The Honors Platform, Volume 2, Issue 1

The Honors Platform Volume 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

The Honors Platform Spring 2014 Staff Co-Editors in Chief

Amanda Erwin

Amanda Shepard Editors

Jaime Coon

Sarah Donetti

Alyssa Shepard Cover Design

Amberly Dziesinski Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Joseph Michael Sommers Central Michigan University Honors Program Director

Dr. Phame Camarena Contact Us honorplatfrom@cmich.edu Copyright, 2014. Central Michigan University Honors Prgoram ISSN: Forthcoming.

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

I. Editor’s Note II. Submissions

4

Identity and Time: Could Time Travel Be Possible?

Andrew Derry

5

Nature as a Distant Other: What the Human Species Owes to Biological Communities Jaime Coon

11

Muhammad Who?: Anglo-America’s Ignorance of Islam from the Republican Period to the

Beginning of WWI Michael Jennings

17

An Outbreak of the Racism Virus H1N3/5: Analyzing Symbols of Transmission and Resistance in 25 Morrison’s The Bluest Eye Amanda Erwin

Children’s Literature Hybrids: A Genre Analysis Krsitine Stafford

29

Gender Differences in Behavioral Measures of Impulsivity Nicole Fergestrom

37

Behavioral Risk Factors for Predicting Alcohol Consumption Rates in College Students Ashley Avery

Student Perceptions of Weight Gain Freshman Year on Central Michigan University’s

Campus Samantha Papa

44

Evaluating First Year Medical Students’ Views on Exercise Elainee Poling

63

III. Contributors

71

54

The Honors Platform From the Editors

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 5

Welcome to the second edition of The Honors Platform, the Central Michigan University undergraduate online Honors journal. The students in the Honors Program represent the shifting foundations of academia, making connections across disciplines and excitedly delving into the unknown.

Looking through the submissions, we chose to publish those that represent the high academic standards of Honors students, representing everything from Children’s literature hybrids to an analysis of natural ecosystems. Each piece was selected because it, in some way, represents the way academia has changed, both now and for the future. With each research paper, drawing, or Honors capstone project, Honors students irreversibly shape and shift the foundations of their field. Though there are a variety of disciplines shown throughout the selections, they are all connected through their representation of this theme. With this in mind, we hope you explore some of the best pieces that represent the Central Michigan University Honors students.

Andrew Derry begins our volume with his essay “Identity and Time: Could Time Travel Be Possible?” ponders the possibility of time travel through examining different theorists and novels. Jaime Coon follows by looking the negative effects humans have on the natural “other” in her essay entitled “Nature as a Distant Other: What the Human Species Owes to Biological Communities.” Following the theme of other, Michael Jennings’ essay looks at the political climate of Islam in the United States, specifically the ignorance of Islam, in his paper “Muhammad Who?: Anglo-America’s Ignorance of Islam from the Republican Period to the Beginning of World War I.” Amanda Erwin also looks at racism in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye through a virus lense in her paper “An Outbreak of the Racism Virus H1N3/5: Analyzing Symbols of Transmission and Resistance in Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” Kristine Stafford also examines literature, in her paper titled “Children’s Literature Hybrids: A Genre Analysis.” In her paper, she analyzes how children’s chapter books combine pictures and text. Moving from literature, the last four papers look at the way students react in different situations. First, Nicole Fergestrom analyzes the rates of impulsive behavior based on gender in her paper “Gender Differences in Behavioral Measures of Impulsivity.” Following, Ashley Avery examines the habits of alcohol consumption in college students in her essay “Behavioral Risk Factors for Predicting Alcohol Consumption Rates in College Students,” surveying students on Central Michigan University’s campus. Also looking at students on Central Michigan University’s campus, Samantha Papa looks at the common freshman fifteen in her paper “Student Perceptions of Weight Gain Freshman Year in Central Michigan University’s Campus.” Also looking at perspectives on exercise, Elainee Poling examines the ways in which medical students’ perspectives on exercise in her paper “Evaluating FIrst Year Medical Students’ View on Exercise.”

All of the articles in this second publication of The Honors Platform illuminate the way Honors students are shaping and shifting the foundations of their field, through innovative and creative research.

These innovations will help to shape the academic field of Honors students to come.

Acknowledgements

First, this volume would never have come into existence without the help and support of Dr. Phame Camarena, the Director of the Honors Program at CMU. Without him, we would not have have been able to pull so many great submissions. We would also like to thank Dr. Joseph Sommers, whose input has helped to pull together the volume that is seen here. This volume would also not have come together without the help of our editors: Alyssa Shepard, Sarah Donetti, and Jaime Coon, thank you so much for all of your input. We couldn’t do it without you.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Identity and Time: Could Time Travel Be Possible?

6

By Andrew Derry

Time travel has become a topic of interest among philosophers and scientists over the past century because of the tremendous possibilities and the countless issues. The question of whether time travel will ever be possible will never be answered until it truly happens. Until then, only theories can be proposed. One of the greater issues concerning time travel deals with the concept of identity. The philosophical concept of identity will have to be taken for granted as this paper is not meant to discuss what identity is. Rather, it will explore the concept of identity in relation to time and how this can be applied to the notion of time travel.

Finally, popular novels and movies will be discussed to provide further insight into time travel and identity.

Time travel to the past is not possible, but time travel to the future is possible.

How do we start to examine this issue? First, in order to understand anything, we must state what we mean by identity in relation to time. According to Inwagen, there are three different theories. All three theories will be discussed, but Theory 2 will be closely examined. This theory states that identity is a sum of both physical and temporal parts leading to counterparts that can best be understood through possible worlds. Possible worlds are worlds separate from the actual world, which is the world we inhabit, in which counterparts similar to you exist. Identity is the summation of all the counterparts together. Foe example, in quantum theory, when we are observed in this actual world, we take on one form of our identity. If observed in a possible world, we would take on the counterpart and that would be the actual identity observed. Lastly, we need to understand how we are to think of time. According to possibilism, the past and the present are fixed and actual. They cannot be changed in the actual world we live in. However, the future is open to infinite possibilities. Therefore, when an individual “travels” to the past, he or she would jump into a possible world.

It would not be possible to travel to the actual past because events could be changed, and that is not possible with a fixed past. This concept will be explored throughout this paper.

To begin, let us examine different theories regarding identity and time. Peter Van Inwagen discusses three different theories in regards to identity across time in “Four Dimensional Objects.” To begin, take the example of a person named “Link.” When applying Inwagen’s theories, there are three different ways to explain Link’s identity across time.

First, imagine Link at time T1 eating a sandwich. Now, imagine Link at T2 riding a bike. Are Link T1 and Link T2 the same person, or are they different? According to Theory 1, they both contain a new identity.

Depending on how intervals of time are sliced, at each new interval Link has a new identity. He continuously stops existing and a new Link comes into existence.

Second, let us imagine Link at T1 and at T2 once more. According to Theory 2, Link holds the same identity at each time interval. In fact, Link is a sum of both his physical and his temporal parts. That is what comprises his whole identity. This will be explored further into this paper.

Third, imagine Link at time T1 and T2 again. According to Theory 3, Link is not attached to the temporal parts. Link travels through time but does not have temporal parts. He just exists in time. If that is difficult to understand, take this for example. Imagine sitting in a pool of water. Are you yourself in a pool of water or are you a part of the water? Clearly, you exist in the water but you are not part of the water. Link is in a pool of water, that pool being time, and he travels through it but does not contain its parts.

Each of these theories presents its own issues. Theory 1 commits itself to the problem of constant new identities. At each new time interval, the old identity stops existing and the new identity begins. This theory does not seem to fit with common sense. According to it, “I” now have a different identity than when “I” started writing this paper. “You” are not the “you” that “you” were when “you” started reading this. Does

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 7

that even seem plausible? Theory 1 presents too great an issue with identity and will not be discussed further.

Theory 2 states you are a sum of both your physical and temporal parts. It appears correct. However, take a moment and point to your head and then to your feet. Now, point to your temporal part. That is difficult to do, right? Taking it one step further, imagine yourself outside of the time you exist in. According to Theory 2, you are the sum of all your parts in that time. Outside of that temporal part, you are not you anymore. Theory 2 leads to counterpart theory. According to Lewis in “Counterfactuals,” a counterpart is a being in a possible world that can assume a role unlike you in the actual world. For example, think of the statement “you could have been a doctor.” In a possible world, you can have a counterpart that assumes that possibility for you. An issue with counterpart theory, however, is the question of how similar the counterpart has to be to sufficiently be you. In a possible world far along the spectrum, could a rock be you? It seems difficult to commit to a theory of counterparts, and without it, it appears Theory 2 has an issue. However, if you believe in possible worlds, then there is not an issue with time travel. This will be explored further later.

Theory 3 gives another description of identity in regards to time relation. According to Theory 3, you travel through time but do not have temporal parts. Inwagen characterizes this as “three-dimensionalism.”

The key to this theory is that you are not attached to time. It seems to open up a plethora of possibilities, including time travel. Without being attached to time, it should be possible to travel in time and still keep your identity. Now that we have a better understanding of Inwagen’s theories, let us take a look at time travel itself.

According to David Lewis as quoted in Joel Hunter’s “Time Travel,” an object time travels if and only if the difference between its departure and arrival times in the surrounding world does not equal the duration of the journey undergone by the object. First, let us get a better understanding of what we mean by time.

There are many different theories regarding time, but the one that will be focused on is possibilism. According to Hunter, the past and the present are fixed and actual. However, the future contains numerous possibilities of which only one can come true in the actual world. Two other theories according to Hunter include eternalism and presentism. Eternalism states that the past, present, and future are actual times and no time is greater than another. Presentism states that only present objects are real. The past no longer exists and the future will exist but does not yet.

One further definition that needs to be addressed is the difference between external (physical) and internal (personal) time. In normal time, both external and internal time coincide with each other. However, during time travel, the internal time of the traveler does not coincide with the physical time. The physical time differs in duration than internal time, and, according to Lewis, this is the definition of time travel. For example, an individual could travel 120 years into the future, but their internal time would not have changed that amount.

There are many issues that arise when it comes to time travel including physical capabilities and relativity, but the main issue that will be focused on is what happens to identity if time travel is possible. Both Theory 2 and Theory 3 will be used to explore this issue. Theory 1 will not be discussed, as it is not a good theory itself.

The example we will examine involves a girl named Alyssa. Imagine that she has distaste for her grandfather and wishes the worst for him but that her grandfather has been dead for twenty years. She happens to come across a time machine and plans to use it to travel back in time and kill her grandfather.

This example is known commonly as the Grandfather Paradox. If Alyssa successfully travels back in time to when her grandfather is young and murders him, then he will not have been able to father children. Therefore, Alyssa would never have been born in the first place to kill her grandfather. Would it be possible for Alyssa to

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 8

kill her grandfather? It depends on which theory is applied.

Using the theory of possibilism to define time, the past and present has already happened and therefore cannot be changed. If Alyssa could travel back in time according to Theory 3, she would not be able to kill her grandfather. The past is already set in stone and the present from where she came; therefore, some event would keep preventing her from murdering her grandfather. In fact, events would continue to ensure that she would not be able to change anything about the past because then the present would be shifted.

Her identity then would remain consistent as she traveled back in time. Theory 3 keeps identity the same throughout time travel and ensures that the past cannot be changed.

However, let us take a look at what happens when we apply Theory 2 to Alyssa traveling back in time.

Due to Alyssa being a sum of her physical and temporal parts, when Alyssa travels back in time to when her grandfather was young, she in fact enters another possible world where a counterpart of her grandfather exists. In this possible world, Alyssa would be able to murder her grandfather and time would happen differently in this case. However, the actual world where she traveled from would not be affected. Again, her identity would remain consistent in this case because her actual world is not affected.

This is only one example though. Let us look at another example where Alyssa is sitting in her room as a teenager. Suddenly, an older version of herself materializes in her room and explains that she has a special talent for gymnastics and should pursue that dream. Alyssa takes the advice and pursues the dream, ending up very successful. In her old age, she has a time machine and decides to travel back in time to tell her younger self about her special talents. The younger Alyssa pursues the dream and ends up successful. In her old age, she travels back in time to tell her younger self about her special talent. What has just happened?

It appears that Alyssa is in a loop. This is known as a causal loop. When Alyssa travels back in time and is present in the room with a younger Alyssa, who is really Alyssa? Is it the younger version, the older version, or a combination of the two?

According to Theory 3, this would not even be possible because Alyssa going back in time would affect the past, and, therefore, her present. The past is fixed according to possibilism. However, according to Theory 2, it would be possible. When Alyssa goes back in time, she again enters a possible world where she interacts with a counterpart of herself. In the possible world, her counterpart grows up and travels back in time to another possible world where the process continues. It leads to an infinite amount of possible worlds. What is Alyssa’s identity? Is her identity her actual self, or is she a combination of each of her infinite counterparts?

This identity issue with counterparts will be explored further later.

According to possibilism, both the past and present are fixed, but the future is open to possibilities.

The problems that arise with time travel to the past do not occur in time travel to the future. According to both Theory 2 and Theory 3, there are no issues with time travel to the future. If Alyssa were to travel to the future, she would not affect the past or the present, and she would have infinite choices to make when she arrived at her destination. Time travel to the future seems most plausible because it does not encounter issues, and there are theoretical ways that this travel is possible. Time is relative to each person according to Einstein. Take the example of a train on Earth capable of traveling at the speed of light. Theoretically, in ten years time aboard this train traveling at the high speed, you could travel into the future to some year like 2300. Your internal time would differ from the external time. Another example involves strong gravitational fields. If a spaceship were to be in orbit around a supermassive black hole that exhibits extreme gravitational pull, time would be cut in half. If the spaceship were to return to Earth, they would only have aged half as much as people who remained on Earth. How does this concern identity? It appears that identity is not affected and remains consistent with time travel to the future.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 9

When we are talking about possible worlds, what are we talking about? According to David Lewis, he believes that there are other possible worlds out there apart from the one we live in. The term he gives to our world is the actual world because it is the world that we inhabit. However, there are other possible worlds apart from the one we live in. We govern our world by the laws of logic and according to logical space, there are worlds closely related to ours and some that are very different where even the laws of physics differ.

According to Lewis, as long as the laws of logic are followed, there are an infinite number of possible worlds.

We talk about possible worlds in our everyday language. For example, consider the statements “I could have worn a blue shirt today” and “Jessica could have purchased a Mac instead of a PC.” According to Lewis, in another possible world, these events really did happen. Imagine a circle with a point A in the center. The circle encompasses all of logical space, and the point A is the actual world. As you move away from point A, you encounter an infinite amount of possible worlds, and the farther away you go, the more different the possible worlds are from the actual world we inhabit.

In each possible world, there is a counterpart of you. The further you get from the actual world, the more different the counterpart becomes. Where do you draw the line when the counterpart is not sufficiently similar to be you? Let us take a look at quantum mechanics. According to this theory, things can exist in two states at once. Light is both a wave and a particle until it is observed. Then, it becomes either a particle or a wave. Applying this to possible worlds and counterparts, take for a example an outside observer who could see all possible worlds. To him, you would exist as a sum of all your counterparts. However, depending upon which possible world was chosen, when observed you would take on that counterpart. We exist as we do now because that is the state we are being observed as. However, we exist as a sum of our infinite counterparts in all possible worlds.

Having addressed the different theories of identity in relation to time earlier, I would like to focus on Theory 2 because I favor this theory. I do not see a problem with counterpart theory; rather, I find it intriguing and it fits very well with my idea of possible time travel. There are an infinite number of possible worlds with an infinite number of counterparts. Remembering that time travel to the future seems more plausible, let us again take a look at traveling to the past. Possibilism insists that the past and the present are fixed; they are actual. That means the past and present of the world we inhabit is fixed. Therefore, the past and present of other possible worlds is not fixed and can be changed. Theory 2 states that we are a sum of our physical and temporal parts. Whenever you would travel back to the past, a different time, you would find a counterpart of you. It would not be possible to travel back to the actual past because you would be outside of your temporal part, and therefore, you would not be you. This is consistent with possibilism because the past cannot be changed and thus the present would also remain the same. Whenever an individual, like Alyssa, would travel to the past, she would enter a possible world. In this possible world, she would be free to change any event she chose because the past and present are not actual; they are possible. Alyssa could kill her grandfather, and she would remain alive. In that possible world, her counterpart would never exist though. She could return and talk to her younger self in a possible world, and there would be no effect on the actual world. Her personal identity would not change. She is still the sum of her infinite counterparts, and her identity is consistent.

This theory can be applied to several fictional books and movies and be used to critically analyze if their theory of time travel is correct. One of these is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In this novel, Hermione Granger uses a magical Timeturner device to go back in time and change the past in order to save an innocent victim from execution. When she goes back in time with her friend Harry Potter, she states that they must be careful not to be seen because bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time. They

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 10

follow their past selves around and take part in actions that cause the same events to happen as did when they were at the same time period. It appears that they have entered a causal loop. The problem with this time travel though is that when time catches up to their present, or the moment they had left to go to the past, the present has indeed changed for them. According to possibilism, the past and present could not have been changed. Therefore, this time travel could not have been possible. However, there is one way in which their time travel could be proven correct. If when they traveled back to the past they entered a possible world, they could have indeed changed the current state of events. Then, when time caught up to the present, they assumed the role of their counterparts. If this is true, the rest of the Harry Potter Series takes place in a possible world. This seems plausible enough. This possible world becomes the actual because it is the one in which they inhabit, and events continue forth. If they were to return to the other “actual world” in which they first came, they would notice that they never changed the past and events remained as they had left. Because Hermione’s identity is a sum of her counterparts across all possible worlds, when she exists in the new actual world, her identity has not changed. She still retains her personal identity.

Another popular movie is Groundhog Day in which Phil Connors falls into a time loop and continues to relive February 2. Day after day, he wakes up to discover it is the same day. However, is it really Phil waking up each new day, or is it his counterpart waking up each day that we see? According to Theory 2 and possibilism, it is Phil’s counterpart that we see waking up each day. In fact, Phil in the actual world would continue on to February 3 without interruption. Throughout the movie, we are witnessing a select number of possible worlds that Phil could have been in. It is important to remember though that Phil’s identity is a sum of all his counterparts, so once again, his original identity remains intact even though we witness him in various possible worlds. He is a sum of all his counterparts. The movie ends with Phil waking up to February 3 and continuing on in that “actual world” that we observe.

One last movie is The Time Traveler’s Wife in which the time traveler starts dating the woman who will become his wife. When they start dating, he begins to travel back in time to when his wife was a younger child and interacts with her. Then, he returns to his present. He continues to travel back in time to different ages of his wife, and continuously returns to his present time. His wife remembers meeting him at the different stages of her life before he initially starts going back in time, but he does not remember these interactions until he begins to time travel back to the past. This time travel is supported if possible worlds are involved. Each time he travels back in time, he enters a possible world extremely similar to the actual world he traveled from. He interacts with his wife at her younger age, and then returns to the present time in the possible world that then becomes his actual world. Then, when he travels back to the past again, the same process occurs. He continues to take on his counterparts every time he travels to the past and then back to the present. His identity does not change because his identity is the sum of his counterparts and when in his new actual world his state is observed, that becomes his observed identity. Time travel is a popular theme in our culture as can be seen through the countless books and movies that involved some sort of time travel. These are only three of the numerous examples in which Theory 2, counterparts, and possible worlds can be applied to understand how identity and time relation can help to explain the plausibility of time travel.

There has been a large amount of material covered in this paper, and where exactly does it leave us?

First, in order to understand anything, we must state what we mean by identity in relation to time. According to Inwagen and Theory 2, this theory states that identity is a sum of both physical and temporal parts. This theory leads to counterparts that can best be understood through possible worlds. Possible worlds are worlds separate from the actual world, which is the world we inhabit, in which counterparts similar to you exist.

Identity is the summation of all the counterparts together. Like in quantum theory, when we are observed

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 11

in this actual world, we take on one form of our identity. If observed in a possible world, we would take on the counterpart and that would be the actual identity observed. Lastly, we need to understand how we are to think of time. According to possibilism, the past and the present are fixed and actual. They cannot be changed in the actual world we live in. However, the future is open to infinite possibilities. In order for time travel to be possible, when an individual travels to the past, they would jump into a possible world. It would not be possible to travel to the actual past because events could be changed, and that is not possible with a fixed past.

They would be free to change any event from that past because it is not their actual past; it is a counterpart.

When they returned to their present, they would notice nothing has changed. However, if they returned to the present in the possible world where they changed the past, the present would indeed have changed.

Identity does not change through time travel according to this combination of theories and concepts.

If counterpart theory is followed and identity is stated as being the summation of infinite counterparts, then there would be no change in identity no matter how many times the past was changed in other possible worlds. Therefore, time travel would be possible, but it would not have the outcomes that we read about in fictional books and movies. Time travel becomes more complicated when the concept of identity in relation to time is taken into account, and writers often overlook these fancies when trying to produce a work that will entice their audience. Time travel to a “counterpast” and the future could be possible though.

References

Albert, T. (Producer) & Ramis, H. (Director). (1993). Groundhog Day [Motion Picture]. United States:

Columbia Pictures.

Brener, R. (Producer) & Schwentke, R. (Director). (2009). The Time Traveler’s Wife [Motion Picture]. United

States: New Line Cinema.

Hunter, Joel. “Time Travel.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2004 September 17. http://www.iep.utm.

edu. Web. 2 December 2012.

Inwagen, Peter Van. “Four-Dimensional Objects.” Metaphysics Contemporary Readings. Ed. Steven D Hales.

Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999. 476-481. Print.

Lewis, David. “Possible Worlds.” The Possible and the Actual: Readings in the Metaphysics of Modality. Ed.

Michael J Loux. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979. 182-189. Print.

Parent, Ted. “Modal Metaphysics.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 14 May 2012. http://www.iep.utm.

edu. Web. 2 December 2012.

Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic. 2001. Print.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Nature as a Distant Other: What the Human Species Owes to Biological Communities

12

By Jaime Coon Introduction

The birds found at my place of work, the Wildlife Recovery Association, are objects of science. Those that come to the sanctuary injured are assessed in terms of broken bones, stretched ligaments, concussions, lost feathers, and projected recovery time. These birds are removed from their ecological niches due to the influence of human social and economic structures that have created a veritable mushroom cloud of pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction over the birds’ ecosystem. The sanctuary tries to release all injured birds, but many never recover and must be euthanized, their genes and therefore biodiversity a lost resource to their populations.

Lost biodiversity is becoming a catastrophic extinction event, which is defined as a quarter of the world’s mammals, a third of the world’s amphibians, and an eighth of the world’s birds at risk for extinction or potentially already extinct (Vié, Hilton-Taylor, and Stuart 2008, pp. 18). This is a direct result of how the human species has created a system that depends on the disastrous mismanagement of natural resources in order to achieve profits. Just as thousands of species are at risk due to the destruction of millions of acres of rainforest to support unsustainable industries, billions of individuals from the human species languish in unimaginable poverty created by the same global economic system. In the 14 years after the Cold War, 250 million people died from starvation and other preventable causes, more than the German Holocaust, Mao’s Great Leap Forward, Stalin’s massacres, the Khmer Rouge killings, and Rwandan genocides combined (Pogge 2002, pp. 363).

Human beings in the developed world have created a system of life that subjugates the global poor and ecology alike, including the birds I work with that have been damaged or killed by development marching into their habitats. We are complicit in global economic and social structures that create a “distant other” in both poor populations (as described by Wenar, 2003) and living things. On the whole, we continue to treat biological subjects such as the birds that I work with solely as scientific objects, neglecting to fully recognize the human manufactured social and economic contexts surrounding them. In general, in the same way that society is guilty of not only neglecting the global poor, but also of creating poverty, we are also guilty of neglecting ecological problems at the same time that we are the creators of those problems. These ecological problems then adversely affect human populations, usually disproportionately poor people. It follows then that if the developed world has duties to the distant global poor, we also have responsibilities owed to another distant other: nature.

Defining Nature

Before delving into the issues of global poverty and how our duties to the global poor relate to our duties to nature, the definition of nature for this paper must be clarified. In this paper, when I refer to nature or environment, I am referring to the entirety of biological communities, including the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors of an ecosystem that are required for life, such as pH or temperature. This is often referred to in the literature as the environment, but I find nature more fitting for the current discussion. The environment is often used as an abstract term that does not include the human species, and is usually used in scientific contexts. It can also be used to refer to situations that are non-biological and are not the objects of this paper, such as a workplace environment. Conversely, nature, while not any less abstract, has more potential to be broadened in its definition to suit my needs. As discussed in Williams’ “Ideas of Nature,” the

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 13

term does carry the risk of romanticism, but this is the result of a long and rich history surrounding the very human use of the word, and as long as we recognize the multiplicity of nature, it can be used meaningfully (1980, pp. 67-85). Nature, in this paper, includes humans as a part of the larger biological community, and has inherent value in and of itself.

Before arguing the connection between poor populations and biological communities as comparable distant others, first I will first examine the literature that surrounds global justice issues and the lack of action concerning the problem presented by trying to meet the needs of the global poor.

Meeting the Needs of the Poor: A Global Justice Challenge

Taking the cosmopolitan view that all people have equal value regardless of birthplace location, Nussbaum (2002) states that American students should be taught that “they are, above all, citizens of a world of human beings, and that, while they happen to be situated in the United States, they have to share the world with the citizens of other countries” (pp. 308). Nussbaum reports that this cosmopolitan view is largely missing from the American education system (pp. 307-308). This focus on the problems that are proximate creates a situation where the global poor, and nature, become an “other,” and a “distant other” at that.

Further discussing the theoretical framework for what people owe to each other in his work, “What We Owe to Distant Others” (2003), Leif Wenar uses Scanlon’s contractualist theory to explain how people are motivated to help other people. Specifically, Wenar discusses why we, the wealthy in the developed world, “devote our time and resources to the routine expectations of those near and dear” over the desperate need of the global poor (pp. 399). At a very basic level, “moral motivation is the desire to justify one’s actions to others on the grounds that those others could reasonably accept” (397). Therefore, people must have to justify actions to those in close proximity and those in distant lands alike. The inequality that is produced originates from our misappropriation of value (pp. 398). People, then, give more attention to those nearby that are already reasonably well off as opposed to a group that is significantly less well off in distant countries. In other words, as Wenar states: “However, the strengths of our actual motivations do not always correspond to the relative importance of the values in the world, because our attention is constantly being drawn toward rather small portions of all values that there are” (pp. 399). This becomes habitual, and can explain why, when we (the wealthy) are presented with reasons for action in underprivileged populations, there is “temporary motivational power” that may motivate us to give (pp. 400). Wenar goes on to claim that although contractualism can explain our motivation and motivational flaws, it cannot actually inform what action needs to be taken to alleviate the suffering of the poor (pp. 400). This is a more complex question, and the social and economic context in which aid is given creates situations that may not facilitate effective help for underprivileged populations (pp. 409). In spite of these difficulties concerning the poverty situation, Wenar insists that we the wealthy owe the global poor to “keep our attention focused upon it” (409).

The wealthy are able to distance themselves from the needs of those in poverty because they diffuse the responsibility away from themselves, as discussed by Pogge (2002). Pogge asserts that “we are quite tolerant of the persistence of extensive and severe poverty” even though “the equal moral status of all human beings is widely accepted in the developed West” (pp. 358). Pogge believes that we are able to put distance between ourselves and the needs of the global poor through ignorance of the problem, through apathy, or through a perceived diffusion of responsibility (pp. 365). Pogge asserts that “[i]t is easier to disconnect oneself from the extensive and severe poverty suffered by wholly innocent people abroad when there are others who are clearly to blame for it” (375). It is easier to place the blame somewhere that is apparently out of our control than it is to accept the guilt.

Singer (1972) supports the idea that distance is created between ourselves and the impoverished

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 14

populations elsewhere in the world when our guilt about inaction is lessened by noticing others that have similarly done nothing to help the global poor (pp. 389). Using universalism as support, Singer argues that, “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (pp. 388). Singer believes therefore that sacrifice on the part of the wealthy developed world is morally necessary in light of the extreme poverty found on our globe.

While Wenar mostly discusses what rich individuals owe to poor individuals in other countries, Pogge goes a step further by implicating our global economic system created by the wealthy as the major culprit for severe poverty. Pogge states “I am arguing that the citizens and governments of the wealthy societies, by imposing the present global economic order, significantly contribute to the persistence of severe poverty and thus share the institutional moral responsibility for it.” (pp. 375). Pogge argues that the debate about duties owed to the poor cannot be complete without an acknowledgement that we the wealthy contribute to and significantly benefit from a global system that directly causes severe poverty (pp. 376).

One method for combating devastating global inequality can be found in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Brooks, pp. 119-123). These rights function as a “moral touchstone,” or a standard against which domestic institutions and international economic and political institutions can be measured, while at the same time giving directions for reform (Beitz 2001, pp. 145). These human rights give the human species moral direction, showing us what we need to work for to achieve human equality.

Nature as a Distant Other

When I bring the lucky few rehabilitated birds from my place of work to serve as ambassador birds at educational programs, the people attending the programs genuinely care about nature, but they are a minority of the population. According to a recent Pew Research Poll published in April 2013, the environment is 11th on the list of importance for American citizens (Oremus 2013, n.p.). I have seen through my work that there is very little appreciation for the natural world in the general American population. We have become physically distanced by our luxuries and commercialism. Many people have told me that climate change won’t adversely affect their lives because they will be able to “turn up their air-conditioning.” This admission, blatantly ignorant of the widespread effect climate change will have on our global system, exemplifies on a personal level of how we, the affluent, view nature as something that can be escaped from instead of something that we are inescapably dependent upon. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released its Fifth Assessment Reports on the impacts of climate change and potential mitigation strategies.

The IPCC found with high statistical confidence that, at a minimum, the global mean surface temperature in 2100 will have increased by 3.7 to 4.8 ˚C compared to pre-industrial levels (Edenhofer et al. 2014). This will drastically alter water resources (both quantity and quality), melting glaciers and permafrost and altering precipitation patterns. Predicted impacts of climate change include widespread species extinctions, lower crop yields, increased heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires, and increased violent conflict in human populations. Importantly, the IPCC report notes that these climate-related hazards have a disproportionate effect on poor and marginalized people (Fields et al. 2014).

In our global economic system, nature has become a distant other in the same way that the global poor have. Drawing on contractualist theory, it can be argued that people often feel they have to justify their actions that harm nature. However, in the same way our responsibility to the poor is lost in diffusive webs of responsibility, apathy, and ignorance, we do not recognize that the wealthy are complicit in a system that creates natural problems. We can point to others who are equally or more to blame for harming nature.

Shouldn’t corporations and governments be doing more to curb greenhouse gas emissions? While I do agree that these entities should be doing more to alleviate environmental problems, the affluent are still benefitting

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 15

from and supporting these governments and corporations, making them equally guilty of perpetuating environmentally unsustainable practices.

Additionally, we can quite easily remain apathetic to environmental problems in a similar manner to the way people distribute their attention away from the global poor. There is an unequal distribution of our values towards matters close at hand, neglecting nature in a similar way that Wenar argues we neglect the global poor (pp. 398). Our attention is habitually drawn to the items we deal with on an everyday basis, creating a wall of apathy between ourselves and the resources we extract from nature without regard to sustainability. We take natural resources for granted, assuming the air we breathe will always be there.

This is not to say that people are never motivated to action. In the same way that “temporary motivational power” may be inspired when a person is presented with a description of global poverty, when reasons are given, people are likely to want to protect nature. This temporary motivation is utilized by environmental charities in the same way that anti-poverty charities have found it successful to raise money through personal, one-on-one images and advertisements (Wenar 2003, 398). This is why environmental nonprofit organizations use charismatic megafauna such as polar bears or bald eagles in advertising more often than presenting whole-ecosystem problems. The wildlife sanctuary where I work is also guilty of this attention to few, popular animals.

In the same way that the global economic system cannot be neglected in the global justice discussions surrounding the expansive poverty present on our globe, it again cannot be ignored in the case of the subjugation of nature as well. While I have argued that the global poor and nature show astonishing similarities in terms of distancing and “othering” in relation to wealthy societies, this comparison is incomplete without recognizing the fundamental interrelatedness of the human species and nature. Poor people and nature are both caught in the same economic system that benefits only a relative few individuals.

At the same time that human beings are trafficked for labor, natural resources are trafficked with no regard for the impact on biological communities. The poorest people often have their natural resources taken away for the profit of developed countries (see Pogge 2001, pp. 439-453, for a fuller discussion of this point). We are interrelated with nature in terms of being oppressed by the current economic system, but also in terms of survival. Nature is our literal life support network. Natural resources, it must be remembered, are not only for profit, but also for life. The absolute devastation of global poverty and the escalating degradation of nature are both caused by our current economic system, and if we are fighting poverty through the institutionalization of human rights, then perhaps it is possible to protect nature through biological rights.

Environmental Global Justice and a Biological Right

There is clearly need for the human species to take drastic action in order to alleviate current environmental problems and in order to prevent even more dramatic natural damage in the future. At the beginning of his environmental justice article, “One Atmosphere,” Peter Singer states that “[t]here can be no clearer illustration of the need for human beings to act globally than the issues raised by the impact of human activity on the atmosphere” (2007, pp. 667). Although there have been some efforts on the global scale to combat the effects of climate change, the necessary large-scale actions have not been taken. This hearkens to the needs of the global poor, and the inaction of the world in response to the poverty crisis.

The environmental justice wing of global justice is relatively new, but has been defined by Simon Caney as the analysis of “the global distribution of environmental burdens and benefits” (2005, pp. 689).

This definition is useful, but it is incomplete. It fails to take in the full ecological context of the human species. The fact that individuals feel they must justify their actions to others who may harm the environment means that many see an inherent value in nature. There may in fact be, I believe, a contractual relationship

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 16

between the human species and nature. This relationship has been partially lost over time in many of the affluent populations around the world as we are separated from where our food is grown, where our energy comes from, and how our goods are produced. If we were to renew this relationship, this need to justify our biological actions, we may be able to take more significant global action.

Much of the debate concerning how to improve the lives of populations living in extreme poverty has centered on establishing a universal list of human rights. Such a list can be found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights produced by the United Nations in 1948 (pp. 119-123). This list does not include mention of natural resources, much less anything resembling a biological right. The closest thing to a biological right can be found in Nussbaum’s “Capabilities and Fundamental Entitlements.” She discusses a list of capabilities that individuals should be able to achieve during their lives, and she even lends her support to a specific list of Central Human Capabilities. The “Other Species” capability includes “being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants, and the world of nature” (2003, pp. 605).

This capability could improve the plight of nature if we were to seek to uphold it, but I would like to take biological rights a step further. I believe that there is inherent value in biological communities, and that in order to be protected, the biological communities themselves should be given rights. This idea originates in naturalist Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, where he argues that if people could find within themselves a land ethic, or a sense of compassion for and connectedness to the land, then we could begin to recognize a biotic right, or an inherent right of biological communities to exist into the future (1949, pp. 167190). Leopold expresses how nature is not just a commodity, but a community of which the human species is a member. Expressed explicitly, a biological right could be pronounced thusly: Biological communities have the right to exist and continue to exist based on their inherent value. My cosmopolitan viewpoint not only values each human being regardless of where they happen to have been born, but also sees value in all biological communities. A biological right could codify and enforce the value of natural systems that so often we are distracted from recognizing.

This is not to belittle the importance of human rights or to say that stopping natural degradation is more important than attempting to alleviate global poverty. This biological right would not necessarily override human rights, but would supplement and support them. These two things are not mutually exclusive, but as I illustrated earlier, inextricably linked. Human rights seek to give power to the powerless, and this is the same aim found in the idea of biological rights. A biological right to exist would not prevent all natural resource extraction, but would encourage corporations, governments, and individuals to make decisions based on the fundamental goal of sustainable living. No extraction could be made that would threaten the existence of a biological community. No property development would be made unless it could exist side by side with biota.

As previously stated in this paper, without challenging our current global economic system, no vast changes can be made for either natural or human situations. However, if we can continue to search for the principles that guide human decisions and actions, we may deepen our understanding of the complex interrelatedness of human beings and nature, and we may also begin to create opportunities for improvement and positive change.

Future Directions

Similar questions of definition, implementation, and enforcement emerge over the idea of a biological right as with universal human rights. How should a biological community be defined, species composition, geographic area, or otherwise? Who decides what ecosystem has value? How would this biological right fit into the context of human rights? Could there be enforcement? Are there issues concerning cultural

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 17

sensitivity that must be examined? Could this adversely affect already disadvantaged people? Could real change happen if such a declaration could be made? All these areas and more need to be explored by environmental global justice theorists. However, the future of this area of study needs to involve paying more attention to the ideas of naturalists and ecologists, and naturalists and ecologists must pay more attention to global justice philosophers in order for any sense of the full situation to be unraveled.

References Beitz, C. R. (2001). Human Rights as a Common Concern. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp.

145-166). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Brooks (Ed.). (2008). The Global Justice Reader. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Caney, S. (2005). Cosmopolitan Justice, Responsibility, and Global Climate Change. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The

Global Justice Reader (pp. 689-713). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Edenhofer, O. et al. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. IPCC WGIII AR5 Summary for

Policymakers. <www.ipcc.ch> Field, C. B. et al. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. IPCC WGII AR5 Summary

for Policymakers. <www.ipcc.ch> Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Nussbaum, M. C. (2003). Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp. 598-614). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Nussbaum, M. C. (2002). Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp.

306-314). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Oremus, W. (2013, April 22). The 10 Things Americans Care More About Than the Environment. Slate

Accessed at www.slate.com.

Pogge, T. W. (2001). Eradication Systemic Poverty: Brief for a Global Resources Dividend. In T. Brooks (Ed.),

The Global Justice Reader (pp. 439-453). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Pogge, T. W. (2002). Moral Universalism and Global Economic Justice. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp. 358-382). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Singer, P. (1972). Famine, Affluence, and Morality. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp. 387-396).

Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Singer, P. (2007). One Atmosphere. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp. 667-688). Malden, MA:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader

(pp. 119-123). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ViĂŠ, J. C., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (eds.) (2009). Wildlife in a Changing Wolrdâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;An Analysis of the

2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 180 pp.

Wenar, L. (2003). What We Owe to Distant Others. In T. Brooks (Ed.), The Global Justice Reader (pp. 397-415).

Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Williams, Raymond. (1980). Ideas of Nature. In Problems in Materialism and Culture. (pp. 67-85) London: Verso.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Muhammad Who?: Ango-America’s Ignorance of Islam from the Republican Period to the Beginning of WWI

18

By Michael Jennings Introduction

Edward Said discussed the subject of Orientalism in his book of the same title. The book sent shockwaves throughout the academic community as he described the terrible inaccuracies of over a century of western intellectual development. He writes, “the Orient [Regions in Asia and Africa] was almost a European invention and since antiquity a place of romance. . . and remarkable experiences” (Said 1). With the region itself being an invention of Western design, the people and cultures within the Orient were also seen through this lens of Orientalism. With this projection, Western Civilization invented what it meant to be an Oriental.

The United States during this period was distant from the “center of the world” in Europe. However, the attitudes of Europe have always had an effect on the United States. America’s present perception of Islam has been looked at in depth, but what about the perceptions of Islam before 9/11, the bombings in Beirut, the attacks during the Munich Olympics, and the birth of the state of Israel. It must be asked: How have Anglo American perceptions of Islam changed from the signing of the Constitution to World War 1?

The questions that pervade American perceptions of Islam before World War I focus on the early days of American history, specifically the United States and the country’s relationship with the Barbary States. Researchers have analyzed the public sphere in periods of American history from a variety of genres including magazines, essays, and sermons. The relationship between American Christianity and Islam is also analyzed in depth. Researchers are curious about the effectiveness of American missionaries in the Near East. Many have tried to provide a definitive history for the American Muslim, but the lack of sources make a comprehensive tale very difficult. Researchers have provided a frame of reference in which the perceptions of Muslims by Americans have been defined, but rarely do they analyze how that perception has changed throughout history.

Literature Review

Kambi GhaneaBassiri’s 2010 book, A History of Islam in America, provides a complete narrative of Islam throughout America’s history. The earliest interactions between Americans and Muslims came from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (GhaneaBassiri 16). The earliest evidence one can find of an Islamic presence in the United States is through runaway slave advertisements for Africans with Islamic names. GhaneaBassiri asserts that both whites and Muslims used steps to separate Muslims from African slaves (18-26). In order to assimilate and gain acceptance by the mainstream American culture, many Muslims eventually converted to Christianity, GhaneaBassiri refers to this as “de-Islamicization” (80). Later in the nation’s history, the population of Muslims was further reduced and were augmented of local culture. Much of American opinion of Islam in the Gilded Age was strongly influenced by the popular ideas of the time, such as comparative theology and eugenics (GhaneaBassiri 95-106).

GhaneaBassiri is not the only researcher who attempts to analyze America’s relationship with Islam.

Jane I. Smith tries to make Islam’s history and relevance to American society digestible in her book, Islam in America. She notes that the first wave of non-African Muslim immigration occurred in the years 1875 to 1912 (Smith 52). Diverse groups of Muslims of Indian, Arabic, and Southern European ethnicities, immigrated to the country during this period (Smith 54). Only a small percentage of the Arabs who immigrated to the United States were Muslim, and these immigrants all struggled to assimilate into American culture (Smith 52). Most Arabic immigrants were ignored until the early 20th century and then a stereotype of Arabs

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 19

was perpetuated throughout the public sphere. Also, Muslims were beginning to form an Islamic-American identity (Smith 57). With the increase of Muslims in the country, several previous ethnicities like AngloSaxons and Native Americans converted to Islam (Smith 67-68). Of course, those conversions occurred at a time when religious plurality was more acceptable.

Early American perceptions of Islam were far more dark, according to Thomas S. Kidd’s article, “Is it Worse to Follow Mahomet than the Devil?: Early American Uses of Islam.” He discusses Colonial and early Republican perceptions of Islam. Kidd states that most Americans were exposed to Islamic culture through Barbary Captives’ tales (769). Kidd observes that one of the themes in many of these stories was an emphasis of Christianity’s superiority to Islam (Kidd 773). Through several popular publications, Islam became a term of slander (Kidd 774). Catholicism and Islam were both used as scapegoats. Kidd notices a shift in American perceptions of Islam when the United States became a republic (Kidd 787). Islam shifted from being a symbol of religious evil to a symbol of tyranny. Americans often used symbols of Islam like the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Mohammed in their slander. Other authors concur with Kidd’s assertions, like Denise A. Spellberg. In the article, “Could a Muslim be President: An Eighteenth Century Constitutional Debate,” she examines the role Islam played in the ratification process of the United State’s Constitution. Spellberg observes that the Anti-Federalists compared Muhammad to the Anti-Christ and linked Islam to tyranny (488). She also believes that these were not specific attacks on Islam, but a generalized fear that other religions would threaten the Protestant status quo (Spellberg 487). She also finds sources in which the Revolutionaries compared Britain to the tyrannical rule of the Ottoman Empire (Spellberg 488-489).

Some authors have discovered information that contrasts with Kidd and Spellberg. Robert Battistin’s article, “Glimpses of the Other before Orientalism: The Muslim World in Early American Periodicals, 17851800,” analyzes early American periodicals and attempts to discern American opinions of Islam before the effects of Orientalism, a term defined by Palestinian academic, Edward Said. Battistin states that “[early American periodicals] signaled a surprising variety of attitudes towards Muslims: naive curiosity, obsessive exoticism, geopolitical calculations, gentle condescension, and unabashed bigotry” (447). He also discovers that Islam greatly interested the young nation. Most early periodicals discussed Islam as a sociological idea as opposed to a religion (Battastin 454). Battastin observes that during the Barbary States Crisis, periodicals presented the Barbary States in a negative manner and the rest of the Muslim world as an exotic locale (Battastin 451).

Yvette Talhamy’s article, “American Protestant Missionary Activity Among the Nusayris (Alawis) in Syria in the Nineteenth Century,” presents American perceptions of Islam a bit after the Republican period and their missionary work in the Ottoman Empire. The Protestants were overall unsuccessful with their missionary practices, due to regulation (Talhamy 216). Talhamy noted that the educational structure of the Ottoman Empire made converting anyone difficult (217). Eventually, the Americans began to focus on a disenfranchised Shi’ite minority of Islam called the Nasayris, who the Ottomans did not even consider Muslim (Talhamy 221). The missionaries in Syria also affected American perceptions of Arab Muslims. Overall, the Protestants’ efforts to convert Nasayris failed due to increased efforts by the Ottoman Empire to discourage missionary activity. American missionaries were present in other parts of the Muslim world as well. The article, “American Crosses, Persian Crescents: Religion and the Diplomacy of US-Iranian Relations, 18341911” by Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, examines the relationship between Protestant missionaries and Muslims in Persia. The initial intention of the missionaries was to interact with Iranian Christians (Kashani-Sabet 607). Kashani-Sabet observed that the writings that the missionaries produced profoundly affected American perceptions of Iran. The government and the missionaries coexisted very peacefully (611). Muslims welcomed the missionaries and treated them as if they were Islamic religious leaders. However, similar to missionaries in

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 20

the Ottoman Empire, they were unsuccessful at converting muslims.

Umar F. Abd-Allah’s book, A Muslim in Victorian America: The Life of Alexander Russell Webb, is the first comprehensive biography of Webb and sheds great detail on American perceptions of Islam during the Victorian period. Webb was a prominent American who converted from Christianity to Buddhism to Islam.

He believed that past western representations of Islam were incorrect, and that it was his responsibility to correct these faults (Abd-Allah 4). However, at certain times in Webb’s life, he confirmed the ignorant stereotype of Islam he fought against. (Abd-Allah 4, 166,183). Webb contributed significantly to the public sphere by delivering lectures and publishing a journal called The Moslem World (Abd-Allah 17). Webb seems to always have had the attention of someone during his life. Webb believed that it was not his mission to convert Americans to Islam, but to educate them. He was forced to defend Islam on a regular basis at the lectures (Abd-Allah 176). Regardless, the American people found Webb fascinating (Abd-Allah 163). Webb blamed missionaries for perpetuating and influencing a negative stereotype of Muslims ( Abd-Allah 162). At the World Fair of 1893, Webb spoke on behalf of Islam at the First Parliament of World Religions.

Several primary sources provide an opportunity to examine American perceptions of Islam. Islam in America: a brief statement of Mohammedanism and an outline of the American Islamic propaganda, a book written by Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb, is a strong indicator of American perceptions of Islam at the end of the nineteenth century. Webb also delivered an apology for Islam at the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893.

Analysis and Synthesis

To first discuss the changing dynamics of America’s perceptions of Islam, it is important to define the perceptions at both the beginning of the United States and the beginning of the 20th century. By defining these two endpoints, seeing what has changed over that period of time will be easier. The early American perceptions will be discussed from the writing of the Constitution (1787) to around 1815, when the final Barbary War was fought between the Barbary States and the United States. The Barbary States Wars had a massive effect on the perceptions Americans had of Islam. America seemed to hold several definitions of Islam during this period, using it as a frame of reference within Christianity and also secular Republican culture. A vast majority of Americans were Christian or at least had a long term exposure to Christianity throughout their lifetime. During the early period of American history, sources about Islam came exclusively from Protestants or converts from Islam (GhaneaBassiri 59). This will set a precedent throughout American history, until the 20th century, when the first wave of voluntary Muslim immigrants arrived in America.

There is a consistent grouping of Islam with Catholicism and Judaism during this period (Spellberg 487). The prophet, Muhammed, was often compared to the Pope in religious rhetoric and publications. Early Americans had no love for Catholics, who they saw as their competitors in the New World and for worldwide dominance (Foner 57). Muhammed was also compared to the Anti-Christ. The Enlightenment used Islam to further its agenda, they used comparisons of Islam to Christianity as a means to show the weakness and tyranny of Christianity. In the religious sector of early America, Islam is used as a term of slander. Early American perceptions were not by any means accurate to the actualities of Islam. Throughout this period, Islam is seen as a threat to both freedom and Christianity. Islam is not seen so much as a religion, but as a culture

In secular culture, Islam was far more prevalent. For a majority of Americans, Islam was not seen as a religion but as a culture (Battistin 454). A majority of slaves from Africa were brought to the colonies of Georgia and South Carolina. In those slave systems, labor was organized by tasks (Foner 144). The swamp climate was rife with disease and slaveowners had no desire to contract them. The slaves could largely be independent of European influence, therefore early American Muslims were not even in consistent contact

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 21

with the European macro-culture. The Muslims differentiated themselves from blacks and whites, and attempted to formulate their own position in the racial hierarchy of America. Europeans encouraged this by viewing Muslims as superior to Blacks (GhaneaBassiri 22). In the slave culture, though Islam was prevalent in the population, it was largely unrecognized by European Americans.

In Republican culture, Islam was not seen as an evil tempting institution in the religious sector, but still as a threat. In secular culture, Islam was associated with tyranny and despotism. During the American Revolution, the British were compared to Muslims (Spellberg 489). In many secular comparisons of Islam and tyranny, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, like Muhammed was seen as a symbol of evil and despotism (Kidd 786). The authors, John Trechard and Thomas Gordon both accused Islamic governments of restricting the public sphere (Kidd 787). The Constitutional Conventions in both South Carolina and Virginia agreed that Islam influenced despotism (Spellberg 492). While Christianity viewed Islam as an enemy to their religion, early Americans saw Islam as an enemy to the new ideas of democracy that were forming at the time, like freedom of press. However, presidents held a more inclusive perception of Islam. Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of the Quran in english. John Adams also had an interest in Islam, calling Muhammed “one of the sober inquirers of truths” (Spellberg 489). . A Muslim slave named Abdul Rahman became quite a celebrity during John Quincy Adams’ presidency after the President emancipated him. In fact, he even campaigned on Adams’ behalf against Andrew Jackson. However, this ended up damaging Adams’ campaign after the Jackson campaign linked Rahman’s emancipation with the accusation that Adams wanted to emancipate all slaves (GhanneaBassiri 20).

The public sphere played a large role in how Americans perceived Islam. In 1793, a noticeable shift in publications on Islam began. With an increase of American captives by the Barbary States, the publications began to focus more on attacking those states and not examining the greater Islamic world (Battastin 459).

This divided the American public because they were generally interested in Islamic culture, but feared the Barbary States. A quite popular genre that used Islam was the Barbary Captive tale. These stories are usually about a man of Anglo-Saxon origin who is captured by Barbary pirates and then pressed into slavery. The protagonist experiences the horrors of enslavement, then plots his escape, typically rescuing a few damsels in the process. A story written by William Okeley attacked what he believed to be the hypocrisies of Islam, particularly Ramadan with its days of fasting and nights of celebration (Kidd 768). This established a change in the genre’s rhetoric as it began to focus on Christianity’s superiority to Islam.

The 19th century was a period of internal growth for the United States. For the first 125 years of American history, the country attempted to avoid foreign commitment or was reluctantly involved.

Immigration quotas barred many Muslims from immigrating into the country. That did not limit Muslims from being present in American life. Missionaries throughout the century provided Americans with accounts of their interactions with Muslims. Once again, religious and secular culture played a role in the perceptions of Islam in the United States. Islam disappeared in its conventional form within the country. Muslims who had been brought to the country as slaves died out, and their descendants practiced a form of Islam augmented with both native African religions and Christianity. In the 19th century, Orientalism had strongly taken root in Western civilization and perpetuated itself in every aspect of the culture. The strongest trend that will be shown is the West’s desire to prove it’s superiority to other cultures through academics, military achievement, and commerce.

Missionaries became the main medium between Islam and America throughout the early and middle 19th century. This is largely due to the general interest that missionaries had in the Holy Land (Talhamy 215).

The Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions made it their objective to “propagate the gospel in heathen lands by supporting missionaries and diffusing a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures (Talhamy 216). This

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 22

largely defines the only reason Americans had to go to the Middle East (among other places). Missionaries greatly affected American perceptions of Islam because they were one of the few groups of Americans who actually had contact with it. By believing Islam as wrong, missionaries presented it as a lesser religion.

Missionaries were largely ineffective because in the locations they worked it was a crime to convert a Muslim.

In literature published in America, missionaries in Syria presented the Nasayris as “bloodthirsty” (Talhamy 226). This emphasizes that the missionaries had the goal to “uplift” the Nasayris. Though the Nasayris considered themselves Muslims, the government did not, making them one of the few demographics that American missionaries in Syria could work with. This perception of Muslims through the eyes of Christian missionaries was not exclusively present in the Arab world. In Iran, missionaries saw the government as corrupt (Kashani-Sabet 608). Kashani-Sabet states that America’s relationship with Iran at the time was one of “religious conversion, imperial grandeur, and commerce” (608). Through the missionary activities of Americans, it becomes apparent that Americans saw Islam as a backwards culture that needed to be altered and uplifted, instead of accepted and understood.

No man was more engaged in attempting to change America’s perceptions of Islam in the late 19th century than American Islamic convert, Alexander Russell Webb. During the opening ceremony of his journal, Moslem World, a large crowd was in attendance (Abd-Allah 163). Americans were not only aware of Islam, they also harbored curiosity about it. Webb made it his mission to correct the assumptions that Americans had about Islam (Abd-Allah 121). Webb became somewhat of a celebrity because of his religion.

This further provides evidence of that Americans had an interest in the religion at some point. Webb believed that the most damaging thing about America’s perception of Islam was that they thought they understood the religion. He also believed that Americans had no desire to have their view of Islam corrected (Abd-Allah 167). This comes from the fact they did not believe that their perceptions of Islam needed to be corrected.

Webb was not immune to the Orientalist culture of the time though. First and foremost, Webb did not even want to associate himself with the marginal Islamic immigrant population present in New York (Abd-Allah 166). He had a far different view of Islam than other Muslims and thought his view was superior (GhanneaBassiri 118). In certain occasions, Webb would dress “like” a Muslim (Abd-Allah 9). Webb was not immune to the cultural generalizations made by Western Civilization that there was a certain expectation of what a Muslim should look like. Webb also showed a deeply rooted belief in western superiority. Webb stated in a monograph discussing his publication’s goals: “It is expected that the journal will be the means of creating and encouraging direct intercourse between the Mohammedan world and the more intelligent masses of our country” (GhanneaBassiri 121). Though Webb does not agree with the majority religion in the country, he considered them all to be more intelligent that Muslim world. Even though Webb made it his mission to correct the misconceptions that Americans had about Islam, Webb himself made many factual errors about Islam in his journal (Abd-Allah 183). Webb as a man attempted to change American perceptions of Islam, but in the end was a product of his era. He was indeed an American who believed that his understanding of the East far surpassed those from the East. Ultimately, he proved himself to be the quintessential Orientalist.

The best way to determine American perceptions of Islam during the Gilded Age is to look at a publication of Webb’s called Islam in America: a brief statement of Mohammedanism and an outline of the American Islamic Propaganda. Through what Webb discusses in the publication, it can be shown what Webb believes needs to be corrected about American perceptions of Islam. The first thing he tries to correct is the belief that Islam is a violent religion and one of tyranny (Webb 55). Much of Webb’s arguments attempt to humanize Islam, and link it to the history of Christianity. He compares early Islam’s plight with that of the Christian’s. Webb uses Christian sources to enforce his argument. He quotes an Archbishop Seeker on how

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 23

tolerance is a Christian duty (Webb 63). He also discusses how slavery is illegal in the Koran. This could be linked to the popularity of the Barbary Captive tale and it’s effect on American perceptions that Muslims still practiced slavery. Even though Webb disliked Christian missionaries, he pointed to the Ottoman Empires acceptance of Christian missionaries as proof of Islam’s acceptance (50). He directly attacks the belief that Islam is a “religion of the sword” by using examples throughout history. In the publication, Webb refutes the common belief that all Muslims are fanatics. Webb devotes an entire chapter on polygamy. This shows that Americans had an issue with polygamy. In Islam in America, Webb states that polygamy is not a part of the “modern muslim’s” life. During lectures throughout the country, Webb was often forced to explicitly discuss polygamy (Abd-Allah 176). Finally, Webb tries to show the civilizing power of Islam by saying that Arabs before Muhammed were “law-less, predatory, and vice-ful” (Webb 42). This may be an attempt by Webb to show that it is not Islam that is the backward religion, but perhaps the people who practice it. In Islam in America, Webb provides evidence as to what American perceptions of Islam were at the time. Instead of seeing Islam as a tyrannical threat to the Christendom and Western Civilization like in the Republican era, Islam was seen by Gilded Age Americans to be inferior, weak, and backward.

The most definitive event of 19th century America’s perceptions of Islam comes in 1893 at the World’s Colombian Exposition, a world fair used to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World. There were several sections of the exposition that grouped together cultures from around the world. In the Bazaar of Nations, the cultures were put in order by “civility.” Western European exhibitions in the Bazaar were on the far end of the street, while the cultures of Africa were placed on the opposite end (Abd-Allah 214). Islamic civilization was considered “semi-civilized, therefore occupied the middle parts of the Bazaar (GhanneaBassiri 108). The Ottoman Empire and the governments of the Muslim world were confined to what the West perceived as Islamic because of the power that the organizers of the exposition had over what was presented.

There were several “conferences” during the Colombian Exposition, one of which was the First World’s Parliament of Religions. The parliament was used as a chance for Western Civilization to prove it’s superiority to non-Christians (GhanneaBassiri 112). Only one Muslim was in attendance at the World’s Parliament of Religions was Alexander Russell Webb. However, many other people spoke about Islam including several Christian ministers and a Jewish man from Egypt (Abd-Allah 228). Webb spoke two times during the Parliament, his audience has been described as “intelligent, sympathetic, and quick to appreciate and applaud” (Abd-Allah 4). The only times that Webb was disrupted during his speech was when he discussed polygamy and by a minister named Joseph Cook who was seen as disruptive throughout the Parliament.

Though it is important that Webb had the opportunity to describe his religion to a western audience, Webb also experienced a great deal of censorship. This was especially evident when Webb compared the social conditions of the Islam world to America’s. Abou Naddara, the Jewish man who spoke about Islam, delivered a largely favorable speech on Islam, but also experienced a great deal of censorship (Abd-Allah 228).

A minister named George Washburn also delivered a speech on Islam in which he compared it to Christianity.

In the end, he still hailed Christianity’s superiority to Islam (Abd-Allah 229). Washburn’s analysis was typical of then current perceptions which believed Islam to be “stagnant and opposed to progress” (Abd-Allah 231).

In other aspects of secular culture, Islam was defined by Americans. First, it appears that a majority of Americans had very little interest in Islam (GhanneaBassiri 124). With no significant population of Muslims in the United States, many Americans most likely never came into contact with a Muslim.

Muslims were not even differentiated from other groups coming from the same regions. Sikhs and Muslims immigrating from the Indian subcontinent were called Hindus by Americans (Smith 60). Muslims with darker

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 24

complexions were considered “colored” and integrated into the system of segregation in the South (Smith 56). Many Muslims were lured to the United States with dreams of opportunity, but Jane Smith states, “lack of language skills, poverty, loneliness, and the absence of coreligionists all contributed to the isolation and unhappiness of [early] Muslim [immigrants]” (55). This shows that Muslims were largely ignored during their early years as immigrants in the United States. This does not mean that Muslims were entirely invisible.

One immigrant named Hajj Ali, (Americanized to Hi Jolly) was recruited by the U.S. Calvary to train camels.

Many traditional names went through periods of Americanization like Muhammed was simplified to Mike (Smith 57). This is evidence that Muslim immigrants experienced an assimilation process similar to many other immigrant groups.

As America moved into the 20th century, the Muslim community had grown to a considerable size and finally began to be recognized by the public. A stereotype of Arab Muslims began to perpetuate itself in the public sphere as well, in which the caricature was given large black eyes, a big nose, a mustache, and ill-fitting clothes (Smith 57). Satirist Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) best described secular opinion in his book, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer tells Huck Finn that a Muslim “was any person who wasn’t a Presbyterian” (Abd-Allah 12). Kashani-Sabet believes Americans saw Islam as “a confused benighted [religion], ill-suited for modern life (607). In both secular and religious life, Americans believed that they understood Islam in a more complex way, while in fact their definitions became further distanced from the truth.

Something that did not change throughout America’s early history was religion’s effect on American perceptions on Islam. In both the earlier periods around the signing of the Constitution and the throughout the 19th century, Christian leaders used Islam as a negative example. This belief that Christian leaders can be considered authorities on Islam also appears in the World’s Parliament of Religions, where a majority of the speakers on Islam were Christian ministers. The greatest difference between the two periods is the contact that Christian leaders had with Islam. In the Republican period, this contact was almost nonexistent, however during the 19th century, Missionaries were one of the only groups of Americans who came into contact with Muslims. People feared the imperial power of Islam. Former vice president Aaron Burr feared that Islam would take over the world (Kidd 780). This fear permeates into later periods of American history, when missionaries still associated Islamic governments with tyranny and corruption and Webb had to refute the commonly held belief that Islam is a “religion of the sword. The differences between “taking over the world” and being a “religion of sword” are negligible. The reason may be found in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Empire still posed a great threat to Christian Europe during the 18th century. However, its defeat in the Crimean War in the mid-19th century proved that the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and from that point onwards, referred to as the “sick man of Europe.” Also, the Imperial dominance by Britain, Germany, and France in Africa and Asia proved that Christian Europe could “subdue” Muslims.

Secular culture was far more reaching and broader in scope. Islam was viewed as an exotic culture in the Republican period. This belief that Islam is also a culture lasts into the late 19th century, best exemplified with the Bazaar of Nations where Islamic Civilizations were ranked as semi-civilized, above the African cultures. This mark of “semi-civility” has its roots in antebellum America and further displays the efforts of Muslims and Anglo Americans to separate Muslims from African-Americans and rank the Muslims as superior. Throughout American history, Islam is fitted into the racial hierarchy of the nation. In both periods the public sphere played an integral role in the America perceptions of Islam. In the Republican period, Barbary Captive Tales perpetuated early Orientalism. The public sphere is seen as so valuable that Alexander Russell Webb tries to use the public sphere to correct American perceptions of Islam, but it was the American lack of interest in Islam that leads to Webb’s failure. Islam was never a primary concern for Americans.

When the Islam becomes a noticeable part of the public sphere, it is during the Barbary States Crisis and

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 25

the American public mobilizes against that specific region of the Muslim world. During the period when the Moslem World was published, America had no direct contact with Muslims. In fact, during the 19th century, the Ottoman Sultan decided to close it’s embassy in the United States due to lack of value and interest on the part of both nations (Foner 655). Even when Americans did interact with Muslims, they grouped them together with either Hindus (in the case of the Indian Subcontinent) or Christians (in the Arab world).

Conclusion

American perceptions of Islam subtly changed over the first 125 years of American history. Though an overall mood towards Islam was seen with distance, fascination, and inferiority, it was never a prime interest for Americans. Lack of mass interaction with Muslims contributed to a cultural ignorance of the religion for a majority of the period covered. In truth, most Americans did not know what separated a Muslim from any other person from the Eastern world. They did know what a Muslim was “supposed” to look like though. These generalizations had an immense effect on all Americans’ perceptions. Americans did not publish many materials on Islam. It was a struggle to discover a sufficient amount of sources that conveyed the many different periods of America’s early history. Islam has always been a part of this nation whether it be through the slave culture of antebellum America, the Barbary States Crisis, or the minimal influx of Muslim immigration at the turn of the 19th century. Islam is divided into sects that are very different from one another and many of those sects have a rich history within America. It would be interesting to explore how those different sects interacted with Americans. Anglo Americans just did not realize that Islam was around them because it was only on the fringes of society. Anglo America is not the only part of America; there are several other ethnic groups that represent this nation. In the end, Anglo America was the group focused on the most in this paper. Islam did have an effect on African-American culture and with more of this information available every year with the discovery of journals and other primary sources, the relationship between America and Islam will become clearer and clearer.

Works Cited Abd-Allah, Umar F. A Muslim in Victorian America: The Life of Alexander Russell Webb. New York: Oxford

University Press. 2006. Print Battistini, Robert. “Glimpses of the Other Before Orientalism: The Muslim World in Early American

Periodicals, 1785-1800.” Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal 8.2 (2010): 446–474. Print.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty. New York: W.W. Norton. 2012. Print.

GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz. A History of Islam in America. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2010. Print Kashani-Sabet, Firoozeh. “American Crosses, Persian Crescents: Religion and the Diplomacy of US-Iranian

Relations, 1834-1911.” Iranian Studies 44.5 (2011): 607–625. Print.

Kidd, Thomas S. “‘Is It Worse to Follow Mahomet Than the Devil?’ Early American Uses of Islam.” Church

History 72.4 (2003): 766–790. Print.

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books. 1994. Print Smith, Jane I. Islam in America. New York: Columbia University Press. 2010. Print.

Spellberg, Denise A. “Could a Muslim Be President? An Eighteenth-Century Constitutional Debate.”

Eigteenth-Century Studies 39.4 (2006): 485–506. Print.

Talhamy, Yvette. “American Protestant Missionary Activity Among the Nusayris (Alawis) in Syria in the Nineteenth Century.” Middle Eastern Studies 47.2 (2011): 215–236. Print.

Webb, Alexander Russell. Islam in America :a brief statement of Mohammedanism and an outline of the American

Islamic propaganda. New York : Oriental Publ. Co., 1893. Print.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 26

An Outbreak of the Racism Virus H1N3/5: Analyzing Symbols of Transmission and Resistance in Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

By Amanda Erwin

Most scientists classify viruses as non-living entities, for viruses require a host cell’s protein machinery to replicate its viral DNA. On its own, a virus is dormant. It requires a host cell, and more importantly, a viable host cell environment. Some cells are agents of transmission in which the virus permeates the cell membrane and subsequently infects the cell, leading to viral replication and therefore the proliferation and spread of the virus. Other cells resist infection. The host cell environment can hinder replication, with the innate immune system defending the host cells from viral infection. Similarly, racism is not a living entity. Racism uses an individual’s machinery of voice and action to transmit its ideology. Racism needs a viable environment perpetuating norms of hierarchical beauty and self-worth. Just as certain cells resist viral infection, certain individuals can resist the permeation of racism into their identity. Through visual imagery and character symbols composing the community of Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye demonstrates how racism can be perpetuated through agents and structures of transmission, as well as resisted – much like viral transmission and resistance.

Viruses are dormant until brought into contact with a host cell. Though not metabolically active, the structure and infection potential of the virus exists. Morrison presents a variety of dormant viruses of racism in the Midwestern community of Lorain, Ohio. Namely, Morrison focuses on inanimate images of candies and billboards perpetuating racism in American society. The innocent African American children presented by Morrison are host cells, free of infection at birth, but prone to infection through contact with the dormant viruses presented in white American culture. One such African American girl, Pecola Breedlove, buys the pale yellow, rectangular Mary Jane candies from Yacobowki’s Fresh Veg. Meat and Sundries Store. The candies are described as having, “A picture of little Mary Jane, for whom the candy is named. Smiling white face. Blond hair in gentle disarray, blue eyes looking at her out of a world of clean comfort” (Morrison). The visual imagery employed in this presentation of candy, a substance innocently and ubiquitously consumed by children, as an origin from which whiteness is beautiful and desirable in American society, serves as a sort of dormant virus – dormant until seen, desired, purchased, ingested, and processed by Pecola’s machinery. Other examples of dormant viruses as structures of white hegemony include the visual imagery of the Shirley Temple cup, billboards, blue-eyed dolls, and Betty Grable smiling down from the Dreamland Theater. With the “blue-and-white Shirley Temple cup”, the dormant virus has been deposited onto the dinner table of the African American household, an advantageous point of entry into the innocent host cell (Morrison). In an attempt to quench her self-loathing, Pecola guzzles whiteness in the form of pint after pint of milk from the Shirley Temple cup, allowing the virus of racism to permeate her gut, bloodstream, and mind.

Upon locating a host cell, the virus attaches to a receptor on the host cell membrane. The virus then penetrates the cell membrane, and subsequently, the protein capsid surrounding the viral DNA dissociates, releasing the viral information for subsequent replication. Generation after generation, the Mary Janes, billboard images, and blue-eyed dolls attach to the innocent African American children. The virus replicates and intensifies in these individuals, and the racism virus uses these individuals as an agent of transmission.

The virus is transmitted from the dormant structure of American society to the individual, who spreads it throughout the community. This can be seen in the intra-racism of both the African American boys on the playground and the “high-yellow dream child, with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 27

hung down her back”, Maureen Peal (Morrison). In these descriptions Morrison illustrates how racism is transmitted throughout the African American community. When the African American boys torment Pecola with the chant, “Black e mo. Black e mo Yadaddsleepsnekked. Black e mo black e mo ya dadd sleeps necked.

Black e mo…” (Morrison), Morrison shows how the dormant virus has attached to the African American boys, has been activated within their bodies, processed and replicated by their machinery, and subsequently spread within the African American community. By perpetuating the virus, the African American boys are commenting on their own condition and according to Jennifer Gillian, focusing on the wrong front. Gillian applies historian Sidney Lens’ concept of “The Maginot Line Syndrome” to Morrison’s character depictions.

In critiquing The Bluest Eye, Gillian notes,

There is much focusing on the wrong front in the novel: The townswomen concentrate on vilifying the

prostitutes for denigrating black womanhood, but do not acknowledge the economic inequalities that

foster prostitution in the first place; the prostitutes focus on hating the townswomen, but exempt from

their scorn the churchwomen who seem most to embody the ideology of true womanhood that, in actu

ality, excludes black women. (Gillian 283) Extending Gillian’s analysis, the African American boys on the playground taunting Pecola have the “Maginot Line Syndrome” and are focusing on the wrong front. Instead of resisting the viruses presented in structures of white hegemony, they are host cells replicating and perpetuating their own oppression.

“Six-finger-dog-tooth-meringue-pie”, or the high-yellow dream child Maureen Peal, also injects and spreads the virus. Morrison’s attention to Maureen Peal’s dogtooth suggests the ferocity of Maureen and her capacity of “biting” and spreading the fatal “rabies” virus of racism through her mere presence. Rachel Blumenthal comments on this intra-racism in the African American community of Lorain, stating that Maureen “injects (or at least lets loose) a “shades-of-black” racism on the community. Maureen’s entrance into the story inflicts on Claudia a sharp realization of her own social “inferiority” to lighter-skinned African Americans” (119). Other high-yellow African American characters serving as symbols of transmission are Geraldine and Junior. Morrison continuously uses ivory-coated descriptive language to depict characters elevated in the hierarchical Ohio community. She describes Geraldine as one of those women “who smell like wood, newspapers, and vanilla” and make their husband’s shirts “stiffly starched and white” (Morrison).

Geraldine embodies the social class racism has thrust upon her. She and other women like her have:

Learned how to do the white man’s work with refinement: home economics to prepare his food; teacher

education to instruct black children in obedience; music to soothe the weary master and entertain his

blunted soul. (Morrison) Geraldine and other women who “have gotten rid of the funk” add to the longevity of the virus by instilling their values into their children. Geraldine perpetuates the racism virus by transmitting it to her son, Junior, in the form of the distinction between colored people and niggers. Morrison uses visual imagery and descriptive language to depict Junior:

[Junior] belonged to the former group: he wore white shirts and blue trousers; his hair was cut

as close to his scalp as to avoid any suggestion of wool, the part was etched into his hair by the

barber. (Morrison) Geraldine and Junior transmit the virus of racism in different ways. Geraldine transmits the virus through her fear of contamination. Her sterility in all aspects results in her complete visual distortion of Pecola.

Geraldine looks at Pecola but does not see her. The scene culminates with Geraldine calling Pecola “a nasty little black bitch” (Morrison). Pecola internalizes this racist remark, a quote added to the many that would lead to her eventual madness. Junior transmits the virus by bullying girls. This is a physical transmission of the virus, as Junior delights in watching the girls fall and get back up with “their faces red and crinkled”

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 28

(Morrison). As a virus cannot exist on its own, racism also relies on the individual to perpetuate the ideology through voices and actions like those of Geraldine and Junior.

Certain cells resist virus infection, often through the help of the innate immune system in their cell environment. As Phylis Klotman notes, “Claudia is able to learn and mature because the McTeers have the inner strength to withstand the poverty and discrimination of a racist society and to provide an environment in which their children can grow” (Klotman 124). Contrasted sharply to the disillusioned Pecola, Claudia is the symbol of resistance to the virus of racism in Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. It may be due to her age, but Claudia sees what Pecola and her older sister Frieda do not see. Claudia is able to recognize the incongruence of the white dolls for Christmas. She cannot see what is so special about them. In an effort to deconstruct the white beauty ideal, Claudia dismembers the dolls, looking for the beauty she cannot find in the unyielding plastic doll. Reminiscent of her winter vomit, described as “stubbornly clinging to its own mass, refusing to break up and be removed”, Claudia is fixated on the integrity of her identity and refuses to let other ideas, or inanimate dormant viruses, infringe upon her worldview. Claudia resists the virus forcefully, noting, “By and by I will not get sick; I refuse to” (Morrison). It is in the first section of her work, Winter, that Morrison foreshadows Claudia’s resiliency to white hegemony as a consequence of her stern but caring home environment. Her family environment represents her innate immune system, protecting her from the threat of the racism virus. Klotman notes that the role of family in Claudia’s resistance is symbolic in Morrison’s Dick and Jane primer form. Klotman notes that the second simulated-reader version of the Dick and Jane primer at the beginning of The Bluest Eye “is less clear yet still comprehensible although written without proper capitals or punctuation” (Klotman 123). Further, Klotman notes that Morrison’s form in this introduction is symbolic of the lifestyle of the “two Black McTeer children, Claudia and Frieda, shaped by poor but loving parents try desperately to survive the poverty, the Northern cold and Northern style of racism they encounter in Ohio” (Klotman 123). This second form contrasts both the perfect first version depicting the white world and the third version that is a distorted run-on sentence depicting the Breedlove lifestyle. It is in this form selection that Morrison lays the foundation for Claudia’s symbolic resistance.

Confronted with host cell resistance, viruses subtly mutate and evade host cell defenses. The evasion of the defenses of one host cell can have an exponential effect, compromising the health of the entire organism. In the case of Lorain, Ohio, the African American community is an organ intrinsic to the complex functioning organism that is America. Through the perspective of the Lorain African American community, Morrison demonstrates the dormancy and spread of the virus-like racism, as well as identifying the possible resiliency and resistance to racism through literary symbols. Edmund Napieralski nationalizes the metaphor, arguing that,

The plague that ravages the landscape and infects people in the world of the novel and generation

after generation is racism. Racism denies truth, freedom, justice, and the opportunity to

experience identity and dignity. The tragic victim is neither a king nor even one little girl but an entire

people. (Napieralski 59) Further commenting on and setting up a stark contrast between the agriculturally fertile farm region of Ohio and the barren American wasteland created through racism, Morrison, through Claudia’s narration, notes “I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that year. This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers” (Morrison). Through the analysis of symbols of resistance and transmission, Morrsion’s The Bluest Eye has illustrated that racism is a virus, dormant at first in white hegemonic societal structures, but slowly permeating the core of the human identity, using the individual’s machinery of voice and action to replicate, and transmit oppression throughout the community. As with every virus, there are possibilities for resistance. It is this resistance that Morrison urges us to explore and support. Most

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 29

importantly, through inanimate symbols of dormancy and character symbols of transmission, Morrison urges us to identify the racism virus in all of its subtle mutations, shapes, and structures, preventing the further destruction of little African American girls like Pecola and on a broader scale, the outbreak, infection, and necrosis of America by the ever-evolving Racism Virus H1N3/5.

Works Cited Blumenthal, Rachel. “Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” The Explicator 65.2 (2007): 117-119. Literature Online

Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2013.

Gillian, Jennifer. “Focusing on the wrong front: historical displacement, the Maginot Line, and The Bluest Eye.” African American Review. 36.2 (2002): 283. Gale Academic OneFile. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.

Klotman, Phyllis. “Dick-and-Jane and the Shirley Temple Sensibility in the Bluest Eye.” Black American

Literature Forum 13.4 (1979): 123-125. www.jstor.org. Web. 5 Apr. 2013.

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Vintage Books, 2007. Unpaginated. Kindle file.

Napieralski, Edmund A. “Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye.’ (Toni Morrison).” The Explicator 53.1 (1994) 59+.

Academic OneFile. Web 9 Apr. 2013.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Children’s Literature Hybrids: A Genre Analysis

30

By Kristine Stafford

James Patterson is a writer well-known for his suspense and thriller novels. In 2011, a new book penned by him landed on bookshelves….in the children’s section. Along with Chris Tebbits and illustrator Laura Park, Patterson wrote Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, a book that follows Rafe Khatchadorian as he strives to set a record for breaking the most rules at his new middle school. While this book initially sounds like a typical work of children’s literature, it is unique in that hand-drawn pictures by Rafe’s friend Leonardo are prevalent throughout the book, which is told from Rafe’s perspective. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is one example of a unique format that is beginning to make a strong presence in the children’s section of bookstores and libraries.

While increasing popularity has allowed this type of book to proliferate over the past five years, these books still do not seem to fit into any preexisting group of literature. Unlike illustrated texts or some forms of picture books, the images these books convey differ from what is presented in the text. Also unlike graphic novels, the new grouping of books presents text and image separately, often requiring readers to make a decision as to what order to view them. The emerging category combines aspects of picture books, prose-only books, and graphic novels by using multiple modes in an equally significant way to communicate their stories. As this emerging set of texts is relatively new, teachers and librarians are unsure of what to do with these books. Oftentimes, there is a misconception that these books’ main audience should be reluctant readers. Since these books often heavily utilize graphics and images, it is not only assumed that reluctant readers will be more likely to read them, but that they are simple and easy enough to be appropriate for these students. Because of these attitudes, the emerging set of books is greatly misunderstood, and its potential for generating deep critical analysis is going unrealized.

The notion that these books are ‘easy’ sometimes leads to them being given to children who are not academically or emotionally ready to read and comprehend these often very complex texts. Rather, these books need to be defined more thoroughly so they can be viewed in a different and more positive manner. For a thorough examination to happen, these books need to be thought of as their own genre, a genre that might be called the ‘multimodal hybrid,’ because multiple modes are prevalent in these novels, and because they combine textual and visual elements to create a hybrid form. The distinction is needed because these books utilize modes differently than graphic novels and picture books; if they are grouped within these preexisting categories, their capabilities to cultivate multimodal learning will not be utilized effectively.

The first step in recognizing multimodal hybrids as their own genre is defining the term ‘genre’ itself.

Genre theorist John Frow describes genre as a matter of “organising things into recognisable classes” (51).

Each literary genre has a set of unifying attributes that create a connection between books. For example, books that are categorized as mystery novels are known for containing elements such as a crime that was committed, a riddle that needs to be solved, and a ‘detective’ character that brings resolution to the problem.

Some may argue that multimodal hybrids should be considered a mode of discourse (or format) rather than an actual genre. Yet Derrida’s differentiation between mode and genre suggests otherwise. Drawing on Genette’s definition of mode, Derrida argues that “it remains, in contradistinction to genre, purely formal.

Reference to a content has no pertinence” (Derrida 62). From this perspective, format is separate from a work of literature, having little effect on plot and content. For instance, a printed book and an e-book would be examples of modes of discourse, for both can tell the same story without having an effect on the content of the book. Instead of remaining formal and separate in this manner, the modes that comprise multimodal hybrids have pertinence and are important to the telling of the story, making modality a characteristic of

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 31

these genres. These frameworks allow for considering multimodal hybrids as a genre rather than a format.

While multimodal hybrids share characteristics with other genres (such as imagery with picture books and panels with comic books), these books share characteristics with each other in their own distinctive way and therefore should be recognized as a genre of their own.

In considering multimodal hybrids as a genre, one of the genre’s main characteristics is that it is composed of modes, which are methods of discourse that convey information to the reader. Examples of modes include text, images, dialog bubbles, and website links, among other things. The combination of two or more modes creates meanings in unique ways that cannot be done by either mode alone, which is emphasized by literacy education expert Dale Jacobs when he states that “in a multimodal text, meaning is created through print, visuals, and the combination of the two in order to achieve effects and meanings that would not be possible in either a strictly print or strictly visual text” (182). A variety of modes is effective in communicating a story in multimodal hybrids because these modes each have a social significance that resonates with readers, for modes are “forms within various sign systems that carry the meanings that a social collective recognizes and understands” (Albers 10). Because these modes are used by readers in everyday communication, readers can relate to multimodal hybrids when they incorporate these familiar modes.

Oftentimes, this incorporation connects the modes to each other instead of isolating them. Such interactions between modes are what mainly characterize the genre of multimodal hybrids, for within these books, modes portray new ideas or enhance existing concepts in a way that is different from other genres of literature. As this grouping of books is relatively new, the research on multimodal hybrids and how modes interact is fairly limited; until more research develops, scholarly sources on both picture book and comic book theory can be utilized to discuss the features of multimodal hybrids. Multimodal hybrids can have elements of these books without fitting exclusively into either category, as genres are “open-ended sets” (Frow 28), so these sources present ideas that can be extended to specifically fit multimodal hybrids in a unique and significant way.

Beyond the aspect of multimodality, these texts – like any genre – share a usage of other features, such as rhythmic pacing and irony, and closure, which will be discussed later as part of a taxonomy. A taxonomy, or range of categories through which these books can be viewed, will unite these books as a genre through exploring the categories and defining characteristics and functions of this genre because it is vast in terms of format and style. Breaking the group into sub-groups that share specific characteristics will allow for a cleaner definition of the group as a genre as well as for closer analysis under a more critical lens. This paper will act as a taxonomy, as it will categorize multimodal hybrids in several different ways, sorting the genre and then focusing on some specific components to develop a set of characteristics that will aid in discerning multimodal hybrids. This taxonomy asserts that multimodal hybrids compose a complex genre that engages readers and is beneficial in developing higher-level thinking skills.

While all multimodal hybrids utilize modes in a way that creates complexity, not all of them obtain meaning in the same way. In order to examine these books on a deeper level, they should be grouped so that commonalities and patterns can be seen more clearly. In fact, there are four main categories into which these books can be divided. These categories are based on the presence and interaction of modes within the books, for the variety and use of modes within these novels illustrates the complexity that these novels can have.

The first category is ‘text with modal supplements.’ These books feel like a ‘typical’ novel, with text being the dominant mode, and convey an overall subjective feel. For instance, in Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze, Alan Silberberg tells a compelling story through text in third person narrative, with doodles and comic panels to supplement, requiring readers to analyze multiple components. On the other end of the spectrum are ‘minimal text hybrids,’ which use modes other than text – though they may naturally have text incorporated

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 32

into them, such as a business card – to convey a story. Jennifer L. Holm and Elicia Castaldi’s Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf is an example of this, for it conveys the plot of the story through receipts, school assignments, and other modes of communication that readers encounter daily. Readers must contemplatively decipher what pieces of information are most important, and use these fragments to connect pieces of the story. A third category is ‘isolated modes,’ in which books are split into sections for each mode instead of incorporating multiple modes on the same page or spread. An example is Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck, in which one character’s story is told through words, while the story of another character, who lived about 50 years prior, is communicated through images. These stories run parallel and eventually intertwine; then both modes work together (while remaining separate) to communicate the rest of the plot. The isolation of the modes requires analytical skills in order to connect these modes to each other to make sense of the plot and the characters.

The fourth category is ‘integrated modes,’ which combine text with various modes in a way that gives all modes equal importance in communicating the plot. The main format that such interaction is achieved through is a first person narrator who writes the text and draws the pictures and images. An example of the ‘integrated modes’ category is H.N. Kowitt’s The Loser List, in which the text is presented as a series of personal journal entries with doodles on almost every page. ‘Integrated modes’ assist readers in developing their literary comprehension in requiring the reader to synthesize (at least) two different modes simultaneously. In particular, readers have to decide what mode to partake in first, if they are to engage in one mode at a time, or if they switch back and forth on a page. One of the reasons that the ‘integrated modes’ category is so exciting is that many of these works appear to be created by a character; they realistically seem like actual pieces of the main character’s property. These supposed journals and diaries may inspire readers to become writers and share their own personal stories in a similar format. For example, Jeff Kinney created the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book, which guides readers in expressing their own life story through drawing pictures and answering questions. Even the most recent edition of Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel includes bonus content in the back with tips about how to draw and keep a sketch journal (Barshaw 178-184). The capability of these books to be empowering is one of the things that make them so significant.

In order to continue exploring how multiple modes interact to create meaning, it is worth examining the group of multimodal hybrids labeled ‘integrated modes’ with the intention of classifying the different types of interactions between word-based and image-based modes within the multimodal hybrid genre.

‘Integrated modes’ were selected for analysis not only because the books in the category are popular and are therefore more commonly known, but because they are most representative of multimodal hybrids; the categories of ‘isolated modes’ and ‘mostly textless hybrids’ are at the far end of the spectrum of multimodal hybrids, and ‘texts with modal supplements’ rely on text more than images instead of relying on modes equally. The books that will be used in the following section are, in order of discussion, Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. While both of these books are part of series, the selected works are the first books from each series. The chosen books have the commonality that the main characters are young adolescents, while they also share similarities in thematic structure, including elements such as surviving middle school, experiencing their first crushes, and family dynamics.

In the ‘integrated modes’ multimodal hybrids, the primary function of the interaction of modes is to further the plot. Rather than overlapping, each mode presents a separate portion of the story. That is, the words contribute to only a portion of the story; without other modes in addition to the pure language mode, the plot of the story would be incomplete. The novel Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel conveys the importance of additional modes in multimodal hybrids well. Ruth McNally Barshaw combines text, labeled

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 33

drawings, and comic panel sequences to create a journal of Ellie’s documentation of a week-long camping trip with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. The story begins through the modes of text and drawings. There are even some labeled diagrams to convey scenery and characters. All of these modes are supposedly created by the first person narrator, Ellie, as the book is labeled as her sketchbook on the warning page. The plot of the story is conveyed equally through the various modes incorporated throughout the book. That is to say, neither text nor image is more important than the other in terms of telling the story. In fact, each of these modes conveys information that without, the plot is incomplete. Conveying unique information is an important concept of multimodal hybrids, for each mode is equally significant in its communication. An example of the significance of each mode on a page can be shown in Figure 1, which is the first page of the novel and includes Ellie’s description of her family. The arrangement of the page forces readers to switch from mode to mode rather quickly. There are two ways in which the modes convey the family, and each way is

communicating something different. Due to the flow of the page,

readers view the images of Ellie’s family before they read the

text.The doodles convey all six members of the family and their

physical appearance. Readers learn what Ellie’s family looks like

without having to read a long-worded description of physical

attributes. The following text describes the ages of each family

member, additionally noting why each family member is

happy. The text does not directly tell readers that they are

happy because the reader had the opportunity to learn through

analyzing the facial cues from the images. Instead, it provides

clarification to assist the reader if their still-developing

analytical skills caused them to miss this aspect of the story.

The page ends with the text, “So why am I unhappy?” which

leads into the plot. The audience would not know that Ellie was

unhappy without looking at the images, where Ellie is noticeably

frowning while the rest of her family is grinning widely. Readers

need to use analytical skills to decipher that being unhappy is not

typical for Ellie, as the first self-portrait she draws depicts her as

happy, with flowers, hearts, and butterflies that indicate that she typically loves life.

Ellie McDoodle is also a good example for how the

concept of rhythm can appear in multimodal hybrids.

Figure 1. Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen,

Nodelman discusses the importance of the “rhythmic pattern Will Travel, page 1.

of relationships between words and pictures” (258). As it is typically difficult for a reader to look at and synthesize multiple modes at the exact same time, the reader must alternate between modes. Rhythm is not always simple, however. For instance, there is a scene in Ellie in which the family stargazes; they are all lying on the ground at the bottom third of the page and the sky, which is filled with over thirty speech bubbles, covers the top two-thirds of the page (Barshaw 80-81). There is no obviously intended order for readers to navigate these speech bubbles – some seem to make more sense when read from left to right, but others make more sense when read from top to bottom. Even though the disorder of the speech bubbles can be considered confusing, it is an appropriate construction because it expresses the idea that everyone is excitedly talking at once as they gaze at the stars. These examples, while only two, convey that there are various ways to create a rhythm within a multimodal hybrid. They illustrate that

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 34

rhythm is an important component to multimodal hybrids because there is a physical relationship between the modes that are present on a page.

In addition, the modes in multimodal hybrids can also interact ironically. Irony arises in literature when “we know something more and something different from what we are being told” (Nodelman 223). More specifically, irony occurs in multimodal hybrids when one mode contradicts or implies something different from what the other mode or modes describing the same situation convey. Irony illustrates an intricacy that is beyond many picture books; while text and images work together to create a common meaning in picture books, these modes are working in contrast when creating irony in multimodal hybrids. A work that conveys the power of irony in multimodal hybrids well is Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It is written in a diary format, though the main character Greg would like to convince readers that ‘his’ book is not a diary, despite the fact that it chronicles his first full year of middle school in first person. The text is formatted to look like handwriting, and the curvy lines and cartoonish expressions of the comic-like illustrations make them appear to be hand-drawn. When these elements are combined with the notebook lines that appear on every page (even noticeably passing through the illustrations), the book has a realistic quality; the reader feels as if they are holding someone’s actual diary.

Figures 2 and 3 highlight how irony works in multimodal hybrids. These pieces are on separate pages, providing a ‘pause’ for readers to think about the text before moving to the image. The pause makes the contrasting ideas presented in the image more

surprising and amusing, similar to how the pause

before the punch line of a joke makes it more

hilarious. The audience reads in Figure 2 that Greg believes that he would handle responsibility well.

Readers may instinctually trust the narrator Figure 2: Diary of aWimpy Kid, page 151

and take the statement to be true. However, Figure

3 depicts Greg refusing to let students cross the street. The speech bubbles in the cartoon provide the reader with the knowledge that the students

have been waiting for an exceptionally long time.

Their mouths are turned downwards in a subtle frown, indicating their disgust. These two modes are presenting two completely different ideas to

the reader. One idea is that Greg would do well

in a position of authority; the other idea is that

Greg would abuse the power he is given. The reader now becomes involved in making meaning

of the modes; they have to decide which mode is

accurately conveying the truth, for both of the Figure 3: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, page 152 messages cannot both be true simultaneously.

Such contradictions (and the irony that results) make Greg, according to Gifford, an “unreliable narrator” (44). That is to say, readers cannot accept everything that Greg says as truth. There is almost something ironic about the irony of the unreliable narrator. While readers see that Greg stretches the truth in the text, they are able to find honesty in the images. Greg is not a completely unreliable narrator because readers are able to find an accurate understanding of what actually occurs in the plot through some mode presented in the book, which brings up the question of why the narrator does not just communicate the plot

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 35

accurately. Perhaps Greg is just conveying his perception of the world – he writes what he feels and draws what he experiences. Just as these two things do not always line up, readers can relate to these inconsistencies in the real their life: the way they perceive something may not be how it really is.

The examples within the categories of ‘text with modal supplements,’ ‘minimal text hybrid,’ isolated modes,’ and ‘integrated modes’ convey a variety of ways in which multiple modes interact within a multimodal hybrid, as well as other characteristics of the genre such as the use of rhythm, closure, and irony.

The examples illustrate that these books are complex, mainly because of the interaction between modes.

Though critical thinking and analytical skills are needed to maximize the potential of these books, these books can also be used to develop those skills in students. Knowledge of the properties and functions of multimodal hybrids needs to be applied in order that the potential of these books is achieved. First off, it is important that more multimodal hybrids be published. As the genre is quite new, there is not a large amount of existing literature within it, meaning that more works of value are necessary for exploring it further while providing its audience with more works to enjoy. Having more multimodal books will also help to develop the definition and characteristics of this genre, which is similar to how, in a survey, more participants in a sample of a population will produce more accurate generalizations. As students grow in age and reading ability, it can be asked what is next for them as well. A social construction exists that, as readers develop reading sophistication, they move from books with pictures to books without pictures as they age (McCloud 140).

However, the notion that books without pictures are ‘better’ is false. Just because a book has images or modes other than text does not mean that it has to be for younger readers. Just as there are graphic novels that are more appropriate for adults than children, multimodal hybrids could be this way as well; more multimodal hybrids should be created with the intended audience of high school students and older young adults.

There additionally needs to be a change in the way multimodal hybrids are viewed and used. First off, the misconception that these books are solely for reluctant readers needs to be changed. The development of more multimodal hybrids could help address such a problem because it will help to solidify the intended audience for these books. If complex multimodal hybrids are created for students and adults, the perception of the genre will shift to encompass the audience members for which it is truly intended. It is also vital that they are beneficially utilized in schools and libraries. Since preexisting evaluation programs are not accurately labeling these books, future research in this area would be very beneficial so that students are guided towards multimodal hybrids that are developmentally appropriate for both their reading and maturity levels.

Not only should multimodal hybrids have their own section in school libraries, but teachers should utilize them in their language arts curriculum. One way to do utilize multimodal hybrids is to study a single or selection of multimodal hybrids as a class. By reading the same book (at the same time, not necessarily out loud), teachers can extend book discussions by having conversations about how students can obtain information from separate modes as well as from how modes interact with each other. Using multimodal hybrids in the classroom can assist students in developing visual literacy skills and multimodal minds, which is practical because the evolution of technology has created a society that is quite multimodal. To connect multimodal hybrids with writing instruction, teachers can have students create their own multimodal works.

Learning through experience is a powerful tool; as students create their own miniature multimodal hybrids, they will be learning firsthand about how pictures and text interact. More importantly, it is assisting students in exercising creativity and developing artistic ability, which some kids may not have been encouraged to do before.

Overall, many positive benefits can come from reading and teaching about multimodal hybrids. They aid students in developing skills that will benefit them inside and outside the classroom, as well as inspiring them to be creative and innovative thinkers and artists. It is difficult to unlock such potential when these

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 36

books are simply handed to ‘reluctant readers’ with little instruction or discussion. It is my hope that this analysis will motivate teachers, librarians, and parents to celebrate multimodal hybrids and encourage readers of all levels to enjoy them, for there are too many benefits within these books to solely dismiss them as ‘easy reads.’

Appendix This appendix provides a more extensive list of what multimodal hybrids are associated with the categories explored in this paper. The categories are listed in the order they appear in the paper, and individual books are organized by author’s last name.

Texts with Modal Supplements The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys series by Julie Gardner Berry and Sally Faye Gardner Just Grace series by Charise Mericle Harper Love Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka, Francesco Sedita, and Shane Prigmore Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg Julian Rodriquez series by Alexander Stadler Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon Minimal Text Hybrids Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm and Elicia Castaldi Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles by Karen Romano Young Isolated Modes N.E.R.D.S. series by Michael Buckley, The Fog Mound series by Susan Schade and John Buller The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick Integrated Modes The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton The Loser List by H.N. Kowitt Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts Big Nate series by Lincoln Pierce Dork Diaries series by Rachel Renee Russell

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 37

Works Cited Albers, Peggy, and Jerome C. Harste. “The Arts, New Literacies, and Multimodality.” English Education 40.1

(2007): 6-20. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 15 Sept. 2012.

Barshaw, Ruth McNally. Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s, 2007. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Illus. by John Tenniel. King

sport, TN: Grosset & Dunlap, 1946. Print.

Derrida, Jacques. “The Law of Genre.” Trans. Avital Ronell. Critical Inquiry 7.1 (1980): 55-81. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.

Frow, John. Genre: The New Critical Idiom. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.

Holm, Jennifer L., and Elicia Castaldi. Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf: A year Told Through Stuff. New

York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

Jacobs, Dale. “Marveling at “The Man Called Nova”: Comics as Sponsors of Multimodal Literacy.” College

Composition and Communication 59.2 (2007): 180-205. JSTOR Arts and Sciences 3. Web. 15 Sept. 2012.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. New York: Amulet Books, 2007. Print Kowitt, H.N., The Loser List. New York: Scholastic Press, 2011. Print.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: An Invisible Art. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 1994.

Print.

Nodelman, Perry. Words about Pictures. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 1988. Print.

Patterson, James, and Chris Tebbits. Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life. Illus. by Laura Park. New York:

Little, Brown, and Company, 2011. Print.

Selznick, Brian. Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic, 2011. Print.

Silberberg, Alan. Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze. New York: Aladdin, 2010. Print.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Gender Differences in Behavioral Measures of Impulsivity

38

By Nicole Fergestrom Introduction

Impulsivity is a construct that entails multiple meanings (Baumann & Odum, 2012). According to Havik et al. (2012), impulsivity is “fast, premature, thoughtless, and disinhibited behavior”. Other researchers define impulsivity as the tendency to act on urges instead of thoughts (Meda et al., 2009). In general, impulsivity can be defined as relative thoughtless behavior that is executed rather quickly.

Researchers have found potential altered activity in brain regions that are related to impulsive behavior. One study that utilized functional imaging showed changes in activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, the superior temporal gyrus, the cingulate cortex, and the inferior parietal lobule during a go/no go task (Horn et al., 2003). The activated brain regions in the study also tended to be in the right hemisphere (Horn et al., 2003). Havik et al. (2012) indicated that previous research has showed that there are also regions of the right prefrontal cortex that are involved in time perception and delay discounting. Delay discounting refers to a decreased perceived value of a reward, as the delay of obtaining the reward becomes longer (Baumann & Odum, 2012). Other research has indicated that lesions in the orbitofrontal cortex result in altered time perception and higher scores of impulsivity on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) (Havik et al., 2012).

Churchwell et al (2009), found that the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala are linked to impulsive behavior because disconnection between the two structures led to more delay discounting in rats.

Impulsivity can be measured in various ways (Baumann & Odum, 2012). Researchers have utilized different approaches to measure impulsivity, with some utilizing self-report questionnaires, and others utilizing behavioral tasks conducted in a lab setting.

Self-report measures are useful and helpful when the construct being studied is clear to the individual, and when the individuals are aware of their thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). However, self-report tests run the risk of participants not being honest with their responses (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). Behavioral measures are useful because they act as “behavioral snap shots” to predict what individuals would actually do in certain situations (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). Behavioral measures are also beneficial when the participants being used for the study have a low reading level because behavioral tasks do not prompt the participants to read questionnaires as self-report measures do (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). Despite the benefits of behavioral measures, there are also some weaknesses for behavioral tasks. Behavioral tasks may have validity problems because they put participants in an artificial environment, so their impulsive decisions in the behavioral tasks may not necessarily mean that they are impulsive in real-life situations (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). Behavioral lab tasks for impulsivity also have the problem of measuring multiple things, such as impulsivity, memory, and attention (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). When the tasks measure multiple things, it becomes difficult to assess what behaviors were determined by impulsiveness.

A common self-report measure of impulsivity is the (BIS), which has three subscales: attention, motor and nonplanning (Baumann & Odum, 2012). According to Baumann and Odum (2012), previous studies have reported a significant correlation between delay discounting and the BIS, while other studies failed to find a significant correlation.

One common category of behavioral tasks is delay discounting. In the delay discounting paradigm, participants are prompted with two options: a larger, more distant reward and a smaller, immediate reward.

In this paradigm, impulsive individuals are more inclined to choose the smaller, immediate reward, while individuals who are less impulsive would be prone to choose the larger reward that requires more waiting.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 39

Increased discounting behavior has been observed among people who are addicted to drugs (Bickel, Odum & Madden, 1999). Bickel, Odum, and Madden, conducted a study to assess delay discounting in current, non, and ex-smokers (Bickel et al., 1999). Their results indicated that current smokers discounted monetary rewards more than ex-smokers and non-smokers; and current smokers even discounted more with cigarettes than monetary rewards (Bickel et al., 1999). This study illustrates why research on impulsivity is important because it shows how impulsivity is a trait that can have negative implications for healthy behavior.

Tasks that assess time perception are another common behavioral task that have been used to measure impulsivity. People who are impulsive may tend to perceive time as being longer and therefore react impulsively (Baumann & Odum, 2012). Therefore, time perception may impact an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delay discounting. Impulsive people may think that waiting for a larger reward that is more distant in the future is more aversive than people who are less impulsive. Impulsive people may perceive time as being longer and therefore believe the wait is not worth it.

One factor that may play a role in measurement of impulsivity through time estimation is mathematical ability. One study found that time estimation correlated with mathematical ability and selfrated mathematical skill, and concluded that time estimation predicts mathematical intelligence (Kramer et al., 2011); however the relationship may be reciprocal. Another factor related to time estimation is the impact that gender may have on mathematical ability. One study concluded that although girls obtained better grades and higher scores on most tests than boys, girls usually score lower in their grades in mathematics compared to other subjects (Felson & Trudeau, 1991). Felson & Trudeau (1991) indicate that some studies have shown that girls have less confidence about mathematics than boys and some have suggested that girls experience more math anxiety. Another study found that girls were more likely than boys to report mathematics as being difficult (Felson & Trudeau, 1991).

There are some gender differences that are found in studies on impulsivity. Studies often find that males are more impulsive. One study found that impulsivity was common among about 17% of their sample, especially males and younger individuals (Chamorro et al., 2012). Another study indicated that males were more likely than females to engage in risky behavior (Byrnes et al., 1999). It was also suggested in a past study that the males and females approach different behavioral tasks with different cognitive strategies (Reavis & Overman, 2001). These different cognitive strategies may be explained by different patterns of brain activation during the behavioral tasks (Bolla et al., 2004). Despite some findings of males being more impulsive, the findings are quite mixed with some studies showing that females are more impulsive (Chamorro et al., 2012).

In this study, we assessed the correlations between the BIS and the two different behavioral tasks measured in the lab. The behavioral tasks used in this study included a time estimation task and a delaydiscounting task. The prediction was that the strongest correlation would be obtained between the BIS and the delay-discounting task because the delay-discounting task is more similar to a self-report measure.

This task is similar to the self-report measure of impulsivity, in which a series of statements are given and the participants must indicate how well the statements describe their own behavior. Both tasks require the participants to provide insight into what they might do in reality, but they do not really test behavior. The other task in the study is not as similar to the BIS. Therefore, the prediction was that the time estimation task would have a weaker correlation with the BIS. It was also hypothesized that there would be gender differences in the behavioral tasks and mathematical ability would predict scores on the time estimation task.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 40

Methods/ Materials: Time Estimation Task:

This is a computerized task that requires participants to estimate a series of time spans ranging from 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 seconds in order to assess time perception. Participants will progress through two trials of each time period. Impulsive individuals are more likely to underestimate time intervals because they have a tendency to perceive time as going slower than other individuals.

Subtracting each individual score from the expected time estimation and dividing the difference by the expected time estimation was used to calculate the adjusted response time. Once the adjusted response times were obtained for all of the conditions, the adjusted response times were added together and divided by the number of trials (14) to find the average adjusted response time for each participant. The average accuracy was calculated by using the absolute value of the adjusted response time for every individual score and then adding up all of the conditions and dividing by 14.

Delay Discounting:

This task is a computerized questionnaire that presents participants with a series of statements that require a choice between a smaller, immediate monetary reward and a larger, more distant monetary reward.

This task included 1 trial with 21 questions requiring participants to choose between two monetary rewards and varying delay times. Impulsive individuals would be more inclined to choose the smaller, immediate rewards due to their alterations in time perception. Therefore, impulsive individuals are said to discount various reinforcers more than other individuals.

Delay discounting was determined by finding the k value for each participant from the equation, =A/ (1+kD), where higher k values indicate higher impulsiveness (Kirby et al., 1999).

Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS):

This is a self-report questionnaire that measures multiple domains that are related to impulsivity (Baumann & Odum, 2012). The questionnaire presents participants with various statements describing behaviors, in which individuals are required to decide whether each statement describes their normal behavior.

The BIS measures three different subscales of impulsivity that include attention, motor, and nonplanning (Baumann & Odum, 2012).

Numeracy Questionnaire:

A brief, five minute, timed math test was given to the participants in order to test if mathematical ability related to some of the results of the behavioral tests. The numeracy questionnaire contained 16 questions, so 16 points were possible.

Participants:

Individuals participating in this study are registered in various psychology courses that offer extra credit for participating in the research. For this study, the reseracher planned to have about 60 participants.

Results:

Participants: Participants were 79 students recruited from various psychology classes at Central Michigan University. The mean age of the sample was 20.14 (SD = 2.34) years. Of these 79 participants, 51 were female (64.6%). Consistent with the demographics at CMU, the vast majority (84.8%) were Caucasian, with remaining participants being African American (6.3%), Asian (2.5%), Hispanic (5.1%) and Native American (1.3%). Of the 79 participants, 24 were freshmen (30.4%), 22 were sophomores (27.8%), 20 were juniors (25.3%), and 13 were seniors (16.5%). Descriptive statistics for all measures are provided in Table 1.

T-tests: To analyze the data, t-tests were used to compare males and females on the BIS, time estimation adjusted response time and average accuracy, their delay discounting k value, and numeracy score.

T-test results are reported in Table 2. There was no significant difference between males and females on their

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 41

scores on the BIS, t (77)= -0.550, p > .05. There was a significant difference between males and females on their delay discounting k value, t (34.228)= 2.143, p < .05, indicating that males were more impulsive than females. There was a significant difference between males and females on their adjusted response time for time estimation, t (77) = 2.290, p < .05, indicating a tendency for females to overestimate the passage of time.

There was no significant difference between males and females in the time estimation accuracy, t = -1.08, p > .05. Finally, there was a significant difference between males and females on their scores on the numeracy score, t (74.815)= 6.359, p < .05, with males scoring higher.

Correlations: Initially, correlations were examined between the BIS, the two behavioral tests, and the numeracy questionnaire in the full sample. All correlation values are in Table 3. There was no significant correlation between the BIS and time estimation, r = -0.036, p = 0.750. Second, we examined the correlation between the delay discounting task and the score on the BIS. There was also no correlation between the BIS and delay discounting, r = 0.199, p = 0.079. There was no correlation between the BIS and the numeracy questionnaire, r = -0.118, p = 0.302. There was however, a significant positive correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation percent error, r = 0.326, p = 0.003. There was also a significant negative correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation accuracy score, r = -.237, p = 0.036. Finally, to examine the gender specific relationships due to differences seen in the t-tests, separate correlations were done for both females and males. Again, there were no significant correlations seen between the BIS and time estimation, numeracy questionnaire, or delay discounting for either gender (Table 3). For females, there was a significant positive correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation percent error, r = 0.347, p = 0.013. However, this same trend was not seen in males, as there was no significant correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation percent error, r = -0.067, p = 0.734. For females, there was a negative correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation accuracy score that approached significance, r = -.266, p = 0.059. Males however showed no correlation between the numeracy questionnaire and the time estimation accuracy score, r = -.075, p = 0.704.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Time Estimation, Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Delay Discounting, & Numerac Questionnaire Male Female All Barratt Impulsivity Scale 64.25 (9.88) 65.69 (11.72) 65.10 (11.05) Numeracy Questionnaire 10.04 (1.57) 7.16 (2.44) Delay Discounting K Value 0.023 (0.023) 0.013 (0.011) 0.02 (0.02) Time Estimation (Adjusted Response Time) 0.077 (0.260) -0.061 (0.253) -0.012 (0.263) Time Estimation (Accuracy) .243 (.175) .283 (.152) .269 (.161) Note: Standard Deviations are in parentheses Table 2 T-tests Comparing Males and Females on the BIS, Numeracy Questionnaire, Delay Discounting and Time Estimation Male (M (SD)) Female (M (SD)) T P Value BIS 64.25 (9.88) 65.69 (11.72) -0.550 .584 Numeracy 10.04 (1.57) 7.16 (2.44) 6.359 < .01 Delay Discounting 0.023 (0.023) 0.013 (0.011) 2.143 < .05 Time Estimation (Adjusted Response Time) 0.077 (0.260) -0.061 (0.253) 2.29 < .05 Time Estimation (Accuracy) 0.243 (0.175) 0.283 (0.152) -1.08 .284

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 42

Table 3 Correlations among Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Numeracy Questionnaire, Time Estimation, and Delay Discounting Barratt Numeracy Delay Time Estimation Time Impulsivity Questionnaire Discounting (Percent Error) Estimation Scale(BIS) (Accuracy) Total Group (n = 79) BIS Numeracy -.118 Delay Discounting .199 .101 Time Estimation -.036 .326** -.067 (Adjusted Response Time) Time Estimation .105 -.237* -.089 .240* (Accuracy) Female (n = 51) BIS Numeracy .178 Delay Discounting .234 -.043Time Estimation .034 .347* .051 (Adjusted Response Time) Time Estimation .066 -.266 0.117 -.044 (Accuracy) Male (n = 28) BIS Numeracy .164 Delay Discounting .264 -.118 Time Estimation -.139 -.067 -.342 (Adjusted Response Time) Time Estimation .164 -.075 -.014 .790** (Accuracy) Note: * = significant at .05, ** = significant at .01 Discussion:

The current study attempted to assess various measures of impulsivity, both self-report and behavioral tasks, and evaluate potential factors that may affect the impulsivity measures such as gender and mathematical ability.

Contrary to the prediction, the Barratt Impulsivity Scores did not correlate with the delay discounting K values in the full sample. According to Baumann & Odum (2012), some studies have reported a significant

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 43

correlation between the BIS and delay discounting, while other studies have not (Baumann et al., 2012).

However, as predicted, BIS scores were more closely related to delay discounting than time estimation. There was also no correlation between the BIS and the delay discounting when males and females were analyzed separately.

As predicted, males had significantly higher delay discounting k values than females, indicating that males were more impulsive than females. The finding of males being more impulsive is consistent with the literature. One study concluded that impulsivity was more common in males. (Chamorro et al., 2012). An additional study indicated that males were more likely to engage in risky behavior, thus being more impulsive (Byrnes et al., 1999).

The results of the time estimation, showing females responded significantly earlier than males, suggested that females were more impulsive than males. These results were not consistent with the majority of the literature (Byrnes et al., 1999; Chamorro et al., 2012), so the time estimation was further analyzed with the results of the numeracy questionnaire.

In addition to the time estimation task, participants also completed a numeracy questionnaire that assessed mathematical ability to see if that was associated with the results of the time estimation findings. As predicted, in the full sample, higher scores on the numeracy test correlated with a tendency to perceive the passage of time as being slower and having better accuracy on the time estimation task. This finding is consistent with the literature that shows time estimation to be correlated with mathematical ability (Kramer et al., 2011).

The sample was further analyzed separately for males and females to assess potential differences in mathematical ability and time estimation. As predicted, males scored significantly higher on the numeracy questionnaire, which is consistent with the literature about gender differences in mathematical ability (Felson & Trudeau, 1991). Males also had significantly longer adjusted response time for the time estimation than females, suggesting that time estimation may be more related to mathematical ability than impulsivity.

The gender differences found in the study may also be explained by different cognitive strategies being utilized during the behavioral tasks. According to Reavis & Overman (2001), males and females approach different behavioral tasks with varying cognitive strategies. The different cognitive strategies may also be explained by different patterns of brain activation during the tasks (Bolla et al., 2004).

In future research, it would be beneficial to repeat the study with a larger sample, with a more equal distribution between males and females to see if the results remain consistent. It would also be beneficial to broaden the sample to include a broader range of ages.

In conclusion, delay discounting was found to be most closely related to a self-report measure of impulsivity, the BIS. Males were also found to have significantly higher delay discounting k values than females, suggesting that males were more impulsive than females. Time estimation was not found to be a reliable measure of impulsivity in this study. Females responded in a more impulsive fashion than males, which did not fit with the previous literature that mostly concludes males as being more impulsive. In addition, time estimation was found to be correlated with the numeracy questionnaire, suggesting that time estimation was directly influenced by mathematical ability.

References Baumann AA & Odum Al. (2012). Impulsivity, risk taking, and timing. Behavioural Processes 90: 408-414.

Bickel WK, Odum AL, & Madden GJ. (1999). Impulsivity and cigarette smoking: delay discounting in

current, never, and ex-smokers. Psychopharmacology 146: 447-454.

Bolla KI, Eldreth DA, Matochik JA & Cadet JL. (2004). Sex-related differences in a gambling task and its

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 44

neurological correlates. Cerebral Cortex 14:1226-1232.

Byrnes JP, Miller DC, & Schafer WD. (1999). Gender differences in risk taking: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 125:367-383.

Chamorro J, Bernardi S, Potenza MN, Grant JE, Marsh R, Wang S, & Blanco C. (2012). Impulsivity in the

general population: A national study. Journal of Psychiatric Research 46:994-1001.

Churchwell JC, Morris AM, Heurtelou NM, & Kesner RP. (2009). Interactions between the prefrontal cortex

and amygdala during delay discounting and reversal. Behavioral Neuroscience 123: 1185-1196.

Cyders MA & Coskunpinar A. (2011). Measurement of constructs using self-report and behavioral lab tasks:

Is there overlap in nomothetic span and construct representation for impulsivity? Clinical Psychology Review 31: 965-982.

Dougherty DM, Mathias CW, Marsh DM, & Jagar AA. (2005). Laboratory behavioral measures of impulsivity. Behavior Research Methods 37: 82-90.

Felson RB & Trudeau L. (1991). Gender differences in mathematics performance. Social Psychology Quarterly

54:113-126.

Havik M, Jakobson A, Tamm M, Paaver M, Konstabel K, Uusberg A, Allik J, Oopik V, & Kreegipuu K. (2012).

Links between self-reported and laboratory behavioral impulsivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

53: 216-223.

Horn NR, Dolan M, Elliott R, Deakin JFW, & Woodruff PWR. (2003). Response inhibition and impulsivity:

an fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 41: 1959-1966.

Kramer P, Breesan P, & Grassi M. (2011). Tim estimation predicts mathematical intelligence. PLoS ONE 6:1- 5.

Kirby KN, Petry NM, & Bickel WK. (1999). Heroin addicts have higher discount rates for delayed rewards

than non-drug-using controls. Journal of Experimental Psychology 128:78-87.

Meda SA, Stevens MC, Potenza MN, Pittman B, Gueorguieva R, Andrews MA, Thomas AD, Muska C,

Hylton JL, & Pearlson GD. (2009). Investigating the behavioral and self-report constructs of

impulsivity do mains using principal component analysis. Behavioral Pharmacology 20: 390-399.

Reavis R & Overman WH. (2001). Adult sex differences on a decision-making task previously shown to

depend on the orbital prefrontal cortex. Behavioral Neuroscience 115:196-206.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014

Behavioral Risk Factors for Predicting Alcohol Consumption Rates in College Students

45

By Ashley Avery

Since enjoying certain activities varies from person to person, it would be expected that different personality characteristics can predict whether one likes doing a particular task. This research endeavor aims to analyze the different personality traits (with a focus on extraversion and neuroticism) that identify alcohol consumption rates among college students attending Central Michigan University. It will also examine whether dissatisfying past and present family relations have an effect on alcohol consumption. First, it is important to establish a definition of each of the variables that are being analyzed. Next, the study will determine if the extent of extraversion and neuroticism as well as family environmental factors can predict alcohol consumption rates.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines extraversion as “the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self.” Furthermore, it defines neuroticism as a trait characterized by envy, jealousy, and anxiety; neurotics tend to be emotionally unstable and have difficulties coping with stress and adverse situations. Family relations refer to the extent to which immediate family members get along. Alcohol consumption rates include both the amount and frequency of alcohol use.

Previous studies have researched the ability to predict alcohol consumption based on personality types, specifically extraversion and introversion. Limited evidence is supportive of either side as research on this topic is continuing to grow. The information that is available is discussed below.

Extraversion has been linked to several different drinking variables, including drinking quantity and frequency. Typically, extraverts prefer to drink for enhancement purposes including, but not limited to, stimulation, exciting interpersonal interactions, and novelty (Mezquita, Stewart & Ruiperez, 2010).

Hosier and Cox indicate that although there may not be a unique alcoholic personality type, a plethora of experiments have “established a set of personality characteristics that both predate the onset of alcohol problems and differentiate alcoholics from non-alcoholics” (Hosier & Cox, 2011). Prior studies have also shown a relationship among the following personality traits with predicting future alcohol-related problems: hyperactivity, impulsivity, independence, and nonconformity. It is important to notice that these characteristics are typical of many extraverts.

Many studies have been completed in attempt to support the hypothesis that the frequency of alcohol consumption largely depends on how outgoing a person is or, in other words, the extent of his or her extraversion rankings. An empirical study done by Martsh and William (1997) on whether personality types were a determinant of alcohol consumption revealed that extraversion is the best single predictor of heavy drinking in college students (1997). This study also showed gender differences—men’s drinking habits were predicted more accurately when analyzing personality characteristics.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Martin (2011) on this topic “suggests that extraversion is associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related problems from adolescence through adulthood” (2011). Those with higher ratings of extraversion were more likely to be alcohol dependent. Evidence is limited in the general population but seems to be more prevalent in college students when considered with gender (Martin, 2011). These results are consistent with the findings Martsh and William (1997) listed in the previous paragraph.

891 participants aged 16 years or older were tested for the hypothesis that there will be a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) scores on the

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 46

Sociability scale. This study was conducted by Cook, Young, Taylor, and Bedford. The CPI was created

by Gough and is a self-reported inventory that includes 20 subtests. The validity of this test is typical of personality research, but the reliability remains high. The California Psychological Inventory is a great predictor of extraversion since its main focus is interpersonal behaviors. The results of the sociability scale have confirmed the hypothesis stated above—“Alcohol consumed correlates positively with sociability and extraversion…persons who drink no alcohol at all are a little more withdrawn, a little less ambitious, and a little less generally well-organized and competent than people who drink in moderation” (Cook et al 1998).

These findings show that extraversion and introversion rankings can be an accurate predictor of the extent of alcohol consumption.

George, Connor, Gullo, and Young’s (2010) hierarchical multiple regressions have revealed that the most powerful predictors of alcohol misuse in adolescents include dimensions of extraversion, noveltyseeking, and psychoticism. The findings of this study may be used to initiate prevention programs that aim to protect those with the personality risk factors against alcohol misuse (George, Connor, Gullo & Young, 2010).

However, these researchers admit that the relationship between alcohol consumption and extraversion is not as clear as it is with other personality traits. Some studies have seen no correlation between the two while other researchers have established a significant relationship. No matter the results, it is important to note that extraversion may play a role in the process of developing alcohol-related problems. George, Connor, Gullo, and Young’s (2010) study showed that higher scores on extraversion were more predictive of higher quantities and more harmful levels of alcohol use. In conclusion, more research is necessary to determine the actual role of extraversion on alcohol consumption.

Hypothesis 1: Individuals high on neuroticism will have a stronger positive correlation with the

following variables:

a) Past Family Conflict

b) Present Family Conflict

c) School Conflict Alcohol Consumption and Neuroticism

Schuckit tested both alcoholics and nonalcoholics on the Eysenck Personality inventory to discover the following results: alcoholic subjects scored slightly higher on the extraversion scale and twice as high on the neuroticism scale as compared to the nonalcoholic subjects. These findings suggest that there may be a correlation between extraversion and neuroticism with alcohol consumption rates.

Eysenck and Eysenck’s personality model breaks down personality into three biological categories: psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. Disinhibition of aggressive tendencies, impulsivity, and sensation-seeking are predicted by the psychoticism scale both accurately and reliably. These characteristics are associated with later alcohol misuse.

Neuroticism has been linked to drinking more frequently, but it correlates more to alcohol-related problems rather than alcohol consumption rates. Thus, it is a risky personality characteristic when it comes to consuming alcohol. Additionally, those who display high levels of neuroticism tend to use alcohol as a coping mechanism (Mezquita, Stewart & Ruiperez, 2010).

Neuroticism and extraversion correlate with drinking frequency and quantity as well as developing alcohol related problems. Cyders, Flory, Rainer, and Smith (2009) indicate that “these prospective results are consistent with our theory that individuals high in sensation seeking may be inclined to pursue the stimulation of alcohol consumption and to expose themselves to drinking contexts more often, and, thus, be more likely to increase the frequency with which they drink during the first year of college” (Cyders, Flory,

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 47

Rainer & Smith, 2009).

The Motivational Model of Alcohol Use was created to help describe the reasoning to why people drink to reach particular valued outcomes. For example, Kuntsche, Knibbe, Gmel, and Engels (2006) concluded that extraversion is a better predictor of drinking for enhancement purposes while neuroticism best predicts alcohol consumption as a coping mechanism. College students tend to drink more for social and enhancement fulfillment rather than coping motives. This study indicated that the tendency to drink alcohol for coping reasons decreases with age as the tendency to drink alcohol for enhancement reasons increases.

Regarding all of the personality types (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness), â&#x20AC;&#x153;the four factors of high extraversion, low conscientiousness, high neuroticism, and low agreeableness in this model were shown to be related to specific drinking motivesâ&#x20AC;? and are discussed below (Kuntsche, Knibbe, Gmel, & Engels, 2006). Although openness is not directly related to drinking motives, it is briefly discussed below.

Extraversion refers to those who score in the upper range of energy levels, assertiveness, and sociability. Thus, high extraversion is related to those who desire enhanced positive emotional states.

Extraverts are more likely to engage in drinking for enhancement-motivation purposes because they are more sensitive to positive affective stimuli (Kuntsche, Knibbe, Gmel, & Engels, 2006).

Conscientiousness indicates managing self-discipline and a high aim for achievement. Low levels of conscientiousness lead to individuals who seek immediate gratification as opposed to delayed gratification.

Thus, these persons are not likely to consider the long term effects of drinking, and they turn to alcohol for both coping strategies and enhancement purposes.

The tendency to experience unpleasant feelings easily (low emotional stability) is referred to as neuroticism. Levels of high neuroticism are linked to alcohol consumption for coping purposes. Neurotics tend to face negative affect frequently and since they are vulnerable to it, they place a greater emphasis on alcohol use to lighten these feelings.

Agreeableness is the ability to work well with others and to express sympathy. Low levels of agreeableness are also associated with drinking as a coping mechanism. These individuals face interpersonal conflicts that lead to alcohol consumption to alleviate the distress.

The fifth factor, openness, did not indicate any preference to drinking for coping strategies versus enhancement desires. Therefore, this personality type does not predict drinking behavior among college students.

In conclusion to Kuntsche, Knibbe, Gmel, and Engelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2006) research, there are two personality types that contribute to alcohol consumption. First, those who drink for coping mechanisms tend to have a negative self-esteem, are neurotic, and have a low agreeableness level. Second, those who drink for enhancement motives are typically aggressive, extraverted, and impulsive. Coping drinking motives are typically negative in terminology while enhancement motives are positive. Both are used to relate personality type to alcohol use.

Many argue that these mechanisms accurately describe internal drinking motives because they are more stable over time compared to their external counterparts.

Hypothesis 2: Family conflict will moderate the relationship between extraversion and frequency of

alcohol consumption such that the relationship will be stronger under high levels of family conflict.

Hypothesis 3: Family conflict will moderate the relationship between neuroticism and frequency of

alcohol consumption such that the relationship will be stronger under higher levels of family conflict.

Family Conflict and Alcohol Consumption

Another hypothesis has been studied in which evidence suggests that a high level of interpersonal

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 48

conflict may lead to higher levels of alcohol consumption. In Chapin’s (2012) study on interpersonal relationships between parents and adolescents, it was evident that heightened responses (both physiological and emotional) to conflict interactions between parent and child are associated with alcohol use and risk for alcohol abuse (Chapin, 2012). When there was lower parental support and discipline, children tended to have to higher arousal states. According to Chapin (2012) “Higher HR, systolic BP, and cortisol responses to the interaction were associated with youth’s alcohol use.” This evidence suggests the rise in responses was linked to alcohol use indicating that parenting that was low in support and structure indirectly lead to more alcohol consumption.

Furthermore, a study done by Unger, Sussman, and Dent (2006) on interpersonal conflict tactics and substance abuse has shown that teenagers who handle interpersonal conflict in aggressive ways may be at a higher risk for substance use. Additionally, those who use positive coping strategies to deal with interpersonal conflict will be at a lower risk for substance abuse than those who use negative coping strategies. Aggressive behaviors tend to lead to more harm than nonaggressive tactics. This study also suggests teaching adolescents how to cope with conflict in a nonaggressive way in order to prevent negative consequences of substance use and abuse.

A study by Michael Blue (1999) titled “Susceptibility of college students to alcohol abuse and alcoholrelated problems: The impact of family environmental factors” concluded that high family conflict “had a significant impact on both the level of current alcohol use and the level of alcohol related problems” (Blue, 1999). There was also an association between family history of alcoholism and the extent to which the student had problems with alcohol. However, parental marital status did not play an influential role in predicting drinking behaviors.

Proposed Study

The following study aims to investigate the potential correlation between personality type and alcohol consumption and the extent of family conflict and alcohol consumption. Since this is not an experimental design, no manipulation of any variables was necessary. Data was collected via an online survey that included ways of assessing extraversion, neuroticism, past and present family relations, and alcohol consumption rates (both frequency and amount). Correlations between variables were then computed to determine any potential relationships.

Methods

Design. The effect of extraversion, neuroticism, and past and present family conflicts on alcohol consumption will be tested using a correlational design. Thus, there was no need to randomly assign participants into different groups—it is determined naturally based on personality type or extent of family conflict. These criterion variables cannot be manipulated. The data was collected through an online questionnaire via surveymonkey.com. The link (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C7ZDFGZ) was sent out to the students’ CMU email account via blackboard.

Sample. The sample for this study included undergraduate students attending Central Michigan University in the fall of 2013. The total number of respondents was 177. 131 of the participants were female (74%), and 46 were male (24%). As with any volunteer based study, it is hard to get an equal representation of both genders. This may pose a potential threat in the ability to generalize the results from this study to the rest of the CMU population. This issue is examined further in the discussion section. Additionally, 53 of the subjects were aged 18 to 20 (30.1%), 110 were aged 21 to 23 (62.5%), and 13 were aged 24 or above (7.4%).

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 49

Measures

Age. Age fell into the following categories: 17 or younger, 18-20, 21-23, and 24+.

GPA. Grade point average fell into the following groupings: below 1.99, 2.00-2.49, 2.50-2.99, 3.00- 3.49, 3.50-4.00.

Year of schooling. Year of schooling fell in the categories of 1st year student up to 7+ year student.

Alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was categorized in the following way: none, 1 drink per drinking period, 2-4 drinks per drinking period, 5-7 drinks per drinking period, 8 or more drinks per drinking period. It was noted that one can of beer, a glass of malt liquor (8oz), 5 oz of wine, and a shot of hard liquor are all equivalent to one drink.

Drinking frequency. Drinking frequency was measured based on selecting one of the following options: never, once every other week, once per week, 2-3 times per week, 4 or more times per week.

Extraversion/introversion scale. Subjects were asked to rate ten different criteria based on how accurate it described them (e.g. I am the life of the party). It was based on a five point scale ranging from very inaccurate to very accurate. The data collected can then be translated into whether a person is considered an extravert or introvert.

Neuroticism scale. Participants were asked to rate twelve criteria based on how accurately it described them (e.g. I get stressed out easily). It was based on a five point scale ranging from very inaccurate to very accurate. The data collected can be used to determine neuroticism ratings among individuals.

Index of family relations. This 25 question scale was based on a seven point scale ranging from none of the time to all of the time (e.g. I really enjoy my family). Two versions of this scale were provided to show past family relations and present family relations.

Pace of schooling. Pace of schooling was measured on a five point scale ranging from less than once per month or never to several times per day. Five questions on pace of schooling were asked (e.g. how often does your course work require you to work very fast?)

Analysis

The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether there is a correlation between extraversion, neuroticism, and/or family conflict and alcohol consumption. Failure to find any significant correlations would indicate that personality type and family conflict did not influence alcohol consumption rates as anticipated while significant results would indicate varying effects of personality type and family relations on alcohol consumption rates.

Prior to analysis, the data will be reviewed for missing values. Participants who are missing more than 15% of the data will be removed from analysis while all others will remain in the data set. This is done to reduce any error into analysis. The data will then be inputted into SSPS and an average score for each variable will be computed. These average values will be analyzed to determine whether correlations between the variables of interest exist and are substantial.

Results

Hypotheses Testing. Hypothesis 1a proposed that individuals high in neuroticism will have a stronger positive correlation with past family conflict. This was partially supported as seen in Table 1 (r = .231, p < .01). Hypothesis 1b stated that individuals high in neuroticism will have a stronger positive correlation with present family conflict. This hypothesis was also partially supported (Table 1) and fairly consistent with the finding that those high in neuroticism experience more family troubles (r = .219, p < .01). Hypothesis 1c predicted that individuals high in neuroticism will have a stronger positive correlation with school conflict.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 50

This hypothesis was partially supported as evident in Table 1 and somewhat consistent with previous findings that those high in neuroticism experience more conflict in school (r = .322, p < .01). Means and standard deviations of each variable are also presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics and Intercorrelations among study variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Extroversion 3.4564 .81298 2. Neuroticism 2.8535 .68213 -.322** 3. Past Family Rela- 2.5701 1.26742 -.041 .231** tions 4. Present Family 2.2184 1.06905 -.104 .219** .692** Relations 5. School Conflict 1.4891 .49753 .024 .322** .214** .255** 6. Frequency 2.77 1.017 .198** .115 -.080 -.164* .126 7. Amount 2.2599 .73535 .303** -.016 .011 -.040 .159* .559** **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Hypothesis 2 proposed that family conflict (both past and present) will moderate the relationship between extraversion and frequency of alcohol consumption such that the relationship will be stronger under high levels of family conflict. This failed to gain any support (Tables 2 and 3) which is inconsistent with the hypothesis that extraversion will have an impact on alcohol consumption under high levels of past or present family conflict (∆R2 = 0.001, p > .05 for present family conflict and ∆R2 = 0.02, p > .05 for past family conflict).

Table 2: Results Depicting Moderation of High Present Family Conflict on the Relationship between Extraversion and Frequency of Alcohol Intake Frequency of Alcohol Model 1 Present Family Conflict -.13

Extraversion .23**

R2 .06** Model 2 Present Family Conflict

Extraversion

Present Family Conflict X Extraversion

R2

∆R2

Note. N =177. † p < .10, **p<.01 *p<.05.

-.22 .17 .02 .06 .001

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 51

Table 3: Results Depicting Moderation of High Past Family Conflict on the Relationship between Extraversion and Frequency of Alcohol Intake Frequency of Alcohol Model 1 Past Family Conflict -.05

Extraversion .24**

R2

.04 Model 2 Past Family Conflict

Extraversion

Past Family Conflict X Extraversion

R2

∆R2

Note. N =177. † p < .10, **p<.01 *p<.05.

.001 .28 -.01 .04 .02

Hypothesis 3 stated that family conflict (both past and present) will moderate the relationship between neuroticism and frequency of alcohol consumption such that the relationship will be stronger under higher levels of family conflict. This was not supported (Table 4 and 5) which is inconsistent with the hypothesis that neuroticism will have an impact on alcohol consumption with high levels of past or present family conflict (∆R2 = 0.001, p > .05 for present family conflict and ∆R2 = 0.02, p > .003 for past family conflict).

Table 4: Results Depicting Moderation of High Present Family Conflict on the Relationship between Neuroticism and Frequency of Alcohol Intake Frequency of Alcohol Model 1 Present Family Conflict -.18** Neuroticism .23

R2 .05* Model 2 Present Family Conflict -.07

Neuroticism .31

Present Family Conflict X Neuroticism -.03

R2

.05

∆R2

.001 Note. N =177. † p < .10, **p<.01 *p<.05.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 52

Table 5: Results Depicting Moderation of High Past Family Conflict on the Relationship between Neuroticism and Frequency of Alcohol Intake Frequency of Alcohol Model 1 Past Family Conflict -.09

Neuroticism .21

R2 .02 Model 2 Past Family Conflict .05

Neuroticism .34

Past Family Conflict X Neuroticism -.04

R2 .02

∆R2

.003 Note. N =177. † p < .10, **p<.01 *p<.05.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant correlation between family conflict, neuroticism, and/or extraversion and alcohol consumption rates exists. Results have shown a moderate correlation between neuroticism and the following variables: past family conflict, present family conflict, and school conflict. However, results have failed to display a correlation between extraversion, neuroticism, and/or family conflict on alcohol consumption rates (with a focus on frequency).

The average amount of alcohol consumed in one sitting among the 177 subjects of this design was 3-4 drinks. The average frequency of alcohol consumption was once every week. Participants were not asked the reasons why they choose to drink, so generic categories cannot be created or assumed. Furthermore, the results from this correlational design were not comparable to results from other studies.

All components of hypothesis 1 were partially supported. A moderate positive correlation existed between the three variables of interest (past family relations, present family relations, and school conflict) and neuroticism. Although this does not relate directly to alcohol consumption, hypothesis 3 (which relates neuroticism to alcohol consumption) was not supported which provides evidence that past family relations, present family relations, and school conflict will also have no significant correlation to alcohol consumption.

Hypothesis 2 was not supported by the data from this study. Studies have previously shown that extraversion is an adequate predictor of the alcohol consumption rates for college students. However, results from this study failed to indicate such relationships even with family conflict as a moderator. Thus, the frequency of alcohol consumption was not affected by the extent of a person’s past or present family conflicts.

Results did not provide any support for hypothesis 3. The frequency of alcohol consumption was not affected by a person’s family relations rating. It was predicted that the higher the family conflict, the more likely an individual will consume alcohol on a more frequent basis. It would be expected that those who have difficulty coping with their conflicts may turn to alcohol as an alternative solution, but this was not supported in this study.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 53

In conclusion, many factors may play a role in why people chose to drink, but none of the variables analyzed in this study proved to be such factors. This correlational design concluded that neuroticism is slighted related to past and present family conflict as well as school conflict. It has failed to show a relationship between extraversion and alcohol consumption and neuroticism and alcohol consumption under the moderation of past and present family relations.

Expected Contributions and Limitations

Since limited research exists in this area, the purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge of risk factors associated with alcohol consumption. It may be expected that extraverts will drink more often in social settings since they have an outgoing personality, or those high in neuroticism and high in family conflict experience heavier or more frequent drinking habits as a coping mechanism to deal with their stresses. This study aimed to discover whether these theories hold any truth. However, the results failed to fully support any of these hypotheses.

Future directions in this area of study include expanding the population of interest to include older adults to see if any resultant changes occur. Also, looking at all five personality types may be another direction to take to see if there are any additional correlations.

Limitations of this study include the limited variation in participants. Since they are all college students, the results cannot be generalized to another age group or population. Also, the sample size was limited, and both these limitations may pose a potential threat as to why none of the hypotheses were fully supported.

References Blue, J. M.Susceptibility of college students to alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems: The impact

of family environmental factors. (divorce, gender). Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The

Sciences and Engineering, 6060-6060. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.catalog. lib.cmich. edu/docview/619435832?accountid=10181.

Chaplin, T. M., Sinha, R., Simmons, J. A., Healy, S. M., Mayes, L. C., Hommer, R. E., & Crowley, M. J. (2012).

Parentâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;adolescent conflict interactions and adolescent alcohol use. Addictive Behaviors, 37(5), 605-612. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.01.004 Cook, M., Young, A., Taylor, D., & Bedford, A. P. (1998). Personality correlates of alcohol consumption.

Personality and Individual Differences, 24(5), 641-647. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.

catalog.lib.cmich.edu/ docview/619344264?accountid=10181 Cyders, M. A., Flory, K., Rainer, S., & Smith, G. T. (2009). The role of personality dispositions to risky

behavior in predicting first year college drinking. Addiction, 104(2), 193-202.

George, S. M., Connor, J. P., Gullo, M. J., & Young, R. M. (2010). A prospective study of personality features

predictive of early adolescent alcohol misuse. Personality and Individual Differences,49(3), 204-209.

Hosier, S. G., & Cox, W. M. (2011). Addictive behaviors. Personality and motivational correlates of alcohol

consumption and alcohol-related problems among excessive drinking university students, 36(1), 87-94.

Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Gerhard, G., & Rutger, E. (2006). Addictive behaviors. Who drinks and why? A review

of socio-demographic, personality, and contextual issues behind the drinking motives in young people,31(10), 1844-1857.

Martin, J. L. (2011). Examination of the interaction of drinking motives and personality on alcohol use and

alcohol-related problems among college students. (State University of New York at Albany). ProQuest

Dissertations and Theses,157. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.catalog.lib.cmich.edu/

docview/ 886751150?accountid=10181. (886751150).

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 54

Martsh, C. T., & Miller, W. R. (1997). Extraversion predicts heavy drinking in college students. Personality and

Individual Differences, 23(1), 153-155. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.catalog.lib.cmich.

edu/docview/619080888? accountid=10181 Merriam-webster dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Mezquita, L., Stewart, S. H., & Ruiperez, M. A. (2010). Big-five personality domains predict internal drinking

motives in young adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 240-245.

Schuckit, M. A. (1983). Am j psychiatry. Extroversion and neuroticism in young men at higher or lower risk for

alcoholism, 1(140), 1223-1224.

Unger, J. B., Sussman, S., & Dent, C. W. (2003). Interpersonal conflict tactics and substance use among high-

risk adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 28(5), 979-987. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0306- 4603(01)00290-8

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 55

Student Perceptions of Weight Gain during Freshman Year on Central Michigan University’s Campus

By Samanthan Papa Introduction

In fall of 2013, a record of 21.8 million students enrolled in American colleges and universities, an increase of approximately 6.5 million students from fall of 2000 (Fast Facts: Back to School Statistics, 2013). During the transition from high school to college, the top ten issues identified by students include new personal responsibilities, class attendance, instructor attitudes, types of assignments, importance in performance, time management, amount of time spent studying, size of classes, difficulty of college work, and finally social life (Griffith, 2013). These transitional concerns often lead to sleep deprivation, stress, lack of a structured schedule, and inconsistent exercise (The Lowdown on Freshman Weight Gain, 2013). These unhealthy habits could lead to unwanted weight gain, sometimes termed “The Freshman 15.” According to Cluskey and Grobe (2009), health behaviors that are established during college years could potentially initiate life-long weight struggles and connected health issues.

Literature Review

Issue. According to Lloyd-Richardson, Bailey, Fava, and Wing, (2009), obesity is becoming an increasingly prevalent problem in our nation. More specifically, they note that obesity rates have more than doubled, and rates of overweight and obese adults seem to be growing most considerably among young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine. Obesity rates among individuals in this young adult age range have grown from 7.1% in 1991 to 12.1% in 1999 (Gow, Trace, & Mazzeo, 2010). From 1999 until 2010, obesity rates seemed to stabilize, but have now increased over the past three years (Overweight and Obesity Statistics, 2013).

According to The Institute of Education Sciences, the number of eighteen to twenty-four year olds enrolled in colleges or universities rose from 27.3 million to 30.7 million students, which is a twelve percent increase (Enrollment Fast Facts, 2012). The explanation of this weight gain can be organized through interpreting student integration into campus, stress, and eventual habit adoption.

Cluskey and Grobe (2009) linked weight gain among students to struggles to adapt to college while also focusing on healthful nutrition choices and exercise habits. In this study, students explained that although they knew their exercise habits had declined in college, it was nutrition that provided the most significant challenge in their transition. The students also noted that campus food services did not offer healthful options in fast-food courts, cafeterias, and snack stores (Cluskey & Grobe, 2009). Once students lived off campus, they were surprised at how expensive and timely it was to fix healthful meals for themselves (Cluskey & Grobe, 2009).

Academic stress in college has also been shown to cause students to exercise less, make poorer nutrition choices, and increase drug usage (Lloyd et. al, 2009). Studies analyzing stress and food consumption propose that persistent work stress is connected to greater energy intake, particularly increased saturated fat and sugar intake (Harring, Montgomery & Hardin, 2010). According to an article from USA Today, chaotic eating habits caused by erratic schedules also often contribute to college weight gain (Confront ‘chaotic’ eating habits, 2012). Students undergoing stress do not designate meal times and instead snack throughout the day, thereby consuming more calories than they intended to consume (Confront ‘chaotic’ eating habits, 2012). All of these implications from stress lead to poor choices made by students that negatively affect their health.

Poor integration to campus and added stress can lead to unhealthy habit adoption. According to

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 56

Harring, Montgomery and Hardin (2010), college students characteristically consume poor diets that are high in fat, sugar, and sodium while also lacking in fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products. According to Clusky and Grobe (2009), some students move from the normal weight category into the overweight or obese body mass index classification throughout their four years in college.

Efforts. Although this problem has been proven to be present in our nation, few efforts have been made to address it. Many studies focus on showcasing that the problem exists. For example, one recent study conducted at a state university in Indiana analyzed freshman students living on campus through weighing them at the beginning of college, at the end of the first semester, at the beginning of the second semester, at the end of the second semester, and at the end of their sophomore years. Results showcased that 95% of both male and female students gained an average of 3.5 kg by the end of their freshman year. At the beginning of college, 16.9% were already overweight and 4.7% were obese. By the end of their freshman year, 28.5% were considered overweight and 7.5% were considered obese (Lloyd-Richardson, Bailey, Fava, & Wing, 2009). This study confirmed that weight gain while transitioning to college is an issue, but did not attempt to address how to potentially correct this problem. No further efforts were taken to tackle how we can proactively prevent this weight gain from occurring. It is an issue that is seldom examined outside of the first few months of college.

Theory. Health campaigns can be used to help prevent and treat health issues within a community.

Diffusion of Innovation theory is a potential guide for these campaigns (Rogers, 2003). Two components of this theory are the Innovation Development Process and The Innovation Decision Process. Each of these processes involves a series of steps that can be taken to create an innovation as well as inform and persuade community members to adopt an innovative tool or idea.

The Innovation Development Process involves diffusion as well as innovation. Diffusion is the process through which an innovation is conveyed through certain communication channels over time to members of a social system (Rogers, 2003). An innovation is a thought, process, or item that is perceived as new by a person or other unit of adoption. The Innovation Development process first recognizes a problem or need. Secondly, basic and applied research is conducted. Next, development is achieved through the process of putting a new idea in a form that is expected to meet the needs of the audience. Fourth, commercialization is accomplished through the production, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and distribution of a product that embodies an innovation. The idea is then converted from research into a product or service for sale in a marketplace.

Lastly, diffusion and adoption occur through the innovation spreading communicatively from change agents to users. From there, consequences are evaluated based on the changes that occur to an individual or social system.

The Innovation Decision Process is accomplished through knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation of users exposed to an innovation. The audience must first become aware of an innovation, its uses, and the principles underlying it. From there, they are persuaded to form favorable or unfavorable attitudes towards the innovation. Next, they decide to adopt or reject the innovation. They then implement the innovation through putting it into practice. Lastly, they confirm the innovation through committing to using it on a regular basis (Rogers, 2003).

In order to develop a tailored innovation for a specific audience, the desires and needs of audience members must be gathered and analyzed. In order to use these theories to address weight gain on Central Michigan Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus, focus groups were conducted to gather data surrounding the issue of weight gain in college. Previous basic research had confirmed the problem, but this applied research would allow progression towards the development of a customized campaign. All questions asked during focus groups were framed to discover the level of knowledge students had about the issue. From there, it could be

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 57

determined if students could be persuaded to come up with a creative innovation to combat the problem that would eventually be implemented and confirmed through a campaign.

Methodology

Participants and Procedures. Four focus groups were conducted on Central Michigan University’s campus with four to seven participants involved in each discussion. Each discussion lasted approximately one hour. One moderator conducted each focus group with two assistants taking notes during each session.

Convenience sampling was used to gather volunteers. Emails were sent out encouraging sophomore or junior status students to participate if they felt comfortable doing so. No incentives were offered to any participant in the study. A total of twenty-two students were interviewed. All students were between the ages of nineteen and twenty years of age. Six were male students and sixteen were female students. Fourteen students were of sophomore standing, and eight were of junior standing.

Students were asked a series of questions about their transition to college, their prior eating and exercise habits, and the changes they noticed in those habits during their transition to college. They were then asked to reflect on their awareness of the “Freshman 15” and what Central Michigan University currently offers to encourage the adoption of healthy eating habits. Finally, participants were asked to brainstorm possible solutions to increased weight gain during their transition to college life.

Results

Knowledge of the Issue. All twenty-two participants had heard of the “Freshman 15” while transitioning to college. Each student also knew someone who had gained weight while transitioning to Central Michigan University. For example, one participant stated, “My freshman roommate gained a significant amount of weight. I observed it and was worried as I saw it happening to her. She did not work out or eat well. We (the roommates) encouraged her to work out with us. She had previously maintained healthy habits, but poor eating and lack of exercise caused her to gain weight.”

Students were also aware of the personal changes they experienced during their transition. They shared their insights on the challenges they faced. For example, one female sophomore student stated, “When I came here, I was used to being in activities. I wanted to be involved, but I was afraid to go by myself. In high school, I used to exercise with activities, but going to the gym in college is very different.” Students explained they relied on their peers to influence their eating and exercise habits. They also explained that the transition to the college lifestyle did not encourage them to adopt healthy habits.

The recollection of these examples proves that students on Central Michigan University’s campus are aware that there are problems that arise throughout their transition to college life. Eating and exercise habits change because of a variety of reasons ranging from peer influence to newly added stress. Given these findings, it is important to examine eating and exercise habits in further detail.

Eating Habits. Focus Group 2 participants expressed feeling pressure to eat more during their first year because they were unaware of when their schedule would allow them to eat next. Focus Group 3 participants expressed that their initial intentions to eat well eventually changed throughout the first semester of college.

Explanations for this habit change included high exposure to dessert, influence from peer food consumption decisions, and lack of conscious awareness of food choices being made.

Students often came from homes where dinner was decided for them. Whether their parents prepared their meals or chose which restaurants they would attend, life was much simpler. Of the twenty-two students interviewed, twenty had home-cooked dinners prepared by a parent on a regular basis. When transitioning to campus eating, students are exposed to many more options. One student explained her response to this when

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 58

stating, “You felt you needed to try everything in small portions, but you ended up eating a lot.”

Students also had to adjust to a new schedule. Previously, school had kept them in session from approximately 7:00AM each morning until 3:00PM each afternoon. During this period in their lives, specific times were dedicated to meals. Eating habits changed from adjusting to this new and flexible schedule in college. For example, one student stated, “I had unlimited meals, would eat when I was bored, and often grabbed pizza. Socializing became a large part of being in the cafeterias.”

This new schedule also involved staying up later than usual. Late night eating also had an impact on students. One student explained, “Access to The Munch Convenience Store caused me to eat food late at night.” Other students emphasized that these convenience stores overcharge and deemphasize healthier options, making candy and processed products more appealing.

Exercise Habits. Sixteen of the twenty-two participants were involved in sports in high school. They exercised daily because of their commitment to these activities. Only five students admitted to going to a gym on a regular basis while in high school.

Exercise habits while transitioning to college were inconsistent. Some students decided to exercise regularly, while others completely dropped the habit and noticed how it affected their body. For example, one participated stated, “Even though my eating habits did not change, I noticed a difference in how I felt because I was no longer exercising. I felt heavy, but I did not want to work out alone.”

Students voiced that they did not like exercising alone, as many of them were used to exercising in groups in high school. Exercise habits were influenced by whether or not college friends exercised regularly.

One student boldly admitted, “I wouldn’t go to The SAC alone” after another student had stated, “I needed a person to motivate me to get me there.”

Central Michigan University Current Efforts. Currently, Central Michigan University offers free exercise classes in residence halls for students residing in them. There is a work out facility located in East Campus for residents to use. There is not presently a large-scale incentive or campaign on campus combating “The Freshman 15.” When considering the influence of nutrition, the only current effort being made includes iPads located in residential restaurants displaying nutritional information. This information can also be viewed online at http://netnutrition.cmich.edu/NetNutrition/Home.aspx#.

Each of the four focus groups had ideas for Central Michigan University to take larger strides in addressing this issue. All of them knew that this university could do more to combat “The Freshman 15.”

Two students even boldly claimed that they felt Central Michigan University was currently doing nothing to address this issue.

Ideas for Further Efforts. Students in each focus group ended up producing very similar ideas for further efforts to be made on Central Michigan University’s campus to combat “The Freshman 15.” Seventeen of the twenty-two students attended Leadership Safari prior to transitioning to their freshman year of college.

Students agreed that this week long program could include a large component dedicated to healthy habit adoption while transitioning to college, focusing specifically on diet and exercise.

A second suggestion revolved around the concept that students come to college without culinary skills. Currently, The Dietician Club is a recognized registered student organization on Central Michigan University’s campus. Students from each focus group agreed they would be willing to learn how to prepare quick and healthy meals on a budget. The fourth focus group developed the most detailed suggestion to have these recipes posted on Central Michigan University’s home website as a reference for students.

Focus Group 3 participants agreed that peers influence one another so much that it would be beneficial to have testimonials posted on Central Michigan University’s website about students who have adopted healthier choices in college and utilized the recipes being posted. After hearing that suggestion, Focus Group

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 59

4 participants decided that Student Athletes could serve as a positive influence for students across campus.

For example, they could participate in a group work out session with other students on campus in order to promote healthy lifestyle habits.

Discussion

Students ended up developing far more creative ideas than I anticipated. I had never considered the large impact that Leadership Safari has on transitioning freshman. Motivating students to start their college career with healthful habits could be a productive first step in a larger campaign. According to Van Sonnenburg (2011), it takes on average two months for an individual to develop a habit. Leadership Safari could be the start to that process.

Peers also have a very dominant impact on one another in habit adoption. A recent study interviewing 150 students analyzed who had the greatest influence on eating habits. Results found that peers had more influence than parents or media (Amos, Intiful, & Boateng, 2012). The suggestion from the fourth focus group to include Student Athletes in a university wide campaign may be a productive second step to combat weight gain while transitioning to college. Student Athletes are highly visible peers on this campus who could have a large impact on exercise habit adoption for the remainder of the student population.

The Dietitian Club is another set of peers that could motivate, promote, and encourage healthy eating habit adoption in students. I had no idea before conducting these focus groups that students were so unaware of quick, inexpensive, and healthy meal preparation options. For example, Person 4 from Focus Group 1 admitted his limited cooking skills through stating, “All I do is pop things in the microwave.” A third avenue to promote healthy eating habit adoption could use this club to help educate students of healthy meal options.

According to an article from The Michigan Colleges Foundation, the best marketing campaign design is to consider students’ social media preferences and provide opportunities for collaboration with those avenues in order to reach college students and communicate the campaign clearly to them (“Think Michigan” Millennial Marketing Campaign, 2012).

Overall, these focus groups provided insight into several components of “The Freshman 15.” First, Leadership Safari has a large impact on how students begin their transition to Central Michigan University.

Currently Central Michigan University has no large campaign geared towards healthy habit adoption.

Secondly, students on Central Michigan University’s campus are aware of weight gain potential in college, but admit that it spans past just the first year of college. Students are not being educated on how to prepare inexpensive, quick, and healthy options when cooking for themselves for the first time. Finally, students admit to being influenced by their peers and feel a peer lead campaign utilizing social media would be the most beneficial for this campus.

Campaign Plan

After analyzing the opinions shared by the twenty-two students who participated in the focus groups, a campaign plan can be designed to specifically target Central Michigan University student weight gain. This plan can be sectioned into three parts. First, Leadership Safari needs to jump start healthy habit adoption in freshman students as they transition to campus. Secondly, peers need to be used as a key persuasive component in healthy habit adoption. Lastly, social media techniques must be developed in order to create a campaign across campus promoting healthy habit adoption.

Leadership Safari can start by getting students thinking about healthy habit adoption while they are transitioning to Central Michigan University’s campus. Before addressing how Leadership Safari can instigate this campaign, it is important to understand the fundamental goals of this event. According to

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 60

Central Michigan University (2013), this event is dedicated to providing an opportunity for students to learn leadership and academic skills while also allowing them extra time to settle into college living prior to the start of class sessions. My goal is to address the staff ’s objective to allow students to settle into college living. This adjustment includes developing a routine and set of habits. Regular exercise and consistently healthy eating habits need to be addressed in order for students to be reminded of the importance of taking care of their health while pursuing their college degrees.

After analyzing student opinions during the focus group, I feel there should definitely be a healthy habit adoption session during the Leadership Choice Sessions on Wednesday of Leadership Safari Week.

One student mentioned during the focus group that a similar session had taken place, but spots filled up so quickly that many students were unable to attend. In order to combat this issue, a group of peers can split up into several sections of sessions. Five sessions could be offered with up to forty participants involved in each session. This way the greatest number of freshman students can receive information on healthy habit adoption. Peers should conduct the program, as it has been discovered that they have the greatest impact on eating and exercise habit adoption (Amos, Intiful, & Boateng, 2012). These peers could be volunteer Student Athletes, members of The Dietician Club, Exercise Science majors, or any other students who demonstrate knowledge and passion for healthy habit adoption.

These sessions could be set up in a workshop environment. Students could be asked to write down their current eating and exercise habits in order to get them to start thinking about the subject matter on a personal level. From there, a short lecture could be conducted. In this lecture, the volunteers can inform students that weight gain is a common problem when transitioning to college and that health maintenance can be a challenge. The lecture can conclude with an empowering message allowing students to realize that it is up to the individual to either maintain or adopt healthy habits during their transition to Central Michigan University. After the students are knowledgeable of the problem and persuaded to act, they can participate in a group activity to implement healthy habits. They will break into small groups and develop three healthrelated goals for the semester. They will also create a plan to help each other achieve their goals through exchanging contact information and encouraging one another throughout the semester. The plan will be written up like a contract for them to follow. The workshop can conclude with a question and answer session to help students internalize the information shared during the session. Email addresses can be gathered from each participant in order to survey them one month, one semester, and two semesters after the sessions in order to consider the effectiveness of the seminars. It will be a way to determine if students actually confirm their actions.

During the allotted break sessions of Leadership Safari week, a second aspect of the campaign plan can commence. Students in the focus groups mentioned that Central Michigan University could improve advertising for exercise classes and healthy nutritional choices. Specifically, peer volunteers could walk around campus in residence halls handing out information about free exercise classes on campus and the availability to track nutrition information for residential restaurants. This information could be on magnets for students to always have on display on their refrigerators. It would be an easy and consistent reminder for them throughout the semester. The Dietician Club could produce these magnets during the spring semester. In addition, I plan to attend their first meeting in January to address my project and current ideas in order to see how they would like to become involved in addressing this issue.

The second part of the campaign must continue to keep the idea of healthy habit adoption in students’ minds as they transition and progress through their college years. Student Athletes can be recruited as volunteers to help this campaign advance concerning healthy exercise habit adoption. One session could be held per month titled “Train with the Team.” A group of Student Athletes could set up a time in the Indoor

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 61

Athletic Complex, where they regularly work out, in order to host an exercise session with other students on campus. Students could be challenged to keep up with the athletes during the routine with the student lasting the longest earning the winning title for the month. This event could be a great way for Student Athletes to connect with other students on this campus and promote the enjoyable aspects of exercise. In order for these events to be successful, they need to be promoted to reach the targeted student audience. Chalking outside of The SAC would be a great way to reach students who already regularly exercise. Resident Assistants could also be told to inform their residents in each of their halls through handing out fliers created by the Student Athletes. Fliers would inform students of the date, time, and location of the event. The incentive of being claimed winner should also be advertised. Social media could also be used to promote the event through creating a Facebook event page. The event could also be listed on Central Michigan University’s home website. Lastly, local radio stations, including Central Michigan University’s 101.1FM, can be contacted to remind listeners of the upcoming event.

A second strategy to allow students to influence one another is through utilizing The Dietician Club.

This club can advance the campaign through promoting healthy nutrition habit adoption. For students living on campus, this club can host sessions in The Down Under Food Court demonstrating how to make quick, healthy, and inexpensive snacks while living in the residence halls. Samples could be provided to students with small handouts listing the ingredients and directions. This could help to discourage students from relying on unhealthy snack options offered in many convenience stores on campus. In order to appeal to students living off campus, The Dietician Club could utilize social media and the Central Michigan University website to promote quick, inexpensive, and healthy meals for students to prepare.

This leads into the third aspect of the campaign, which revolves around the idea of utilizing social media in order to commercialize healthy habit adoption in college. According to Harris (2013), the most popular social media avenues for college students are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Harris, 2013).

The Dietician Club can utilize each of these social media sites in order to promote their efforts to combat “The Freshman 15.” Each page can be named “Healthy Chips” referring to our Chippewa heritage and the promotion of health. Recipes, interesting facts, and events can be shared and promoted through these avenues. A final YouTube page could be created with members of The Dietician Club developing cooking shows to demonstrate how to prepare quick, healthy, and inexpensive meals.

This campaign plan is completely tailored to the needs of Central Michigan University Students.

Through analyzing the opinions shared in the focus groups, students have proclaimed that Leadership Safari, peers, and social media provide the greatest influence and potential for impact when addressing “The Freshman 15” on this campus. Through immediately addressing this issue as students transition to campus and attend Leadership Safari, we can make sure that healthy habits are implemented. From there, peer influence and social media efforts can commercialize the campaign and help students continue to strive to confirm the innovation of healthy habit adoption while pursuing their college degrees.

Conclusion

The present problem of increased obesity rates amongst young adults is serious. As students transition to college living, it is important to encourage healthy habit adoption in order to prevent health issues from arising later in life. This project initiated the use of The Innovation Development Process through recognizing this problem and confirming it through basic research. Applied research was completed through the use of qualitative methods in the form of focus groups on Central Michigan University’s campus.

The campaign plan has started the development process of putting a new idea in a form that is expected to meet the needs of the Central Michigan University student audience. Further efforts will guide these plans

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 62

through The Innovation Development Process by commercializing and diffusing the information. This will allow students to adopt healthy habits and for consequences to be further studied.

This study confirmed where students currently fit in The Innovation Decision Process. They are knowledgeable of “The Freshman 15” and have been persuaded to accept the idea that Central Michigan University is not currently putting forth enough effort to combat the issue. Once the campaign plan develops, students will be able to decide to adopt or reject the initiative and later implement and confirm it into their daily lives.

Colleges and Universities have a vast impact on shaping students to continue to be educated, healthy, and productive members of society. It is the purpose of our universities to prepare students for further success. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Education Quotes, 2013).

References Amos, P. M., Intiful, F. D., & Boateng, L. (2012, December). Factors that were found to influence ghanaian

adolescents’ eating habits. Sage Open Publications, 2(4).

Cluskey, M., & Grobe, D. (2009). College weight gain and behavior transitions: Male and female differences.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(2), 325-329.

Confront ‘chaotic’ eating habits. (2012, September 10). USA Today, p. 3D. Dorm With Cafeteria May Boost College Weight Gain. (2010, August 3). Consumer Health News.

Education Quotes (2013). In Brainy Quotes . Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.brainyquote.com/ quotes/topics/topic_education.html Enrollment Fast Facts (2012). In National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98 Fast Facts: Back to School Statistics (2013). In National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 30,

2013, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372 Fincham, S. (1992). Community health promotion programs. Division of Epidemiology & Preventive Oncology, 35(3), 239-249 Ganasegeran, K., Al-Dubai, S., Qureshi, A. M., Al-abed, A., Aljunid, R., & Aljunid, S. M. (2012, July 18). Social

and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical

school: A cross-sectional study. Nutrition Journal, 11(48), 1-7.

Gow, R. W., Trace, S. E., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2010). Preventing weight gain in first year college students: An

online intervention to prevent the “freshman fifteen”. Eating Behaviors, 11(1), 33-39.

Griffith, W. (2013). Transition to College: a statistics problem in conditional and proportional reasoning. In

Sophia. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/transition-to-college-a- statistics-problem-in-cond Harring, H. A., Montgomery, K., & Hardin, J. (2010, August 8). Perceptions of body weight, weight

management strategies, and depressive symptoms among US students. Journal of American

College Health, 59(1), 43-50.

Harris, S. (2013, October 25). Social media usage among college students. In Maryville University . Retrieved

December 4, 2013, from http://blogs.maryville.edu/learn/2013/10/social-media-usage-among-col lege-students/ Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Bailey, S., Fava, J. L., & Wing, R. (2009, March). A prospective study of weight gain

during the college freshman and sophomore years. Tobacco Etiology Research Network, 48(3), 256-261.

Overweight and Obesity Statistics (2013). In U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 63

December 2, 2013, from http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/PDFs/stat904z.pdf Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed., pp. 1-38). New York City, NY: A Division of Simon &

Schuster, Inc. The Lowdown on Freshman Weight Gain (2013). In Educational Outreach & Student Services . Retrieved

November 30, 2013, from https://eoss.asu.edu/sites/default/files/Freshman%20Weight%20

Gain_The%20 Lowdown.pdf â&#x20AC;&#x153;Think Michiganâ&#x20AC;? Millennial Marketing Campaign (2012). In Michigan Colleges Foundation . Retrieved

December 3, 2013, from http://www.michigancolleges.org/collective-initiatives/think-michigan VanSonnenberg, E. (2011, February 1). This is your brain on habits. Psychology News Today. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/ emilyvansonnenberg/2011020116315 Welcome to Leadership Safari at CMU! (2013). In Central Michigan University. Retrieved December 5, 2013,

from https://www.cmich.edu/ess/reslife/leadershipsafari/Pages/default.aspx Webb, J. B., Hardin, A. S., Schoenefeld, S. J., Fiery, M. F., & Chou, Y. Y. (2013, October). Acclimating to the

high-octane college food environment: Weight gain status and psychological dimensions of appetite

and food intake regulation among ethnically diverse first-year women. Sage Open Publications, 1(8), 1-8.

Zanjani, F., Kruger, T., & Murray, D. (2011, January 4). Evaluation of the mental healthiness aging initiative:

Community program to promote awareness about mental health and aging issues. Community Mental

Health, 48(1), 193-201.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 64

Evaluating First Year Medical Students’ Views on Exercise

By Elainee Poling

Introduction

The prevalence of sedentary lifestyles has approached epidemic proportions and contributed to increased rates of obesity in the United States (Wee et al., 1999). According to the latest (2007) statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 50% of Americans meet physical activity recommendations (USDHHS, 2007). Low levels of physical activity have a negative effect on patient wellness, making it a public health problem that must be addressed by the medical community.

Regular physical activity is an effective method for both preventing and treating chronic disease, in addition to promoting overall health (Gnanendran et al., 2011). Thus, physical inactivity is a growing contributor to a multitude of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (Holtz et al., 2013).

Active individuals meeting the recommended amount of physical activity per week (150 minutes, according to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans) receive numerous health benefits (USDHHS, 2008), many of which help with the prevention and management of some of the most common chronic diseases.

Exercise has been shown to lower the probability of hypertension by 60-79% (Barlow et al., 2006) and reduce the incidence of diabetes by about 50% (Wei et al., 1999). Regular exercise can also decrease the risk of colon cancer by approximately 60% (Slattery and Potter, 2002) and lower the risk of breast cancer development by 20-40% (Holmes et al., 2005). Evidence also shows that exercise can lower the risk of dementia development by 40% for individuals over the age of 65 and reduce symptoms of depression as effectively as drug and behavioral therapies (Blair, 2007).

Despite strong evidence of the health benefits of physical activity, a lack of emphasis by physicians on the role of exercise in health is one barrier to overcoming the inactivity and chronic disease epidemics.

A survey administered to clinicians found that roughly one-third (32%) rarely or never talk about physical activity with their patients. However, 60% of participants in a similar, patient-perspective survey said they rarely or never talk about physical activity with their doctors. This difference in perception is likely a result of a lack of specific inquiry, evaluation, and guidance on exercise habits by physicians (Gnanendran et al., 2011).

There are a variety of reasons why physicians fail to effectively counsel their patients. One of the major factors lies in the exercise behaviors of physicians themselves. One study revealed that only 39% of clinicians surveyed adhered to the guidelines for physical activity set by the American College of Sports Medicine (Stevenson and McKenzie, 1992). Studies have shown that the personal exercise habits of physicians are strong predictors of their clinical exercise counseling habits (Frank et al., 2004). Therefore, a lack of personal investment in exercise could account for the underutilization of exercise prescription in health care.

Due to this relationship, patients may benefit from being advised by physically active doctors (Frank et al., 2004), as they are more likely to be exposed to exercise counseling.

Insufficient amounts of exercise by physicians may be explained by the views they hold, as behaviors are often influenced by attitudes. While poor personal exercise habits are concerning for both a physician’s personal health and the wellness of their patients, the reasoning behind this lack of exercise is even more unsettling. In one survey of clinicians and students, a significant proportion (34%) claimed they did not exercise as often as they should because they did not consider exercise to be that important -- a finding which indicates that many health professionals do not fully grasp the negative health ramifications associated with physical inactivity (Gnanendran et al., 2011).

Attitudes about a topic are often a direct reflection of one’s knowledge on the subject. Therefore, unfavorable attitudes about the role of exercise in health likely stems from a deeper problem in the curriculum of medical schools and undergraduate pre-health programs. In order to prepare health professionals to

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 65

maximally improve patient fitness, educational institutions must promote fitness among students, foster an understanding of the effect of exercise on health, and instruct on the application of knowledge and skills.

There is considerable evidence that medical schools are inadequately addressing these three components. A recent study found that only 13% of medical schools in the U.S. have units in their curriculum which focus on physical activity (Frank et al., 2008). This may explain why many medical students, upon entering and even after completion of their graduate education, do not feel confident in their ability to utilize exercise as a prescription to promote better health for their patients (Vallance, Wylie, and MacDonald, 2009).

In sum, while preventative medicine is a growing need in our health care system, and it has been established that exercise is a key element in preventing chronic disease (Blair et al., 1995), many primary care physicians do not counsel their patients about exercise habits as often as they should (Lawlor, Keen, & Neal, 1999) or in the depth required for the counseling to be effective (Gnanendran et al., 2011). Clinicians are respected and trusted sources for advice on healthy lifestyles and are in positions which allow for effective advising (Gnanendran et al., 2011), so improvement of physician knowledge and viewpoints on the role of exercise in health and in their practices is imperative for combating the rise in chronic disease. It is during the educational years that these viewpoints are acquired; therefore, more adequate training at the medical student level may have a great impact on the future of medicine.

General practitioners, having more consistent patient interactions due to the nature of primary care, are a main target for intervention since they are likely to have the greatest influence in the area of exercise counseling. Consequently, assessing the characteristics of medical students at primary-care focused institutions is an ideal step towards propelling the current health care system into a more exercise and preventative-care based philosophy. Since many studies show that personal habits and attitudes are established prior to medical school training (Frank et al., 2004), it follows that emphasizing the role of exercise in undergraduate education is an important factor in achieving this objective. Therefore, the first-year medical students at a primary-care centered institution were chosen for assessment, with the goal of gaining insight on the attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge that these students brought with them to medical school and establishing what kinds of improvements are needed while they are in the early part of their medical school training.

This study investigated the exercise knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the inaugural class of medical school students at the Central Michigan University College of Medicine (CMED). A secondary purpose was to relate these three components to student perceptions of exercise counseling as a responsibility of physicians.

Methods

A total of 64 students were invited to participate in this investigation, with a response rate of 81%.

Questionnaires were administered to students at the end of one semester of medical school training during a break between class sessions, and lunch was provided to encourage participation. Students were informed that participation was completely voluntary and that all responses would be kept confidential. The study was approved by CMUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institutional Review Board.

The fifteen-minute survey was utilized to assess three interrelated aspects -- knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes -- and examine the relationship between these components. Students were asked about their educational background (major/minor, advanced degrees, and previous exercise physiology training) to discern how attitudes and behaviors are influenced by prior experiences in the area of exercise science.

Students were also asked to share their exercise habits and personal beliefs about physician responsibilities with regard to exercise.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 66

Results and Discussion Participant Characteristics: Demographics, PA Behaviors, and Educational Background

The average age of participants was 23.4 years, and the sample was comprised of 57.7% women. The average BMI was 23.1, which falls on the high side of the normal range (USDHHS). It is noteworthy that 30% of the students were classified as overweight; however, BMI categorizations are not always an accurate reflection of overall fitness or health. Therefore, physical activity statuses were also calculated based on the number of minutes per week of moderate or vigorous exercise. Categories were based on those defined by the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Participants falling into the medium or high activity groups meet the minimum recommendations for amount of physical activity. The average total physical activity per week (moderate and vigorous combined) for this sample was 222.7 minutes. The majority of respondents (76.92%) met the physical activity guidelines; however, almost a quarter of the sample did not meet the recommendations. These recommendations reflect the minimum amount of exercise required to achieve the health benefits of physical activity (USDHHS, 2008). Exactly half of the students felt that they exercised enough, which indicates that the students find exercise valuable, enjoyable, or an important part of their lifestyle.

For the educational background of the sample, only 21.2% had taken an exercise physiology course.

Of those who majored in physiology or studied physiology as part of an advanced degree, only 57% had taken a specific exercise physiology class. This indicates that many students, upon entering medical school, have not formally learned the effects of exercise on body systems, and it demonstrates that exercise physiology is not required by many pre-medical undergraduate majors.

Participant Attitudes: Clinical Relevance of Exercise

When asked how pertinent various practices were for physicians, 94% responded talking to patients about exercise was highly relevant. In contrast, when asked about the relevance of exercise prescription for patients, only 71% said it was highly relevant. This difference demonstrates that while students understand the importance of exercise for wellness, they may not fully comprehend the limited effectiveness of mentioning exercise to patients. In order to fully impact patients, specific exercise prescriptions must be used (Gnanendran et al., 2011); yet many students view this skill as less valuable than using general terms to encourage patients to increase exercise.

Student responses may be impacted by the type of practices they intend to have. Previous studies have shown that students interested in primary care are more likely to find exercise counseling highly relevant (Frank et al., 2004). Results from the present study support this finding. There was a significant difference in opinions about the relevance of exercise prescription. While 85.7 % of those pursuing primary care classified exercise prescription as highly relevant, 65.8% of those intending to specialize regarded it as highly relevant.

However, perceptions about talking to patients about physical activity were fairly similar for these two groups.

It is encouraging that most students find talking about physical activity to be important, yet exercise is still not widely monitored by doctors, even though some consider it a vital sign.

A connection between a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceived relevance of exercise counseling and personal PA status was also found, as illustrated by Table 1. The most striking difference was between those who met PA recommendations (high or medium PA status) and those who did not (low or inactive PA status). Those who did not meet PA guidelines were much less likely to find talking about PA or prescribing exercise highly relevant. This supports prior research findings that personal exercise behaviors of physicians strongly affect their likelihood of practicing exercise counseling (Frank, et al., 2004).

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 67

Table 1. Perceived Relevance and PA Status PA Status Talking about PA - Highly Relevant Exercise Prescription - Highly Relevant High, Medium 97.5% 75% Low/Inactive 83.33% 58.33% Participant Attitudes: Role of Physicians and Influence on Patients

This study also found that a background in exercise physiology impacts attitudes about the need for exercise counseling, the role of a physician in promoting exercise, the influence of physician fitness on advising credibility, and the effectiveness of exercise counseling. Students were asked to respond to four statements on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “strongly disagree” and 5 meaning “strongly agree.” The average ratings for each statement are detailed in Table 2, which breaks down scores according to exercise physiology background. Those who had taken an exercise physiology course had greater average scores for all statements than those with no background in exercise physiology. The overall average scores fell between the scores of these two categories, for each statement. These results indicate that taking a class in exercise physiology instructs many viewpoints on the use of exercise counseling by physicians.

Table 2. Exercise Physiology Background and Attitudes on Physicians’ Roles and Impact Averages Statements Overall Exercise Physiology No Exercise Percent that Agree or Background Physiology Strongly Agree (score of Background 4 or 5) Doctors need more training 4.02 4.27 3.95 84.61% in exercise counseling.

Physicians have a respon4.42 4.64 4.37 100% sibility to promote exercise with their patients.

Physicians will be able to 4.38 4.55 4.34 88.46% provide more credible and effective counseling if they exercise and stay fit.

Patients are more likely to 3.65 3.73 3.63 67.31% exercise if physicians counsel them to do so.

All but one of the statements received average scores between 4 and 5 (agree and strongly agree).

It was found that every student agreed or strongly agreed that physicians have a responsibility to promote exercise with their patients and that the majority feel training in exercise counseling should be more highly prioritized in medical school curriculum. Most students also felt a commitment to personal fitness would increase their credibility.

The other statement asked students to consider the effectiveness of exercise counseling. It received

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 68

a 3.65 overall average score, and 67% of students agreed or strongly agreed with it, revealing that students are not as confident in the outcomes of exercise counseling efforts. This is an important finding, as student motivation to utilize exercise prescription may be hurt by the perception that their efforts wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t proportionally affect their patientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; physical activity levels.

Participant Attitudes: Effect of Exercise on Disease Prevention and Treatment

Students were also asked their opinions about the effectiveness of exercise in the prevention and treatment of various conditions: cancer, stroke, dementia, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Responses ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree (5 to 1). Overall, students believed exercise to be more important in preventing conditions than treating them, with the exception of depression (in which scores were very similar). Figure 1 compares the average responses for treatment and prevention statements.

6

Average Rating

5 4 3 2 1 0 Cancer

Stroke

Dementia

Heart Disease

Diabetes

Depression

Figure 1. Perceptions of Exercise Effectiveness in Preventing and Treating Disease

Students who took an exercise physiology course were more likely to agree with statements, on both Prevention Treatment the prevention and treatment sections and across all disease conditions, when compared to students who had never taken an exercise physiology course. On average, scores for exercise physiology students were half a point greater. Average results for these two groups are compared in Figure 2 (prevention scores) and Figure 3 (treatment scores). On the prevention side, differences between the average scores for these two groups were considerably larger for cancer (almost a full point), dementia (0.73), and depression (0.43). On the treatment side, differences were more even across the various conditions, with less extreme gaps between group scores.

Variation was again greatest for dementia (0.8) and cancer (0.66), with depression a close third at 0.5. Heart disease and diabetes scores were the most similar between the groups. This shows that upon entering medical school, students have a better understanding of how exercise affects heart disease and diabetes. The finding that exercise physiology students had substantially more confidence in the effect of exercise on cancer, dementia, and depression may indicate that the exploration of these topics is unique to exercise physiology classes. Thus, better incorporation of exercise physiology into medical school curriculum (or its inclusion as a prerequisite course) could greatly enhance the use of exercise counseling in medicine and the effectiveness of preventative care.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 69

Average Rating

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Cancer

Stroke

Dementia Prevention

Heart Disease Treatment

Diabetes

Depression

Figure 2. Average Prevention Scores Compared with Exercise Physiology Background

Figure 3. Average Treatment Scores Compared with Exercise Physiology Background

The percentages that agreed or strongly agreed with prevention statements were fairly high, especially for heart disease (100%), diabetes (100%), and depression (96%). The majority of students found exercise to be a very effective prevention strategy for most conditions listed; however, only 57.7% of students expressed that they agreed or strongly agreed that exercise is an effective method of prevention for dementia. In contrast, research shows that exercise can lower the risk of dementia development by 40% for individuals over the age of 65 (Blair, 2007). This decrease in risk is not that far off from that of diabetes, which is 50% (Wei et al., 1999), yet 100% of students believed exercise to be effective in preventing diabetes, compared to 57.7% for dementia. It appears that dementia is the condition that is most overlooked when students learn about the relationship between exercise and disease prevention, especially for those students with no background in exercise physiology.

Participant Attitudes: Medical School Environment

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 70

In the final section of our survey, students were asked to share their thoughts about their medical school environment. Again, students assigned a score of 1 to 5, depending on their level of agreement with each statement (strongly disagree to strongly agree, respectively). The average ratings for the statements “My medical school encourages students to exercise” and “My medical school curriculum articulates the effect of exercise on health” were both less than four (the minimum score indicating agreement). Therefore, it is clear that students feel there is room for improvement in these two areas. Promoting personal physical activity and strengthening knowledge have been shown to improve student attitudes about exercise counseling (Holtz et al., 2013). Therefore, CMED may want to consider how these concepts are approached by their curriculum and faculty and find ways to integrate these aspects into medical student training. It should be noted, however, that students expressed these opinions after only one semester of medical school; thus, there is ample time to address these issues, and it will be interesting to see these results change as students continue with their training.

Conclusion

It is encouraging that the majority of students met physical activity recommendations and have an understanding of the importance of exercise on health. However, many students have no background in exercise physiology and underestimate the effects of exercise counseling because of this knowledge shortage.

Student responses reflected that while there is great interest in utilizing exercise as a form of medicine, there is much to be done on the educational front in order to maximize its use. The results of this study were consistent with recent research which explored the opinions of a larger mix of medical school students.

While this study served to contribute evidence to an existing body of research, much of this study’s value lies in its initiation of several opportunities for further research. The same survey could be administered again to determine if interventions stimulate changes in attitudes or behavior. The survey could also be used to track student perspectives throughout their medical school careers and determine how their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors change with further training. It could also be a method to assess the curriculum’s ability to promote personal fitness, exercise as an effective prevention and treatment strategy, and the proper use of exercise counseling. In order for future physicians to be most effective at assessing health and educating patients, they must be able to prescribe specific fitness plans, provide avenues for patients to make progress (and adequately monitor this progress), and role model good exercise habits. Medical schools must make it a priority to encourage students to be physically active, provide evidence of the benefits of exercise, and teach students the skills to apply this knowledge in their careers. This study has set in motion a way for CMED to assess the effectiveness of their curriculum in improving these abilities among students, so that students may use these principles in their future practices to reduce and manage chronic disease in their patient populations.

Although this study provides an accurate representation of the views and behaviors of medical school students at CMED, the sample size was small and focused on a select population; thus, the sample may not be representative of the entire medical school community, and findings of this study are not necessarily generalizable to all medical school students. Furthermore, rudimentary statistical analyses were used to analyze responses, so the significance of these findings could be further supported using higher quality statistics methods. Another potential limitation of this study is that a self-reporting method was used to collect data. Actual behaviors are likely to vary from the responses given in the survey.

The results of this study provide further evidence that the solution to reversing the inactivity epidemic (and the related increase in chronic disease) lies in the exercise knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of our future physicians. Physicians must understand how exercise affects health and be able to order exercise prescriptions

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 71

at the completion of their training. This knowledge will create more positive attitudes about the utilization of exercise in both the prevention and treatment of chronic disease, making physicians more likely to employ exercise counseling in their practices and in their personal lives. By becoming a role-model for patients, physicians will increase their credibility and likelihood of improving patient wellness through fitness. The solution to healthier patients lies in making doctors more educated about the issue, more motivated to create change, more invested in preventative care, and more personally committed to these efforts.

References Barlow, C.E., LaMonte, M.J., FitzGerald, S.J., Kampert, J.B., Perrin, J.L., and Blair, S.N. (2006).

Cardiorespiratory fitness is an independent predictor of hypertension incidence among initially normotensive

healthy women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 163, 142-150.

Blair, S.N. (2007). Physical inactivity: a major public health problem. British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 32, 113-117.

Blair, S.N., Kohl, H.W., Barlow, C.E., Paffenbarger, R.S., Gibbons, L.W., and Macera, C.A. (1995). Changes in

physical fitness and all-cause mortality: a prospective study of healthy and unhealthy men. Journal of

the American Medical Association, 273(14),1093-1098.

Frank, E., Galuska, D.A., Elon, L.K., and Wright, E.H. (2004). Personal and clinical exercise- related attitudes

and behaviors of freshmen U.S. medical students. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 75(2), 112- 121.

Frank, E., Tong, E., Lobelo, F., Carrera, J., and Duperly, J. (2008). Physical activity levels and counseling practices of U.S. Medical Schools. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 40, 413-421.

Gnanendran, A., Pyne, D.B., Fallon, K.E., and Fricker, P.A. (2011). Attitudes of medical students, clinicians

and sports scientists towards exercise counselling. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 10, 426-431.

Holmes, M.D., Chen, W.Y., Feskanich, D., Kroenke, C.H., and Colditz, G.A. (2005). Physical activity and

survival after breast cancer diagnosis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293, 2479-2486.

Holtz, K.A., Kokotilo, K.J., Fitzgerald, B.E., and Frank, E. (2013). Exercise behaviour and attitudes among

fourth- year medical students at the University of British Columbia. Canadian Family Physician, 59, e26-32.

Lawlor, D.A., Keen, S., and Neal, R.D. (1999). Increasing population levels of physical activity through

primary care: GPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice. Family Practice, 16(3), 250-254.

Slattery, M.L., and Potter, J.D. (2002). Physical activity and colon cancer: confounding or interaction? Medicine

and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(6), 913-919.

Stevenson, L.M. and McKenzie, D.C. (1992). Physiciansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Exercise Habits. Canadian Family Physician, 38, 2015- 2018.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Aim for a Healthy Weight: Calculate Your Body Mass Index

--Standard BMI Calculator. National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Accessed December 11, 2013. http:// www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). U.S. Physical Activity Statistics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Accessed January 4, 2014. http://apps.nccd. cdc.gov/PASurveillance/StateSumResultV.asp?CI=&Year=2007&State=1#data.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Accessed November 29, 2013. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/. Vallance, J.K., Wylie, M., and

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 72

MacDonald, R. (2009). Medical studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; self-perceived competence and prescription of patient-centered

physical activity. Preventative Medicine, 48, 164-166.

Wee, C.C., McCarthy, E.P., Davis, R.B., Phillips, R.S. (1999). Physician counseling about exercise. Journal of

the American Medical Association, 282(16), 1583-1588.

Wei, M., Gibbons, L.W., Mitchell, T.L., Kampert, J.B., Lee, C.D., and Blair, S.N. (1999). The association

between cardiorespiratory fitness and impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus in men. Annals of Internal Medicine, 130(2), 89-96.

The Honors Platform Contributors

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 73

Andrew Derry is a May 2014 graduate of Central Michigan University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience. He will be pursuing his Master’s Degree in Wellness Management at Ball State University this coming fall. Apart from his interests in health promotion and philosophy, Andrew is an avid quidditch player and yogi.

Jaime is passionate about application-oriented conservation biology research that involves wildlife-human interactions and human impact on ecosystems. Her ultimate goal is to understand, prevent, and reverse the loss of biodiversity through ecological research and philosophical critical analysis of society’s relationship with nature.

Michael is a junior at Central Michigan University and is pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Secondary Education with majors in History and Speech. He has done research with faculty in the History department and has been extensively involved in over six University Theatre productions at CMU. Amanda is a biomedical research scientist attending Vanderbilt University in Fall 2014 to earn a Ph.D. in Cell Biology. While waiting for cells to grow and DNA to be amplified, she enjoys gaining deeper textual understanding through analyzing novels, comic books, and poetry through a biological lens. In a new project, she is exploring cancer in comics.

Kristine Stafford graduated in May 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education. She is so grateful for her Honors Program experience, which has allowed her to study in New York City and Stratford, Ontario. Her goal is to obtain an upper elementary teaching position in West Michigan.

Nicole Fergestrom is a May 2014 graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree. During her time at Central Michigan University, she participated in the McNair Scholars Program, which prepares students for graduate school. In the fall of 2014, she intends on applying to quantitative psychology programs.

Ashley Avery is a May 2014 graduate from Central Michigan University with a double major in Kinesiology and Psychology. She will attend Grand Valley State University this fall to obtain her doctoral degree in Physical Therapy, and she looks forward to what the future holds for her.

The Honors Platform

Vol 2, Issue 1, Spring 2014 74

Samantha Papa is a graduating senior earning a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a minor in Leadership. She plans to enter Michigan State University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing Program. She anticipated combining her passion for communication theory and health. She decided to research “The Freshman 15” and how a solution could be applied utilizing this theoretical model.

Elainee Poling will be attending Oakland University Medical School to become a family practice physician in sports medicine. She plans to promote preventive medicine approaches to healthcare (with a focus on physical activity) and hopes to inspire future physicians to do the same by eventually becoming a medical educator.

Cover Design: Amberly Dziesinski is an August 2014 graduate with a degree in sociology. She spent a good portion of her undergraduate career studying abroad, including a drawing course in Florence, Italy where she sketched this perspective of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.