A10
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Connecting educational dots
OSU Open
Campus
brings growth
opportunities
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Educational opportunities
are returning to Grant County.
Oregon State Universi-
ty Extension Service agent
Shanna Northway and OSU
Open Campus Coordinator
Didgette McCracken recently
hammered out details to offer
more educational services at
their Grant County offi ce in
John Day.
Besides helping people
with online degrees through
the Open Campus, they also
help adults earn high school
diplomas and assist students
with class credit recovery and
alternative learning.
No matter a person’s lo-
cation, those
wanting
to
earn their high
school diplo-
ma can contact
the John Day
extension of-
Didgette
fi ce for assis-
McCracken tance.
“Every-
body has a different scenar-
io,” Northway said. “Maybe
they are 60 years old and want
to receive their diploma or a
kid that’s 18 who didn’t fi nish
school last year, who realizes
it was a mistake.”
With class credit recovery,
if a student has a full school
schedule but needs to make
up a math class in order to
advance to the next grade or
graduate, McCracken said
they can help the student af-
ter school, even after regular
business hours.
If a high school student is
interested in nursing or other
specifi c fi elds, they can ex-
plore adding a college-credit
Contributed photo
A group of Grant County 4-H youth decorate cookies
during a recent signup night for the program. The room
is available for educational and community meetings
through the OSU Extension office.
course to their schedule.
McCracken said they can
develop multiple options to
help students be successful.
Several years ago, some
of the rooms of the current
extension offi ce, located at
116 NW Bridge Street in John
Day, housed an alternative ed-
ucation center.
Northway, at that time,
was one of the teachers with
21 students, and 10 more on
a waiting list — but it closed
down seven years ago.
“When that went away
from our community, not
only did it leave a gap for
the high school students who
didn’t fit the system, it also
created this gap for people
wishing to complete their di-
ploma,” Northway said.
“We want to provide sup-
port to existing school pro-
grams and, for those who
need it, provide an alterna-
tive, if desired,” McCracken
added. “Together, we can
work out some options for
the student.”
The new extension office,
which opened Oct. 2, has
3,100 square feet of space,
including rooms to study,
use computers and take tests.
Video conferencing equip-
ment is also available in the
computer room. One room
is big enough to hold a class
and includes an attached
kitchen.
McCracken said the OSU
Open Campus in John Day
is one of the few in Eastern
Oregon. Crook County and
Umatilla County also have an
Open Campus.
She said she plans to of-
fer mentoring assistance, job
shadowing opportunities and
help with resumes.
She said her job is not only
about helping students receive
a diploma or complete a de-
gree, but how to connect them
to the workforce.
Northway said there is a
need to “rethink education.”
“I want people to think of
us as an education resource —
no matter how big or small,”
she said. “It doesn’t matter
what your education need is,
check in with us and see how
we can help.”
For more information, call
McCracken or Northway at
541-575-1911 or visit exten-
sion.oregonstate.edu/grant.
The offi ce hours are 7 a.m. to
4 p.m. or by appointment.
700-plus Oregonians choose
third gender on ID cards
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
More than 700 Oregonians
have selected a third gender
— neither male nor female —
on their state-issued identifi -
cation cards and driver licens-
es since the option became
available July 3.
The state transportation
commission approved the
change in June, making Or-
egon the fi rst state to allow
people to identify as “nonbi-
nary,” or Gender “X” on their
driver licenses and identifi ca-
tion cards.
Southeast Portland res-
VETERANS DAY
With respect, honor
and gratitude,
we THANK YOU.
Keith J. Thomas, MD, FACS Board-Certified General Surgeon
Blue Mountain Hospital Distrigt 541-575-1311
Know when to call it quits.
We can help.
Help is FREE ,
CONFIDENTIAL , and it
WORKS .
call 877-MY-LIMIT (24
hour help line ) OR
chat with us oline at
www.1877mylimit.org
ommunity
ounseling
olutions
528 E Main St. • John Day
541-575-1466
Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Serving Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant Counties
Portland Tribune/Jamie Valdez
Southwest Portland resident J Gibbons’ driver license
with “X” identifying the gender.
ident J Gibbons, 26, went
to the local DMV offi ce to
change the gender on their
license from female to nonbi-
nary, on the debut day of the
option, July 3.
“For Oregon to be the fi rst
and to fi nally have an identi-
ty document that refl ects all
aspects of my identity, I felt I
was fi nally being seen by the
state I live in, which is some-
thing that had never happened
before,” Gibbons said.
Having to carry the label of
female was a constant source
of pain and invalidation, Gib-
bons said. For instance, when
Gibbons went to the doctor’s
offi ce or went to buy some-
thing with a credit card, staff
would call Gibbons “ma’am,”
or make other assumptions
about Gibbons’ identity. Gib-
bons, who goes by the fi rst
name of “J” (no period), was
assigned the female gender at
birth but shops for clothes in
the men’s section and keeps
a short haircut. Coming out
to the world as neither male
or female involved counsel-
ing and doggedness, Gibbons
said.
“I’m not a man or a wom-
an; I’m somewhere in be-
tween,” Gibbons said. “To be
able to have the correct gen-
der marker was an incredible
source of validation.”
Last month, the California
Assembly followed Oregon’s
lead but enhanced the offer-
ings to include birth certifi -
cates and other offi cial state
documents.
As of the last count
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 720 Or-
egonians have selected the
Gender X designation, said
David House, a spokesman
for the Oregon Department
of Motor Vehicles. That’s
a fraction of a 1 percent of
about 3.2 million people with
some kind of Oregon-issued
driver license.
Transgender and intersex
Oregonians may self-certify
the gender designation with
“no questions asked,” the
same way applicants may
self-report height and weight,
House said.
The number of people
who have taken advantage
of the option is a “powerful
statement” and represents
a larger trend of people, in-
cluding celebrities, embrac-
ing nonbinary identities, Gib-
bons said.
Facebook has for several
years offered dozens of dif-
ferent gender identities. In
2015, the number was esti-
mated to stand at more than
70 different ones and was
customizable in certain coun-
tries, including the United
States. The dating app Tinder
offers a selection of nearly 40
gender identities.
“This world constantly
and subtly sends the message
that there are only two gen-
ders,” Gibbons said. “For Or-
egon to move to the forefront
(of that trend) was incredibly
powerful for me.”
To our veterans,
today, and every day, we are
grateful for your service.
Blue Mountain Chiropractic
155 NW 1st Ave | John Day
541-575-1063