May 9, 10, 11, 12 13 & 14th

Abstracts

African American Studies

Title: “The Civil Rights Cases of 1883: Deep Ripples in the American Political Sphere”Student Name: Corey Dixon-WeekesClass Standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Jessica Gordon NembhardDepartment: African American StudiesFormat: Research Paper

My submission is a critical examination of the decision and dissent of 109 U.S. 3, also known as The Civil Rights Cases of 1883, which rendered unconstitutional the first two sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. I consider as well the repercussions of the Supreme Court of the United State's ruling through the following 128 years. In my essay I examine both Bradley's opinion and Harlan's dissent using both as springboards for the construction of extended personal arguments in support of the opinion and the dissent. In proving the pervasiveness of this decision upon U.S. policy I continue with an examination of the continuing effect of 109 U.S. 3 in our history as a motivator of cases to come from Plessy v. Ferguson only thirteen years later to the surprisingly recent invocation of the decision in the 2000 case of United States v. Morrison which rendered an important section of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act unconstitutional.

In examining the distant and near examples of the dismissal of attempts to protect minority interests within our country I display the manner in which enforcement of the egalitarian spirit is consistently harried. The perhaps random and superficial application of the fight between state’s rights and federalism leaves those most in need of attention beyond the reach of both parties, state and nation, in limbo.

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Anthropology

Title: “Public Perception of the NYPD Stop and Frisk Program”Student name: Emily JosephClass standing: JuniorFaculty: Prof. R. Terry FurstDepartment: AnthropologyFormat: PowerPoint

The purpose of this research is to ascertain the public’s experience with the New York Police Department (NYPD) Stop and Frisk program and describe their views of the program. The data were gathered through student-conducted intercept interviews containing both open- and closed-ended questions in New York City’s five boroughs. To ensure research subjects were ethically protected, all student interviewers completed the on-line Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) respondent protection course offered by CUNY. Respondents were qualified as eligible to be interviewed only if they knew what the NYPD Stop & Frisk program is and could verify how they knew about the program. Survey questions included: Have you ever been stopped by the police? If yes, how many times have you been stopped? Do you think the Stop & Frisk program has reduced crime in your neighborhood? What crimes do you think it has reduced? Would you advocate stopping the program? Do you believe that police officers have quotas to fill in this program? Do you think some people in the neighborhood are more likely to be stopped than others? While the data are not representative of public opinion, the purposeful selection of interviewees provides new information about public perception of the NYPD Stop & Frisk policy and effectiveness. Ongoing analysis attempts to determine the views of those who have been stopped and their approval of the Stop & Frisk Program. In addition, analysis endeavors to shed light on the public’s belief on whether the NYPD has a quota system.

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Art

Title: What are you?Student name: Marisa SimonClass standing: BA/MAFaculty: Prof. Roberto VisaniDepartment: Art & MusicFormat: Original Artwork (Approximately 32”x 38” - Clay, Mirror, and Plywood)

Throughout my life I have been asked the question, “What are you?” Due to my racial background the answer is not readily apparent. But aren’t we more than the sum of our parents nationalities? Is that all that we are? This work is representative of my feelings about my heritage, and also my belief that we are each unique souls that are infinitely connected.

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Title: Castelo BrancoStudent name: Marisa SimonClass standing: BA/MAFaculty: Prof. Cyriaco Lopes

Department: Art & MusicFormat: Original Artwork (Approximately 20” x 20” – Framed Silver Gelatin Print)

Photographed while residing in the Azores; an island chain off the coast of Portugal, this piece shows my ambivalence about living in a foreign culture. The arched window is representative of the long cultural history the islanders I met were able to reflect upon. The graffiti shows the clash which modernity has brought upon a culture which has experienced more than 3 out of 4 of its youth emigrating to America or Europe at their first opportunity.

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Criminal Justice

Title: Student name: Stanislav SazonovClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice investigated the extent that street gang members have entered the U.S. armed forces. The research questions included: which gangs are present in the military, what bases have experienced the most incidents, and what is the military doing about this problem?

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Title: Student name: Sara SalzingerClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice is examining the growth and development of restorative justice programs. Through the use of a survey and phone interviews, the research questions that will be addressed include whether over the years the programs have broadened the kinds of cases that they handle by bringing victims and offenders together.

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Title: Student name: Iris HillClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice is analyzing how the introduction of “STARS” – a management approach similar to the NYPD’s “Compstat” transformed the operations of the New York City Department of Probation during the years that John Jay Prof. Martin Horn was the commissioner.

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Title: Student name: Dimas Cortez Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice examines the changes that have taken place in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx. Veteran police officers, long-time residents, long serving teachers, and local store owners were interviewed and asked to compare the “bad old days” of the late 1980s and early 1990s to the much safer current conditions in this gentrifying community, and they volunteered some surprising responses.

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Title: Student name: Hideki Aida Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice explores the attitudes held by NYPD officers about police auxiliaries, and the opinions of auxiliaries about the NYPD by analyzing the postings on a law enforcement oriented website. The sources of conflict and the grounds for cooperation are identified in this content analysis of comments uploaded by these two groups.

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Title: Student name: Vishal Mukherjee Class standing: BA/MAFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice examines last fall’s ballot initiative in California to legalize marihuana. The research questions include which groups voted for and against the proposition, and why.

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Title: Student name: Lisa Merling Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice compares the gang problem in the United States to the gang problem in Romania. It will focus on the “Roma” (“gypsies”) to see if negative stereotypes have any basis in fact.

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Title: Student name: Clemmy Eneas-Varence Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice will identify apparently successful treatment modalities for sex offenders in the United States. Then the researcher will ask knowledgeable criminal justice officials in the Bahamas about their opinions about whether these various alternative treatment approaches intended to address the problems of sex offenders should be implemented in that country.

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Title: Student name: Robert Thursland Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice carries out a cost-benefit analysis of the NYPD’s Police Cadet program. The research question will be determine if these college-educated officers who

entered the force in 1990 rose through the ranks to sergeant at a faster rate than their police academy peers who were not cadets

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Title: Bail in New York and PakistanStudent name: Sadaf DurraniClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice will examine a number of common and distinct features in the bail systems of the United States (and New York City in particular) and Pakistan. The comparative analysis of the two systems will provide an opportunity to discover not only the similarities and dissimilarities existing in the two systems, but will help to identify the best and the worst features of the two systems as well. Thus this study will result in some important policy recommendations for the revision and the improvement of the bail system in New York City as well as Pakistan.

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Title: Student name: Cem Sekerci Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice looks at the complex laws and international agreements that have been passed in the past few decades to thwart attempts to finance terrorist activities. In particular, the degree of compliance with these regulations by the governments of the United States and of Turkey are the focus of attention.

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Title: Student name: Allie Levy Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice will examine how victims are drawn into Ponzi schemes. In particular, it will focus on how the victim’s membership in a community is exploited by the white collar scammer.

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Title: Student name: Marisa Simon Class standing: BA/MAFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice will explore the possibility that first time non-violent offenders who are incarcerated may suffer experiences that bring about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Knowledgeable mental health professionals in the New York City jail system

will be interviewed to determine whether PTSD is a problem among the inmates in their institutions.

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Title: Student name: Iyeda Smith Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice will perform an analysis of the lives of ten leading African American men who have written books about their lives that detail their childhood hardships leading to their involvement in street crime, and the ways they were able to abandon those self-defeating behaviors in order to achieve success in their chosen fields. The research question is who or what changed the trajectory of these young men’s lives?

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Title: Student name: Marin Kurti Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice is entitled “Where There's Smoke, There's Fire: The Illegal Cigarette Market in the South Bronx.” The South Bronx is one of the poorest districts in the United States with 38% of persons living below the poverty level. It also has the highest rates of adult and youth smokers in New York City. Thus, this research uses litter pack data, the collection of discarded cigarette packs, conducted in representative census tracts, to estimate what proportion of cigarettes smoked in the South Bronx were illegally smuggled in and unlawfully sold in that neighborhood.

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Title: Student name: Lee Mather Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice attempts to answer the research question: how do teenagers obtain marihuana. Based on interviews with John Jay undergraduates who acknowledged smoking marihuana, the researcher will be able to estimate the proportion who obtain their supply from family and friends as opposed to “dealers” and other relative strangers.

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Title: Student name: Ian Stuart Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This masters thesis in criminal justice examines how misbehavior in school has been criminalized and now is handled as a police matter leading to arrest as well as suspension or expulsion. A public high school to prison pipeline has developed. Alternative ways to address misbehavior will be proposed.

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Title: Student name: Ami Oded Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Andrew KarmenDepartment: Sociology/Criminal JusticeFormat: Presentation

This completed masters thesis examined what people think about “community service.” Three groups were asked their opinions: petty offenders who were ordered to perform community service, probation officers who supervised them, and John Jay College grad students who studied criminal justice issues.

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Communication and Theatre Arts

Title: Improv 115Student Name: Kristin Antonelle, Ashley Ali, Annice Auriemma, Dorri Benjamin, Larry Campos, Greg Conlon, Joseph DeSantola, José Dominicci, Hipolito Duran, Jose Espinal, Kelley Gottschall, Melissa Harvin, Anthony Huayta, Donald Jacobs, Helen Lara, Taylor-Monique McKay, Martin Panek, Regina Sheeran, Anirica Taveras, Jonathan Torres, Kareema Watkins, Bradley WilliamsClass standing: Senior, Freshman, Sophomore, Senior, Freshman, Freshman, Freshman, Sophomore, Senior, Sophomore, Freshman, Senior, Sophomore, Freshman, Freshman, Freshman, Freshman, Senior, Freshman, Freshman, Freshman, FreshmanFaculty: Prof. Meghan DuffyDepartment: Communication & Theatre ArtsFormat: Creative Performance

This is an end of the semester performance for Professor Duffy’s Improv 115 class that shows off what we have learned about improvisation and theatre. Our goal in our performance is to show our fellow students and onlookers the importance of theatre, play, and performance play in the lives of the students. We aim to show that improvisation is fun and productive, and it allows

you to express yourself in a new and interesting way. We will be performing in the cafeteria using no more than the lights in the room, the stage, and our own wits, with no pre planned script or significant planning in our routines. The class is also made up of amateur actors who haven’t performed on the stage before, but have decided to throw away our “judging specters” in order to grow as individuals. We wish to show everyone the joy that we have obtained through improvisation to the John Jay community.

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Economics

Title: Sustainability Indicators for John JayStudent name: Liliya Kozak, Simone Smillie, Stefan WilliamsClass standing: Senior, Senior, JuniorFaculty: Prof. Joan HoffmanDepartment: EconomicsFormat: Posters (2)Sustainable development concerns every living organism on this planet. John Jay College has a sustainability committee to help the College reduce its carbon Footprint. Our team is focusing on developing two types of indicators to help inform, engage and guide the College community in this endeavor. Our draft indicators will be for a single year. Hopefully the College community will build on this work to track indicators over time.

Our first indicator measures John Jay’s performance on the nine CUNY- wide sustainability goals (energy, water, transportation, recycling, procurement, nutrition, curriculum, student and staff engagement and communication). We shall select three components for each of the nine sustainability goals, and identify a baseline and standard of goal attainment for each. Each of the initial nine indicators will be a bar showing the simple weighted average of the three components. We hope that work by the sustainability committee, and faculty and students in other classes will lead to the further development of this indicator.

Our second indicator would track and reveal the components of the College’s carbon footprint. This indicator would be a single bar graph of total emissions which identifies the different emission sources. (E.g.: energy use, waste generation, consumption of products). We are proposing that some of the measurements for this indicator would be done as projects by students on campus. One example would be exercises in math classes.

We hope that our contribution services as a building block for a healthier, greener, more sustainable campus.

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English

Title: “Here Comes the Blog”Student name: John SodaroClass standing: Junior

Faculty: Professor Alexa CapelotoDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

The Digital Journalism independent study class has made an old school newspaper reader into a believer in the blog. With this class I have been able widen my journalistic psyche and see that typing a URL to get specific information is more effective and faster than flipping through a newspaper. The most important part of this class is the way it has convinced me to always look to new and innovative ways to convey a message to an audience.

Digital Journalism has had the class create a blog site that we maintain through the semester with a journalistic approach to a specific idea. My idea came from life experience. In April, my wife and I are expecting are first baby and I created an expectant father blog to show our ups and downs while also providing information to other expectant fathers to lesson their anxiety. My skepticism about maintaining a blog like this was quickly subdued when I received overwhelmingly good feed back on the idea from an unexpected audience, 18-24 year old college men(most of which are not looking at fatherhood in the near future). With this “thumbs up”, I proceeded.

Working on the blog has been tremendous for me. I won my wife over with the idea because she was overwhelmed with my eagerness to participate in the nine month saga, and along the way have won over a rough crowd with my post, current and former United States Marines, who don’t like to show too much emotion. The greatest gift is that of learning about what my wife’s going through and also explaining my emotions as the journey has come along. The theme of the blog is great because after the birth of my son, I can change the material from “expectant dad” to plain “dad”.

Blog: Here Comes the Jet, at herecomesthejet.wordpress.com

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Title: “Mrs. Vegetarian Blogs”Student name: John SodaroClass standing: JuniorFaculty: Professor Alexa CapelotoDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

Blogging for English 393 has changed my perspective on digital media.  It has shown me that there is an array of social media outlets, and we can bridge a connection between these social outlets and our daily lives. It was through this understanding that I decided to create a blog that can meet the journalistic requirements of English 393 and apply it towards my personal experiences. 

Inspired by my husband’s activism and his ideologies, I decided to create a vegetarian blog.   My blog focuses on vegetarians in New York struggling to find suitable grocery products at affordable prices.  English 393 gave me the tools to create a blog with an easy to use interface, and I added the personality that allows my blog to live and breathe in the social media world.  At times it can be difficult to make my blog appealing, but everyday English 393 teaches me new and entertaining digital programs that keep my vegetarian audience interested.

Blog: Mrs. Vegetarian, at mrsvegetarian.wordpress.com

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Title: ManmathaStudent name: Josephine ChumpitazClass standing: SophomoreFaculty: Prof. Adam McKibleDepartment: EnglishFormat: Original Artwork

Manmatha is a portrayal of R.K Narayan’s beloved yet tortured character, Sita, of the shortened prose The Ramayana. The painting is acrylic on canvas, with a special homage to surrealistic technique. Sita is poised while engulfed in the undulating flames that will reveal to her rescuer and husband, Rama, that she will restore his untainted perception of her. Sita’s character is shaped during her experiences in exile with Rama, whose obligations are adherent to a policy of absolute justice and honor. Rama’s concept of justice will eventually undergo a major shift, as both his sense of leadership to the Ikshvahu race, his emotional pride, and Sita’s captivity are juxtaposed. Despite having been held captive by Rama’s persistent tormentor, Ravana, enduring the bellowing of Ravana’s army of Rakshasa’s, and bearing the humiliation of rejection by Rama, Sita continued to endure a life in trial. Her trial by fire exemplifies the manifestation of Manmatha, that is, the god of love. Through out the text Manmatha is scolded by Rama in his ashram (dwelling place) and by Sita as she suffered the pangs of love and longing. Manmatha’s very presence in the lives of Sita, Rama, and Ravana is essentially what stirred the captivity of Sita. The catalyst to Sita’s caitifdom is illustrated by Mareecha, the golden deer which Rama attempts to slay for Sita’s affection. Mareecha, wed to self preservation, is protected by a gas mask from the mushroom cloud that elevates from the crown of Sita’s calcined carcass.

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Title: Normality, Erotic Desires and Ethics in Katherine Dunn’s Geek LoveStudent name: Adriana BeachClass standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPointIn her unique novel Geek Love, Katherine Dunn creates a representation of a family in which children whose bodies are abnormal—deformed—live in a normal world. The fact that these characters’ abnormalities were intentionally created by the characters’ parents makes interesting not only their personal histories, but also their actions and emotions.

These characters are physically different than the outside world, but their emotions seem to be the same as those in humans whose bodies are conventional. Katherine Dunn places recognizable emotions and interactions (sibling rivalry, jealousy, parental love, children’s resentment, codependence) within the lives of these deformed characters. The similarities the characters share with the world from which they are supposed to be different make the reader question what normality is. Is the definition of normal static or volatile, and who has the power to make this

distinction? This paper will argue that the questions elicited by the novel about the conventions and boundaries of normality are philosophical questions about the relationship between egotism, erotic desires and ethics.

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Title: Ethical Egotism in Dangerous LiaisonsStudent name: Anamika KumariClass standing: JuniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

The characters of Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos De Laclos can be read as representations of the idea of ethical egotism.

Merteuil frequently brags about how she has made herself strong and how no one can be like her. In letter 81, the reader can clearly see that she claims how important it is for women to be able to detach oneself from emotions so they can play the game of gender with more power. For this reason, she can be seen as a strong, feminist character who has very unconventional views on how women should behave. However, despite her argument for women's power, her views can be considered unethical because they are tainted by her egotism. Her letters become an archive which proves her manipulation and shows that her ethical principles can actually have a negative effect on women.

Valmont, on the other hand, is vain about his power to manipulate women because he understand the weaknesses women have and Merteuil describes. He plays his games carefully and shows that he understands how to make women fall for him. A crucial point of agreement between Merteuil and Valmont is that they both know these rules, and she knows that he knows how to play the game. Valmont also shares his helpful advice about love with Danceny, a young man without experience, and at the same time he is trying to get Presidente de Tourvel, a woman of high moral principles, to sleep with him. His letters and his actions are always hypocritical.

Despite their claims to power and their temporary triumphs, these characters' egotism is their downfall by the end of the novel. Although we get to admire their cunning and their strategies, the novel ultimately suggests that ethical extremes such as these would be punished by society.

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Title: Business of Family: Why We Need Love, according to Geek LoveStudent name: Benjamin PassikoffClass standing: JuniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

Katherine Dunn’s novel Geek Love is a book about a family who constantly seem to be in dire situations. The family is pushed to such extremes that their relationships are warped. They have different values than “normal” people do, but it is not because they are physically different. Their physical attributes exclude them from participating in normal society because people will not accept them. They are attacked and threatened.

Their exclusion from society is not by their own volition, and yet, they have to participate in it that society the same way everyone else does in one sense, capitalistically that is. They must earn a living, and they do so by maintaining a freak show for the “normal” people. This essay shows that they are forced to commodify their own family members and each other and that capitalism is the cause of most of the required commercialization.

They must adhere to economic necessity, living in a capitalist society, and yet, being socially alienated, their jobs are much more difficult. Katherine Dunn has used this family to tell not merely a social story but an economic one as well. Moral values are established in interactions with other people. Successful human interaction, especially in the United States, is linked to economic prosperity, and the contradiction of this family’s state of being is that they are not worthy of interaction with regular people, but they must be if they want to survive. Their economical worth is directly related to the family’s success, and their love for each other is equated to their economic value as members of the freak show.

The moral values of this family’s members are thereby melded, whereas a regular person has independent sympathetic and economic values. However, that is why this is an important book. It is not a story of fascist capitalism or a cautionary tale of consumption, but instead, an example of the very problem that presents itself when the possibilities of moral judgment are confined within the limits of a capitalist economy. Moral judgment is not an absolute. It is completely relative and this family cannot be judged as morally wrong. There is a scale of moral value, which for them is skewed, and this is because of the contradictory relationship between the moral values of society and capitalism.

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Title: Moral Conditioning: the Case of “No Country for Old Men”Student name: Tiffany PattersonClass standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPointSimon Blackburn explains in Being Good that “relativism” is related to “hermeneutics.” Both terms are relevant to questions of ethics because they concern interpretation and how particular interpretations can be imposed as universal truths.

However, there are no “universal truths” according to Blackburn. For example, he explains that there are laws that work in one country, but those same laws may not be applicable in another country. What is more, Blackburn claims, our ethical laws and ideas of morality are not at all universal, nor are they natural. They are, in fact, conditioned responses of the less powerful to the influence of the more powerful. Such moral conditioning affects a person’s alternate perception, without the person having approved or contested it.

Blackburn’s theory is helpful for understanding the ethical question posed by the film No Country for Old Men. The film’s audience is predisposed to perceive the killer, Anton Chigurh, as immoral, as well as worthy of legal punishment for his countless murderous acts. Could this be moral conditioning at work? Indeed, it is morally expected and culturally acceptable to brand the antagonist, Anton Chigurh, a “bad man.” But the film makes it possible for our feelings for specific characters to be reversed—just as long as we recognize our conditioned response to murder. When we take a deeper look into the meaning of Anton Chigurh’s importance as a character, we realize that Anton Chigurh has principles and rules in which he lives by, just as we do; however, the way in which Anton Chigurh exercises those principles and rules are not done in ways which are considered acceptable by our standards.

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Title: Sentiments of the Feminist: the Epistemology of Emotion in Dangerous LiaisonsStudent name: Javon TaylorClass standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons dangerous (Dangerous Liaisons) offers an epistemology of women’s emotion—a philosophy of knowledge about how women feel. This philosophy is expressed through the character of Marquise de Merteuil.  This epistemology is grounded on claims of cultural relativism according to which human beings shape their lives in accordance with cultural and social norms. 

Philosopher Immanuel Kant has argued that human beings are unable to conceive direct knowledge of the world; rather human beings learn from experiences which shape ideas and beliefs of a society or culture. The philosophy of emotion in Laclos’ Dangerous Liaisons is a version of Kant’s epistemology. The characters in the novel learn to blend or abuse cultural norms so that the norms would accommodate their lives. Marquise de Merteuil formulates a philosophy according to which women who follow their hearts are left only with emotions that inevitably change. According to Merteuil, it would be better for women to control their emotions and rely on their intelligence: to focus on their long-term well-being in favor of temporary feelings of love and infatuation.

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Title: Co-existing: Egotism and Security in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”Student name: Anthony ThomasClass standing: JuniorFaculty: Prof. Olivera OjokicDepartment: EnglishFormat: PowerPoint

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” tells a story about a community that practices lottery drawing annually. The lottery results in the death of one citizen, selected at random, but through a careful

procedure. The annual “lottery” defines the town for those who live in it. It preserves its civilization or the culture and shows it to be stable community to those outside.

I argue that the lottery is fueled not just by respect for traditional values but also by a sense of egotism. The individuals within the community follow the principle “it has always been done this way.” The lottery provides a secure platform on which the sacred traditional practices can be displayed and preserved. The need to preserve the tradition and the community’s image in the eyes of its citizens and the eyes of outsiders promotes what seems like irrational behavior. The end point of the “lottery” is stoning—the death of a citizen. The egotism that produces the brutal effect of death in the community becomes the identity for each individual and then fuels the ego of the society as a whole.

This paper will discuss how such a psychological transgression involves considerations of self-interest and becomes a matter of consensus among individuals in a community. It will argue that egotism and self-interest are crucial to understanding the continuation and survival of a community and preservation of a particular culture.

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Honors Program

Title:Student name: Michael Lugo, Jr.Class standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Evan ManderyDepartment: Criminal JusticeFormat: Poster

In 1963, Justice Arthur Goldberg famously dissented from the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Rudolph v. Alabama. This event was the beginning of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s highly successful involvement in litigating against the death penalty. Amazingly, however, the American Civil Liberties Union took a pass on the issue. The reasons for this are unknown. This case study explores why the ACLU, the leading defender of civil rights, did not support the issue. The study relies upon interviews with members of the ACLU from the 1960’s, archival analysis, and review of secondary sources. A content analysis will be employed to assess the relevant responses.

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Music

Title: Music Technology (MUS 297) – Performance of Spring 2011 Audio ProjectsStudent name: Antonio Aguilar, Angelique Almonte, Tony Basilio, Samuel Byun, Abel Collado, Jeremiah Haught, Russell Kenton, Clive Parchment, Nelson Rivera, Mateusz Skawinski, Susan Valencia, Mohammed UllahClass standing: Senior, Sophomore, Senior, Senior, Junior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman, Freshman, Sophomore, Sophomore, Sophomore

Faculty: Prof. Ben BiermanDepartment: Art & MusicFormat: Creative Performance

Music Technology (MUS297) proposes to have an open classroom session as part of Student Research and Creativity Week. During this open session, each student in the class will present a sampling of their works from this semester. The class meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 1:55 to 3:10.

The students have worked on five projects throughout the semester. 1) Re-Mixing Radiohead 2) Found Sound Composition 3) Podcast 4) Drum and Bass Beat 5) Final Project. Each student will choose one of their projects from their semester’s portfolio to perform for their guests, and will briefly discuss the background of the work. Each performance will not exceed 5 minutes. The open classroom session will be freewheeling, and guests will be able to hear the projects played through the sound system, and will also be able to listen to various projects of their choice through headphones at the various workstations.

The performances will be dynamic, as the students have created excellent and exciting projects through music technology. They have also created lyrics and raps, conducted interviews, gathered sounds from their environment, and performed on their instruments, and have combined these various media with music, both borrowed and created. The class would like to invite the entire college community, as well as friends and family to this exciting event that will showcase the students’ creativity and hard work.

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Philosophy

Title: Double Entendre: Exploring the Paradox of Punishment and its ConsequencesStudent name: Celinet DuranClass standing: SeniorFaculty: Prof. Kyoo LeeDepartment: PhilosophyFormat: PowerPoint

When we think about the law and justice, the role of punishment cannot go without consideration. Tradition dictates our actions have consequences, and if we break the law an appropriate punishment should follow. Ideally, good acts correspond with good consequences and bad acts are directly related to bad consequences. The ideals behind the social practices of “punishments” and “rewards” are geared towards promoting the former over the latter. The American prison system is one that seeks to promote social order by enforcing the view that criminal behavior remains a stigma for the community and should not be tolerated. But what happens when a system meant to resolve the problems of crime unintentionally generates more social unrest? Recently, issues concerning prisoner radicalization cause one to question whether the prison system is effectively accomplishing its goals. The focus of this research takes on a theoretical approach towards examining the “paradox of punishment” by examining its definition, application and consequences.

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Title: Student name: Class standing: Faculty: Department: Format:

Science

Title: Toxicity of Maneb and Mancozeb Pesticides Contributing to Rat Pheochromocytoma Cellular Death and the Potential Neuroprotective Effects of Polyphenols Against these InsultsStudent name: Marcela VelascoClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Shu-Yuang ChengDepartment: ScienceFormat: Poster

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States. Its pathology is characterized by a selective loss of pigmented neurons in the substantia nigra resulting in dopamine depletion. Pesticides causing chemical alterations that lead to neuronal apoptosis will also hinder the production of this neurotransmitter, possibly resulting in Parkinsonism or other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The present study investigated the effects of Maneb and Mancozeb pesticides in PC12 cells, which resemble the chemistry and physiology of dopaminergic neurons. Cells were treated with 20 M Maneb and 20 M Mancozeb for 1 hour. Using MTT toxicology assay Maneb and Mancozeb treated cells showed a decrease in mitochondrial function of 24.64% and 21.56% respectively. These PC12 groups were then treated with Polyphenols (10 M), known to be potent ROS scavengers, in order to study potential neuroprotective effects. No PC12 cell survival was observed in affected cells treated with Polyphenols suggesting that Maneb and Mancozeb do not act as oxidative stressors or that neuron death results from multiple mechanisms in which oxidative stress is not the driving event. DNA fragmentation was also examined using Comet assay. DNA breakage was evident in Maneb and Mancozeb exposed groups, demonstrating that these neurotoxins are capable of causing considerable genetic damage. Findings indicate that both pesticides do in fact disrupt PC12 mitochondrial function and cause DNA damage. This study confirmed the neurotoxicity of Maneb and Mancozeb adding to their relevance in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

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Title: ICP-MS analysis of dithiocarbamate compounds in PC-12 CellsStudent name: Teeshavi NarayneClass standing: Graduate

Faculty: Prof. Shu-Yuang ChengDepartment: ScienceFormat: Poster

Dithiocarbmates are a class of widely used fungicides that have gained a reputation for being involved in neurological toxicity leading to Parkinson’s disease. Dithiocarbamate compounds such as maneb, mancozeb, ziram, and zineb are the focus of our research. These compounds contain heavy metals such as manganese and zinc and have been directly linked to dopaminergic neurodegeneration through chronic exposure. It has been shown that the mitochondrial inhibitor 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), which is an active metabolite of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), that causes parkinsonism is provoked by these compounds and as such allow for an constant toxic influx of dopamine into the cell, directly leading to cell death(apoptosis). However the toxic mechanisms of these compounds are not clear. The possible toxic mechanisms through which they act may be due to the accumulation of intracellular metal ions. This increase will elevate the production of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress and ultimately the induction of apoptosis. The aim of this study is to determine whether the intracellular concentrations of manganese and zinc are increased after exposure to dithiocarbamate compounds via analysis by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

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Title: Student name: Class standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Shu-Yuang ChengDepartment: ScienceFormat: Poster

Title: Analysis of Tool Marks on BoneStudent name: Julie CohenClass standing: GraduateFaculty: Prof. Nicholas PetracoDepartment: ScienceFormat: Poster

I'm proposing a poster which discusses a literature search I recently completed on tool marks on bone and quantitative ways to analyze this data.  Past work will be presented and reviewed, focusing on the work of SA Symes studying saw marks on bone (looking at characteristics of the walls of these markings) and Silvia Bello and Christophe Soligo, who proposed a way to mathematically model tool marks on bone (looking primarily at characteristics of the floor of these markings) to determine class characteristics on the tool used to make a mark.

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