJs back and have them do their shows again– a lot of the community has had a positive response to that, those are our most popular shows, people will be like, ‘oh my god I listened to that show for thirty years and it’s back, that’s so amazing! It’s the same DJ.’ It’s just been really fun.” Humboldt Hot Air strives to one day become an FM station.
The Goat goes goth
by Cherish Fulcher
On Friday, Feb. 25, Richards’ Goat Tavern & Tea Room hosted its first ever Goth Night, created by recent Cal Poly Humboldt graduate Jamie Cocking. The event was a tribute to the Goth subculture, which originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. The subculture is open ended, yet is heavily saturated with darker tone aesthetics and music. “I think goth subculture is all about expressing yourself in your truest form,” Cocking said. “Since I’ve lived here and have turned 21, I haven’t found any clubs or events with the mu-
sic that I love to dance to, so I just decided to do it myself.” Being a small town, Arcata is not well-known for its nightlife. However, contributions to the scene, such as Goth Night, keep it going. “I just wanted to create a space where people could dress up as much as they wanted and not feel like they are sticking out like a sore thumb,” Cocking said. “Because for me, I mean everyday is Halloween.” Richards Goat will be hosting another Goth Night April 9.
LATINX ART FROM PAGE 1
Guevara is half Mexican; she sees in her family and in her community an unwillingness to discuss the painful past, and an unending hope for the future. “I have really vivid memories of going to an orchard in the town I grew up in… It all melded together, these words that I had and these memories,” said Guevara. “Here in Southern California, who’s working in those orchards is Latinx people, Mexican people. And it got me thinking about my familial trauma, my generational trauma, the things that my dad left me to deal with.” Guevara is about to become a parent herself. In ‘Fresh Fruit,’ she feels the protection and hope that her parents struggled to give her, and also the intense desire to protect and uplift her own child. The final choral piece is deeply beautiful, modern, and connected to the emotional core of Guevara’s poem. Cordero was a fantastic composer for the ‘SANA SANA’ project, both as a stunningly talented musician and also as a member of the Latinx community. Cordero’s Friday talk, hosted by CPH’s El Centro Académico Cultural, focused heavily on his personal struggle towards vulnerability, and how that has affected his compositions and musical career. Cordero’s writing process is a very visual one, although his medium is entirely auditory. He works with charts of inter-connected words and line graphs of emotional intensity to visualize his compositions in a more visceral way. “[Vulnerability] isn’t always going to come back to you immediately, but it’s coming to build or to open that door for people who want to connect with you,” Cordero said. “I’ve learned in art that I open up the door, I don’t make you
come in. All I can do is present myself.” He recounted a story of opening up about his family’s experience of losing his younger sister to members of a choir he was working with. They came to him with stories of their miscarriages, of their losses, and that allowed the whole group to access an emotional connection that was not visible before. Cordero is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, and now lives in Austin, Texas. He says he, like Guevara, has struggled with an unwillingness to have hard conversations with his family about the traumas they’ve experienced. His piece ‘¡Ayúdame!’ was written as a “Venezuelan plea for life.” Members of the choir cry out “ayúdame, escúchame” (help me, listen to me) in Cordero’s attempt to communicate the suffering and disillusionment of the Venezuelan people. However, ‘¡Ayúdame!’ also represents the importance of being vulnerable, both by asking for help and by letting other people support you. Cordero spoke about the expectation within Latinx families and communities that people be strong, that they don’t show their struggles. As he struggled with the trauma of being Venezuelan in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian crisis, Cordero realized that he sorely needed help, that people need to ask for help. “[In ‘Fresh Fruit,’] Alannah showed me that the struggle is OK. It says to our kids, to our generation, to our families: we want to show that everything is ok but we can also share in their struggles,” said Cordero. The Cal Poly Humboldt University singers will perform ‘Fresh Fruit’ on Sunday, April 24th, alongside other musicians performing other works from the ‘SANA SANA’ project.
Photo by Lexi Rangel | (Above) Goth dressed showgoers dance at Richard’s Goat Tavern & Tea Room. (Below, left to right) Lalo Rivera, Gigi Salazar, Chris Cervi, Josie Licavoli pose for a photo at Goth Night at the Goat on Feb. 25.
Graphic by August Linton
THE LUMBERJACK
Life & Arts/Science
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
PAGE 5
Concrete masquerades as the moon in Bradshaw exhibit ‘Photography as Material’ opens at Cal Poly Humboldt by Nina Hufman “Photography as Material,” a photography exhibit featuring the work of Julia Bradshaw, is now open at Cal Poly Humboldt’s Reese Bullen Gallery. The exhibit will be featured in the gallery until March 26. Gallery hours are on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. Bradshaw’s work involves taking high resolution photos and then processing them through traditional darkroom and editing techniques as well as computer photo editing. “I’ve never seen anything high resolution like that, it’s almost an illusion,” said Isabela Acosta, a Cal Poly Humboldt art history major. “I want to touch it because it looks like it’s coming at you.” The exhibition features two of Bradshaw’s bodies of work, “Stacks and Shapes” and “Survey.” “Stacks and Shapes” features manipulated images of paperback books. Photographs of books are arranged to create geometrical forms, some of which resemble landscapes. “Survey” includes images of concrete that resemble scientific photographs of the moon. “All of those are concrete, that’s just concrete, but she’s making it look like images of the moon,” Acosta said. “She does that through different processes of developing films and taking things at a certain angle.” On her page on the Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Art website, Bradshaw says that the pieces included in “Survey” were inspired by scientific diagrams and notes. The photos were taken using a cardboard box and were edited using knives, inks, dyes, and other techniques. “The simplicity of the materials is a subtle poke at the vast gap between investment in science and investment in art,” Bradshaw wrote. “By pointing my
camera at the most abundant of materials, I aim to empower imagination in conjunction with science.” Former Cal Poly Humboldt student and current faculty member at the Cultural Resources Facility in the anthropology department, Zedekiah Minkin, was impressed by Bradshaw’s moon-esque photos. “Compared to the real scientific images, it looks like it could be straight out of NASA,” Minkin said. Religious studies and art history major Cass Jensen also commented on the realism depicted in the photos. They also think that, by comparing concrete and the moon, Bradshaw is commenting on recurring patterns and themes throughout the universe. “I really like the collage work because it does look exactly like some sort of scientific model that you would see come from NASA,” Jensen said. “It helps elaborate how certain things can be very similar but very different all at the same time. It’s like how a lot of things that may look really far away and intangible are just, like, everywhere.” Jensen is a collage artist as well. They are inspired by how concisely Bradshaw is able to convey her message through her artwork. “I like the simplicity of it, it still makes a point without being too much,” Jensen said. “It’s not as complicated and overwhelming as sometimes my pieces come out to be.” Overall, the most striking quality of Bradshaw’s work is the illusion that she creates. The images are created to allow the viewer to see beyond just the materials used in each piece. The pieces do not necessarily resemble the materials that they are made of. “I get a raw sense,” Acosta said. “She’s just doing things from a different perspective.”
Photo by Morgan Hancock | This piece is from Julia Bradshaw’s “Survey” project inspired by early astological photography.
Photo by Morgan Hancock | This piece is part of Julia Bradshaw’s Landscape scrolls series. Photography of books made to represent landscapes are laid out onto scrolls.
SCIENCE
Cal Poly student directors Gaze at these Geraniums in the spotlight by Nina Hufman
After two years, student filmmakers show their work to live audience by Carlos Pedraza In the Van Druzer theater on Thursday, March 3 for the first time since the start of the pandemic student films were shown to a live audience. Around 40 people came to the showing of Cal Poly student films. Several of the films were made in the fall of 2020 there showing being delayed by the COVID pandemic. The short films ranged from psychedelic, documentary, serious, and funny; some of the films were a combination. The audience made sounds of laughter, shock and sadness reacting to each film with emotion equal to the film itself. A film director who was in the audience was Kylie Holub, a senior film major. Holub directed and wrote the film “Abstraction” in the fall of 2020. They film . During the pandemic Houlb said “ just keeping our crew really lean and realing thinking about how to tell stories with minimum actors.” The narrative film “Abstraction” is the story of a beach treasure hunter finding an alien artifact and the fallout of her discovery. The unknown and
aliens being major inspiration for the film. Holub said “ you see a lot of people with metal detectors, we know very little about the ocean and aliens are fun to play around with.” Another director was alumnus Valerie Rose Campbell created the experimental film “Recipe for Young Mothers.”. Campbell goes through the recipe of banana bread while she narrates the experience of a young mother and her attempts to reclaim her life from an abusive relationship and societal expectations of a mother. The COVID pandemic heavily impacted the creation of the film Campbell said “ everything got done digitally and that was really hard.” The film is inspired by Campbell’s own experience in the local family system. “ How it felt so unjust for my kids and family.” said Campbell describing her own life experiences. There will be another film showcase in the fall of 2022 showing films created in the spring.
These lavender-blue blooms belong at elevations up to 3500 meters. The to the Wallich geranium, also known Buxton’s Blue variety is a result of a as the Wallich cranesbill. The full sci- naturally occurring, whole plant mutaentific name of this species is Gerani- tion and was discovered by Sylvia Morum wallichianum. The flowers pictured row in 1999. This particular variant rehere are of the Buxton’s Blue variety, ceived a U.S. Plant Patent in 2010. distinguishable by their purplish-blue Wallich geraniums belong to the petals with pale centers and purple herbaceous family Geraniaceae. This veins. group of flowering plants is characLike other species of geranium, terized by low-growing foliage, Wallich geranium flowers have lobed leaves, and floral feafive petals and five sepals, the tures such as petals, sepals green leaf-like structures surand stamens in rounding the petals. multiples of five. The plants grow low According to to the ground and nativeplants. have wide leaves org, members with three to five of Geraniaceae lobes. Another either actively noticeable feature eject their seeds or of these flowers is use hook-like structheir dark purple tures to grip onto the fur stamens, or pollen of animals in order to organs, that project disperse their seeds. In from the flowers’ cenaddition to geranium, the ters. Stamens are Geraniaceae famPhoto by Nina Hufman | A bee collects nectar usually present in from a Wallich Geranium in front of the theater ily includes the multiples of five. building on Feb. 15. genuses Erodium The National Garand Pelargonium. dening Association says that Wallich Wallich geraniums can be seen in geraniums are pollinated by various in- several places in the Cal Poly Humsects including honeybees, bumblebees boldt campus, including in the flower and butterflies. bed in front of the theater building. According to the Missouri Botan- These plants bloom throughout the ical Garden Association, Wallich gera- spring and summer, so we can look niums are native to highland regions forward to seeing these lavender-blue in the Himalayas from Afghanistan to blossoms in the months to come. Kashmir. These hardy plants can grow
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Wednesday, March 9, 2022
SPORTS
THE LUMBERJACK
BASKETBALL
Cal Poly Humboldt hosted this years CCAA Basketball Championship
by Angel Barker
For the first time under the Cal Poly Humboldt name, the university hosted the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship basketball tournament. Although neither basketball team for Cal Poly Humboldt was a part of the tournament, it was a great success for the university. The three day tournament took place from March 3 through 5, creating a lot of foot traffic to the Lumberjack Arena. “It is awesome for us to host the CCAA Championship tournament as we get to show people in the conference how special Cal Poly Humboldt and Humboldt County is,” said Joseph Danahey, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, in an email statement. “They get to see how beautiful our campus is and the surrounding area,” Danahey said. “We also get to bring the best student-athletes and programs in NCAA division II to our campus.” For the men’s championship game, it was California State University San Marcos versus California State University San Bernardino. San Marcos dominated the entire game from winning tip off to scoring the first three points with an impressive swish from outside the three point line.
San Bernardino was never far behind, with four minutes left in the game, San Bernardino was only three points down. However, they were unable to come back and the San Marcos men proved to play better, leaving the final score 85-71. The women’s side of the tournament was controlled by California State University East Bay. Just like the winners of the men’s team, they won tip off and scored the first points. They were ahead the whole game, but the San Marcos women were neck and neck with them the entire time. Going into the second quarter, San Marcos was only three points behind, but before half time, East Bay was able to steal the ball twice in back to back plays. By half time, East Bay was up by nine points. The final score was 80-66 with East Bay winning their third CCAA championship. The women are on a Photo by Angel Barker | Eddie Davis jumps over Cal State San Marcos player to reach for the basket.
“We get to show people in the conference how special Cal Poly Humboldt and Humboldt County is.” -Joseph Danahey, Assistant Athletic Director of Media Relations
Photo by Angel Barker | San Bernardino player, Darius Lubom, driving in for a shot.
SOFTBALL
seven game winning streak going into their next tournament. There were many game highlights, but for Cal Poly Humboldt student Andrew Gonzales, who was working security for the tournament, it was being able to learn what the game of basketball is. “The more I keep watching, the more I understand the game,” Gonzales said. Josh Doody, Assistant Athletic Director for Financial Operations, was a huge part of making the tournament happen. For him, watching the games throughout the tournament was the best part. “[My biggest highlight was] the increasing caliber of play that really showcases the talent in the conference,” Doody said.
For Danahey his highlight was deeper than the game. “Just being able to reconnect with my colleagues and also hang out with the game officials and also with the coaches from the 12 teams,” Danahey said. “I have been involved in the CCAA for 17 years. 14 years at SF State and three at Humboldt, so I have made a lot of friendships in this conference.” Danahey explained that in order for a school to host a post season CCAA tournament, they go through a bidding process that takes place two years prior. This is not the last of the tournaments to be hosted by Cal Poly Humboldt as the university is going to host the men’s CCAA Soccer Championship tournament in 2023.
OPINION
Take me out to the ball game Sporting events are back and I’m here for it
by Gabriel Zucker On March 5, the Cal Poly Humboldt softball team held their first home game this year. I was reminded of an easier time, where relaxing to live sports was an everyday escape from the rigor of school and work. During the next couple of hours, I experienced camaraderie, screaming fans and most importantly, tailgate food. Walking around the softball diamond, my eyes fell on a group of parents huddled around a BBQ, waiting on the drumsticks to finish cooking. Walking closer and closer to the food I tried to avoid eye contact, instead focusing on taking photographs of the game. Almost immediately, one of the parents called me over. Richard Guevara, the father of one of the freshman softball players, yelled out, “Do you like ceviche?” Looking over I saw a stocky gentleman, decked out in Humboldt softball
gear, a giant smile stretched across his face. He beckoned me over with the promise of ceviche and chicken. Next thing I knew I was talking and laughing with the parents, enjoying their food, and praising the beauty of Humboldt. Taking a bite of ceviche now, I’m transported to a time where sports was a shared experience. A time when sports was more than just the game, it was about the connections you made. After taking a moment to relish in the memories, I opened my eyes to a giant smile and a chicken drumstick. Sports is never just about the game; it is about the shared experience. At the softball game, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in year swept over me. Screaming fans, a sound I only recently heard in my dreams, washed over me like a wave. My heart flittered and danced, and as the smell of food and freshly cut grass hit me in the face. I stopped to smile.
Photo by Gabriel Zucker | Chico State outfielder relaxes between pitches against Cal Poly Humboldt.
THE LUMBERJACK
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
PAGE 7
That rash or sore might be
SYPHILIS Syphilis is on the rise in Humboldt County
GET FACTS. GET TESTED. GET CURED.
Contact your primary care provider or visit humboldtgov.org/STD.
Esa erupción o lesión puede ser
This campaign borrowed from Pima County Health Department.
La sífilis está aumentando en el condado de Humboldt OBTÉN DATOS. HAZTE LA PRUEBA. CURARSE. Comuníquese con su proveedor de atención primaria o visite humboldtgov.org/STD.
PAGE 8
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Life & Arts
THE LUMBERJACK
Contrary by Lex Valtenbergs
and pray to God almighty
Breathe in,
To eradicate your sins
breathe out
but not the shame
Feel divine pneuma
Straddle opposing
Climb up your lungs
parts of you
and oxygenate your blood
like church pews Dangling legs and roving eyes
Lock yourself in the closet
When will the sermon end?
and throw away the key
It ends with you and begins anew.
Shut your eyes Photos by Lex Valtenbergs
OPINION
Let me exist on the beach, please My bikini is not an invitation
by Ione Dellos Here’s how getting stared at on the beach usually happens for me: I’ll be minding my business at the beach, neither having a good time or a bad time, just a time. I get the familiar feeling that I’m being stared at, and after a quick look around, there it is, an ogling pair of eyes looking me over. Just because I’m wearing a bikini to the beach does not mean that I am inviting any sort of negative attention. I am wearing this bikini to the beach because I thought it was cute when I bought it. Now, I am no longer having a time, but a bad time, all because some man couldn’t keep his eyes anywhere else but my body. I shouldn’t have to flip off and swear at men just to get them to leave me alone at the beach. I will not fight for scraps of respect but expect it paid in full. My body and gender don’t make me less than, and they don’t make me an object either. Not counting the fact that ogling random strangers is incredibly rude, you never know what’s going on in someone’s mind. This could be their first time wearing a bikini on the beach in a long time, or they could simply be wearing it because they bought it and
by Ian Vargas
want to get their money’s worth. They could have insecurities about their body that can be exaggerated by excessive staring, or maybe they just don’t like getting stared at (like most sane individuals). Despite being attracted to women, I can comfortably go to the beach without ogling women with no effort on my part. Believe it or not, not staring at women on the beach is incredibly easy! As a gay woman who grew up with gym locker rooms and camp changing rooms, I snapped my eyes away every time my friends would get changed, and I was terrified to even go in a Victoria’s Secret for the longest time. I know I have a different relationship with how I view women than your typical straight man with male pattern baldness. Also, as someone who possesses a body that gets stared at frequently, I know what it’s like to be stared at. I don’t like to do it to other people. When spring break rolls around this semester, straight men, find it in your hearts to not obviously stare at every woman wearing a bikini at the beach (eyes on the road, please). There is a
Graphic by Lex Valtenbergs
whole world of gender identity behind the pair of boobs you’re ogling, and every feminine-presenting person isn’t necessarily feeling feminine on the inside.
If you find that you just have to choose objectifying women over all other activities, then do the women in your life a favor and don’t hit the beaches this spring.
Student debt is coming, faster than you might have thought
If you’re anything like me, there’s no way you can afford to pay for college on your own: you’ve probably got student debt. While you’re still taking classes, it feels like you don’t have to worry about it because graduation could be years away. It’s always looming on the horizon, far enough away that it seems like you’ll probably have it under control by the time you’ve actually got to deal with it. I am in my last semester as an undergraduate, so that horizon is closing in real quick for me and it’s scary as hell. My current debt is just shy of $20,000, which is slightly lower than the national average, but still by far more money than I than I’ve ever made
at a job. Ideally college would help with that, but considering the job market, that’s no guarantee.That leaves me and many others with crushing debt in the position of having both a huge amount of uncertainty about what we’re going to do after college and a huge amount of certainty that whatever it is won’t be sufficient to not be living on the bare minimum. I appreciate my education. I plan on continuing it into graduate school, but this system feels as if it’s built more to place you into a position of permanent debt than to provide an education to people. Even if you’re lucky and don’t end up missing payments, you’re still pay-
ing about 10% of your income, and if you aren’t then you can rack up extra fees and put yourself even further back. On top of that are the countless other ways that you end up gouged for money while still enrolled like expensive but mandatory meal plans or fees for services that, depending on the current level of COVID lockdown, may not even be available to the students using them. According to educationdata.org, the average monthly payment for someone with a mid-paying job and in the same category of debt as myself is $393 over the course of six years, which is currently more than I even get per paycheck at work. These debts are what keeps people
from buying homes or starting any kind of family. Ideally this whole thing should be free and improve peoples’ lives instead of operating off of a profit motive at all. But that’s a fight that seems like it will take way longer than any of us will be able to see through to the end. As students, we need to press for more scholarships and grants for students. Ones that don’t incur years of debt, and push back harder against tuition hikes that force students to either abandon their education or take out more loans. Otherwise, college becomes the exclusive domain of people who already have money, even more so than it already is.