1985_11 The Daily Collegian November 1985

              P«aa>4
FEATURE
-No*
Nov. 4, 1983
OPINION
F«S« 5
Burrow owl victim of agriculture        'Agnes of God' ruined without end
Although they pose no threat to crops.
Burrow Owls have become indirect vic¬���tims of agriculture because their liveli¬
hood depends on inserts and animals that
are generally viewed as a threat by farmers.
"Like any other animal in the world, iu
habiut is being shrunk." said Rachel
Conroy, a CSUFibiology student who is
studying the Burrow Owl for her master's
degree. "Its habiut is being destroyed by
Conroy is researching the feeding and
nesting habits ofthe owls in order lo spec
ify the problems that the owls are facing
and to propose alternatives to the present
situation that wil! help to reduce or even
eliminate these problems.
The Burrow Owls live in grasslands and
plains and have a wide distribution throug¬
hout the San Joaquin Valley, but their
numbers are small. Conroy said. These
owls, as their name implies, live in tunnels
in the ground. The owls do not dig their
own tunnels, but instead occupy vacant
als, primarily squirrels.
"Life generally revolves around the
burrow for these owls." Conroy said. She
said that they spend most of their time in
the burrows and. unlike most owls, they
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oooooooooooooooooooo
do not feed at night, but instead do most
of their hunting during the early morning
and, late evening.
Burrow Owls were once oh ttteWidan-
gered species list, but they were Uken off
in Ihe early 70s, Conroy said. But she
added lhat the owls are still on Ihe
Audubon "blue list" which means that
they are watched carefully as possible
candidates for the endangered species list.
One of the problems the owls face
involves their nesting habits, Conroy said.
The owls in the valley depend on squirrels
to provide them with homes to occupy,
but squirrels are viewed as pests by farmers
because their burrowing activity can des-
Thus the problem is twofold. In their
efforts to eliminate the squirrel popula¬
tion, the farmers will also be reducing the
number of homes that will be available to
the owls in the future. Also, in the attempt
to kill the squirrels, the owls are some¬
times killed in the process.
Tho second problem the owls face
involves their feeding habits. Conroy said
the owls primary source of food is insects.
But because ofthe wide use of insecticides
to control insect populations, the owls
may be hurt by eating contaminated insects
or by a reduced food supply.
"They've got themselves in a pretty dif¬
ficult bind,"Conroy said. But she said that
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the first problem, that of adequate hous¬
ing, can be solved by the construction of
artificial burrows. Tbe real problem lies in
providing them with a safe and sufficient
food supply.
Conroy said that the focus of. her
research now is to determine the specific
insects and other creatures the owls are
depending on for food. To do this, she is
analyzing the hundreds of owl pellets that
she has collected from a field outside of
"When they eat material they regurgi¬
tate what ihey can't digest,"she said. Con¬
roy Ukes these regurgiuted pellett and
analyzes them to determine their compo-
After analyzing Ihe pellets, Conroy said
lhat the next step is to go back out to the
field where the pelleu where collected and
determine Ihfprey base. The prey base is
an analysis of exactly which types of
insects and other creatures are available
in the field. This information could then
be used lodetermine whether the owls are
picking selectively or eating whatever they
can find.
"If what you find percentage-wise is the
same as what you find in pellets, the
animal is randomly choosing," she said.
"But if you find that the percenuge of
foods is nol in line with the percentage in
the area than Ihey are being selective."
Once il has been determined from the
pellets exactly what the owls are eating,
suggestions can be made as to what steps
need to be taken to preserve the owls food
"The ultimate solution would  be to
encourage farmers to use these owls to
eradicate insects" in the place of certain
pesticides, Conroy said. But the problem
wilh this solution, she said, is that "if the
use of insecticides was suddenly stopped,
you would see a boom in insect popula¬
tion and it would be years before the natu¬
ral control could begin to Uke over."
"In the meantime, farmers would suffer
a tremendous loss due to damage done by
the insects.
An alternative solution, Conroy said,
would be to use more hormonal pesticides
which kill insects by atucking their par¬
ticular hormonal structure. These pesti¬
cides would not be harmful to the owl, and
they can be urgeted to affect only those
specific insects that the owls do not eat.
But all this is only wishful thinking for
Conroy, who has run into a major barrier
in her research. The company that owns
the field she collected the pellets from will
not let her continue to do research in the
field, and so she will not be able to analyze
the prey base.
Without a prey base, all she has lo work
wilh is the information from thc pellets
she collected. She has no dau to corelate
this information with lo determine the
specific food selection habiu of the owls.
But, Conroy said that her research is
valuable in that it focuses attention on the
problems of Ihe Burrow Owls and pro¬
vides some information to be used h
working out at compromis
owls and the farmers.
The goal, Conroy said, is to "find
middle ground so that the owls can su
vive and the farmers can still exist."
thc
PI SIGMA EPSILON
presents
FSU FACTS
Did you know. .. : '
S0%of CSUFsludentVdrink alcohol oi
weekly basis?
S8% have driven under the influence
uf alcohol?
26% have been involved or victimized
in alcohol-related accident?
lire: PSE Research Commluet
SPECIAL!
FILM DEVELOPING
t2 EXP. ROLL
Developed
& Printed
15 EXP. DISC
Developed
K'tstJj
kennelHMP
OOKSTOREjLJ
KENNEL |
BOOKSTORE
Attention Presidents of all
Clubs and Organizations
A.S. President Jeff Hansen
will be hosting a
"Presidents Forum"
Nov. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Old Science 101
All presidents are welcome and
encouraged to bring ideas.
For more information contact A.S. room
#316 or phone 294-2656
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SENIORS:
I DID IT
AND
I'M GLAD!
Agnes of God
Columbia Pictures/
Starring Jane Fonda,  Anne Bancroft.
Meg Tilly
Directed by Norman Jew is on
REVIEW
For the want of a horseshoe, the king¬
dom was lost. For tbe want of an ending,
this film was lost.
It's a shame, really, that an otherwise
excellent motion picture had to be marred
by a climax that wasn t one, not because it
wasn't exciting, but because it did n't make
any sense.
But more on that later. Lei's concen¬
trate now on the best, and most important
part of this picture: the story.
The sisters in a Quebec nunnery are
awakened one night by the cries of Agnes
Music
(Meg Tilly), cries that convincingly echo
ber tortured persona. Agnes is found sob¬
bing, lying in a pool of her blood, /diet
the young novice is taken from the room,
Mother Superior Miriam Ruth (Anne
Bancroft) finds the body of a strangled
infant in a waste basket.
Agnes, unable or unwilling to remember
the incident, is charged with manslaugh¬
ter. Psychologist Martha Livingston (Jane
Fonda) is assigned to probe into Agnes'
troubled mind.
As the story progresses, we learn of
many skeletons in Agnes' closet, and a few
in those of Ruth's and Livingston's as
well. The tragic pasts, too riveting to be
revealed here, are played against a back¬
drop of. sometimes mystical, sometimes
. eerie sights and sounds.
Critics have said that there are three
Academy Award nominees in this single
film, and 1 agree. Still, Fonda plays a dis¬
tance third and Tilly a close second-to
Bancroft's portrayal ofthe Mother Supe-
Miriam Ruth, although in the highest
religious position a woman can achieve
next to sainthood, is a remarkably believ¬
able human being. Once a mother and
grandmother before devoting ber life to
God, Ruth can still banter with the out¬
side world through Livingston and, yes,
succumb at one point to a petty vice she
gave up long ago.
Tilly gives a disturbing, yet engrossing
performance as Agnes. She somehow
makes it possible to look virtuous, yet
satanic; God-fearing, yet God-hating. Like
Bancroft, Tilly brings an intense complex¬
ity to tbe often stereotyped character of a
- Fonda delivers a subdued version ofthe
power she has demonstrated in all of her
films, despite a few embarrassments like
"Bartarclla."Subdued because she isalmost
a second banana to her co-stars; a device
present so the moviegoer can see the story
from a third-person perspective. In the
end, we discover that Livingston was a
purposeless character after all.
Though some of the material on side
two takes some getting accustomed to, the
album achieves and retains a level of con¬
sistency rarely attained by a young band's
sophomore effort.
Wire Train is quickly developing into-
one of California's best bands. It will be
interesting to see if they can continue their
progression so that one day ihey may be
one of California^ most important exports.
Disability program continues
Fresno Community Hospital and
the Rehabilitation Counseling Pro-"
gram at CSUF will conduct a joint
program to benefit community resi¬
dents who have disabilities.
Dr. Everett W. "Bud" Stude, coor¬
dinator of the Rehabilitation Counsel¬
ing Program, explained that Fresno
Community Hospital has operated a
program of job skill evaluation of per¬
sons with disabilities in a working
environment for several yean. They
wished to continue the program, but
wanted someone else lo help adminis-
"I think this program really is what
the university should be about, that is
providing an educational experience
for our studenu as well as a service for
the community. This program is an
excellent way of achieving thai goal,"
said Stude.
Candyce King, a CSUF graduate in
rehabilitation counseling and a new
faculty member, will administer, tbe
joint venture.
King said a person with disabilities
will be referred to the program by pri¬
vate workers compensation agencies
agencies.
realisms were virtually thrown out the
window as the final moments took on a
miraculous (and, therefore, melodramatic)
tone. The final result is a confused mish¬
mash finale that left n
answered than at tbe beginning.
.Still, when you consider that in a review
of ihis length, the major faults can be
summed up in one paragraph, you have a
worthwhile picture.
Other major elements that are often
overlooked include tbe fine score and
photography. Composer Georges Delerue
presents music that is religiously inspir¬
ing, but often creepy and dramatic as well.
Director of Photography Sven Nykvsi
captures tbe stark beauty of tbe Ontario
countryside, turning it into a vile setting of
heinous crimes when need be.
"Agnes of God" is a film youll defi¬
nitely want to see. But do yourself a favor.
Leave 15 minutes early, because you wont
miss a thing.
Television
CSUF has also had to ask tbe FCC to
waive iu limit of 10 watu per broadcast¬
ing sution to 30 watu. With CSUF being
the only university in the southern San
Joaquin Valley it must be able to reach a
greater distance, said Hart.
With ITFS, CSU F studenu will also be
able to Uke classes from CSU, Cbico.
Sacramento and Stanislaus. A central
vally microwave system will be developed
to link the three universities with CS U F to
proved supplemental programming to be
aired on ITFS. said Hart.
hookup will allow the
share dau, conduct tele-
Students in JCriminolngy & Associated Students
CRIMINOLOGY
CAREER DAY
Tuesday, Novembers
8 AM- NOON & 1PM -4PM
Old Cafeteria Room 202
FREE TO ALL STUDENTS
j 8-12: HOW TO  GET A JOB IN THE
i CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
f-f^r-Agencyrepresenattves will be available to
; discuss job opportunities & requirements at the
i Local, State, and Federal levels.
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tteacihi \m jjaipan
Persons with a degree or job-experience in such fields as
engineering, publishing, public relations, pharmacology,
linguisitcis/languages or education wishing to teach English to
Japanese Adults for one or two years in Tokyo and other parts
of Japan should write to:
Personnel Director
International Education Services
Shin Taiao Bld3.
10-7, Dogenzaka 2-chome, ahibiiya-ka
Tokyo, Japan 150
Further information on the position, qualifications, salary,
benefits, transportation, and housing can be obtained by
airmailing a detailed resume to I.E.S..
Personal interviews will be held in San Francisco and Los
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CLASSIFIED
Gay/Leabiaa Support Groap
A gay & lesbian support group meets every
Toes. N>gr.t at 7PM al Wesley Methodbt
Church, 1343 E Bant«. between Cedar &
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