Limited involvement may force the Women’s Outdoor Program to cancel its spring break backpacking trip.
“We’ve posted flyers across campus, sent out emails and have a Facebook page,” TJ Beezley, coordinator for the Women’s Outdoor Program said. “We’ve really been trying to promote the trip. We’ve got a lot of people from Facebook saying ‘I want to’ but there’s that commitment issue or something getting in the way that’s not letting them.”
Beezley said it’s a five-day trip hiking along the Washington coast in the Olympic National Park from March 11 to 16.
“We would be hiking the whole week, around 20 miles,” Beezley said. “It’s just a really beautiful part of the park, a beautiful part of the country.”
The trip costs $180, which includes transportation and fees, but no one is signed up so it may be cancelled.
Beezley said four or five participants need to sign up by Wednesday afternoon, as the pre-trip meeting is at 5 p.m.
“If no one signs up we will have to cancel which is a bummer because it’s a great opportunity for women to get into the field,” Beezley said.
Although this is one of the program’s larger events, it is not the first time a lack of participation has hindered activities.
“I think people just don’t know about it,” Lysa Salsbury, program coordinator for the Women’s Center said. “So our goal is to get people aware of it.”
Salsbury said the program had more involvement in the past, but a few years without a student coordinator left the program out of the spotlight.
“I am just really anxious for the women’s program to get publicity,” Salsbury said. “It’s been proven that women who want to pursue challenging outdoor activities do better in a same-sex environment.”
Salsbury said she knows several people who would be interested in being involved in outdoor activities but are self-conscious, or fear being outperformed in a mixed gender group.
“I would really encourage anyone who has an interest in outdoor activities to get in contact with TJ and get involved,” Salsbury said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for those who already are involved with outdoor activities and those who haven’t had the opportunity.”
Beezley said even if this event is cancelled, the program has a few others coming up, including a weekend trip backpacking through Hells Canyon and a white water kayaking clinic.
Anyone with questions about the spring break trip is encouraged to contact Beezley at [email protected] or sign up at the Outdoor Program Office in the Student Recreation Center.
“It’s a great way to get outside and backpack in a beautiful part of the country,” Beezley said. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to go. We should be pushing people away.”