SOU Wilderness Experience

Raider Wilderness Experience sign-ups now live!

New and returning Southern Oregon University students are invited to start their new school year on the right foot by signing up for this year’s Raider Wilderness Experience (RWE).

Students can join Outdoor Program staff Sept. 17-20 for a week of rock climbing, whitewater rafting, backpacking or camping in some of the most breath-taking outdoor locations in this region. These wilderness trips are a fantastic way to get outside and meet new people, with highly trained Outdoor Program staff ready to make this week one of the most memorable moments of the year.

None of the trips require any prior experience, and costs include transportation, instruction, food, equipment and lodging. These trips fill quickly, so those who are interested are encouraged to register soon.

Living in the dorms this year? Early move-in is available on Sept. 16 for all students participating in RWE.

Interesting in learning more? Visit https://inside.sou.edu/outdoorprogram/signups.html for more information and registration.

Have any other questions? Email outdoorprogram@sou.edu

SOU Student Recreation Center

Student Recreation Center grand opening

Campus Recreation has announced its grand opening celebration for Southern Oregon University’s new, state-of-the-art Student Recreation Center on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

The Campus Recreation team has been working with departments from across campus to fill the SRC with top quality equipment, engaging spaces and the tallest climbing wall in southern Oregon. The entire campus community is invited to join in the celebration of the outstanding new facility.

The grand opening will begin with opening remarks from President Linda Schott, Director of Campus Recreation Hugues Lecomte and Campus Recreation students. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will follow, and then everyone will be invited to transition into the SRC for tours, giveaways, games and activities.

The 58,000-square-foot facility includes two gymnasium courts lined for basketball, volleyball and pickleball; a two-lane, suspended indoor running track; locker rooms with showers; an all-gender changing room and bathrooms; a 44-foot-high climbing wall; a state-of-the-art fitness center; two fitness studios; offices and other amenities.

Date: Wednesday, September 26th
Start Time: 11:30 am
End Time: 2:30 pm
Venue: Student Recreation Center (SRC)

Pollinator Friendly

Cool School: SOU named nation’s top pollinator-friendly campus

NEWS RELEASE

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University – which became the original Bee Campus USA three years ago – has been named the nation’s top pollinator-friendly college by the Sierra Club, as part of its annual “Cool Schools” rankings.

“Besides the fact that the campus boasts more than a dozen pollinator gardens, professors have taken students out to create bee habitats for the campus farm and to collect native flower seeds to sow the in arboretum,” the Sierra Club wrote of SOU.

The environmental group picked what it considered to be the top 14 schools out of 50 campuses across the country that have been certified for the Bee Campus USA list, administered by the Bee City USA organization. SOU topped a Sierra Club list that included both small and large institutions – including Georgia Tech (No. 2), University of Missouri, Columbia (No. 10), Auburn University (No. 11) and University of Central Florida (No. 14).

“Student engagement between the environmental science students and the Landscape Department at SOU has made it possible for us to change the culture surrounding the urban campus environment,” said Mike Oxendine, SOU’s landscaping superintendent.

“Where we once tended manicured lawns, we now tend pollinator gardens and wildlife habitat,” he said. “We are adapting to the changing climate by making the SOU campus landscape a resilient and safe place for pollinators and other forms of wildlife.”

SOU is now one of four Bee Campus USA schools in Oregon, but is the only one to make the Sierra Club list. The University of Oregon, Portland State University and Portland Community College are the state’s other Bee Campus USA institutions.

Colleges and universities may apply to become certified Bee Campuses after first forming leadership committees made up of faculty, staff and students. Those selected as Bee Campuses must commit to development of habitat plans, hosting of awareness events, development of courses or workshops that support pollinators, sponsorship and tracking of service-learning projects for students, posting of educational signs and maintaining a pollinator-related web presence. They must also apply each year for renewal of their certification.

-SOU-

SOU Student Recreation Center

SOU accommodates smoke-weary public in recreation center schedule

NEWS RELEASE

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is continuing to help community members find refuge from the area’s wildfire smoke, even during an upcoming maintenance period for the university’s Student Recreation Center.

The center’s annual closure for maintenance and training had been scheduled for 16 days next month, but has been reduced to 10 days to accommodate public use of its elevated, indoor walking and running track – a popular smoke-free haven over the past month. An average of 32 community members have used the track each evening since the university began offering free admission for two-hour windows each Sunday through Thursday. The facility’s popularity peaked at 73 users on Thursday.

The entire recreation center will be closed from Saturday through Monday of Labor Day weekend. The indoor track will resume its current public hours – from 6 to 8 p.m. daily, Sunday through Thursday – during the period between Labor Day and the maintenance closure (which will run from Monday, Sept. 10, through Wednesday, Sept. 19).

When it reopens following the closure on Thursday, Sept. 20, public hours for the indoor track will shift to 10 a.m. to noon daily, Monday through Saturday. There will be no public hours on Wednesday, Sept. 26, when the recreation center’s grand opening activities will be held.

SOU  President Linda Schott has also invited community members to use other air-conditioned facilities on campus to escape this summer’s wildfire smoke. Facilities and hours of availability are:

The Stevenson Union has a variety of spaces that are available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (SOU offers free Wi-Fi to visitors.)

  • Dankook: SU Room 314.Located on the 3rd level of the student union, this space features soft chairs and couches.
  • Game Room: SU Room 330.Located on the 3rd level, this space features soft furniture, video gaming, puzzles and board games.
  • Elmo’s seating: Elmo’s Dining is closed, but Einstein’s Bagels and Coffee is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This space on the union’s main floor features round tables, booths, and small conversation tables. There is one TV.
  • Diversions (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only): Located on the basement level of the union, this space features tables, chairs, soft furniture and cable TV.

The Hannon Library is open during the summer from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Saturdays.

-SOU-