The Columbia press., December 24, 2021, Page 4, Image 4

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The Columbia Press
December 24, 2021
Males falling behind in pursuit of college education
The Columbia Press
Males lag behind females in Ore-
gon college enrollment and comple-
tion rates, especially in rural areas.
The decline has come over the last
14 years, according to a joint study
of the Ford Family Foundation and
Education Northwest.
“While we recognize there are
many noncollege pathways to suc-
cessful lives, such as apprenticeships
and military service, this (study)
focuses on the college pathways of
Oregon’s rural male students after
high school to raise awareness of
declining college enrollment and
success,” the study’s authors wrote
in a brief of the study.
For those who graduated from
high school in 2019, 56 percent of
females enrolled in and attended
college that fall. Just 45 percent of
males did; and for rural males it
was 35 percent.
Fifty-four percent of females com-
pleted a college credential with a
certificate or degree within six years
of high school graduation; 44 per-
cent of males did and just 38 per-
cent of rural males did.
A nationwide study of rural ad-
olescents in 2018 found that rural
female students had higher levels
of academic achievement, educa-
tional aspirations, and parental
expectations compared to rural
male students, the authors wrote.
“Rural male students reported
higher levels of rural identity and
more positive perceptions of labor
market opportunities in rural ar-
eas compared to rural female stu-
dents.
Community colleges were the
first college of choice for rural stu-
dents of either sex at 58 percent
while four-year colleges attracted
20 percent.
Infill: Fixes put
into place ahead of
72-hour deadline
Continued from Page 1
The city sent its first notice
of the infill violation to New-
ton on Aug. 18. He ignored it,
as well as a second notice.
In November, the city’s
Planning Commission gave
him 60 days to fix the prob-
lem, but then heavy rains
created issues in the neigh-
borhood and the planning
director appealed to the City
Commission to impose an
earlier deadline.
Newton faced $500-per-
day fines had the problem not
been fixed by last Friday.
“I pushed all kinds of but-
tons to make things go,”
Newton said.
A crew from Big River Con-
struction, which placed the
infill on the property, came
out and installed 23 feet of
drainage pipe and dug out a
grassy area for more drain-
age, Newton said.
He’ll have to replace some
sod and lay concrete where
the sidewalk was cut, but oth-
erwise the immediate prob-
lem has been fixed, Hazelton
said.
Next Newton must submit a
full stormwater report to the
city by Jan. 4.