THE SPECTRUM | Features | Monday, April 15, 2019
Graduate students win awards for research
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Third annual GSC Symposium gives students a chance to feel a part of campus Features Editor
Graduate students have a tough job of always doing research, so receiving acknowledgement for their findings is appreciated. Being able to present their findings to a large crowd gives students a way of learning more and feeling more a part of campus. On April 3, the third annual Graduate Student Council (GSC) Research Symposium took place to highlight the research being done at NDSU. Adrienne Antonsen won for her oral presentation on “determining spatial and temporal distributions of grassland butterflies through statewide monitoring.” For the poster presentation, Ana Magallanes Lopez tied for first place with her presentation of “Can We Remove Vomitoxin From Wheat by Wet Milling?” with Nik Snyder who presented “Seasonal Trends In Nesting Physiology Of Adult Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus Atricilla).” Each contestant was shocked to hear they won and excited for the accomplishment. “I definitely didn’t expect to win,” Antonsen, entomology graduate student, said. “It took me by surprise.” Antonsen entered the symposium to gain better public speaking skills and left explaining that it was all worth it. Not only was she able to win and share her findings, but she also found it interesting to learn more about what is happening behind the scenes at NDSU. Many students do not know all the research that is being conducted by graduate students because there is just so much. Antonsen explained how she got
“such a bigger perspective on campus, research wise.” “I think it kind of helps make me feel a part of a bigger thing,” Antonsen said. Lopez agreed with this feeling. She was able to show the world what she was doing rather than being inside the lab working like she usually is. “Whenever you have a chance to show your research, just go for it because it’s a very good opportunity to feel that your research is important,” Lopez said. Before Lopez entered the competition, she felt like as though she couldn’t compete with those who were talking about cancer and diabetes because her research seemed important but did not compare to something so large like that. She has won multiple awards through competitions and conferences, and yet she still wondered if she should participate in the symposium. After almost two years of research, she felt compelled to share her findings at with the GSC. When explaining how lengthy research is and how one must truly love what they are studying, Lopez explained the importance of studying different aspects in the world. “I think that’s the important thing of doing research — to have an impact,” she said. While some studies have an impact on those learning, the symposium had an impact on Snyder. “GSC Symposium acts as a great cheerleader for graduate students and reinvigorated me, reminding me why I love my research,” Snyder said. Many graduate students spend hours in their lab and years on their study, making them sacrifice parts of their lives for what they love to research, which is why
Shoppers from all over the region peruse the various booths at the craft fair. winning awards for their work is so meaningful. It reminds them
were becoming too heavy on their shoulders.
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“It definitely made me feel more of a part of NDSU”
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Miranda Stambler
- ADRIENNE ANTONSEN
why they are doing the study, even if they ever felt as though it
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continue,” Snyder said. Because the symposium is not as intimidating as other competitions, it allows for students to practice for something that may have higher stakes. Snyder appreciated “the diversity of judges because this reaffirmed for me that I can still effectively communicate my science to a broad range of scientists.” The symposium is a way to become more involved at NDSU, share research with others and practice communication skills for future events. The event helps prepare graduate students to share their research with the world and spread the word.
“Graduate work is tough. The award has encouraged me to
A Bison Abroad | Bunjilaka artwork represents stories Melbourne artist uses art to show culture and history Erin Thostenson Contributing Writer
The Melbourne Museum is dedicated to showcasing the art, culture and history of the Australian city as well as the country itself. There is no section of the museum in which these ideas are explored deeper than in Bunjilaka, the Aboriginal Cultural Centre. This section was created by a collaboration of the Melbourne Museum with members of Aboriginal communities in Victoria and indigenous communities across Australia.
Bunjilaka strives to share and preserve the stories of these diverse groups. Their stories in Bunjilaka are told through historical archive, artifacts, oral history, artwork and more. One especially thoughtful addition to Bunjilaka is the mixed photography, writing and audio art exhibit created by Jim Berg, a seasoned photographer and Gunditjmara Elder. The exhibit is called “Silent Witness: A Window to the Past.” The focus of the exhibit is Scar trees found on Wotjobaluk Country in western Victoria. “Silent
Witness” consists of about a dozen photographs of these trees, interspersed with written commentary from Berg in the form of several poems and some prose and scored by atmospheric audio recordings of the forests these Scar trees come from. Together, these elements of photography, writing and sound combine to create an experience that demonstrates how deeply Aboriginal groups in Wotjobaluk Country are connected to their traditional land; a person can actually see, in markings on Scar trees, visual evidence of how these groups lived
and used their land in past generations. Berg writes in his prose introduction at the beginning of “Silent Witness” that for some Aboriginal groups in Victoria, “Trees were the supermarkets of the Land. They provided food, shelter, transport, medicines, tools and weapons.” After years of harvesting trees for these supplies, the trees become permanently marked and are called “Scar trees.” Scar trees go beyond just being a necessary part of living for these groups historically. Australian author and activist Tony Birch shared
that Scar trees not only show factual evidence of historical Aboriginal life, independent from settler-colonial life, they also tell the stories of these indigenous people —stories that, perhaps, are not typically told in written records. The work of Tim Berg in “Silent Witness: A Window to the Past” is a record, both artistic and historical, of the intimate relationship that Aboriginal groups of Wotjobaluk Country have to their country. His art not only shows the histories of these groups, but it also anchors these histories in the present.
Their stories are not just ephemeral memories; they can still be seen on the Scar trees on their country today. Even in the future, if the Scar trees are lost to time, Berg’s photography, poetry, prose and soundtrack will still remain to preserve them in archives to come. The artwork of Tim Berg helps frame a person’s mindset as they enter the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, making a visit to Bunjilaka in the Melbourne Museum an introspective and powerful Australian experience.