The Skyline Newspaper

Photo: John Seebach of the Center for Big Bend Studies leads a Texas Master Naturalist class on a field trip to a rock shelter on the O2 ranch. Photo by MaryAshley P. Gredell

Master Naturalists Study Ancient Big Bend Region

By MaryAshley P. Gredell
Skyline Assistant Editor

A small group of environmentally minded individuals hiked into the O2 Ranch south of Alpine last Saturday. There they climbed a steep embankment and found themselves in a rock shelter that had housed Native American people centuries before any European set foot in the Big Bend region.

The group was a class of Tierra Grande Master Naturalists lead by John Seebach, a project archaeologist with the Center for Big Bend Studies. A Ph.D. candidate from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Seebach grew up in El Paso and has invested a lot of time and interest in the prehistoric cultures of West Texas.

"What archaeologists do is study material culture; what's been made or used by prehistoric humans. We take data from the field, like in this rock shelter, to find out how and why people made their livings," said Seebach.

The Rough Cut Rock Shelter, where the Master Naturalists gathered, was likely inhabited between 900 and 1600 A.D. and is noteworthy because of its preservation.

"This was one of only two shelters in this region that hasn't been vandalized by rock hounds or artifact finders," said Seebach, later pointing out a few shreds of grass mat left by the last residents, and a small, negative hand print painted on the roof of the shelter.

"The O2 Ranch project is ongoing with the Center for Big Bend Studies," said Seebach.

"The ranch manager discovered this shelter, and we've been working with the ranch in many capacities to study the people who lived here."

The shelter was just part of Seebach's field trip onto the ranch. The Naturalists later went on to explore other possible sites of human habitation, even finding a Perdiz arrowhead point in a rocky outcrop and seeing worn indentations in boulders that once served as a type of mortar-and-pestle for native people.

Kate McKenna, a Master Naturalist-in-training from Fort Davis, was struck by the pristine beauty of the ranch and the land which had been looked upon by native people long before any European influence.

"This was a great opportunity to get back on the O2 Ranch that I hear so much about; the owners are doing so many creative things that we're interested in," said McKenna.

"Coming from the lushness of Fort Davis, this is so foreboding and diverse. I love it."

Master Naturalists are part of a Texas-born organization that educates volunteers who wish to donate their time to environmental interpretation and community outreach in the natural world. Their visit to the O2 Ranch was part of their training weekend at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, where they also were taken into the field by soil scientists, wildlife managers, and bighorn sheep experts.

Anyone interested in the Master Naturalist program should visit their web site at http://masternaturalist.tamu.edu/.

Students Have a Blast at TxPW Expo

By Madeleine Cantu
Skyline Reporter

The sound of gunfire. Explosions belching bright orange and yellow flames.

Usually, this might send people running in the opposite direction, but Saturday alone saw over 26,000 people at the 16th annual Texas Parks and Wildlife Exposition in Austin, Texas.

Ten students from the Range and Wildlife Club piled into two of the school's vans and drove out to represent Sul Ross for the weekend.

The expo, which was held October 5-7th, featured 35 acres that were rife with outdoor activities meant to both educate and involve the public.

Some of the attractions were fishing, canoeing, archery, and rock climbing.

There were animal shows featuring exotics like African hornbills and anteaters, as well as bald eagles and horned owls.

There were fishing and firearm shows, too. Tom Knapp "The Shooting Star" demonstrated his prowess with the shotgun, ending the show by shooting an array of vegetables and a bottle of oil that delightfully exploded.

The members of the university's club took turns staffing their booth and exploring the expo.

"It's a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work," said Lisa Guevara, secretary of the club.

"Last year we successfully recruited a few students," Abel Guevara, the club's president, said.

"It's a great opportunity to attract people from all over Texas to the programs in our school. It's also a great place to network. You never know who you're going to meet."

Alumni stopped by the booth to talk to the current students and reminisce about their Sul Ross days.

The expo is one of the club's biggest fund-raising opportunities. Two items were sold at the booth: raffle tickets for two guns (a snake charmer and a .243) and a Moore Maker pocketknife with the Bar SR Bar brand on it.
The drawing for the raffle will be held on December 8th, so if you are interested in supporting the club, you can still enter to win. Contact Abel Guevara at (432) 837-8488.

Social Networking With The Simpsons

By: Adam Cuellar
Skyline Reporter

If you've never heard of the term "social networking" or don't know exactly which two web sites I'm referring to, then you must have quite literally been living under a rock the past few years.

Ask a random Sul Ross student about their social networking of choice, and odds are they will respond either myspace or facebook.

Founded in August 2003, myspace has generally been credited with launching the craze that is social networking. Four years and an incredible grand total of 100 million members later, the site is now an undeniable part of many Sul Ross students' lives.

Not to miss out on the fun, facebook was quick to launch soon after myspace. In February of 2004 the site was made available to Ivy League college students with valid school email addresses. Eventually, every major university contained thousands of members on the site.

Collectively, the sites enjoy 95% of social networking hits on the web, with myspace individually accounting for an astonishing 80%. The chief difference is that facebook is geared towards university students while myspace has no specific aims and in fact boasts members from all walks of life, including an increasing number of celebrities.

From a user standpoint, the sites seemingly could not be any more different from each other. Besides the shared characteristics of messaging and commenting, the design of member profiles and the ability to alter them vary drastically. The clean, consistent white interface and profile viewer that draws many to facebook is directly contrasted by the unique capabilities of individualized myspace profiles. You never know what you'll find cruising through profiles on myspace. You might stumble upon profile themes including crushes, athletes, animals, animations, locations, or a number of zany concoctions.

The two online giants were recently compared to famed siblings Bart and Lisa Simpson, with the theory that myspace is Bart, an unrestrained "bad kid," while facebook represents Lisa, a preppy braniac and all around "good kid." A University of California study even went as far as to say that myspace tends to attract younger teens from lower income families and facebook attracts college and college prep crowds.

Although I personally do not log on to either site very frequently, I do have a facebook account. It makes it quite easy to contact other students when I need to in a hurry. My roommate on the other hand seems to live on the sites, constantly navigating through thousands of his friend's pictures. Myspace is his favorite, however, because of the freedom it gives him to import images and videos all over the background of his beloved profile.

Although many students do in fact have an account on both sites, it is becoming rare for them to share equal time between the two, especially as the titans are fiercely competing to serve all your social networking needs. With that being said, are you Bart or are you Lisa?

Chinati, Sonic Youth Bring Art, Music to Marfa

By Aaron Little
Skyline Reporter

For those who were involved with last weekend's rodeo festivities, or, instead, sat inside their dorms and played Halo all day, you missed out on one of the greatest opportunities to enjoy art at a personal level .

Some of the most impressive modern artists put on a show at the annual free-of-charge Chinati Foundation Open House Weekend in Marfa.

Open House Weekend is an art festival in Marfa where people from all over the world join to celebrate art of all forms and to introduce themselves to new people and ideas. It was started in 1986 by Chinati's founder, late artist Donald Judd, whose residence, the Block, in downtown Marfa, is open for public viewing during open house weekend. It is only one of the many displays on the crowded streets.

Perhaps the most significant event of the weekend was the Saturday night musical display at the Thunderbird Hotel. New York rock band Sonic Youth's sometimes frantic sound gave local residents and Sul Ross students who were able to make the drive something different to hear live in West Texas.

"To be honest, it was more psychedelic than a lot of the stuff that I've heard," said Annalisa Molina, a Pre-med student at Sul Ross. "It had better instrumentals with better creativity. They had the energy of the ‘80's. The show was awesome."

Sonic Youth played three shows in Texas: Austin on Oct. 5, Marfa on Oct. 6, and Dallas on Oct. 7 which, according to their web site (www.sonicyouth.com), are their last three planned shows of the year.

If you missed this year's Open House Weekend, or if you're looking to do something with a creative flair in West Texas, you can always learn more about other events in Marfa with the Chinati Foundation by visiting their web site, www.chinati.org, and to find out more about music and more art events in Marfa, check out www.ballroommarfa.org.

Eaton to Speak at Range and Wildlife Club Meeting

Traditionally, hunting has been one of man's primary duties, and according to Dr. Randall Eaton, it provides a direct relationship to nature.

Eaton, an evolutionary psychologist, will be guest speaker for the Range and Wildlife Club's meeting on Oct. 18th. He is the author of the book "From Boys to Men of Heart: Hunting as a Rite of Passage."

He will speak on his theories that hunting is instinctual and natural, can cause positive transformations in boys, teaching them how to respect life, and helps them to be responsible members of society.

The meeting is October 18, at 5:30 p.m., Lawrence Hall, room 309. The public is welcome. For more information, contact Abel Guevara at (432) 837-8488.