For three weeks this summer, Russ Stubbles, a professor in the horticulture, forestry, landscape, and parks department, traveled to Biisk, a city in southern Siberia, where he taught students about tourism and agriculture.

This was not the first time Stubbles had traveled overseas.

He is involved in Agri-cultural Cooperative Development International and Victims of Crime Arts, which are both a part of United States Agency for International Development. Through this agency, Stubbles has traveled to Poland, Kazakhstan, Romania and Russia.

“You learn something new every time you go,” said Stubbles of his travels overseas.

The school Stubbles taught at is equivalent to that of an American technical school, and he worked with about 60 students majoring in tourism.

“To succeed in the world, you have to quit thinking like yesterday,” Stubbles told his students.

He also taught the students how to market their industry, using the Internet.

The potential for the tourism industry is great in Siberia, and the area is popular for its whitewater rafting, hiking, biking and museums, Stubbles said.

Students have always worried about money and questioned why people would come to visit. But Stubbles told them that was not their concern; their job was to develop a program, market it right and take care of the tourists once they came.

Stubbles described the students at the school as, “Very bright. They wished to succeed and hated to fail.”

He said if they had been born in the United States, they would be middle class working people, but Siberia is a very poor country.

For example, Stubbles’s translator, while he was in Biisk, made $125 a month, which comes out to $1,500 per year. It is a common practice for people to live with their grandparents, aunts or uncles in order to make it, he said.

“Everyone pulls together to live, and they stay together to survive,” Stubbles said.

When he travels overseas, Stubbles said he feels he is constantly proving himself.

But people treated him very well when they realized he was honest, and the fact that he had money didn’t hurt either.

His travels are definitely memorable experiences, filled with story after story.

“(You) never know what’s going to happen next… (there’s) a whole different world that people don’t even know exist,” he said.

This semester, Stubbles is on sabbatical, but he will resume teaching classes in the spring.

Students have positive things to say about the classes they have taken with Stubbles.

“In my personal experience at SDSU, Dr. Stubbles is the best professor I’ve had so far, because he talked about real-life experiences in class that pertained to life,” said Matt Loeslie, who took a course from Stubbles last fall.

Choices. Decisions. you make them everyday–you press the snooze button five times or four, go fishing every day this week or only six, watch ESPN or Trading Spaces, start the research paper in advance or wait until the week of finals. Big or small, important or trivial, all of these decisions affect your life.

Being active and staying fit is just that, a choice. In high school, staying active was usually easy to do. There was always a lot of choices .

Now in college, you might be asking yourself what you could do here. The beginning of the year can seem overwhelming, especially for new students. With buying books, scrambling to classes, meeting new people, and different activities going on all around you, it takes some effort and a little courage to get yourself out there doing something. And you might not always know all of the options they have at college.

Intramurals are a great way to stay involved in the activities that you love, and quite simply, they are fun. The intramural department offers fall activities in softball (slow and fast pitch), flag football, golf, tennis, volleyball, racquetball, basketball, badminton, and wrestling. There are also sports clubs that you can participate in such as soccer, women’s and men’s rugby, and women’s and men’s ice hockey.

Mike Berhow, a junior English education major, is active in intramural flag football and softball.

“It’s fun to be competitive with people, stay in shape, and it’s a good way to keep my pipes big.” Berhow said.

Activities do require a $15 deposit, which is payable through hobo dough, only. The deposit is refundable, though, if you go to the manager’s meeting and if your team does not forfeit games. The intramural office, located in HPER 123, is also looking for people to referee for softball or flag football.

Besides intramurals, the Wellness Center at the HPER is also available. Use of the track, free weight room, basketball courts, and pool are all free with your student ID card. If you want to take some aerobics or spinning classes, the Wellness Center provides a wide variety. In order to take these classes, a Cardio Card is required, which you can purchase for $18/month or $60/semester.

SDSU’s campus also has lots of opportunities for outdoor fun. Students can find sand volleyball courts outside of Waneta and Hansen Hall. Wide open spaces allow for many other games, like catch or frisbee.

Being active has benefits–meeting new people, releasing stress, and staying in shape are a few. Leah Bartscher, a pharmacy student, believes that it is important for her to stay in shape because she is in the medical field. She says she also sees firsthand the problems that can result from a lack of activity. Leah wakes up early to run or work out, and says it helps her feel good about herself.

There are a ton of options to choose from, and these are certainly not the end-all. Do whatever it is you love to do, and have fun with it. And don’t forget to take full advantage of SDSU’s athletic opportunities.

#1.886076:1803415647.jpg:fitness shot.jpg:SDSU athlete/students work out in the weight room at HPER.: