{"id":145774,"date":"2022-04-14T14:36:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T18:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=145774"},"modified":"2022-04-18T13:44:11","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T17:44:11","slug":"slideshow-hour-by-hour-with-bates-students-at-2022-mount-david-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/slideshow-hour-by-hour-with-bates-students-at-2022-mount-david-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Slideshow: Hour by hour with Bates students at 2022 Mount David Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s all about the snippets, really: brief snatches of conversation between Bates students and their audiences \u2014 professors, staff, friends, parents, relatives and other loved ones \u2014 about new ideas and new knowledge created in their academic work at Bates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snippets: “We need to tell more people’s stories when we tell history….,” and then “…and I use Ayn Rand as my control video.” A few minutes later, we hear, “…we reject hypothesis No. 1….” followed by “….mentors and role models were a big theme in my findings.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words and ideas, conversation and community: Welcome to the annual Mount David Summit, held in person in its traditional venue, Pettengill Hall, for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how it played out, hour by hour:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:31 p.m. Amore ac Studio<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Guests stream into Pettengill Hall beneath the college’s motto, Amore ac Studio<\/em>, which is invoked in the college’s mission statement: “With ardor and devotion \u2014 Amore ac Studio<\/em> \u2014 we engage the transformative power of our differences.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:34 p.m. Skin deep<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Anna Gouveia ’22 of Jenkintown, Pa., talks with her mentor and senior thesis adviser, Colleen O’Loughlin, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gouveia, who is also a studio art major, looked at the effect of what we do to our skin by applying up to 170 chemicals every days through the use of cosmetics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chemical exposure forces the human skin into defensive posture, “to adapt to the stress.” And that affects the ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis<\/em>, a commensal bacteria important in immune system signaling, to do its job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:39 p.m. Hi Mom!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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In response to introductory words delivered from a Perry Atrium balcony inviting students to thank those who have supported them, Amanda Kaufman ’22 hugs her mother, Valerie Kaufman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My mom actually surprised me by coming to the summit \u2014 she thought work would stop her.” But no way. “She brought her work laptop and did work in the car with a hotspot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Kaufman looked at the photograph, she described feeling “just extra thankful that both my parents were there. They’ve always supported me so much and not being able to come to my events (especially track meets) because of COVID was definitely a big bummer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:41 p.m. Welcome!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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President Clayton Spencer welcomes the Bates community to the Mount David Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:51 p.m. Positive response<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Kaufman talks about her project, which looks at the positive impact of sports in the lives of women and girls in Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Female mentors and role models was a big theme of my findings, whether idolizing the Olympics gymnastics team or having a really influential coach,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:27 p.m. Awe shucks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Two photos on a poster caught our attention as we navigated the sea of posters. One was a black and white image of philosopher and writer Ayn Rand. Alongside it was a dazzlingly colorful image of the northern lights in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The juxtaposition was intentional and reflected psychology research by Alix Zabin \u201922 of Milford, Conn., on that feeling of \u201cwonder and amazement\u201d known as awe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her project, she recruited over 222 study participants and asked half to watch an awe-inspiring video of expansive nature scenes, including the northern lights, as presented in the BBC TV show Planet Earth<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The other half \u2014 and this is where Ayn Rand comes in \u2014 were assigned to the control group. They watched a far less awesome video, of Mike Wallace interviewing Rand in 1959. While the interview has interesting moments, its overall effect is indeed aweless: a black backdrop, Wallace chain smoking, and Rand\u2019s relentlessly flat-toned Russian-inflected voice defending her ideas about objectivism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Zabin says, the two videos \u2014 the clip from Planet Earth<\/em> vs. Ayn Rand \u2014 have been \u201cpitted against one another\u201d by other researchers who measure feelings of awe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zabin\u2019s study looked specifically at whether our socioeconomic status can affect our experience of awe. (Socioeconomic status was measured through anonymous, self-reported information.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What she found was that, regardless of socioeconomic status, participants reacted about the same to the Rand interview: no significant feelings of awe. No surprise there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But participants who watched Planet Earth<\/em> video report different levels of awe depending on their socioeconomic status. Those with a lower status reported greater feelings of awe compared to the control group who whatched the Rand interview. However, participants with a higher status did not<\/em> show an increase in feelings of awe compared to the control group who watched the Rand interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just why upper-status and lower-status viewers might react differently to an awe-inspiring video is not yet known. Could it be, as someone said to Zabin, that wealthier folks have the resources to have more awe-inspiring experiences, which have blunted their appreciation for a simple video? As they say, the answer might be a topic for future research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:53 p.m. Roads more traveled<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity to tell an untold story inspired a distinctive \u2014 and colorful \u2014 senior thesis in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking as part of a panel discussion in a Pettengill Hall classroom, Maya Benziger, a triple major in music, history, and politics from Aurora, Ill., ticked off three reasons for wanting to create a graphic novel, illustrated with her own watercolors, as part of her thesis work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, she wanted to create something that would be accessible beyond the academic community, \u201csomething I could bring to my local elementary school,\u201d for example. Second, she wanted to present a slice of history by highlighting material culture, a physical thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A page from the graphic novel that Maya Benziger ’22 created as part of her senior thesis in history. (Courtesy of Maya Benziger)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Finally, she says, \u201cI wanted to tell a story<\/em> \u2014 something human and relatable and connectable,\u201d especially a story that might illuminate the experiences of women, since \u201chistories of women are often rather invisible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a 24-page graphic novel featuring Benziger\u2019s watercolor illustrations that tells a story of a single Sassanid-made glass bowl as it travels across Eurasia along the Silk Roads \u2014 yes, plural \u2014 which she describes as the \u201cmovement of people, goods, and ideas\u201d \u2014 including religion, trade, and warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benziger\u2019s thesis also includes a companion text, an academic presentation of her historical arguments about the Silk Roads, including how interpretations of the trading networks were initially framed through a Western lens, and how historians need to untangle what that means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians have presented the concept in the singular, as a single connector between the Western world and the Middle East and Asia. Benziger and others now disagree: \u201cThe Silk Roads weren’t a connection, but instead the lifeblood of Eurasia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benziger estimates that her thesis represents over 500 hours of work. Like other seniors who\u2019ve dug deeply into their topic, Benziger realizes much more digging could be done. \u201cI\u2019ve only scratched the surface.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another of her takeaways is her \u201cmassive, newfound appreciation for the work of both historians and artists.\u201d And a third takeaway: \u201cIt was fascinating!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:55 p.m. Recovery friendly<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Gilley Davis-Oakes ’22 of Vinalhaven, Maine, talks to Bruce Hall of the college’s Information and Library Services staff about her project, looking at a Recovery Friendly Workplace initiative that originated in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of RFWs is to “support their communities by recognizing recovery from substance-use disorder as a strength and working directly with people in recovery.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RFWs encourage a healthy and safe environment where employers, employees, and communities can collaborate to create positive change and eliminate barriers for those impacted. Davis-Oakes conducted surveys that sought to measure opinions about creating a potential RFW in Androscoggin County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:59 p.m. Face-to-face<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Jamari Amrham ’22 of Winchester, Calif., presented psychology research on the notion of dehumanization, where social biases, including racism, interfere with human’s holistic ability to easily recognize human faces from non-faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 p.m. Take a stance<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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For audience members at Mount David Summit, job No. 1 is to listen, as Associate Professor of Physics Jeffrey Oishi vividly demonstrates in posture and gaze during the poster presentations in Perry Atrium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:02 p.m. Atomical frustration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Owen Bailey ’22 of Concord, Mass., presents his chemistry research on “Compositional Control of Local and Long-Range Polarity in the Frustrated Pyrochlore System Bi2-xRExTi2O7 (RE = Y, Ho).”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did the word “frustrated” catch your eye in Bailey’s title? It did ours. “Frustrated” or “frustration” describes the atoms in relation to their neighbor, which becomes “frustrated” when they cannot move in simultaneous directions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:12 p.m. See and be seen<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In the hallways of Pettengill’s first floor and second floor, community members could take a look at images from the annual Barlow Off-Campus Study Photo Exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside various classrooms, panel discussions took on an array of topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In a ground-floor classroom we found Eben Cook \u201922 of Wallingford, Conn. He’s been a fan of rap since middle school. He loves the storytelling nature of the genre and he appreciates the diverse perspectives in the rap scene. Unfortunately, rap has a bad reputation, which is rooted in racism, he explained during a sociology panel discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRap was born in the 1970s in the Bronx. Black and brown communities would throw block parties and they would symbolize resistance to oppressive government forces,\u201d says Cook. The genre quickly became popular, and attracted other listeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along came the formation of stereotypes, generalizations, and misconceptions, like the idea that rap music perpetuates and incites violence among its listeners, and that rap music encourages and leads to misogynistic behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough there are violent and misogynistic themes that occur in rap music,\u201d says Cook, \u201cit makes incredible generalizations that are not made about other genres that are historically viewed as white, such as country and folk music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those stereotypes bleed into other areas, like policing, and create a cycle of punishment, says Cook, but his sociology thesis proposes that listening to rap intentionally in class can help students combat those biases, and affirm their own identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:23 p.m. Kinder thoughts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Su Langdon is nodding along enthusiastically as Lily Kinder ’22, a neuroscience major from Pike, N.H., explains her poster subject, \u201cPerseverative Thinking in Relation to Guilt, Motivation and Subclinical OCD.\u201d Kinder is enrolled in Langdon\u2019s sports and psychology course, although her research stems from the fall semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the summit is filled with other students of Langdon\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got my seminar students over there and then two are about to speak and then six are coming to posters,\u201d Langdon tells Kinder, referring to the poster sessions throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Su Langdon takes a look a poster by Christopher Draper ’22 (center) of New Salem, N.Y., as his mother, Susan Draper, looks on. His poster was titled, “Moral Reasoning Style in Subclinical PTSD.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kinder surveyed 32 student athletes about their relationship to their sport. The ones who reported higher levels of \u201cperseverative\u201d thinking (repetitive and negative thoughts often associated with obsessive compulsive behaviors) reported strong fear of guilt \u2014 the dread that one\u2019s behavior may become misaligned with one\u2019s ethics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, those with lower levels of perseverative thinking showed increased motivation to engage in athletics, a feeling of competence through sport and a greater ability to socialize with others. The core of Kinder\u2019s findings are that less perseverative thinking may allow athletes more cognitive resources in order to extract greater value from athletic participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Langdon gives Kinder\u2019s work a big thumbs up. \u201cVery cool! Congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you so much,\u201d Kinder says. \u201cActually the last time I came to Mount David I was a prospective student. So it\u2019s kind of full circle.\u201d And that last time? It was \u201cdaunting\u201d to see all the high level work being shared. Now it\u2019s her turn to present challenging work that probes the complexities of the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been telling all of the juniors, just go<\/em>,\u201d Langdon tells her. \u201cIt\u2019s just so helpful to see it, even if you\u2019re not sure what the words mean.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor sure,\u201d Kinder says, laughing with her. \u201cI\u2019m thankful I came at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:31 p.m. Timing their way<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Bates parents Jim and Wendy Paul check the summit schedule. Their daughter Syd Paul ’22 of Wellesley Hills, Mass., was part of an economics panel on carbon pricing, “Fat Tails and Tipping Points.” Fat tails is a statistical term referring to probability distributions with relatively high probability of extreme outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:35 p.m. Making memories<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow would you define memory?\u201d asks Andrew Hall \u201922, a neuroscience major from Little Silver, N.J. He\u2019s one of the team of students who continue to explore the possibilities for Bobcat 339, the molecule invented in 2017 by Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andrew Kennedy and his student researchers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trick question?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Andrew Hall ’22, a neuroscience major from Little Silver, N.J., poses in front of his poster for a photograph. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to answer,\u201d Hall says, sensing he\u2019s got a Bobcat339 rookie in front of him. \u201cJust think about it for a minute.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Got it. His listener does remember that the Bobcat339 molecule has the potential to govern the function of genes, including those related to memory loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we experience things and form a memory,\u201d Hall says, patiently trying to make the science make sense. \u201cIt is actually placed onto our DNA. Encoded onto our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there Hall goes into a deeper explanation of the work he did in Kennedy\u2019s lab, trying to inhibit memories from being made in some mice to see whether Bobcat339 could counteract that inhibitor. The hope is that ultimately, Bobcat 339 might become a pharmaceutical tool to help people with memory impairments, like Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome, a severe genetic condition whose effects include impaired memory function, by interfering with the workings of a certain gene, TCF4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results, Hall says, were \u201ca little mysterious, but still promising:\u201d Bobcat 339 helped over a seven-day test period, but not immediately. That promise \u2014 though not what he or his professor expected \u2014 and the lingering questions represent the nature of research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:42 p.m. Hug and Hello<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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George Hawkins ’22 of Jacksonville, Fla., gets a hug from Tammy Martin, the aunt of Ari Dahlia ’22 of Brick, N.J.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:52 p.m. Seeking help<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly it really exceeded my expectations for how many responses I got,\u201d says Ben Conner \u201922 of Huntington, N.Y., gesturing toward the numbers on his poster, \u201cThe Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Need for Help-Seeking Among BIPOC Students.\u201d He surveyed 297 self-identifying BIPOC participants who were at least 18 and attending either college or university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With under eight minutes to go on the day\u2019s first poster session, the psychology major is explaining the happy discovery that made the data of his senior project so much richer. Working with Jennifer LaCosse, visiting assistant professor of psychology, he started with a vision of getting maybe 50 to 60 of his fellow Batesies to respond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a funding award enabled him to go beyond the campus population, via the survey site Prolific, landing 297 participants. Even with the flake rate \u2014 there was a question buried in the survey questions designed to flag those who weren\u2019t actually paying attention\u2014 he got more responses than expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conner’s respondents who demonstrated a strong level of race identification scored higher on having negative experiences because of COVID. \u201cBut then we found that they scored lower on actually using mental health services.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Those answers backed up his theories. He started with a hunch based on personal experience. As a BIPOC student himself who avails himself of Counseling and Psychological Services at Bates, his belief was that BIPOC students needed counseling services more than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see these greater levels of stress because of the pandemic,\u201d Conner says. \u201cAnd you know, BIPOC-identifying individuals are disproportionately affected, which makes them more vulnerable to health concerns, which would presumably lead to more help seeking.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore the racial tensions that have been such a negative force in the last two years also created more mistrust, which lead to more of the kind of feelings that a mental health professional can help with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conner explains that his respondents who demonstrated a strong level of race identification scored higher on having negative experiences because of COVID. \u201cBut then we found that they scored lower on actually using mental health services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The barriers that keep them away, he says, include stigmas about using mental health services. But another factor is not having access to mental health professionals who look like them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI attend CAPS and my therapist is white,\u201d Conner says. He was born in Korea and adopted by an American family. \u201cI love her, like, she’s amazing. But if you look at the CAPS counselors at Bates, there’s one who identifies as a person of color. So then, you kind of see all of the students of color flooding towards her, which just isn’t gonna work, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing that problem would be a good project for future research, but as the clock ticks toward 3 p.m., Conner is wrapping up his Mount David Summit feeling that his poster project is a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3:13 p.m. Closing the gap<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

How can you make eighth-grade students more interested in a math class? Tess Hick \u201922 of Minneapolis figured it out: superpowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her senior thesis in mathematics, Hick worked with a teacher at Lewiston Middle School to co-create and co-teach a math class \u2014 but not only about math: She was also teaching them about voting systems, and instead of polling them on say, presidential candidates, she used superpowers as a hands-on example. Which superpower is the best? The winner was invisibility, but by a close vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, takes a photograph of the center’s Community Engaged Research Fellows, all seniors, who presented at the Summit. From left, Hart Rorick of Charlotte, N.C., Tess Hick of Minneapolis, Mary Corcoran of Brookline Mass., Paige Sonoda of Rockville, Md., and Lauren Berude of Auburn, Maine (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hick is a Community-Engaged Research Fellow, a program of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. As a fellow, Hick chose to address the racial mathematics gap that is leaving Black students behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what we call an opportunity gap, not an achievement gap,\u201d says Hick. \u201cAn achievement gap would mean that it’s the students themselves that are at fault, that they’re not working hard enough to get these scores. An opportunity gap locates the failure where it is, which is in the system to teach these students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By using math to examine voting history and current issues, Hick hopes students can take a step toward activism and advocacy, along with learning addition and subtraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome students were confused as to why there was suddenly so much social studies in math class, but we really did get to have some good conversations about that, about how no issue in the real world is confined to one school subject,\u201d says Hick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the class had another benefit: While learning about voting, LMS students decided they wanted future student council elections to be a ranked choice vote, rather than a plurality. The LMS administration accepted their proposal, and next year\u2019s elections will be held with the system that rolled out for state and federal elections in Maine beginning in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3:51 p.m. Virus alert<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Osceola Heard ’22 of Newark, N.J., explains his biology research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked at an infamous virus, the rotavirus, which infects the small intestine in big ways. It’s a powerful and highly contagious virus, he explains, that employs \u201ca sophisticated replication strategy that also causes life-threatening vomiting and diarrhea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heard’s research is part of ongoing work in the lab of Assistant Professor of Biology Lori Banks to develop new antiviral agents. His project aims to understand key structural regions of a protein known as Nonstructural Protein 4, or NSP4, that is involved in rotavirus replication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3:52 p.m. High and low<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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It’s congratulations time for senior biology majors Elene Chamberlin of Brookline, Mass., and Henry Hardy of Gloucester, Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They both worked on a Maine coastal study to collect data on intertidal species diversity according to specific protocols established by the Northeastern Coastal Stations Alliance. The goal is to understand if species diversity and community composition vary by horizontal or vertical location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horizontal and vertical refers to different ways of looking at species in certain zones and areas, such as “asking if species diversity vary at high tide, mid tide, and low tide,” said Chamberlin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:11 p.m. Happy returns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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After a canceled 2020 summit, and virtual edition in 2021, being back in person was a hit for Bates parents who’ve had limited opportunities over the last two years to seek their students do their thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:20 p.m. Eye to eye<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Taking a break on the ground floor Thomas Moser seating are Halsey Platt ’88 and Juliet Sutherland Platt, parents of Alex Platt ’22 of Groton Mass., and Gordon Platt ’19, who take a look at the summit schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their son Alex took part in a religious studies panel discussion. “Religious Studies at the Cutting Edge: Life and Death, Love and War, Local and Global.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:38 p.m. Time for “The Talk”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Susanne McGrady \u201922 of Madison, Conn., wants to make it easier for parents to talk about sex \u2014 with their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it comes to society, we have this overarching stigma against talking about sex, which is this overall rejection of sexuality,\u201d McGrady says. The result goes beyond discomfort: sexuality as a taboo subject that \u201ccan lead to discrimination\u201d based on sexuality. \u201cWe have to combat that at the interpersonal level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In preparing her psychology thesis, McGrady worked with Jennifer Wiessner, a local clinical social worker and sex therapist. She watched workshops Wiessner held for parents and helped her prepare research and materials for Maine Family Planning’s Annual Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference, held earlier in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a lot of fun to feel like the work I was doing meant something to someone beyond handing in a paper and getting a grade,\u201d says McGrady. \u201cI like knowing that my work will impact the way parents talk to their kids about sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:41 p.m. Sports, women, and media<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Sean Vaz ’22 (right) of New York City explains her psychology thesis to Rishi Madnani ’23 (center) of Langhorne, Pa., and Risa Horiuchi ’25 of Oakland Gardens, N.Y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaz looked at the media\u2019s coverage of Black female athletes, and how that coverage is consumed by the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She notes that not only do women’s sports receive far less media coverage than men’s sports, but “the type of coverage female athletes receive differs based on their race.” In the sports media, “Black women are often portrayed using sexist and racist language in comparison to white women.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaz’s research examines the individuals exposed to sports news \u2014 anyone who consumes sports stories, from fans to casual observers \u2014 “to understand their attitudes towards Black female athletes,” said Vaz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And additional goal is to understand “how an individual\u2019s race and how much they identify with their racial group influences their attitudes towards Black female athletes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:54 p.m. \u2014 Purrfect partnership<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s better than a good book and a fluffy cat? A book, cat, and a library, says Julia Feist \u201922 of Burlington, Mass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feist\u2019s psychology thesis delves into the success of a cat fostering program co-created by the Auburn Public Library and the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the library reopened in 2020 after a COVID-19 shutdown, adoptable cats have lived at the library, available for patrons and employees to visit, as an effort to raise awareness about the GAHS foster and adoption program, while giving everyone a pandemic-era mood boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like a cat cafe, but you don\u2019t have to bring your own book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No surprise to Feist, the respondents to her surveys hailed the program as a success \u2014 especially library staff, who were definitely craving some in-person (and in-feline) interaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI heard from a lot of people that it changed their routine a little bit,\u201d she says. \u201cThey would go interact with the cats in the morning, decompress, and then open their department.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having the cats around isn\u2019t only about getting the chance to cuddle a kitty; it creates conversations and camaraderie among staff. The cats benefit, too \u2014 getting a better chance to find forever homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5:04 p.m. Body of work<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two posters at Mount David Summit looked at the effect of social media on body image. Seen here is Ari Dalia ’22 of Brick, N.J., who took a pandemic perspective, looking specifically at the effects of social media on young adults’ perception of body image during COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second poster looked at the concept of gratitude and body image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s said that gratitude weaves its way through most world religions. There\u2019s science about gratitude, too, which \u201cis pretty resolute,\u201d noted an Atlantic<\/em> story a few years ago. \u201cFeeling thankful is good for you.\u201d Tara Rodic ’22 of Belgrade, Serbia, took that idea and ran with it at the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her poster, reflecting her senior thesis in psychology, looked at whether being intentionally grateful for our bodies and what they can do \u2014 Fight illness! Bike! Sing!  \u2014 might help reduce the well-known negative effects on body image from viewing so-called ideal bodies on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her study involved female-identifying college students, some being asked to complete a body-focused \u201cgratitude intervention\u201d in which they were asked what about their bodies they were grateful for, whether having lungs to breathe or eyes that they really liked. Then they were asked to view and respond to images of thin, \u201cideal\u201d body types gleaned from social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodic found that participants who engaged in gratitude intervention had almost a visceral reaction to the social media body images. \u201cThey were really annoyed,\u201d she says, \u201cannoyed by how superficial the social media images were after feeling so grateful for their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5:28 p.m. Not your typical serial killer<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to find biological and social explanations,\u201d explains Amelia Waite ’22 of Falmouth, Maine. Waite\u2019s psychology thesis compares case studies on serial killers to find shared characteristics. She hopes to identify ways to prevent violent crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though there\u2019s no such thing as a \u201ctypical\u201d serial killer, says Waite, there are some common factors that could prompt more research, like the development of the prefrontal cortex, but \u201cit’s difficult to just say, \u2018<\/strong>this is what creates a serial killer,\u2019\u201d says Waite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Documentaries, films, books, and podcasts about serial killers are a pop-culture phenomenon, but delving into the biological and psychological motivations behind violent crime is still a relatively recent area of study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI propose that in prison systems and in the criminal justice system that violent offenders are subjected to neurological and psychological assessment, to broaden the information that we already have, to be able to come up with beneficial intervention practices,\u201d says Waite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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