Proceedings of the 2016 Student Academic Symposium

The Proceedings

Lander University

Student Academic Symposium

2016 1

The Seventh Annual Lander University Student Academic Symposium April 13-15, 2016 Acknowledgements Wednesday, April 13 Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: Harry Potter, Literature, & Philosophy— Kimberly Pearl Modica, Maria Reid, Mia Spires, DJ Stroud, Noah Woodyard

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Psychology Poster Session—Rebecca Baker, Sarah Biggers, Clay Bryant, Hannah Bryant, Michaela Coats, Sierra Davis, Bekah Holbert, Michael Kirkland, Alyssa Maddux, Catelyn Shinn, Kendra Tamaklo

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Computer Information Systems/Mathematics Panel—Logan Bautista, Josh Dixon, Jeleshia Freeman, Aaron Hainsworth, Erin Henderson, Kristin Hess, Ben Nunley, Robert Schultz, Thomas Shedd, Devin Tinsley, Taylor Wilcox

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Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: History & English—April Chaffins, Tyler Griffin, Patrick Nugent, Mary-Katherine Tipp

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Thursday, April 14 Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: Social Issues—Adeola Adelere, Kimberly Pearl Modica, Michelle Naranjo-Tabares, Tori St. Clair

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Visual Arts Panel—Spencer Bautista, Olivia M. Bolt, Megan D’Angelo, Anastasia Drake, Preston Dunning, Bri-Marie Ealy, James Elliott, Kayla Frost, Ramey Locke

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Biology Poster Session—John Michael Alexander, Misti Alexander, Ashlen Ashton, Taylor Baddeley, Kelsey Barrett, Melissa Beggs, Genae Blake, Shelby Brant, Jeffrey Davenport, Harrison Duckett, Devante Evans, Kelly Farmer, Hannah Girardeau, Regan Goldman, Kelcey Howley, Madden Leaman, Colton McBride, Scotia McLain, Benjamin Mitchell, Demi Moore, Ryan Oggenfuss, Suzie Pace, Jessica Palumbo, Meagen Risinger, Melissa Rogers, Lauren Seacrist, Dylan Scott, Brooke Snelling, Brandon Videtto, Jennifer Vassy, Alex Wade, Ciara Wertz, Racquel Williams, Haven Wood

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Friday, April 15 Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: Education & Psychology—Jessica N Boyd, Breanna Butler, Keith Dumais, Mariana Martins, Kathryn Spence, Kendra Tamaklo, Katie Warnken

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The Symposium would not be possible without the support of the Lander University faculty, administration, and community. We greatly appreciate the event organizers, faculty mentors, and judges who contributed to the LU Student Academic Symposium.

Event organizers: Deb Acorn, Farha Ali, Sean Barnette, Jon Bassett, Lillie Craton, Christopher Duncan, Jason Lee, Doug McAbee Faculty mentors: Deb Acorn, Farha Ali, James Anderson, Sean Barnette, Jon Bassett, Linda Carson, Mandy Cleveland, Lillie Craton, Chris Duncan, Jon Holloway, Chrystine Keener, Gillian Lee, Jason Lee, Jennifer Maze, T.D. Maze, Doug McAbee, Tom Neal, Bill Ramsey, Sandy Singletary, Elizabeth Snipes-Rochester, Lee Vartanian, Kevin Witherspoon Judges: April Akins, James Driscoll, Robin Lawrence, RenĂŠe Love, David Mash, Linda Neely, Judith Neufeld, Kim Richburg, Mike Runyan, and Lisa Wiecki Editor of the Symposium Proceedings: Ettele Toole

Sponsored by The Honors College and The College of Arts & Humanities 3

Wednesday, April 13 Honors College Interdisciplinary Panel: Harry Potter, Literature, & Philosophy Kimberly Pearl Modica—"Harry Potter and the 2016 Presidential Election: How Aspiring Political Leaders in Harry Potter Compare to 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates."

The upcoming U.S. presidential election is a daily top news story for almost every major news outlet in the world. Leadership qualities of those in a position of power are vital for citizens to understand as it influences the outcome of their vote, and furthermore, the election. World leaders have to be held to an esteem of confidence, knowledge, bravery, and human compassion. Fiction often provides characters who represent strong leadership abilities and who have gained recognition and respect from readers similar to those of politicians and their political followers. J.K. Rowling's book series Harry Potter is a prime example of fictional literature which provides characters who not only illustrate admirable leadership qualities, but also aspire to become politically active in the wizard equivalent to muggle government, the Ministry of Magic. Hermione Granger advocating for elf rights and Hillary Clinton advocating for human rights is not too different, so how would they lead differently? What traits separate Donald Trump from Lord Voldemort? Would Voldemort use a private email server? Would Granger build a wall? My analysis uses a comparison of multiple leadership models from Max Weber to modern Myers Briggs personality assessments to ask the ultimate question: How do characters of popular and highly influential literature compare to current potential leaders of the United States of America?

Kimberly Modica is a senior political science major and international studies minor. She has interned at Human Rights Watch, a Non-governmental organization specializing in Human Rights in Washington D.C. She has been accepted into a Master's program for International Relations at the University College of Dublin in Ireland. She is an avid Harry Potter fan and passionate about millennial activism in the U.S. political process. Kimberly loves spending free time reading, cooking, and watching Netflix with her girlfriend Mariana.

Maria Reid—"Accio Audience" In my presentation, I examine the relationship between authors and readers by looking at three “books within the books” of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series: Tom Riddle's diary, the textbook Advanced Potion Making, and the collection of children’s stories Tales of Beedle the Bard. The roles these books play in the series reveal important truths about the differences between a text’s intended audience and its actual primary and secondary audiences, as well as how audiences affect the meaning of a text.

These truths apply not only to books within fictional books, of course, but also help us to understand how we should approach other texts, either as writers or as readers.

Maria Reid graduated from Greenwood High School in Greenwood, SC. She is currently a senior studying English with an emphasis on professional writing at Lander. She works with kids on a daily basis and works as a tutor.

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Mia Spires—"An Analytical View of the Style Changes in Harry Potter" Although many readers have commented on the fact that the J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series becomes more complex and darker as the series progresses, there has been little attempt to examine the change in the series by looking at changes in Rowling's style at the sentence level. Previous research has examined the series' first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in terms of sentence complexity, diction, and writing style. In my project, I apply similar analytical methods to the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and compare the findings with those from the first book, in order to attempt to explain how Rowling's style changes throughout the series.

Mia Spires graduated from Brookland-Cayce High School in 2015. She is an English Major with an emphasis on professional writing. She plans to continue her education by pursuing a law degree.

DJ Stroud—"Harry Potter and the Significance of Seven" Readers have commented on many examples of the number seven in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, but one of the most significant examples is the seven horcruxes that Voldemort creates in his pursuit of immortality. In this presentation, I argue that these horcruxes can be associated with the seven chakras of the soul. The seven chakras are seen as centers of spiritual power that can be unlocked to make one’s soul whole. The association between the horcruxes and chakras helps to explain how, as Voldemort continues to split his soul, he becomes weaker because each piece of his soul is locked up by one of the issues that block an individual from freeing a chakra such as fear or grief.

DJ Stroud is a graduate of Latta High School in Latta, SC. He is a sophomore Pre-Nursing major and is applying to the Nursing program for the Fall 2016 semester. DJ is a member of Lander’s Honors College, he is the newly-elected President of Lander’s Gay/Straight Alliance (Spectrum), and he serves as a Resident Assistant in Thomason Cottages.

Noah Woodyard—""I have a choice?" - Free Will in Harry Potter" Choice is an important theme in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, yet it is not at all clear whether Harry, as he is written, actually has the agency necessary to make real choices. This project examines the issue of free will in the series, specifically addressing the question of whether Harry is able to make free choices. To answer this question, I draw on notions of free will from the philosophers Aquinas, Socrates, and John Locke; also followed by the theologians J.I. Packer, St. Augustine, and C.S. Lewis. My conclusion is that Harry doesn’t have free will and makes very few choices himself in the entire series and I will be explaining why.

Noah Woodyard graduated from Greenwood High School in Greenwood, SC. He is currently a freshman and studies English, political science, and has a minor in music performance. His experiences include working for Greenwood Community Theatre, Wild Hare Productions, Old Maine Singers, teaching archery, being in the Honors College, and working for Lander’s IT department.

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Wednesday, April 13 Psychology Poster Session Rebecca Baker—"An Examination of the Relationship between Moral Foundations, Temperament, and Political Orientation" This poster presents evidence showing connections between a popular theory of morality and a popular theory of personality. Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) was created to understand the variations of morality across and within cultures. According to MFT, there are five innate and universal systems that create the foundations of ethics. These five foundations have been labeled care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation. The Fisher Temperament Inventory (FTI) is used to measure individual differences related to four dimensions of temperament influenced by underlying neural systems in the brain. Builders, who score high on the cautious/social norm compliant temperament, are described as loyal and more traditional. Explorers, who score high on the curious/energetic temperament, are described as open to new experiences and thrill seekers. Negotiators, who score high on the prosocial/empathetic temperament, are described as peace makers and submissive. Directors, who score high on the analytical/tough-minded temperament, are described as authoritative and detail-oriented. Research has been conducted on each of these topics in relation to political orientation. There have been connections found between political orientation and MFT. There have also been connections found between political orientation and FTI, but no connections have been made as to how the FTI is related to MFT. We expect that the cautious/social norm compliant temperament will be associated with giving more weight to the loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation moral foundations. We also expect that the prosocial/empathetic temperament will be associated with giving more weight to the care/harm moral foundation.

Rebecca Baker graduated from Airport High School in West Columbia. She is currently a senior majoring in psychology. She is an alumni of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. She has interests in healthcare and plans to incorporate her psychology degree into furthering her education towards the healthcare field after graduation.

Sarah Biggers—"Morality and Mortality: Priming unethical behavior increases vulnerability to death anxiety" Terror Management Theory (TMT) states that the human awareness of the inevitability of personal mortality has the potential to cause overwhelming existential anxiety that must be avoided. Most individuals are protected against this anxiety by an internalized cultural belief system that offers hope of literal and/or symbolic immortality. Morality plays an important role in managing existential anxiety.

Behaving in a moral manner is praised in many religions and is a prerequisite for reward in the afterlife.

The goal of this study is to show that failure to live up to moral standards increases thoughts related to death. Participants are asked to write about a time they acted morally, a time they acted immorally, or about a neutral event such as walking across campus on a typical day. All participants then do a wordstem completion task as an assessment of death related thoughts (e.g., the stem de _ _ could be completed as dear or dead). Data collection is still underway, but participants in the immoral condition 6

are expected to have more death related thoughts than participants in either the moral or neutral conditions.

Sarah Biggers is a Psychology major at Lander University. She is from York, SC and plans to move back to the Charlotte area and pursue a doctorate in psychology at UNC Charlotte after graduation in December.

Clay Bryant and Hannah Bryant—"Identification with all humanity, parenting styles, and political attitudes" The purpose of this study was to understand how Identification with all Humanity (IWAH) is related to attitudes about current political issues. Specifically, we wanted to see how feeling a sense of human connection to all people would predict support for refugees and oppositions to civilian casualties in combatting terrorism. We also examined how parenting style would relate to IWAH. A survey of Lander University students is ongoing but the results are expected to show that students who feel a stronger identification with humanity will: 1) report less support for extreme anti-terrorism measures that might injure or kill innocent people and 2) report more support for helping refugees from the Middle East.

Further, students who report being raised by more authoritarian parents (characterized by low levels of affection and harsh/rigid discipline) are predicted to have a lower levels of IWAH. Clay Bryant is a junior psychology major at Lander University. He is from Greer, South Carolina and went to Blue Ridge High School where he played varsity baseball and football. He has worked for BMW the past three summers, where he drove cars onto a train to be shipped out to different states and countries.

At Lander University he is a member of PSI CHI Club and Psychology club. His career aspirations include going to graduate school and earning a degree in Speech Language Pathology.

Hannah Bryant is a senior psychology major at Lander University. She is from Lincolnton, Georgia and went to Lincoln County High School where she was a varsity spirit and competition cheerleader all four years. She was also a member of the track team and involved in the drama department. Currently, she is a member of both the spirit and competitive cheerleading teams at Lander. Her aspiration is to one day become a forensic psychologist.

Michaela Coats, Alyssa Maddux, and Catelyn Shinn—"How Reminders of Death Affect the Reactions of Political Liberals and Conservatives to Different Types of Immoral Behavior" The current study takes Terror Management Theory (TMT; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991) and Moral Foundations Theory (MFT; Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, 2009) and combines the theories to examine how existential threats may increase the differences between political liberals and conservatives in terms of their reactions to different immoral behaviors. TMT argues that death threats will cause people to defend their beliefs by acting negatively to behaviors that threaten the values of their cultural worldview. MFT claims there are five pillars that determine moral views. MFT states that political orientation influences how individuals weight those five pillars. Liberals determine whether something is right or wrong using the pillars of harm and fairness. Conservatives use the same two pillars but also use the pillars of loyalty, authority, and sanctity. Students at Lander University were randomly assigned to a mortality silence condition, where they were primed to think about death or assigned to a control condition, where they were primed to think about a painful dental procedure. All participants were given vignettes to read depicting behaviors that violated each of the five moral pillars.

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Then, the participants had to rate how morally wrong they found the behaviors in the vignettes. We believe that reminders of death will strengthen conservatives’ reactions to violations of all five moral pillars; whereas, reminders of death will strengthen liberals’ reactions to only the vignettes related to the harm and fairness pillars.

Michaela Coats is a senior psychology major from in Greenwood, South Carolina. After graduation, she plans on finding work as substance abuse counselor and going to graduate school for her master’s in counseling.

Alyssa Maddux is a senior psychology major from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. After she has earned a B.S. in Psychology she wishes to attend graduate school for an education specialist degree in school psychology.

Catelyn Shinn is a senior psychology major at Lander University. After graduation, Catelyn is planning to move to Michigan to be with her fiancé, Ben. They just bought their first house and plan to get a dog.

Catelyn wants to go back to school to pursue a career in nursing, and then get a job as a RN. Sierra Davis—"Using a Pseudo Bogus Pipeline Procedure to Examine Schadenfreude in Sports" The present study investigated the circumstance under which people feel schadenfreude (pleasure at the misfortune of others) in the context of athletic rivalries. Specifically, this study examined the idea that schadenfreude is a means of enhancing self-esteem and showing group loyalty. Reminders of mortality increase the need for self-esteem and a sense of belonging; therefore, priming participants with thoughts of death should cause them to feel more schadenfreude in response to bad things happening to a rival of their favorite athletic teams. Because participants may not always report their true feelings of schadenfreude out of concerns that the emotion makes them look petty or mean, a pseudo bogus pipeline technique was employed to maximize the chances of honest responding. This technique involves leading participants to believe that dishonest answers can be detected by the experimenter. The observed effects of reminders of death on the expression of schadenfreude were complicated and depended on the importance participants placed on their team winning, the type of misfortune affecting the rival team, and whether or not they believed dishonest responding could be detected.

Sierra Davis graduated in 2010 from Boiling Springs High School. She is currently working on completing her degree at Lander University with a major in Psychological Science and a minor in Philosophy. She plans to further her education with a master’s degree and has aspirations of becoming a school psychologist working with children, adolescents, and teens in many different areas.

Bekah Holbert and Kendra Tamaklo—"The Effect of a Simulated Disability on Evaluations of Disabled and Able-bodied Job Applicants" Although stereotypes held about the disabled can influence perceptions of a disabled job applicant (Weinberg, 1976), empathy towards a disabled job applicant has been shown to lead to more positive perceptions of the person (Cesare, Tannenbaum, & Dalessio, 1990). The present study tested whether empathy created by the non-conscious simulation of a physical disability could subsequently affect ratings of a disabled job applicant. Eighty-nine university students were randomly assigned to either 8

simulate a disability by using their non-dominant hand, or not simulate a disability by using their dominant hand to complete several tasks such as drawing and putting together puzzles. Participants were then given an e-portfolio containing information about one of four job candidates. The candidate was either physically disabled or able-bodied, and was either a student or a professional accountant. A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA is expected to reveal a main effect such that able-bodied candidates will be evaluated more favorably than disabled candidates. Further, participants who used their non-dominant hand should respond more favorably towards the candidates with the physical disability than participants who used their dominant hand. This should be particularly true when the candidate is a student and is in the participants’ peer group.

Rebekah Kaye Holbert, from Laurens, South Carolina, is a senior psychology major at Lander University.

She has been involved in research for a year and is also a Teacher Assistant for Psychology 101 and Psychology 312, Systems of Psychotherapy. After she obtains her Bachelor’s, she plans on getting her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling and pursue a Doctorate Degree in Forensic Psychology.

Kendra Tamaklo is currently a junior psychology major. Her experiences include working as a tutor in the Lander University Writing Center, serving as president of the Psychology Club, and maintaining membership in Alpha Chi and the Honors College. She is also the president elect of Psi Chi. Michael Kirkland—"Using a Pseudo Bogus Pipeline Procedure to Examine the Relation of Gender and Religion to Death Anxiety" The present study employed the pseudo bogus pipeline paradigm to investigate whether differences in death anxiety as a function of gender and religious orientation could be attributable to social desirability response bias. Previous research has established that women tend to score higher on fear of death measures than do men. One possible explanation for this may be that men actually under report their levels of death anxiety in order to conform to social expectations of masculine gender roles that prohibit showing signs of fear or fragility. A similar social desirability theory is sometimes offered in regards to religious differences in death anxiety, such that religious people are expected to under-report their true levels of death anxiety because of concerns that admitting to worries about death would be taken by others as a sign of inadequate faith. 201 Lander University students completed measures of death anxiety and intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity. Half of the participants completed these measures in a pseudo bogus pipeline condition, in which they were led to believe that the researchers could detect dishonest responses. The results showed that men’s lower death anxiety was not attributable to social desirability and persisted even when participants were deterred from responding in biased ways. Religious variables were not related to death anxiety in either condition. Implications for the relation of gender and religion to death anxiety are discussed.

Michael Kirkland graduated from J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, SC. He is currently a senior at Lander University and is majoring in psychology. Michael has served as a peer tutor on campus, research assistant for various professors, and is a member of the Psi Chi national honors society.

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Kendra Tamaklo—"Fisher's Temperament Inventory and the Big Five: A Factor Analysis of the Explorer Dimension for Introverts and Extroverts" Research conducted by biological anthropologist Helen Fisher yielded four distinct, biologically based temperaments that determine one’s predominant style of relating to others (Fisher, 2012). With this information, Fisher generated the questionnaire that was used in the present research. According to Fisher, four distinct neural systems cause the expression of different temperaments; the testosterone system is associated with being tough-minded/analytical, the estrogen system is associated with being prosocial/empathetic, the serotonin system is associated with being cautious/norm-compliant, and the dopamine system is associated with being curious/energetic. The present research focused on assessing the validity of Fisher’s curious/energetic temperament. Fisher described this temperament as being characterized by a general openness to sensation-seeking, but overlooked the vastly different qualities of the individual who is open to experience and the individual who is open to ideas. It was hypothesized that introverted individuals might be more open to ideas but not as open to experience and thus, would answer the curious/energetic items differently than extroverted participants.

Kendra Tamaklo is currently a junior psychology major. Her experiences include working as a tutor in the Lander University Writing Center, serving as president of the Psychology Club, and maintaining membership in Alpha Chi and the Honors College. She is also the president elect of Psi Chi.

Wednesday, April 13 Computer Information Systems & Mathematics Panel Logan Bautista, Jeleshia Freeman, Thomas Shedd, and Taylor Wilcox—"Dynamic System Simulator (DSSIM)" Our project, Dynamic Systems Simulator (DSSIM), is a differential equation modeler. DSSIM will be a tool for mathematicians to model and analyze systems of equations. We are creating our tool to be platform independent, free, and user friendly. Our goal is to provide a product that produces accurate results, is user friendly, and is not computationally taxing on machines. We make use of Java programming language and assorted Java libraries to achieve our goal.

Logan Bautista is an Emerald High School graduate from Greenwood, SC. She is a senior at Lander University earning her Bachelors in Computer Information Systems with an emphasis in networking. She has worked for Lander’s ITS department for the last two years.

Jeleshia Freeman is a Greenwood High School graduate from Greenwood, SC, and is a senior at Lander University. She is currently studying to earn a Bachelor’s in Computer Information Systems with an emphasis in networking.

Thomas Shedd is a Nation Ford High School graduate from Fort Mill, SC, and a senior here at Lander University. He is currently finishing a bachelor's in Computer Information Systems with an emphasis in networking. He plays in the wind ensemble as lead tuba and works for Lander ITS. Taylor Wilcox is a Ridge View High School graduate from Columbia, SC. He is a senior Computer Information Systems Major with an emphasis in networking. He spent four semesters as a Resident 10

Assistant for Lander University Housing and two semesters with Lander ITS. Taylor took part in many extracurricular activities while attending Lander including volunteer work, club organization, theater, film, chorus, and campus radio.

Aaron Hainsworth, Erin Henderson, and Ben Nunley—"Minerva: Music Sentiment Analysis" This presentation will cover the development of Minerva, a music sentiment analysis application. By using the sentiment analysis library developed by Schultz, Lee, and Li, Minerva can be used to analyze the stereotypes commonly associated with the emotional content of particular genres and decades of music. Our application will allow users to collect and analyze song lyrics by specific criteria, including artist, album, genre, and decade. In order to achieve this, the application will retrieve lyrics from websites, process the emotional content of these songs using the ANEW Sentiment Library, and display the results on a graph.

Born and raised in Clinton, South Carolina, Aaron (Michael) Hainsworth graduated from Clinton High School in 2012. As an undergraduate at Lander University, he is currently working towards his B.S. in computer information systems under the software development emphasis along with a minor in mathematics.

Erin Henderson graduated from Spartanburg Christian Academy (SC) in 2012. At Lander University, she is pursuing a B.S. in computer information systems, emphasizing in software development. Her hobbies include playing tennis, snowboarding, and riding/training horses.

Ben Nunley graduated from Gilbert High School (SC) in 2005 and earned a B.S. in Psychology from Presbyterian College in 2009. At Lander University, he is pursuing a second B.S. in computer information systems with an emphasis in networking. His hobbies include studying astronomy, attending concerts, and pushing the boundaries of his musical interests.

Robert Schultz and Devin Tinsley—"Social Networks Sentiment Analysis using Media Significance, and Location-based Search�

Sentiment analysis is an analysis of what people think and feel about something which could be products, people, or places. Our system collects data to analyze sentiment on social networks like Twitter or Instagram by the following criteria: location, keywords, or hashtags. Not all media is of the same significance because some users have a greater reach than others, and some media are shared more. We came up with a Media Significance to help show the impact that the media has. Built upon our existing framework, we added multiple features including calculation of Media Significance, Twitter live search that will collect recent tweets, Instagram search by location, and Multi-language support up to 7 different languages.

Robert Schultz is a senior in computer information systems with a minor in business. His experiences include three years on the Lander University programming team, reaching the finals at a research competition at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) for research in Sentiment Analysis, and interning with Fuji Film of Greenwood during the summer 2015.

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Devin Tinsley is a senior at Lander University studying computer information systems with an emphasis in software development. He enjoys developing applications that are useful, video games that are fun and entertaining, and websites that are easy to use.

Robert Schultz and Devin Tinsley—"Bearcat Country: Lander University-themed game using Unity Engine" The purpose of making a Lander University-themed video game, “Bearcat Country” is to capture prospective students’ attention in Lander University. This game aims to show an exciting insight into the Computer Information Systems program as well as Lander’s campus and activities. The actual game stars a student who has to complete his/her four years of school with the goal of getting a GPA of 4.0 through completing diverse objectives and various mini games. Bearcat Country is developed using the Unity Engine that many commercial video games have been developed with. Our research includes the design of a functioning and challenging game, building a 2D/3D world representing Lander University campus and buildings, as well as development of scripts that handle the game mechanics.

Robert Schultz is a senior in computer information systems with a minor in business. His experiences include three years on the Lander University programming team, reaching the finals at a research competition at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) for research in Sentiment Analysis, and interning with Fuji Film of Greenwood during the summer 2015.

Devin Tinsley is a senior at Lander University studying computer information systems with an emphasis in software development. He enjoys developing applications that are useful, video games that are fun and entertaining, and websites that are easy to use.

Josh Dixon and Kristin Hess—"Cauchy's Theorem" This project focuses on the converse of LaGrange’s Theorem and on Cauchy’s Theorem. We will use the alternating group A4 to disprove the converse to LaGrange’s Theorem, which states if a group, G has order n, and m divides n, then there exists an element in G with order m. We will then prove Cauchy’s Theorem, which states: If G is a finite group, and p is a prime number that divides the order of the group, G has an element of order p.

Josh Dixon is a senior Math major and CIS minor from Sumter, South Carolina. He plans to go to graduate school and pursue a career in engineering.

Kristin Hess is a senior Math major from Tega Cay, South Carolina. She plans to attend graduate school at the University of North Carolina Charlotte after graduation.

Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: History & English April Chaffins—"The Influence of English" Over two billion people are learning to speak the English language all around the world. That does not even begin to account for those who already use the language. The English language serves as an important lingua franca for the 21st century, thus facilitating cross-cultural communication. But what are non-native English learners losing in the process? According to David Crystal, an esteemed Irish linguist, writer, and broadcaster, “’Something like half the languages of the world are so seriously 12

endangered that they’re going to die out in the course of the present century…that means one language dying out somewhere or other every two weeks on average’” (Grubin Language Matters). Language is a key factor in a culture’s survival. If the language dies, then so does the culture. This paper will take a closer look at how the English language influences other indigenous languages into endangerment. That will be demonstrated through the use of historical experiences of two languages: Welsh and Hawaiian.

April Chaffins is currently a senior English major at Lander University in Greenwood, SC. She is a member of Lander University's Honors College, Alpha Chi Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, and Blue Key Honor Society. She is also a President Ambassador, Resident Assistant, Secretary for the English Club, and a participate of the USC Washington Semester Program.

Tyler Griffin—"'Shoeless' Joe Jackson...A Greenville Legend" This paper will explore the life and impact of the great baseball player, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. The scope of the paper has been refined to focus only on his legacy in his hometown of Greenville, S.C. “Shoeless” Joe is most known for his alleged involvement in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. The paper takes an in-depth look at his life and how he was and is viewed still today.

Tyler Griffin graduated from Mauldin High School in 2012 and from Lander University in December of 2015. His involvement on campus included being a leader of multiple organizations, such as Presidential Ambassador and Rotaract, and as a student worker in the Admissions Office. He now works full time in the Greenwood community at Velux as a customer service representative.

Patrick Nugent—"The True Reasons the Overmountain Men and Back Country Militia Fought at Kings Mountain" For the past 200 years, historians have claimed that the most significant factor causing “backwater” men of Appalachia to go on the offensive against the Tory militia at Kings Mountain was a verbal threat made

by Patrick Ferguson to Isaac Shelby. Countless authors and historians have used Lyman Draper’s book, King’s Mountain and Its Heroes, as the backbone for their illustrations of the events preceding the battle and the events that took place during the fighting. Although his book provided significant details as to the history of the battle, it failed to analyze the whole scope of what pushed the backwater men to pursue Ferguson. This essay will demonstrate that there were multiple factors that caused many frontiersmen to join the Whigs.

Patrick Nugent graduated from Dorman High School in Roebuck, SC. He is currently a senior and is pursuing a degree in history, with a certificate to teach secondary education. His experiences include serving as a peer tutor at the Academic Success Center, serving as a Fast Track Mentor, working as a Resident Assistant, working as an intern for Teaching American History in the Lakelands (TAHL), serving as president of Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, participating as a member in the Blue Key honor society, and student teaching at Emerald High School.

Mary-Katherine Tipp—"Should they Stay or Should They Go: A Look Into the Negative Effects of the Olympic Games on the Modern World"

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This presentation explores the negative effects the Olympic Games imposes upon on the host cities, their inhabitants, but also the world. The purpose of the Olympics is to bring people together from around the world in peace, putting aside any squabbles or disagreements for three weeks of athletic competition. We have newsreels, first-hand accounts, and tombstones that tell a different story. Events such as the Olympic Games have such an important role in society, not only socially but also politically.

Olympic events force countries to cross borders and hopefully achieve a sense of harmony for a short time, but we should not let that cloud our memory. Overall, it is important to remember that the relationship between sports and international relations can be a strained one more often than not and that ignorance has contributed to violent acts against humanity. After the 1972 Munich Massacre and a cascade of other negative events, we are compelled to ask, “Does the Olympics cause more harm than good?”

Mary-Katherine is from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is currently a senior history secondary education student. Her experiences at Lander include being an involved student leader on campus, interning in the US Senate for Senator Tim Scott in Washington D.C., and student teaching at Ninety Six High School.

Thursday, April 14 Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: Social Issues Adeola Adelere—"Stereotypes and Stigmas placed on Hispanic/Latino Immigrants" Hispanic/Latino immigrants come to the United States for a better future for themselves and their families. They are faced with many obstacles as they settle into the country. This observational analysis examines the stereotypes and stigmas that have been placed on them and the way that they learn to cope and deal with them. It is implied that they are uneducated, undocumented, and of low socioeconomic status. The student will conduct an observational analysis through her internship at La Puerta de Esperanza. The purpose is to further understand the issues, based on the student’s interactions with the Hispanic community, of stereotyping and stigmatization of Hispanic/Latino immigrants. Other factors that will be represented in this analysis are the issues of mental/ physical health, cultural threats, and advocacy. Through the analysis, the student found that Hispanic/Latinos are not a danger to the American society. These stereotypes and stigmas affect them, but all they want to do is provide for their family. They are people that need to be valued and respected just like any other individuals.

Adeola Adelere is currently a senior Sociology student. Through her four years at Lander University, she has interned at Voice of the Martyrs in Oklahoma and La Puerta de Esperanza here in Greenwood. Her future long term career goal is to be a missionary, serving those who are “voiceless” and giving them hope for a better life.

Kimberly Pearl Modica—"The Millennial Vote: Are College Students Increasingly Engaged in Politics for the 2016 Presidential Election?"

A new surge in political participation has happened among millennials and college aged youths across the United States. Candidates on all placements of the spectrum have taken to social media in an effort to engage a younger audience in important domestic and foreign affairs. Politically active college-aged 14

voters have the power to restore the values of students to the debate stage, and eventually, action in State and Federal Legislature. Almost every politician has a Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram account that remains up-to-date and current. 2016 Presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have used Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with millions of followers as an avenue to reach out and recognize young voter’s potential in a way unparalleled to elections of the past. For my research and poster presentation, I intend to distribute a survey to Lander University students from all departments and years of discipline asking about political involvement in the upcoming election in addition to what social media platform they read political news most frequently. The survey will be distributed to students of all political affiliations, and will be analyzed to discover if social media has improved awareness, and how involved students have become in the upcoming election. I will also compare the political affiliation of students surveyed to the amount of activity each candidate has on social media. I expect to find a positive association between social media platform use and collegestudent involvement in the campaigns of all 2016 Presidential candidates.

Kimberly Modica is a senior political science major with a minor in international studies. She has served as the President of Lander University's Chapter of the South Carolina Student Legislature as well as Political Science Association. Kimberly has also interned in Washington D.C. at Human Rights Watch, an international human rights non-governmental organization. She has been accepted into a Master's program in Dublin, Ireland for international relations with an emphasis in human rights and conflict resolution. She also loves cooking and Netflixing with her girlfriend, Mariana.

Tori St. Clair—"Pit bulls: The World's Misunderstood Dogs" This presentation explains an investigative report on public perceptions of Pit bulls as dangerous animals. Pit bulls are one of the world’s most misunderstood dog breeds. Also, the perceptions of Pit bulls in the media tend to focus on commonly held stereotypes. This investigative report shows qualitative interview data gathered from people who work with Pit bulls, as well as those who do not. In addition, the presenter will discuss personal observations from volunteer time at local shelters.

Tori St. Clair graduated from Fox Creek High School in North Augusta, SC. She is currently a freshman and majoring in nursing. In her first year at Lander, she made the Dean’s List. She is an animal advocate and has a pet pig named Penelope.

Michelle Naranjo Tabares—"Hispanic. Gringo. Mexican. Immigrant. Nadie. Meet three Hispanic Americans narrating their stories of cultural stereotypes while attempting to break a nation’s attitude towards labeling " This multimedia presentation explores the life of the adult children of Hispanic immigrants in America.

Through images and audio recordings, the stories of three Hispanic Americans will be presented in a fashion that looks behind the American mask they have molded into since an early age. The subjects will seek to label themselves as: Hispanic, American, neither or both and explain their reasoning. The film will explore the subject's past including shared experiences that distinguished their upbringing from their peers' and will reflect on the future of Hispanic youth and their culture.

Michelle Naranjo Tabares is a first-generation American who was born in Greenville, SC to Colombian parents. She graduated from Greenville Senior High Academy and is graduating in December with a 15

Mass Communications and French degree. Her Hispanic heritage and English-based education intertwined her love of languages which impelled her to study abroad in Toulouse, France to complete her minor. She hopes to continue learning languages and put her translation skills to work so that she can one day serve others to break the barriers that miscommunication creates.

Visual Arts Panel Spencer Bautista—"Michelangelo's influence on Dali" The purpose of this presentation is to provide an interpretation of Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory.” I will provide a personal observation about the influence of High Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti’s fresco “The Temptation and Expulsion” on Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory.” There will be a brief history of each artist followed by a visual analysis of the two paintings to clarify the concept. These analyses will examine and compare the compositions of the paintings, as well as the iconography and motifs used by the two artists.

Spencer Bautista is an Emerald High School graduate from Greenwood, SC. It is his second year at Lander University and he is currently earning his bachelors in visual arts. Spencer has a growing interest in sculpture and functional design, and has plans to pursue an M.A. in Arts Administration after graduation.

Olivia M. Bolt—"Limbs of Life" “Limbs of Life,” is a nine piece outdoor ceramic sculpture installation. My concept for this installation deals with the destruction of nature by the people. The main purpose of this installation was to create a sculpture that could be aesthetically pleasing and also give back to the environment.

Olivia Bolt is a Junior at Lander University majoring in Visual Arts. While studying at Lander, she has developed a high interest in 3D work. Olivia currently has two 3D works displayed on Lander's campus.

Megan D'Angelo—"Development" I believe that fine art should impact the viewer’s thoughts and emotions providing an opportunity for the viewer to interact, change, or grow in some way. This presentation will discuss the progression of processes and concepts as it follows a body of my artwork. I will demonstrate how the conceptual aspects of my artwork relates to a wide range of people and how these concepts relate to each progressive work of art. Using photos and videos I will explain my artistic processes and link those processes to my concepts.

Megan graduated from Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. She is currently a senior visual arts major with an emphasis in graphic design. Her experiences include interning at Park Seed in the marketing and design department, winning ample awards for her sculptures in exhibits each year, multiple service hours and fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through her Sorority, and representing Lander University’s art department two years in a row at College Art Day in Columbia, South Carolina.

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Anastasia Drake—"What do you see?"

We have all had questions about paintings we have seen. What do they mean? What was the artist commissioned to do? What were his or her qualifications? Did their era and surroundings affect the painting in any way? Thinking deeply about paintings is what we will do together as I speak about the calming and yet thought provoking painting by Johannes Vermeer, “The Woman holding a Balance.”

Anastasia Drake is a graduate from Dutch Fork High School. She is currently Majoring in graphic design.

She finds interest in Art History and is thinking of pursuing something in the history of art.

Preston Dunning—"Artistic Exploration through Linguistics" This presentation is about how linguistics has influenced his work and changed his artistic hand by creating lyrical and text based artwork. His goal is to set up a conversation with the viewer by using his past experiences while traveling to new locations. Preston has currently been working on his Spanish fluency skills and making language based artwork.

Preston Dunning is a double major in Spanish and visual arts at Lander University. He studied abroad in Alicante, Spain during the spring 2015 semester, and in Greece and Italy the summer of 2015. After graduation he plans to apply to the Fulbright undergraduate program to South America.

Bri-Marie Ealy—"Manufactured Phenomenon" This presentation will explore a series of paintings I've created this semester in my Advanced Painting course. In the presentation, I will provide examples of each artwork at different points in the creative process, focusing on the materials I use and my thought processes. The paintings depict abstract cosmic atmospheres. They were created with a process called fluid art, which involves painting without using a brush. The process of making these pieces has helped me to examine color relationships and also to better understand myself as an artist by essentially answering questions I've posed to myself about my artistic growth. In this presentation I will provide: images of the pieces, the process each has gone through, and general thought's I had about each during the making.

Bri-Marie Ealy graduated from South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, SC. She is currently a junior of Visual Arts with a minor in philosophy. Her areas of interest include Painting and Ceramics. She has taken three painting courses while attending Lander University, and has had the privilege of collaborating, with another artist, on two paintings for the President of Lander University.

James Elliott—"Transcendence" This presentation takes viewers inside the creation and realization of my latest fine-art book, Transcendence: a project about time, human legacy, and elevating fine art. The presentation will provide viewers with a greater understanding of the work through detailed breakdowns of individual pieces. The presentation will also provide a behind-the-scenes look into the development of the project.

James Elliott is junior at Lander University, a part-time revolutionary, and an award-winning visual artist.

With inspirations ranging from the simple beauty of nature, human complexities, politics, science, and pop culture, James connects to viewers through his photographs, digital artworks, and creative writing which have been published and appreciated around the world.

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Kayla Frost—"Confronting Ceramics" In my presentation, I will be discussing my ceramic work and the personal growth I have experienced through making it. In this presentation both recent and current works will be shared and discussed briefly. My first ceramics class allowed me to begin exploring figurative forms and my personal aesthetic leanings. The way I handled the form and surface were highly controlled and unsurprising. However, by persistently addressing discomfort while struggling through the building and glazing processes, I produced a piece that would result in a critical moment in my ceramic career. Through struggle, I grew and felt a new, deep appreciation for the nature of ceramics and all of its many challenges.

Confronting the challenges ceramic art offers has definitely pushed me to my limits. However, now that I am willing to embrace a process with uncertain results, I am able to communicate my ideas with increasing effectiveness. My current body of work has become an acknowledgement about my own place in issues that matter to me personally. In my most recent pieces, I’m beginning to address the cause and effect of a modern dynamic of separation between humans and other animals.

Kayla Frost is a multi-media artist and active member of Lander University’s Visual Art Department. She will be graduating in the summer of 2017 and plans to pursue her MFA abroad in one of three areas: painting, ceramics, or curatorial studies/art administration. Her interests in ecological conservation and longevity, the macabre, and intersectional feminism play a large role in both her current artistic process and aesthetic leanings.

Ramey Locke—"Perspective" This presentation will display a series of student work by Ramey Locke. Throughout her time at Lander, she has progressed her artwork into pieces that convey emotion. Her aim is to create art that allows the viewers to connect emotionally, and because of the way she sees the world, her artwork carries a certain quality that defines who she is. This presentation will offer a glimpse of Ramey’s artwork, and a description of why she creates what she does.

Ramey graduated from Belton-Honea Path High School. She is currently a Junior at Lander University and is a Visual Arts Major.

Biology Poster Session John Michael Alexander, Harrison Duckett, and Kelcey Howley—"The effect of Vader mutation on drosophila melanogaster" Mutations in different chromosome locations can alter the physical characteristics in Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit flies. The mutation observed in this experiment caused darkening of the body color and was named the vader mutation. During these experiments, the properties of the vader mutation were tested by setting up four separate crosses. Each cross was used to determine the dominance, Mendelian ratios, linkage to the raybanz allele, and chromosome location. Results showed that the allele for the Vader mutation is autosomal recessive and expected ratios were observed for our Mendelian crosses.

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John Michael Alexander is from Greenwood, SC and graduated from Ninety Six High School in 2014. He is currently a sophomore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology and plans to attend medical school after graduation. He represents the Lander University Baptist Collegiate Ministry as the Missions Leader.

Harrison Duckett is a Spring Valley High School graduate from Columbia, SC. He is currently a junior studying biology who plans to attend dental school pursuing a career in Dentistry. He is a collegiate athlete representing Lander University Men’s Soccer. He has also interned with Stockton and Stockton Family Dentistry.

Kelcey Howley is a Lander sophomore who graduated from South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, SC. Her major is biology with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy. After Lander, she plans to attend graduate school and receive her DPT degree.

Misti Alexander, Devante Evans, and Regan Goldman—"Baldheaded, A sex-linked mutation" The purpose of this project was to determine if the baldheaded mutation was dominant, if it was linked to starship, and also to find its chromosomal location. The project was performed by crossing freefall and starship mutant flies with the baldheaded mutant flies. First, a cross was set up to determine dominance by crossing wild type (non-mutated) flies with baldheaded flies. The baldheaded allele was found to be recessive to the normal wild type allele. Also it was determined that the baldheaded mutation is linked to starship and is located on the X chromosome. From each cross, the number of flies produced should directly relate to Mendelian ratios. Experimental data will be provided explaining how each scientific conclusion was drawn.

Misti Alexander graduated from Silver bluff High School in Aiken, SC. She is currently a sophomore biology major. She is currently a member of the American Chemical Society.

Devante Evans graduated from Chesnee High School in Chesnee, SC. He is currently a sophomore biology major. Devante is a member of the Honors College and also serves as a Presidential Ambassador on campus.

Regan Goldman graduated from Greenwood High School in Greenwood, SC. She is currently a junior biology major and is a member of TriBeta.

Ashlen Ashton, Genae Blake, and Racquel Williams—"Drosophila melanogaster" Experiments were conducted on Drosophila melanogaster to explore the genetic principles of Gregor Mendel and Thomas Hunt Morgan. The Freefall (ff) mutation was used to demonstrate gene linkage, chromosomal location, the law of segregation, and the law of independent assortment. Freefall was determined to be an autosomal recessive condition controlled by a gene located on chromosome 2.

Additionally, the ff mutation sorts independently of the Raybanz mutation, but is linked to the Death Stare mutation.

Ashlen Ashton graduated from Woodland High School in 2014. She is currently in her second year at Lander University. Ashlen joined TriBeta Biological Honor Society in 2015 and assists the organization with volunteer work.

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Genae Marquettte Blake is a biology (pre-veterinary) major here at Lander. Upon graduating she would like to attend Tuskegee University for veterinary dchool. She would also like to become an advocate for the American Pitbull Terrier breed.

Racquel Williams graduated from South Aiken High School in Aiken, SC in 2013. She is a junior majoring in biology. She spends time volunteering at an animal shelter and working a part-time job to help pay for her education. After achieving her Bachelor’s degree, she will further her education at Tuskegee University or the University of Georgia.

Taylor Baddeley and Shelby Brant—"Effects of MegaFood® Skin, Nails & Hairᵀᴹ supplements on hair growth in mice" Hair loss is common in society, and supplement companies are working to fix this problem. MegaFood® Skin, Nails & Hairᵀᴹ supplements claim to increase hair growth. The hypothesis for this study is that hair will grow over time and that specimens that are treated with the supplement will have more growth than the control group. Mice were divided into a control group that did not receive the supplement and an experimental group that did receive the supplement throughout the four week duration of the experiment. Results showed that significant hair growth occurred in all of the mice, but there was not a significant difference in hair growth between the control and experimental group. Based on the results, MegaFood® Skin, Nails & Hairᵀᴹ supplements were concluded to be ineffective at causing the claimed increase in hair growth.

Taylor Baddeley is a junior at Lander University. She is a biology major and plans on pursuing a career in animal rehabilitation.

Shelby Brant graduated from Greenwood Christian School in 2013. She is currently a junior in biology with a minor in therapeutic horsemanship. Outside of class, Brant is a member of both TriBeta and Alpha Chi honor societies.

Colton Mcbride is a senior at Lander University majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. He plans on pursuing a caeer in medicine upon graduation and attending medical school.

Kelsey Barrett and Madden Leaman—"Caffeine’s Effects on the Energy Levels of Mice during Locomotor Activity and during Rest" Caffeine is a commonly used substance for higher energy and elevated alertness during psychomotor and cognitive tasks. This current study aimed to elucidate the effects of caffeine supplement administration on mice. It was hypothesized that caffeine would lead to increased amounts of time run in a running wheel and more wakefulness during rest times. The subjects comprised 8 mice separated into a control and treated group that underwent exercise trials on a running wheel and were observed for general wakefulness over the course of 4 weeks. There was a statistical difference in amount of time run between the groups for the first week, but there was no statistically significant data for subsequent weeks. The results presented in this study do not suggest a significant effect of caffeine on either performance during exercise trials or in wakefulness.

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Kelsey Barrett is a biology major. Upon graduation she plans to attend University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and then specializing in small animal surgery. Kelsey, in the future, would love to move to Australia, open up a veterinary surgical practice, and get a pet kangaroo!

Madden Leaman, Greenwood native, earned his Bachelors of Science in Microbiology with a minor in French from Clemson University in 2014. He currently works as an EMT for Greenwood County EMS and takes select classes at Lander University where he acts as an academic tutor. Madden plans to enter medical school in the fall of 2017.

Melissa Beggs, Dylan Scott, and Brandon Videtto—“A Study of the stumpy Allele in Drosophila melanogaster” The goal of this study was to determine dominance, chromosome location, and Mendelian ratios for the stumpy allele in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetic linkage distance for the stumpy to Starship allele in Drosophila melanogaster was also tested. Five crosses were set up and data was analyzed continuously throughout the semester to answer these questions. The results for this study indicate that the stumpy allele is recessive and located on the X chromosome. The traits of Mendalian inheritance and the map distance between the stumpy allele and the Starship allele is yet to be determined.

Melissa Beggs graduated from Greenwood Christian School in Greenwood, SC. She is currently a sophomore biology major with an emphasis in genetics. She is a member of the American Chemical Society, and was recently inducted into the Psi Theta chapter of the TriBeta Biological Honor Society.

Dylan Scott is a sophomore biology major and a transfer student from Winthrop University born and raised in Greenwood, SC. He is an avid athlete, a huge fan of track and field, and the oldest of six kids.

Brandon Videtto is a sophomore biology student at Lander University. He is from a military family from Beaufort, SC. Since he was eight, he has played soccer year round for many clubs around the state.

Genae Blake and Ciara Wertz—"Accessing Water Quality in the Saluda Watershed" Water is vital for all life forms and makes up over 70 percent of the earth’s surface; although only 2.5 percent is fresh water. With so much of the water being unavailable for human use, water conservation and water quality is very important. Tests were done at three points along the Saluda watershed to calculate how effective the conservation efforts in our area are. Here we have done water quality tests from Lake Holiday down to Lake Greenwood and stopped at Lake Murry. As the water flows down the Saluda watershed, increasing contaminant collection is expected. In order to test this hypothesis, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria concentration will be tested. Our results have the potential to discover the status of the water quality integrity of the Saluda watershed.

Genae Marquettte Blake is a biology (pre-veterinary) major here at Lander. Upon graduation she would like to attend Tuskegee University for veterinary school. She would also like to become an advocate for the American Pitbull Terrier breed.

Ciara Wertz is a junior biology major at Lander University. She volunteers as a 4-H horse club volunteer advisor and horse judging coach. She spends her free time riding horses and raising Nubian and La Mancha dairy goats.

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Jeffrey Davenport and Jessica Palumbo—"The Characterization of Chemical Cues Excreted from Brachionus calyciflorus as Detected by Scenedesmus acuminatuus" Predator-prey relationships are a substantial force in the shaping of the prey. Often, prey will develop ways to detect and defend against those that want to consume them. The green alga Scenedesmus acuminatuus and their predator, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, show this relationship. In the presence of rotifer chemical signals, the Scenedesmus group together in larger colonies to protect themselves. This experimental series seeks to characterize this rotifer chemical cue in three different ways. We will be determining the cues stability when exposed to heat, its approximate size, and its general polarity. Each of these tests will be done respectively by boiling the filtrate, placing filtrate in dialysis tubing and seeing if it escapes, and solvent partitioning the filtrate between an aqueous and organic phase. The filtrate was created when a batch of Brachionus calyciflorus was hatched and allowed to condition water for a week. After which, the rotifers were removed by vacuum filtration, leaving only the chemical cues. We hypothesize that the chemical cue will be small, polar, and degraded by heat. The chemical is unlikely to be excreted for the sole purpose of the prey detecting the predators, and instead is more likely to be a waste product of the predator suggesting evolution favored the chemical detection of these cues in the prey species.

Jeffrey Davenport is a senior biology major at Lander University. He is a current ROTC Cadet and will be commissioning after graduation where he will become a Medical Service Corps officer and has the long term goal of becoming a medical professional. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, watching talks about current events and politics, and listening to debates on theology much to the dismay of his fiancé.

Jessica Palumbo is a senior biology major at Lander University. She will be working in a lab after graduation running tests and doing research. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, painting and drawing, and cross stitching.

Kelly Farmer—"The effects of caffeine on expression of TPH2 in brains of developing chicken embryos" There are potential harmful risks for fetuses when pregnant women consume caffeine. Some of those risks can include abnormalities to the brain. TPH2 is an enzyme that controls serotonin synthesis in the brain. In this study, the effect of caffeine on expression of TPH2 in the brains of developing chicken embryos was conducted. 500 µmol/egg solution of caffeine and a 0.9% saline solution were injected into the experimental and control groups respectively on embryonic days (E) 0-6. Brain tissue samples were taken on E 10 and E 18, and mRNA expression levels of TPH2 were tested using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression levels of TPH2 in the embryos injected with 500 µmol/egg of caffeine on E 10 were higher than the expression levels in the control E 10 embryos. There were no embryos that survived to E 18 that were injected with the 500 µmol/egg caffeine solution. This is consistent with previous studies that showed that as the concentration of caffeine increased, so did the expression of TPH2. More research is being conducted on TPH2 expression in the brain on E 10 and E18 with the concentrations of 10 µmol/egg, 15 µmol/egg, and 20 µmol/egg.

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Kelly Farmer graduated from Airport High School in West Columbia, SC. She is currently a senior biology major with a minor in chemistry, and plans to go on to veterinary school after graduation. Her experiences include working as a peer tutor on campus, interning at Chinquapin Animal Hospital in Greenwood, SC, and interning at Possum Kingdom Kreamery in Belton, SC. Hannah Girardeau, Scotia Mclain, and Meagen Risinger—"Drosophila melanogaster- ray Bans" In this experiment, Drosophila melanogaster also known as fruit flies, were used. The mutation that was studied was ray Bans due to the dark eyes. The purpose of the experiment was to determine how this mutation is inherited, its location on the chromosome, and its linkage distance from the vader mutation.

The mutation of ray Bans was discovered to be autosomal recessive. The chromosome location as well as the linkage distance from the vader mutation is still being analyzed.

Hannah Girardeau is a sophomore at Lander University taking up in biology. After she graduates from college, she plans to go into pediatric physical therapy.

Scotia McLain graduated from Marlboro County High School. She is a junior at Lander University taking up biology. After she graduates, she plans to go into the navy to further her biology degree in forensic toxicologist.

Meagen Risinger is a senior at Lander University taking up biology. She is from Honea Path, SC and plans to work in veterinary medicine when she graduates.

Madden Leaman, Brooke Snelling, and Haven Wood—"Deathstare Fly Project" This project aimed to identify a randomly assigned mutation by determining its inheritance pattern, chromosome location, and linkage to another assigned mutation. Basic Drosophila melanogaster husbandry methods were employed to maintain fruit fly stocks. In order to determine its inheritance pattern, a cross of the true-breeding randomly assigned mutant Drosophila, which the group named death stare (ds), and true-breeding wild type Drosophila was established. A dihybrid cross using ds Drosophila and Drosophila with the vader (va) mutation was set up to show interaction between the two genes (if any). Finally, crosses to determine chromosome location and linkage distance were carried out using ds and free fall (ff) as well as ds and Cy/Pm;D/Sb Drosophila. The data show an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance on chromosome 2; separation from other loci will be determined from the data.

Madden Leaman, a Greenwood native, earned his Bachelors of Science in Microbiology with a minor in French from Clemson University in 2014. He currently works as an EMT for Greenwood County EMS and takes select classes at Lander Universit, where he acts as an academic tutor. Madden plans to enter medical school in the fall of 2017.

Brooke Snelling graduated first in her class from Ninety Six High School in 2013. She is currently a junior biology major with a minor in chemistry. Her experiences include water quality analysis of the Rio Largarto River watershed in Costa Rica and being a member of both the Tri-Beta Biological Society and the Lander University chapter of Alpha Chi.

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Haven Wood graduated from Greenwood High School in 2014. She is currently a sophomore majoring in biology with a pre-med emphasis. Her experiences include being a member of Tri-Beta Biological Society as well as a student worker in Academic Affairs at Lander University. She aspires to become a pediatrician.

Benjamin Mitchell—"Inheritance of Pigmentation in Nerodia clarkii compressicauda" Nerodia clarkii compressicauda are aquatic snakes native to parts of southern Florida and northern Cuba. Individuals of this species appear in many color patterns varying from red to black. The MC1R gene has been shown to determine color pattern variations in other species of vertebrates. PCR was used to amplify a DNA fragment with a length consistent with the MC1R locus of other vertebrates. The MC1R locus of individual animals will be sequenced to look for variations in DNA sequence that are consistent with variations in the animal’s phenotype.

Benjamin Mitchell is in his junior year in the biology department. He is currently working closely with Dr. Lee and Dr. Hansknecht on a research project. He hopes to continue to research in genetics after graduation.

Demi Moore and Ryan Oggenfuss—"Bar eye mutation in Drosophila melanogaster" In this study, the focus was oriented toward classifying the Starship mutation found in Drosophila melanogaster. In particular, the main objectives were to assess a dominance pattern, track the chromosomal location of the mutant allele, observe Mendelian ratios from a monohybrid and dihybrid cross, and to determine a map distance between the Starship locus and the Stumpy locus. It has been determined thus far that the Starship mutation is dominant and resides on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Currently, the experiment is continuing to observe post mating ratios and chromosomal linkage to other loci.

Demi Moore is a student-athlete at Lander University playing women’s soccer, majoring in business and minoring in biology. She plans to travel to Australia for an internship working under a large/exotic animal veterinarian. Once she returns she plans to apply to veterinary schools across the country and in Canada.

Ryan Oggenfuss is currently a student in the biology program at Lander University. He plans to travel to Japan after graduation for a year to teach English. Upon returning to America he plans to seek employment in a in the field of biology or one related.

Suzie Pace—"Leptin, mTOR, and Kisspeptin, as Potential Signaling Intermediates for the Production of GnRH During the Pubertal Transition in Female Rats" Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) is synthesized and secreted by the hypothalamus. GnRH regulates reproduction including the onset of puberty in humans and other vertebrates. The intermediate signals that stimulate the secretion of GnRH are not well understood. However, there is strong evidence that metabolic status influences GnRH secretion during the onset of puberty. The objective of this research is to better understand the up-stream pathways of GnRH. Leptin, mTOR, and kisspeptin have all been hypothesized to be up-stream candidates regulating GnRH during the pubertal transition in female rats. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine the gene expression of the 24

leptin receptor, mTOR, kisspeptin, and GnRH in the hypothalami of female rats in ten-day intervals starting at postnatal day-10 to postnatal day-60. An elevation in leptin receptor at day 40 correlated with increase in the expression in mTOR, kisspeptin, and GnRH. The outcome suggests that leptin, mTOR, kisspeptin might play a crucial role in mediating the onset of puberty in mammals supporting the relationship between nutritional status and function of GnRH neurons. Understanding the signaling intermediates for GnRH secretion could play a crucial role in finding a treatment and prevention of sterility in both humans and animals.

Suzie Pace is a transfer student from the Piedmont Technical College Honor’s Program and is currently a junior in the Lander University Honor’s program majoring in biology with a genetics emphasis and a minor in chemistry. Suzie’s experiences include a research project completed at Piedmont Technical College and giving two presentations for the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative in Charlotte, NC and Portland, OR. Besides academic activities, Suzie is a member of American Chemical Society, Lander University Programming Council, Student Support Service, and Liaison Program in Self Regional hospital.

Melissa Rogers and Lauren Seacrist—"The influence of microcystins on the secondary consumer Carassius auratus" The production of chemicals is one of the mechanisms of defense utilized by many organisms including cyanobacteria. The cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria promote their survival by poisoning predators, either by their direct consumption or presence in the environment. The release of such toxins can cause adverse effects and even death to any organism living in the area of this algal bloom or any unfortunate enough to eat another poisoned individual. However, it is unclear if the animals consuming cyanobacteria, known as the zooplankton, can pass this toxin to their predators. In this experiment, we investigated the effects of the cyanotoxin microcystin produced by the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa on a secondary predator, Carassius auratus (the common goldfish). We hypothesize that the microcystin will decrease the survivorship of the goldfish and cause adverse effects in their health. To test this hypothesis, goldfish will be fed zooplankton that have either been feeding on toxic cyanobacteria or a control food. Treated goldfish will then be carefully observed and compared to a control group to monitor for changes in survival, health, and behavior. The results gathered will contribute to the scientific community's understanding of the consequences of toxic algal blooms on populations at the higher tropic levels.

Melissa Rogers is a senior biology student at Lander University. She is currently pursuing a career in wildlife biology, and aspires to work in a veterinary setting. In her free time she enjoys playing flute in the Lander Wind Ensemble and spending time with her rabbit, Haussie.

Lauren Seacrist is a junior biology major and honors student at Lander University. She is currently vice president of Lander’s chapter of TriBeta Biology Honors Society. Once she graduates, she plans on attending graduate school for wildlife conservation biology.

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Lauren Seacrist—"The Effects of BPA and BPS on Demasculinization of Male Mice at FDA Approved Levels" BPA is a well know environmental pollutant that is found in many metal and plastic containers and has caused multiple reproduction problems in many animals such as demasculinization and gender reversal.

BPS is substitute chemical similar in structure to BPA that has not been well studied. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the effects of FDA approved levels of BPS and BPA on the sex drive of male mice. It was hypothesized that BPS-contaminated male mice should exhibit similar signs of demasculinization as those treated with BPA. Fifteen sexually mature male mice were separated into three groups of 5 and were given either BPA, BPS, or a blank and were subjected to a four quadrant Barnes maze. The amount of time it took to find the female was measured along with the amount of time in the quadrant with the female. There was no significant difference between BPA, BPS, and the control in both times to find the female and time in the female quadrant. It is concluded that neither BPA nor BPS demasculinize mice at FDA approved amounts.

Lauren Seacrist is a junior biology major and honors student at Lander University. She is currently vice president of Lander’s chapter of TriBeta Biology Honors Society. Once she graduates, she plans on attending graduate school for wildlife conservation biology.

Jennifer Vassy and Alex Wade—"The Effects of Kava on anxiety and the expression of the GABA-A receptor" Anxiety is a psychological disorder that causes physiological effects that are both a nuisance and costly to treat. Kava is proposed to be a cost-effective anxiolytic supplement. It is hypothesized that mice treated with Kava will exhibit behaviors indicative of reduced anxiety and increase GABA-A receptor expression. Mice were treated daily with Kava and weekly run through the elevated plus maze test to evaluate the mice’s level of anxiety. At the end of the experiment, GABA-A receptor expression was measured in whole brain samples. The data gathered from the elevated maze testing was analyzed via two-factor ANOVA test examining time and control versus treated groups. The data showed no statistical significance (p=. 06); however, the mean experimental times tended to be lower on average than the treated times, which suggests that further experimentation should be done. Despite the media attention and the popularity of this common supplement, we found that Kava does not have a significant impact on anxiety over time.

Jennifer Vassy graduated from Gaffney High School in Gaffney, SC. She is currently a senior biology major with and emphasis in pre-medical studies. Her experiences include working as a peer tutor on campus, walking the Camino de Santiago as a study abroad experience throughout Spain, presenting her studies on healthcare in Spain at William and Mary College, and volunteering as a mentor for the Enhanced Advising Program on campus Alex Wade is from Greenwood, SC. Alex is a senior at Lander University in the Pre-Med program majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry.

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Friday, April 15 Honors Interdisciplinary Panel: Education and Psychology Jessica N Boyd—“Personality Spectrum” This presentation will describe my theory on how personality develops, how interpersonal relationships affects personality, as well as identifying and categorizing personality traits. My theory is based on Erik Erikson’s psychosexual stages of development, Harry Stack Sullivan’s interpersonal psychiatry, and Raymond Cattell, Hans Eysenck theories of traits. In my theory, I am using color theory terms to describe personality. Therefore, I will be using terms such as personality hues instead of personality traits and referring to specific personalities as specific colors. I chose to do this because I believe personality is a blend of many traits, just as colors are a blend two or more different colors.

Jessica Boyd graduated from Mayo High School MST in Darlington. She is currently a senior psychology student with a minor in visual arts.

Breanna Butler—“The Educational Benefits of the Hogwarts House System” Through an analysis of the Hogwarts house system this research attempts to assess whether or not house systems, a form of student division in educational institutions typically seen in the U.K, are effective educational strategies. In her fictional exploration of the house system, J.K Rowling advocates what Lyndsay Agans calls holistic education—that is, “a view of balancing academic knowledge, development of life skills, and greater understanding of self and other.” Rowling depicts this approach in the Harry Potter series through the professors’ teaching strategies, the developing characters, the transition onto the Hogwarts train, and the division of students. While this educational strategy may have negative side effects, a house system may assist student success and retention, according to educational researchers—something the Harry Potter books also suggest.

Breanna graduated from Emerald High School in Greenwood. She is presently a freshman in elementary education with a minor in political science. She is in both Honors and Teaching Fellows Programs here at Lander, and has experience tutoring at-risk children.

Keith Dumais—“Teaching with F.R.I.E.N.D.S” First time teaching can be overwhelming with so much you will have to do to have a successful and enjoyable learning environment for you and your students. Using the characters from the television show Friends, I will be highlighting each of the character's strong points that can be used in your classroom to have a great experience—qualities that range from Monica's organizational skills, Phoebe's creativity, Chandler's humor, and much more. I will also be discussing how the theme song is beneficial since you will need help and advice from other teachers and they will be there for you no matter what.

This will be a presentation where you will be able to figure out which character resembles you the most as a teacher and which one you need to improve on. Overall no one can achieve anything alone and teaching with friends will make the first year teacher have an enjoyable experience.

Keith Dumais is a sophomore at Lander University and is studying English Secondary Education with a minor in Theatre. . He is a South Carolina Teaching Fellow and also the Deputy Director of Projects for 27

Lander Enactus. He is actively involved at the Greenwood Community Theatre and hopes to bring more of the arts back into schools from his experience there.

Mariana Martins—“Nutrition Education Strategies to Reduce Weight Gain During College Years” It is well known that obesity has been a major health problem in the United States for many years now.

Its rate has been increasing for over 30 years now and so has the healthcare spending associated with its treatment and complications. In 2011-12, 34.9% of American adults were considered obese and their healthcare spending accounted for more than $140 billion per year. When targeting this issue, many professionals disregard young adults because they remain the age group with the lowest, but not low, obesity rate. Young adults compose the next generation of mothers and fathers, and their health should be prioritized more often. The purpose of this project is to find out what the biggest contributors to obesity are among college students and propose new ways to ameliorate the health of this population. I intend to propose the introduction of new strategies such as community kitchens available for students living on-campus and a new nutrition and cooking general-education class. A survey will be sent by email to all the students currently enrolled at Lander University in South Carolina, which will allow the collection of qualitative and quantitative data and provide insight on college students’ eating behaviors and reaction towards the possible introduction of these new measures.

Mariana is 22 years old and she is originally from Portugal. She is currently a senior Exercise Science major with a minor in chemistry and pre-med. She played for Lander's Women Golf Team for three and a half years and spent a semester in Washington D.C. interning at a nutrition and public policy department at the United States Department of Agriculture last semester. She hopes to go to Ireland next year to continue her education in the medical field and accompany her girlfriend who will be getting her master’s degree in Ireland as well. Mariana is very passionate about exercise and nutrition, which explains why she loves cooking and goes to the gym almost every day to do crossfit.

Kathryn Spence—“The Relationship between Harry Potter's Dementors and Boggarts and the Effects of Depression and Anxiety” Author J. K. Rowling has commented that the dementors—magical creatures whose presence creates a sense of hopelessness—in her Harry Potter series were inspired by her experience with depression.

Similarly, boggarts may be read as symbols of anxiety. Using the DSM5, I examine the parallels between these dark creatures and the psychological conditions they may represent, and I consider whether the methods students in the series learn to defeat these creatures suggest practical means for readers to respond to deal with depression or anxiety.

Kathryn Spence graduated from A.C Flora High School in Columbia, SC. She is currently a sophomore studying psychology. Kathryn has traveled abroad to Ireland, Scotland, and Prague through Lander's summer travel abroad classes.

Kendra Tamaklo—"Pledging to the Flag: Factors that Influence Identification and Attitudes" This research examined the individual factors of personality, social dominance, social identity, and attitudes toward Southern traditions, including the Confederate Flag. The goal of this research was to identify patterns in personalities within subgroups that may predict attitudes on social and political 28

issues. To measure subjects’ personalities, the Big Five Personality Inventory was used. This questionnaire assessed participants in terms of level of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (John, Donahue & Kentle, 1991; John, Naumann & Soto, 2008). It was hypothesized that participants who scored low on openness would have a greater general acceptance for the Confederate Flag. The Social Dominance Orientation Scale (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth & Malle, 1994) was administered to measure participants’ level of acceptance of inequality in society, specifically participants’ level of ethnic prejudice. It was hypothesized that participants who scored high on ethnic prejudice social dominance were more accepting of the Confederate Flag. The Collective-Self Esteem scale was also used. This questionnaire measured identification with social groups, but for the purpose of this study, it was modified to measure participants’ identification with Southerners. It was hypothesized that participants who strongly identified as Southern displayed a higher level of acceptance for the Confederate Flag than those who did not identify as strongly with the South.

Kendra is currently a junior psychology major. Her experiences include working as a tutor in the Lander University Writing Center, serving as president of the Psychology Club, and maintaining membership in Alpha Chi and the Honors College. She is also the president elect of Psi Chi. Katie Warnken—Harry Potter and the World of Education J. K. Rowling uses the Harry Potter series to comment on many different topics, including education. In particular, she uses the main characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to display the different ways students view school, and she uses the different Defense against the Dark Arts professors to represent how different teaching styles affect the students. By analyzing the different teaching and learning styles presented in the series, this project discusses how the Harry Potter books comment on our approach to education.

Katie Warnken is from North Augusta, South Carolina. She received her high school diploma from Wardlaw Academy and is now attending Lander University to receive a mathematics education degree.

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The 2016 Lander University Student Academic Symposium is sponsored by

The Honors College and

The College of Arts & Humanities 30