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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2018
Camp puts girls on STEM trajectory
An emphasis on
science, math
and technology
By HANNAH SIEVERT
The Daily Astorian
TILLAMOOK — Eighth
grade may seem too young to
design and create an app, but by
the end of the week, the 13- and
14-year-old girls at Tech Trek
will have made up to 10.
One app displays an inter-
active magic eight ball, another
an interactive cowbell. One app
allows users to draw on a screen
and switch between different
colors.
And lessons in computer
hacking, coding, structural engi-
neering and robotics? The 31
campers in Tillamook are up for
the challenge.
This week, the Ameri-
can Association of Univer-
sity Women sponsored its fifth
year of Tech Trek at Tillamook
Bay Community College. The
weeklong summer camp for
girls going into eighth grade is
designed to inspire them to pur-
sue science, technology, engi-
neering and math.
The association began Tech
Trek camps in 1998 and now
operates 22 camps around the
country. The camp was cre-
ated to combat the statistically
low levels of women entering
STEM professions compared to
men.
Campers spend the week
going to daily app-building and
cybersecurity classes, and take
part in engineering, marine biol-
The camp was created to combat the statistically low levels of women entering STEM
professions compared to men.
Photos by Hannah Sievert/The Daily Astorian
A summer camp for teenage girls headed into the eighth
grade stresses science and math.
ogy and robotics workshops
taught by women.
“It’s so valuable for girls to
explore these fields and for us
to empower them,” Nadja Pau-
lissen, a Neah-Kah-Nie High
School biology teacher and a
cybersecurity instructor at the
camp, said. “I feel like the atti-
tude that some of these fields
are just for men is still really
prevalent.”
All of the girls who attended
this year’s camp are from the
Oregon Coast, including Asto-
ria, Warrenton, Seaside, Tilla-
mook and Newport. To partici-
pate in the camp, the girls must
be nominated by their middle
school teachers and show an
interest in science and math.
A study published by the
American Association of Uni-
versity Women in 2015 found
that girls start to lose interest
in STEM classes and careers
around middle-school age,
which is why the Tech Trek
camp focuses on eighth-grade
girls.
“This is the age they start
to lose confidence and start
to think, ‘Is this a good fit for
me?’” Emily Henry, the co-di-
rector of Tech Trek at the col-
lege, said. “We’re trying to build
up that confidence and help
them realize that they are actu-
ally really good at it and can
continue on in it.”
Darby Doyle, who is from
Astoria, said the camp has given
her opportunities she wouldn’t
be able to experience otherwise,
like learning how to code and
dissecting a squid. Both of Dar-
by’s older sisters attended Tech
Trek before her.
“I really like the opportunity
… to see the different STEM
field careers that are an option
and learn more about what I can
do,” she said.
Up until last year, Tilla-
mook Bay was the only com-
munity college that held a Tech
Trek camp, according to Kathy
Gervasi, the camp’s student and
family coordinator and a mem-
ber of the association. Other
Tech Trek camps take place in
larger colleges and universities.
Gervasi, a retired elementary
school principal, hopes the camp
is able to show girls the job pos-
sibilities that aren’t always obvi-
ous in small, rural communities.
“We’re in such a small com-
munity,” Gervasi said. “We’re
looking at these other camps
that are at universities, that are
big time. We’re very unique in
that we’re small but we’re mak-
ing a difference.”
SUB-BIDS
REQUESTED
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Seaside, Oregon
Bid Package: #2
Supporters of weapons ban throw in the towel
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — Support-
ers of an initiative petition to
ban certain firearms in Ore-
gon say they’ll withdraw the
initiative, but maintain efforts
to restrict firearm possession
in the state.
Initiative Petition 43, an
effort to ban certain types of
semi-automatic firearms and
magazines holding more than
10 rounds, was proposed by
a coalition of faith leaders
in the wake of the shooting
that killed 17 people at Mar-
jory Stoneman Douglas High
School in Parkland, Florida,
in February.
Supporters were enthusi-
astic, but encountered legal
opposition to their efforts
when gun rights advocates
filed challenges at the Ore-
gon Supreme Court against
the language used to describe
the measure.
Opponents said the petition
language didn’t adequately
describe the types of firearms
banned by the measure or the
extent of its proposed regis-
tration requirements.
The measure would have
required people who already
own the firearms specified
to register them with state
police if they wished to keep
them legally. Going forward,
Oregonians wouldn’t be able
to buy those guns, and could
only legally obtain them by
Paris Achen/Capital Bureau
Rabbi Michael Cahana speaks in front of a group of other
supporters of gun control at Augustana Lutheran Church
in Portland on Thursday.
way of inheritance.
Supporters may propose
another petition, or multiple
petitions, in 2020, said chief
petitioner Rev. W.J. Mark
Knutson.
Knutson and other sup-
porters say they made prog-
ress in the months since the
initiative was first proposed.
“Every appeal process
was used against us, a lot of
money was used against us,”
Knutson said. “We have no
apologies for our process. We
heard the voices of the young
and we moved right in.”
Supporters were already
contending with a tight turn-
around time to get enough
LEWIS & CLARK
TIMBERLANDS
Recreational Access
Permit Public Notice
All recreational
activities on Lewis
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Oregon will require
a no fee recreational
permit effective
June 1, 2018
To acquire a permit (available 5/21/18): Go
online to greenwoodresources.com and click
on Recreation Access, or Scan the QR code
using your smartphone at one of our access
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Our goal is to provide a quality recreational
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with our timberland visitors.
signatures by July 6 to make
it to the November ballot.
They needed 88,184.
That timeline became
more daunting after multiple
legal challenges were filed to
the ballot title language, and
on Wednesday, when the Ore-
gon Supreme Court said that
the ballot title needed signif-
icant changes before the peti-
tion could be circulated.
At best, that gave petition-
ers one day to gather the sig-
natures they needed to qualify
for the ballot, since the attor-
ney general needed time to
change the ballot title and for
a public comment period.
Supporters of another
gun control initiative peti-
tion, IP 44, which would have
imposed new storage require-
ments on gun owners, with-
drew the petition last week
due to time constraints and
said they’d lobby for those
changes in the 2019 session
and try to get on the ballot in
2020.
Secretary of State Den-
nis Richardson advocated
for changes that would allow
supporters of a petition to
gather signatures after a bal-
lot title has been approved
for a petition, but before any
legal challenges have been
resolved.
He took the opportunity
Thursday to tout his efforts
to reduce barriers to petition
circulation.
“Whether I agree or not
with a particular cause, I
strongly believe Oregonians
should have the right to peti-
tion their government with-
out the deck stacked against
them,” Richardson said in a
statement. “I urge the Legis-
lature to adopt the grassroots
petition protections that I
have consistently advocated.”
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
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Astoria and Seaside will be
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Capture the jolly tumble
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
CITY MANAGER
The City of Manzanita is seeking a City Manager to plan and direct the activities of all City
departments. Duties include managing and coordinating projects and programs to accomplish
goals and objectives of the City Council, providing administrative direction to all City employees
directly or through department heads, and administering the City planning and zoning
program.
Requires combination of education and experience equivalent to bachelor’s degree in public
or business administration or planning and five years administrative/management experience.
Master’s degree in public administration is preferred.
Hiring range: $74,580 to $78,312 DOQ plus excellent benefits. Send cover letter, responses
to supplemental questions, resume and completed City application form to: City Manager
Recruitment, City of Manzanita, 543 Laneda Avenue, P.O. Box 129, Manzanita, OR 97130. The
application packet is available on the City’s website https://ci.manzanita.or.us.
Closing date: 5: 00 p.m., Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities encouraged to apply.