two ponds, a Japanese garden, tennis courts, two public greens, a bandshell (outdoor stage) and miles of hiking trails. The name Lithia comes from natural mineral water found in the Ashland area. It has a strong mineral taste and slight effervescence, and the lithia water fountains found on the town plaza are frequently tasted by unsuspecting tourists (often at the behest of residents or frequent visitors who use the fountains as a cheap, humorous Ashland initiation rite). A hiking and biking path, the Bear Creek Greenway, begins in Ashland near the intersection of West Nevada Street with Helman Street, close to the confluence of Ashland Creek (which flows through Lithia Park). The path follows Bear Creek between Ashland and Central Point and passes through Talent, Phoenix, and Medford. Calle Guanajuato is a small park bordering Ashland Creek, with several restaurants offering outdoor dining. Education Southern Oregon University, a public co-ed four-year university founded in 1926, offers courses of study toward degrees in the liberal arts, science, business, and education. With an enrollment of about 4,400 undergraduates as of Fall 2020, this urban university also offers graduate-level programs on its campus. In 2020–21, about 59 percent of the university's students were women, and about 38 percent were men, while 3 percent were listed as other/unknown. The student–faculty ratio in 2020–21 was 19 to 1. Full-time undergraduate tuition in 2020–21 was about $11,000 per year for Oregon residents and $28,000 for non-residents. The Ashland School District oversees three elementary schools, one of which is a magnet school focused on science and the arts; one middle school; one high school; and a community learning center. Ashland High School was ranked 1,395th best among the nation's public high schools and 15th best in Oregon by U.S. News & World Report as of 2013. Media The Mail Tribune, a newspaper based in Medford that published print editions several days a week, served Ashland until it ceased operations on January 13, 2023. The newspaper also owned the Ashland Daily Tidings, which ran Monday through Saturday until 2019. A non-profit news organization, Ashland.news, was founded in 2022 by a former Daily Tidings editor. Fifteen radio stations operate in the region around Ashland, including Jefferson Public Radio and KSKQ, an independent non-profit broadcasting at 89.5 FM. A former student-run radio station with the call letters KSOC and the nickname "Radio Free Ashland" shut down in February 2013 after