Making memories and rocking out

Students of Portland State’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program are helping change young girls’ lives—by teaching them the art of rocking out.

The Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls, founded by PSU women’s studies alumna Misty McElroy in 2001, aims to teach girls lessons that reach far beyond music: namely, that they can do whatever they want to do in life.

Girls learn self-esteem while gathering the confidence to fully explore their range vocally or on the guitar, bass, drums or keyboard, said camp Executive Director Beth Wooten.

“My goal is that each camper will leave camp knowing what it feels like to be heard…and that music is a healthy outlet for whatever they’re going through,” Wooten said. “I love seeing statements on end-of-camp evaluations like ‘I learned how to be loud’ or ‘how to be heard.’”

Sally McWilliams, director of WGSS at PSU, said the university has had and continues to have long-standing ties to the program. When McElroy started the camp on campus as her senior thesis during her final year of school, she wanted to create a positive environment where girls can focus on more than just rock music.

“[The camp] is also a place where girls can play any type of music they want in a uniquely non-competitive environment,” Wooten said. “With a spotlight on women’s contributions to music, art and culture, girls get to experience just how accessible and empowering making music can be.”

The WGSS program’s partnership with the camp has earned the PSU Excellence in Community-University Partnerships Award for 2012, which was presented by PSU’s Center for Academic Excellence and the Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships.

In addition to learning an instrument and writing an original song with their band, participants make zines, screenprint a band shirt, learn self-defense and take a songwriting class.

In a workshop called Image and Identity, girls touch on themes of media literacy, stereotypes, discrimination and bullying, Wooten said. The process of writing a song in collaboration with others—often strangers—can be a creatively risky and challenging process, she explained.

“I think by the end of the week, the girls realize that they’re learning transferable skills,” Wooten said.

Since the first year of camp, the program has seen tremendous growth. In fall 2003, seven girls attended the Girls Rock Institute, an after-school program where they gained instruction with instruments and band formation. Now the program has grown to teach hundreds of girls in Portland and surrounding areas.

Each camp is operated by a group of volunteers, instructors, coaches, band managers, workshop leaders and support staff. After McElroy resigned in 2005, long-term volunteers and GRI instructors decided to keep the program going and, in 2006, partnered with the Nonprofit Association of Oregon.

The camp’s success has been documented through various forms of media, including Girls Rock! The Movie, directed by Arne Johnson and Shane King. The film follows four girls and their experiences during a 2008 camp session. The book Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls: How to Start a Band, Write Songs, Record an Album, and Rock Out! was published by Chronicle Books and edited by longtime camp staff member Marisa Anderson.

McWilliams said the WGSS department has created a community-based learning course in collaboration with the camp, where students work to understand how it uses feminist organization and management principles. Professor Sarah Dougher will be teaching the Women and Community Organizations: Theory and Practice course in the winter 2013 term. Women’s studies majors may also do a required internship at the camp. “This internship experience allows students to see how the camp works as a powerful and exciting place for girls and women who want to explore their creative rock selves,” McWilliams said.

Film studies senior Jeremy Kruse, who is planning to minor in women’s studies, got involved with the camp through Dougher’s course and usually volunteers there once a week. During the first week of camp, he was a member of the support crew for three days.

“They [the campers] seemed to come in with the idea that this was going to be a fun week with friends or an opportunity to meet like-minded people,” Kruse said. “But they also learn valuable lessons about the role girls can play in society versus the role society wants girls to play.”

The next camp showcases will be held July 28 and Aug. 11 at Bagdad Theatre at 6 p.m. At these showcases, up to 16 camp bands will perform the original song that they created in just one week. Wooten said it is a great introduction to those interested in the camp, which also offers a Ladies Rock Camp session in August for women over the age of 21.

For more information on Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls visit the camp’s website at girlsrockcamp.org.

Camp session slots are filled on a first come first serve basis. Sessions fill up quickly so it is recommended that those wishing to attend the summer 2013 session apply early.

Interested in volunteering or events? Contact the camp at [email protected] for more information. Students interested in an internship with the camp should contact WGSS Practicum Coordinator Vicki Reitenauer at [email protected].