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SOU professor Michael Parker leads another deer count in Ashland
Daily Tidings November 2, 2012
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SOU president named to association board
Mail Tribune October 31, 2012
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SOU opens Jose Rivera’s ‘Marisol’
|Mail Tribune October 26, 2012
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Online
SOU students ‘Rock the Vote’
October 31, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/10/31/rock-the-vote-educates-students/
 
 
Broadcast
More SOU cuts looming
KOBI 5 November 1, 2012
https://www.kobi5.com/news/local-news/item/more-sou-cuts-looming.html
 
Raiders
Men’s basketball opens the season this afternoon
Mail Tribune November 2, 2012
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Deer counters find more critters than last year
192 spotted thus far, with more results due from 2 data sheets
By Vickie Aldous
Ashland Daily Tidings
November 02, 2012 2:00 AM
 
This fall’s deer count revealed an uptick in the number of the animals spotted in Ashland, even though there were fewer volunteers fanning out across town.
Last fall, 96 volunteers covering 67 sections of the city spotted 187 deer during a half-hour count at dawn. This October, 65 volunteers covered 56 sections and counted 192 deer.
Two deer-count data cards have yet to be turned in, so the count could rise, said Southern Oregon University Biology Department Chairman Michael Parker, one of the organizers. “It will be comparable to last year. We did see more deer, but not a substantially different number,” he said.
The counts are meant to give residents and scientists a baseline of information about deer numbers in town.
Some residents welcome the creatures, while others say they gobble up gardens and landscaping, collide with vehicles and threaten pets and people.
Ashland also has had several incidents of deer — especially does during fawning season — acting aggressively and attacking dogs.
The deer count covers animals that volunteers can spot, not deer hidden in backyards, dense vegetation and other secluded spots.
Parker said the counts can be used to estimate deer population sizes.
He estimated there were 280 to 340 deer in town last fall, and 296 to 356 deer in town this fall.
Parker said this fall’s count revealed that deer numbers remain high in and around Lithia Park and above Siskiyou Boulevard out to Walker Avenue.
Below the boulevard, deer numbers are highest in the North Mountain Park area, he said.
The fewest deer were spotted in Oak Knoll Public Golf Course neighborhoods, which border Interstate 5 and light industrial areas, Parker said.
Parker said there were probably fewer volunteers for this fall’s deer count because interest naturally wanes.
Some fall 2011 volunteers asked to be dropped off the deer count’s email list after a debate erupted last spring over how the count results might be used.
A spring count was canceled in the wake of the arguments.
Parker said organizers plan on having the first spring deer count in 2013.
A handful of residents have advocated hunting deer with bows and arrows in town. City officials have no plans to institute a deer hunt.
Instead, the Ashland City Council adopted a deer feeding ban this year and also allowed higher fences so residents could protect their property from deer.
Past research has shown that deer feeding bans don’t necessarily reduce deer populations in cities, but they can cut down on the risk of deer clustering around feeding sites and reduce deer vs. vehicle collisions.
Biologists and wildlife agency officials generally warn against deer feeding, which can cause the spread of diseases among the animals and habituate them to humans.
Ashland’s deer feeding ban also covers wild turkeys, raccoons, bears, cougars, coyotes and wolves.
People can still feed wild birds, except for turkeys.
People who get caught knowingly feeding wildlife will get a written notification and then must remove the attractant within two days. People who don’t comply can be cited for a Class 1 violation.
The total fine plus fees for a Class 1 violation can reach $435, according to Ashland Municipal Court staff.
People cannot knowingly place, distribute or store food, garbage or any other attractant, such as a salt lick, to draw in deer or other wildlife listed in the ordinance.
Parker said some residents have reported that the deer-feeding ban is working and they are seeing less damage to neighborhood gardens.
Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.
 
SOU president named to association board
October 31, 2012 12:00 PM
Southern Oregon University president Mary Cullinan was selected to serve on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities board of directors at the association’s annual meeting Tuesday, Oct. 30, according to a news release.
Cullinan will serve on the board through 2013.
AASCU is a Washington-based higher-education association made up of more than 400 public colleges and universities.
 
SOU opens Jose Rivera’s ‘Marisol’
By By RobertA Kent
for the Mail Tribune
October 26, 2012 2:00 AM
 
An angelic revolt, urban chaos and social disorder shape playwright José Rivera’s Obie Award-winning drama “Marisol.” It’s a strange and unusual tale set where real and surreal overlap. Marisol, a young Latin woman, and others must find their way through a violent wasteland as a war in heaven spills onto Earth.
“The play deals in themes of oppression, class warfare, human rights and revolution,” says Jackie Apodaca, theater-arts professor and director of the Southern Oregon University Performing Arts production. “While it was written almost 20 years ago, those issues seem particularly relevant in the days of the Arab Spring, ongoing recession and the Occupy movement. Happily, the production is filled with unexpected bursts of laughter and levity — cracks of light in the darkness.”
“Marisol” will be presented at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Nov. 1-3 and Nov. 8-10, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10-11, in the Center Square Theatre on the SOU campus, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland.
“I wanted to recreate the play’s emotional feel — urban, crowded, loud,” Apodaca says. “This production gave me the ability to work with students in a different way. We approached it as an experimental piece, very collaborative between director and cast. In ‘Marisol,’ we are playing with reality.
“We’ve worked to contemporize the play from 1993 to the present,” Apodaca adds. “What is scary now? I expanded outward from the play’s original, strong, Catholic imagery to create a more universal parable: How do you hold on to what’s important in your heritage, and what do you let go of?”
Surrealism is a strong element in the play’s set, designed by SOU professor Sean O’Skea.
“Jackie and I felt strongly that the setting should be very presentational and surreal,” he says. “We came up with our ‘tidal wave of doors’ — some functional, others simply adding to the fragmented environment. Audiences can look forward to a lot of surprises onstage with all the wires showing.”
Costume designer Hanna Wisner, a theater-arts major, describes the guardian angel’s battle armor as “designed with modern and ancient elements, which I hope will make her seem more powerful.”
Playwright Rivera was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 for best adapted screenplay for “The Motorcycle Diaries,” the story of a road trip taken by Che Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary. Rivera’s other plays include “The House of Ramon Iglesias” and “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot.”
Apodaca’s credits include direction of many new plays in New York City and Los Angeles, and she recently staged “The Taming of the Shrew” at Shakespeare Santa Barbara.
SOU’s cast includes Anasazi Bhakti, Jimmy Dix, Blair Fraser, Sierra Faulkner, Kurt Langmeyer, Corey Porter, Alyssa Rhoney, Leah Sanginiti, Danny Walker, Grace Wolcott, Rusty Yamamoto and Kevin Young. Sound design is by Joel Ferrier.
“Marisol” is intended for mature audiences.
Tickets cost $21, $18 seniors and $6 for students. Subscribers to three or more plays receive a discounted price of $17, $15 for seniors. Tickets are available at the campus box office and www.sou.edu/performingarts or by calling 541-552-6348.
Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at rbkent@mind.net.
 
If you go
What: “Marisol”
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Nov. 1-3 and 8-10, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10-11
Where: Center Square Theatre on the Southern Oregon University campus, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland
Tickets: $21, $18 for seniors and $6 for students
Call: 541-552-6348 or see www.sou.edu/performingarts
 
No. 23 Raiders ready for season opener
Raiders ready to embark on tough nonleague schedule
By From staff, wire reports
November 02, 2012 2:00 AM
 
The Southern Oregon men’s basketball team opens the 2012-13 season with the lofty expectations that go along with being ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 and having the Cascade Collegiate Conference Preseason Player of the Year.
Southern Oregon is No. 23 in the NAIA poll, marking the first time the Raiders have cracked the rankings since February of 2006. With honorable mention All-American Eric Thompson leading a strong corps of returners, the excitement going into this afternoon’s season opener is justified.
“We have a very good group of guys coming back,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said. “We’ve got three of our top four scorers back and we’ve got our top rebounders back, so we’re really excited about that.”
The Raiders head to the Bay Area to begin the season with a 1 p.m. matchup against Pacific Union today, and a 4 p.m. game against Menlo on Saturday.
McDermott mentioned four top nonconference opponents that await SOU in the next several weeks, as the Raiders will travel to Florida next week to face No. 11 Davenport and No. 16 Embry-Riddle (Fla.). Southern Oregon will then host defending national champion Oregon Tech, ranked No. 2, in a Nov. 20 nonconference game, and NAIA Division I Lewis-Clark State will come to Ashland for the annual Flagship Inn Classic on Thanksgiving weekend.
Thompson set a Southern Oregon freshman scoring record with 587 points last season, when SOU finished with a 17-13 record. He returns for his sophomore year after averaging 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a freshman.
“Eric obviously is a very key part to our success; he’s going to be one of the leading scorers and rebounders in our league,” McDermott said. “I think probably the biggest thing about Eric right now is he has got a much better understanding and is much more calm about the game. He’s much more comfortable, and that’s probably not great news for the Cascade Conference because he’s quite a bit better than he was last year.”
Other returning starters for the Raiders include Jeff Bush and Kyle Tedder. Bush returns to the point guard position after leading SOU with 92 assists during his sophomore campaign, and McDermott believes he’s taken a big step forward in the offseason.
“He’s a bigger, stronger version of himself now, and he’s much more confident,” the SOU coach said of Bush. “He’ll be our leader and he’s one of our team captains. He’ll get a chance to do some things that he didn’t do so much the last couple of years as we get him down into the post and take advantage of his size.”
As for Tedder, McDermott calls him “probably the most versatile of our guys. He’s someone who can really get hot, and when he does he can carry a team for a while.” Last season, Tedder started 23 games and ranked third on the team with 305 total points, including a team-high 49 3-pointers.
Terriel Thomas returns for his senior season after averaging 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year. After he started 10 games last year, Thomas will go into this season slated as the first man off the bench for the Raiders.
“We feel very strongly about having somebody come off the bench that’s going to deliver a whole bunch of energy and also can score some for us,” McDermott said of Thomas’ role.
Southern Oregon’s top newcomer is expected to be Oregon State transfer David Sturner. The 6-foot-8 junior has “guard skills — he can pass the ball from the outside, he handles the ball very well and he shoots the 3 very well, which plays into what we’re doing this year.
“David will be one of those guys who is going to have numbers in every stat column and is going to help us in a lot of different ways, and he’s a wonderful teammate,” McDermott added, comparing Sturner to graduated SOU All-American Jordan Highland.
McDermott also praised a pair of international recruits, with freshmen Jordan West and Joel Spear, both Australian imports, joining the team. The 6-foot-8 West will serve as one of SOU’s backup post players, while Spear will back up Bush at the point guard position. While the SOU head coach mentioned that Spear will need to some time to grow with the Raiders, he praised his natural ability as a point guard.
“I really like his approach to the game and his understanding of the game,” McDermott said. “He’s had a lot of international experience, and I think that’s helped him. He’s not really scared by anything, and he’s just really calm on the floor. He’s a true point guard, always looking to get his teammates a shot first.”
While the preseason accolades — Tedder and Sturner joined Thompson on the preseason all-conference team — reveal that the Raiders are getting some recognition both conference and nationwide, McDermott stresses the importance of not getting caught up in rankings set before the season starts.
“It means very little on the face of it, because nobody has played any games yet when that got picked,” McDermott said. “But what it does say is that we’ve made some progress in rebuilding this thing the last couple years, and I think people are aware that we’re on an upward swing as opposed to a downward one. Now it’s up to our guys to get out there and prove that.”
That all begins this weekend down in California. While McDermott acknowledges that Pacific Union and Menlo probably can’t compare talent-wise to some of SOU’s upcoming opponents, he says that the gameday atmosphere in both gyms will present a challenge. It will mark the first test for an up-and-coming SOU squad that hopes to prove it can compete with the top teams in the conference and NAIA.
“We’re really excited,” McDermott said. “We’ve got a tremendous group of young men. They’ve been working hard, they get along and like each other, I think they like their coaches, or at least they’re listening to them a little bit. I think it should be a fun year, and we’ll see if we can continue to climb.”