Hobart and William Smith Colleges

22 May 2014 Honors Work Showcased

Over the course of many months and in cases more than a year students who prepare Honors projects at Hobart and William Smith invest themselves in an academic quest thats not only deeply meaningful, but one that enables them to gain invaluable experience as they look toward graduation.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, more than three dozen HWS students successfully completed Honors projects. They were recognized, along with their Honors advisers, at the annual Honors Porch Party recently hosted by Provost and Dean of Faculty Titilayo Ufomata. The gathering is an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements and hard work of Honors students.

Culminating in the second semester of ones senior year, the Honors project is a rigorous academic offering through which students pursue specialized ambitions before graduation, while refining vital skills at an advanced level. The program gives students the opportunity to complete work at the most sustained and sophisticated level available in the Colleges curriculum.

During the process, qualified students take two or three self-designed courses that concentrate on the same project and are guided throughout their exploration by a faculty adviser.

In addition to the culminating Honors project usually a research or critical paper or its counterpart in the creative arts each Honors candidate takes a written examination in their Honors field and an oral examination that covers both the Honors project and the written examination.

Each year, their accomplishments are noted in the Commencement program and during the Academic Achievement Awards ceremony.

Those who received Honors this year in the Classes of 2014 are:

Jennifer L. Abrams, Sociology
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness vs. Peace, Order and Good Governance: Approaches to Urban Revitalization of Low-Income Communities in Canada and the U.S.
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology James Spates, Adviser

Laura M. Alexander, Writing and Rhetoric
She Asked for It: The Perpetuation of Digital Rape Culture in Social Media
Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Maggie Werner, Adviser

Shannon M. Beston, Biology
The Ecological Effects of Black Spot Disease on Stream Health in the Seneca Lake Watershed
Director of Introductory Biology Laboratories Susan Cushman, Adviser

Richard Y. Bonney, Public Policy
Hydraulic Fracturing, Environmental Concerns and Policy Responses: How Various State Policy Approaches Should Impact New Yorks Future Energy Policy
Professor of Public Policy Studies and Political Science Craig Rimmerman, Adviser

Sarah R. Buckleitner, Writing and Rhetoric
Finding the Surface
Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Hannah Dickinson, Adviser

Shan Cao, Studio Art
Movement and Countermovement in the Form and the Color
Professor of Art and Architecture Michael Bogin, Adviser

Emily S. Dove, Dance
Dance as Resistance: Zulu Identity in South Africa from 1840-1947
Assistant Professor of Dance Kelly Johnson, Adviser

Melissa E. Freitag, Sociology
A Fading Soul: The Preservation of Traditional Vietnamese Music
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Jack Harris, Adviser

Ana C. Garcia, Architectural Studies
From Obscurity to Center Stage: Redesigning Bicentennial Park
Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture Jeffrey Blankenship, Adviser

Rayma G. Garcia-Decena, Architectural Studies
Exploring Urban Cityscapes and Their Spaces Through the Study of Situationist Theory and Labans Movement Analysis
Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture Jeffrey Blankenship, Adviser

Meghan E. Gaucher, Writing and Rhetoric
Indigenous Identity-Making: The Turkana, Development, and the Western Aid Culture
Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Hannah Dickinson, Adviser

Yuqi Ge, Economics
Art Finance and Economic Crisis: A Study of Capital Gains on Art Sales
Assistant Professor of Economics Warren Hamilton, Adviser

Stephen P. Gemmiti, Media and Society
Sex, Drugs, and the Authentic College Experience: The Story of Young Adulterated
Professor of Media and Society Lester Friedman, Adviser

Grace C. Gist, English
Shotek & Divana
Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature Stephen Cope, Adviser

Benjamin D. Gould, Geoscience
Transition Into the Sun: Perspectives on the Basal Angiosperm Immigration to Sunny Habitats
Associate Professor of Geoscience David Kendrick, Adviser

Michael D. Green, Mathematics
A Mathematical Model of College Friendships
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Yan Hao, Adviser

Andrew C. Hellmund, Studio Art
Sculptural Passages: A Convergence of Industry and Nature
Professor of Art and Architecture Ted Aub, Adviser

Alexander B. Kent, Public Policy
The Confidence Game
Professor of Public Policy Studies and Political Science Craig Rimmerman, Adviser

Samuel C. Knopka, Biology
The Spatial Distribution of the Terrestrial Salamander Plethodon cinereus Along a Forest Fragmentation Gradient in Finger Lakes National Forest
Assistant Professor of Biology Bradley Cosentino, Adviser

Devyn F. LaCamera, Media and Society
What Sex Sells: Examining the Displays of Women in Advertising
Assistant Professor of Media and Society Lisa Patti, Adviser

Luke C. Latella, English
Deus ex Modernism Mythology and Nationalism in the Irish Literary Renaissance
Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature Stephen Cope, Adviser

Guanqun Li, Biology
Characterization of Agrobacterium vitis chvB Mutant
Professor of Biology Sigrid Carle 84, Adviser

Erin K. Minty, Writing and Rhetoric
Rome, Sweet Conqueror Still
Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Cheryl Forbes, Adviser

Hillary F. Monahan, Environmental Studies
Negotiating with Nature: A Study of Genetic Modification in Food Production and its Cultural Effects on a Central New York Amish Community
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Christopher Annear, Adviser

Aaron P. OBrien, Sociology
Good Kids, M.A.A.D. Culture: How Race, Class and Racial Composition of Home Town Affects a Listeners Interpretation of and Response to Hip-Hop and Rap
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Renee Monson, Adviser

Dona G. Occhipinti, Biology
Approaches to Cardiovascular Research and Its Future Implications in Translational Medicine
Associate Professor of Biology Mark Deutschlander, Adviser

Ava D. Pavao, Political Science
Why Women Deserve a Chance: Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Women in Politics
Professor of Political Science Iva Deutchman, Adviser

Jacob A. Powell, Economics
The Origins of Crisis A Marxian Analysis from 1970s to the Great Financial Crisis
Assistant Professor of Economics Joseph Rebello, Adviser

Nicholas Schmidt, Computer Science
i3: An Environmental Sensor Base Station
Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science John Vaughn P08, Adviser

Clarissa L. Sullivan, Philosophy
The Hurdles of Prosecuting Rape: The Social Standard of Proof Necessitated by Juries
Professor of Philosophy Steven Lee, Adviser

Arianna C. White, Psychology
Maya Dreams Big: An Examination of Childrens Literature and its Affect on Personal Growth
Assistant Professor of Psychology Daniel Graham, Adviser

Nicole M. Zanghi, Individual in Health Science and Society
Theatre for Social Change in Health and Medicine: A Case Study
Associate Professor of Theatre Heather May, Adviser