2025 Batten Honors College - Academic Journal

BATTEN HONORS COLLEGE ACADEMIC JOURNAL

Vol I : The Scholar’s Compass

2024 - 2025 Issue

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Batten Honors College Academic Journal Vol. 1 The Scholar’s Compass 2024 - 2025 Issue Editor-in-Chief: Christian Palmisano Assistant Editors: Calee Lukowski Samantha Silvia Peer Reviewers: Gabrielle Barnett Andrew Steiner Designer: Elena Lichtenwalner Special Thanks to Lucas Gordon and the Student Advisory Board 2023-24 for their assistance in creating the journal.

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Table of Contents Letter from the Editor .................................................... Pg 4 Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Bat Activity and Species Composition in an Old Growth Urban Forest, Katelyn Baker, .................................................................. Pg 6 “We Found a Better Way”: Krishna Consciousness in 1990’s Hardcore Punk, Aiden Croghan, .................... Pg 46 The Harold, Long-Form Improvisation, and Del Close, Mikayla Dayton, .............................................................. Pg 57 Olives: Branching Out, and Portfolio, Elena Lichtenwalner, ............................................................... Pg 68 The Pay Gap in the Arts, Sarah Richards, ................. Pg 84 Broadening Awareness of Melanoma and Skin of Color on College Campuses, Breana Mahoney, .................. Pg 96 Localized Solution to Glass Recycling in Urbanized Coastal Communities, Edward McDonald, ............ Pg 134 Implementing Opioid Education in Universities, Rhian Tramontana, ................................................................. Pg 168 Author & Staff Information ....................................... Pg 204 3

Letter from the Editor The Batten Honors College Academic Journal was born out of a desire to exhibit student work in a professional publication. This inaugural issue represents a critical step towards that goal, as we publish eight pieces of student work covering a wide variety of topics, from improvisational theater techniques to research on bat activity in response to artificial light at night. Three of these publications are senior capstone projects, which demonstrate the mission of the Batten Honors College to develop students into global citizens, environmental stewards, and well-rounded leaders, as well as celebrate the pinnacle of these students’ academic accomplishments. The work exhibited in this issue is the culmination of months of accumulation, examination, and revision, all in an effort to deliver the highest quality of publication possible, a product of which the editorial staff and I are proud to be associated.

Out of a multitude of submissions for this year’s possible theme, the student advisory board selected ‘The Scholar’s Compass.’ I found this to be particularly apt for our inaugural issue, as the Batten Honors College guides itself into waters that were heretofore uncharted. Beginning anew is always a daunting task, but the caliber of the Batten Honors College, the editorial staff, and its student’s work, has proved a remarkable staging ground for the Academic Journal. Just as the world is constantly changing, the Batten Honors College is persistently improving and adapting, scouring the globe for prospective students and new opportunities

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for current students. We hope that this inaugural issue will be built upon by the cohorts of tomorrow and provide additional outlets to recognize the Batten Honors College and the work of its brilliant and capable minds.

Thank you, Christian Palmisano, Editor-in-Chief

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Katie Baker Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Bat Activity and Species Composition in an Old Growth Urban Forest Abstract

While it is known that bats are present in Virginia Wesleyan University's old growth beech forest, the species composition in artificially lit and unlit areas requires further research. Past student-led research identified the presence of Mexican free-tailed bats on campus. Further research is needed to better understand bat species diversity and their distribution among artificially lit and unlit areas. Ultrasonic bat sensors were placed at two locations on the edge of the old growth beech forest. One was placed in an artificially lit area near a streetlight while the other was placed in an unlit area. Both of the sensors were placed along the edge of a path or road to account for the edge effect. The ultrasonic sensor was programmed to collect data in response to the detection of certain frequencies, specifically frequencies above 16 kHz. The Bat Auto-ID feature of Kaleidoscope Pro was utilized to assess bat species diversity in the artificially lit and unlit areas.

Using Wildlife Acoustics Kaleidoscope software’s normal sensitivity bat auto-ID feature, 20 total bat species were identified. Greater species diversity was observed in the artificially lit area of the old growth forest. The Florida Bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) and the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) were observed in both the artificially lit and unlit areas; these species were not

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thought to be present in Southeastern Virginia. By surveying Southeastern Virginia for endangered or near-threatened bat species, awareness will be spread about the cause, which may inspire other conservationists to research bat species diversity in other parts of Virginia and beyond.

Introduction

The occurrence of bat species becoming threatened and endangered is thought to have been caused by habitat destruction and fragmentation (1) . According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the main threats to bats include land use change, urbanization, and human activities that disrupt the natural habitat such as hunting (2). When bats endure increased mortality rates due to human activity, they are especially slow to recover due to their long life spans and low reproductive rate (2). Since bats are particularly vulnerable to human activities, the conservation and protection of known bat habitats are vital.

The conservation of threatened and endangered species is vital to any ecosystem’s health. This study will reveal whether there are threatened or endangered species on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus to allow for further conservation efforts to preserve them. If endangered species are present, then conservation plans may be established to protect the old growth

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urban forest and the bats within. This study may also indicate the absence of a species that is expected to be found in the area, which may suggest a decrease in their population. The data will show whether there are any species present that were not expected to be found in this area. By understanding which bat species are present on campus, conservationists will be better equipped to preserve and protect them. This research will spread awareness about the types of bats on campus while inspiring the community to take action to help protect threatened and endangered bat species.

The health of each organism within an ecosystem is interconnected. For example, if there is a decrease in the bat population, several aspects of the ecosystem will be affected. A decrease in bats may affect pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal, which will have lasting impacts on the ecosystem (2). If there are threatened or endangered species on campus, then a conservation plan could be established to protect such species. If it is found that artificial light affects the migration of bats, then further research could be done to assess whether artificial light has a positive or negative effect on bat migration. Some conservation efforts include the installation of alternative lighting to decrease the urban impact on bat migration (3).

This research aims to determine the bat activity and species composition in the artificially lit and unlit edge areas of the Virginia Wesleyan old growth urban forest. Specifically, the species

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of bats present in each area and whether they are a species of concern will be assessed. This research also seeks to determine whether there is a relationship between when certain bat species migrate, which may be indicated by the decrease or absence of signals collected, and whether that species had more passes in the artificially lit or unlit environments. Specifically, this research will unpack whether bats in the artificially lit area are more likely to postpone migration than those in the unlit area. Overall, this research will assess the presence and activity of bats in the artificially lit and unlit areas in the VWU old growth forest.

The order Chiroptera is divided into two suborders based on the bat’s diet. The suborder of old-world fruit bats does not use echolocation and feeds on nectar, fruit, and flowers. Suborder Microchiroptera refers to small species of bats that feed mainly on insects; there are 815 species within this suborder (4). This study focuses on the suborder Microchiroptera, which refers to bats that use echolocation (4). Bat detectors can be utilized to convert ultrasonic echolocation into signals that can be analyzed to determine the species of the bat that created the sound (4). Each bat species has a characteristic frequency of echolocation; larger species of bats tend to use lower frequency echolocation calls while smaller species of bats tend to use higher-frequency echolocation (5).

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As stated above, a bat’s diet depends on their use of echolocation. Synotonic bats use echolocation frequencies between 20 and 50 kHz and feed on beetles, flies, true bugs, and non eared moths (6). The allotonic frequency hypothesis states that bats cannot consume eared moths because bats use echolocation that is within their hearing range (6). Synotonic bat species tend to consume more insects near artificial light (6). Bats eavesdrop on other bat’s echolocation calls to determine if there is food nearby and are therefore attracted to the same location (7).

The tendency of bats to feed on insects attracted to artificial light has been observed since the 1980s. Some species obtain the majority of their food around artificial lighting (4). It can be assumed that bats benefit from the insects that are attracted to artificial light (4). It is suggested that artificial lighting directly influences feeding habits, reproductive habits, and therefore the conservation of bats and insects (4). Artificial lighting can also interfere with bat migration and navigation (8). The presence of artificial lighting has immeasurable impacts on bat populations and directly affects their behavior. Artificial lighting is suspected to alter the bat’s circadian rhythm, which may coincide with the disruption of migration (9).

While it may seem as though artificial lighting benefits bats by attracting insects for them to consume, it is also suggested that artificial lighting negatively affects bats by making them visible to predators (10). Artificial lighting is also associated with aggressive behavior by bats, causing the exclusion of some species from the

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feeding frenzy (1). While some bat species are attracted to artificial light, it has been found that some bats are not; it is still unclear why some bats are not attracted to artificial light (1). Ultraviolet (UV) lights attract more insects and therefore more insectivorous bats (3). Fast, high-flying species frequently feed around streetlights while low-flying species that tend to feed in more confined spaces generally avoid sources of artificial light at night (ALAN) (3). It has been found that bats tended to avoid LED lights when dimmed (3).

As for insects, it is well-known that insects exhibit a “flight-to-light” behavior. ALAN may disrupt the insects’ natural rhythms by concealing the natural brightness of the sky (11). ALAN may also interfere with the nocturnal navigation of insects (11). It is important to note that thirty to forty percent of insects that approach a street lamp will die soon after due to either collision, overheating, dehydration, or predation (11). North American bats migrate and hibernate as the temperature of their environment decreases (12). Winter is the time of the highest mortality rate for bats (12). During migration, bats may collide with wind turbines, which is fatal (12). In a study found in the Journal of Mammalogy, bat activity was recorded nightly in North Carolina from December to February in the years 2016, 2017, and 2018. It was found that silver-haired bats were most likely to be active on winter nights in North Carolina (12). This is peculiar since most other bat species migrate in response to cold weather.

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In 2021, a study was conducted on the bat species present in the old growth beech forest on the Virginia Wesleyan campus in comparison to the bat species present in an artificially lit environment. This was a bioacoustics study in which bat sensors were used to detect echolocation signals. Two recorders were installed in two different environments with the same ultrasonic sensor settings. The recorder was programmed to record all signals 30 minutes before and after sunset and sunrise within a frequency range of 15 to 100 kHz. Data was collected from September 14 to October 30. This data showed that there was more bat activity in the artificially lit habitat than in the old growth forest. This data also showed greater species richness in the old growth forest. Fourteen species were detected in the old growth forest and eleven species were detected in the artificially lit environment. It was found that low-frequency bats made up most of the passes in the old growth forest location while high-frequency bats made up most of the passes in the artificially lit location. Five low-frequency bat species were identified, and nine high-frequency bat species were identified. He also found signals indicating the presence of the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), which was not formally known to be present in this part of Virginia. This suggests that the Mexican free-tailed bat is further north than previously expected. Overall, it was found that both environments studied have federally or state-endangered bat species.

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According to the IUCN red list of threatened species, there are five bat species that are of concern in Virginia. The eastern red bat and the Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) are of least concern as of 2016 (13). The eastern red bat is found throughout the eastern United States 14 and the hoary Bat is found throughout North America (15). The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) are near threatened (15). The northern long-eared bat is commonly found in northeastern Virginia and was discovered to be near threatened in 2018 (16). The Indiana bat is found along the Appalachian Mountains and in the immediate states to the west of the mountain range and was discovered to be near threatened in 2016 (17). Lastly, the eastern small-footed myotis is endangered as of 2018 and is not commonly found in southeastern Virginia (18). Additionally, the Mexican freetailed bat was found to be of least concern in 2015 and is commonly found in the southern United States and in parts of South America (19). According to more recent data in the state of Virginia, there are twelve bat species of concern (20). There are seven endangered bat species present and five bat species in need of conservation according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan. The gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Indiana bat, and the Virginia big-eared bat tricolored(Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) are endangered at both the federal and state level (20). The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), the Rafinesque’s eastern big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii macrotis), and the tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus)

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are all state endangered (20). The Northern long-eared bat is federally endangered and threatened in the state of Virginia (20).

The eastern red bat, the hoary bat, the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and the southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) are of moderate conservation need in the state of Virginia according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan (20). Lastly, the eastern small-footed myotis is of critical conservation need in the state of Virginia according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan (20).

There are several current efforts to conserve bat species diversity and monitor bat presence and migration. Bat Conservation International has been committed to bat conservation for 42 years and leads initiatives around the globe to conduct research and implement conservation plans for endangered bat species (21). In the eastern portion of North America, there are several initiatives at work. Research is being conducted on white nose syndrome, which is affecting bats that hibernate in cool, damp areas such as caves (21). Monitoring programs are underway in Southeast Florida for the federally endangered Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) (22) to determine what needs to be done to improve the species’ ability to survive (21). For example, Florida bonneted bat roosting habitat is being restored to help the species thrive (21).

The North American Bat Monitoring Program, commonly abbreviated NABat, is a conservation effort that works with a variety of parties to collect data on bat species composition and

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activity across North America (23). A database as powerful as NABat did not exist prior to 2015 (23). Local, federal, and state agencies may submit data they have collected, as well as universities and other non-governmental organizations (23). This program allows data to be collected more frequently across a larger area to better understand the distribution of bat species (23). Lastly, community members and volunteers play a vital role in bat monitoring in North America. Virginia Master Naturalists is a volunteer-based program that teaches community members how to collect data on bat activity (24). Once community members collect their data, they send it to Virginia Master Naturalists. Virginia Master Naturalists partners with NABat to relay any data collected to them (24). Since artificial lighting is known to attract insects, it is expected that there will be more bat activity in the artificially lit area. Since the decrease in the availability of insects due to decreasing temperatures initiates bat migration, there will be more bat activity in the artificially lit area than in the unlit area as the temperature outside decreases. Based on past research, it is expected that endangered or threatened species will be present in the Virginia Wesleyan old growth urban forest.

Materials and Methods Funding was received from the Virginia Wesleyan University Lighthouse to aid in the cost of materials required for this research to be completed. Two Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter Mini Bat ultrasonic sensors were utilized to record the bat echolocation

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calls in the old growth urban forest. Due to funding constraints, only two ultrasonic sensors were available for use, therefore limiting the data collection to one artificially lit area and one unlit area. This sensor is compact, lightweight, and weather resistant, making it the optimal choice for gathering data in the old growth forest. The Wildlife Acoustics sensors offer a variety of settings which allow data to be collected at specific times or only at specific frequencies. Each sensor holds four AA batteries, which needed to be replaced every one to two weeks. SD cards were placed in each ultrasonic sensor to store the data collected. A ladder was needed to install the ultrasonic sensors approximately 6.5 feet above ground and replace batteries as needed.

To begin the study, two Song Meter Mini Bat ultrasonic sensors were deployed in the old growth beech forests on the Virginia Wesleyan University Campus. One of the sensors was placed in an artificially lit area in close proximity to a streetlight while the other was placed in an unlit area. This allowed the bat species present in the artificially lit area to be compared with the bat species present in the unlit area. Each of the sensors were placed along the edge of a path or road to ensure that the data was being collected in similar environments. The bat sensors were placed approximately 6.5 feet above ground. The sensors were secured to a tree using a strap and bungee cords, ensuring that the ultrasonic sensor was not covered by foliage.

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Figure A: The unlit environment is shown on the left and the artificially lit area is shown on the right.

The 'Song Meter' app was downloaded on the primary researcher's cellular device to control the sensor’s settings and monitor battery level and storage usage via Bluetooth. The battery levels were checked weekly and replaced as needed. The ultrasonic sensors were set to collect data 30 minutes before and after sunset and sunrise. The mini bat sensor collected data only when certain frequencies were detected, specifically frequencies above 16 kHz. The trigger window was set to 3 seconds and the maximum recording length was set to 15 seconds. Data was collected at the beginning of October until a decreased amount of bat activity was observed due to migration. Kaleidoscope Pro was used to analyze

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the data collected on the Song Meter Mini Bat ultrasonic sensors.

Kaleidoscope Pro allows the use of the Bat Auto-ID feature, which is set to detect bats in North America at a normal level of sensitivity.

Kaleidoscope Pro is the most efficient software available for handling vast amounts of data, especially when it comes to identifying the bat species that emitted the signals collected. The bat auto-ID feature of Kaleidoscope Pro was utilized to analyze the data collected. The data on the SD card was uploaded to the Kaleidoscope Pro Software for processing. The software was set to only detect bats found in North America. The data was assessed on balanced (neutral), conservative (more accurate), and liberal (more sensitive) levels of detection. Once the data was processed using the Kaleidoscope Pro bat auto-ID software, spectrograms and oscillograms were produced to visually assess the data collected.

Spectrograms and oscillograms are types of sonograms; a sonogram is a visual representation of an ultrasonic signal (25). A spectrogram is a chart that displays the elapsed time on the horizontal axis, frequency on the vertical axis, and amplitude via color intensity (25).

An oscillogram is a chart that visually shows the audio waveform recorded (25). The bat auto-ID feature identified the species of bat that emitted the signal when possible. If the software could not identify a bat species, or the signal detected was not produced by a bat, the software labeled it as ‘noise.’ There were several cases in which an alternate bat species identification was provided. The signals that

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were identified as a specific bat species were labeled on the spectrogram.

The ultrasonic sensors detect and record the echolocation calls of the bat as it passes by. Each time the bat passes by it is referred to as a pass. Within each pass, the number of pulses varies; a pass is composed of a sequence of pulses or calls (25). The software provided a match ratio as a measure of how accurate the signal to species match was. A match ratio of one, for example, would indicate that all of the signals detected matched the characteristic signal of that species (25). Within each pass, the pulses that did and did not match were assessed to form this match ratio.

The data was first organized to assess the overall bat activity detected over the course of the study. Each sequence of pulses was recorded as one pass. It is vital to note that this data does not provide any information on species abundance because each pass is not individualized; each pass could be emitted from the same bat. This data only shows the number of passes by a certain bat species in a given environment on a given day. The data was then organized based on which signals were detected in the artificially lit versus the unlit areas. Graphs were formed to assess the bat activity in the artificially lit area in comparison to the unlit area.

The number of passes by each species was then assessed. The distribution of passes within each species was assessed to check for any abnormalities that did not follow the overall trend in bat activity. Then, the number of passes in the artificially lit and unlit

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environments were assessed within each species to determine if certain bat species had more passes in one environment over the other. Whether the bats detected were threatened, endangered, or of conservation need according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan was also assessed. The species of concern were then further assessed to determine if their overall activity patterns matched that of the other bats.

Results:

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Species Detected

Scientific Name

Passes

Passes in

Average

in

Artificially Fc (kHz)

Unli t

Lit Area

Area Big brown bat

Eptesicus fuscus

1

20

32.63

California myotis

Myotis californicus

0

2

48.41

Canyon bat (Western Pipistrelle)

Parastrellus

2

5

45.17

hesperus Florida bonneted bat

Eumops floridanus

1

2

15.14

Ghost-faced bat

Mormoops

2

0

49.21

Eumops perotis

7

3

8.49

Hoary bat

Lasiurus cinereus

27

11

19.78

Long-eared myotis

Myotis evotis

0

1

36.45

Mexican free-tailed bat

Tadarida brasiliensis 60

9

22.63

1

12

29.34

megalophylla Greater bonneted at (Western mastiff bat)

(Brazilian free-tailed bat) Northern yellow bat

Lasiurus intermedius

Pallas's mastiff bat

Molossus molossus

4

10

34.82

Pallid bat

Antrozous pallidus

2

0

32.16

Pocketed free-tail

Nyctinomops

7

11

16.57

femorosaccus

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Silver-haired bat

Lasionycteris

0

5

27.93

0

2

48.19

noctivagans Southeastern myotis

Myotis austroriparius

Southern yellow bat

Lasiurus ega

4

7

31.29

Tricolored bat (Eastern

Perimyotis subflavus

5

7

41.46

Underwood's bonneted bat

Eumops underwoodi

0

1

14.88

Western small-footed myotis

Myotis ciliolabrum

0

10

45.27

Yuma myotis

Yuma Myotis

0

1

49.63

Total Number of

13

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pipistrelle)

Species:

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Figure B: Overall list of bat species found, characteristic frequency in kHz (Fc), and number of passes in the unlit area and the artificially lit area of the old growth urban forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

Figure C: The graph on the left shows species richness in the artificially lit and unlit environments in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023. The graph on the right shows the number of bat species detected in the artificially lit environment only, the unlit environment only, and in both environments in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

Eighteen bat species were detected in the artificially lit environment and thirteen bat species were detected in the unlit environment. Eleven of the bat species were found in both environments while the others were unique to either the artificially lit or unlit environment; Figure B lists which bat species were detected in which environment while Figure C shows the

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number of bat species found in each environment as well as which bat species were present in both environments. The ghost-faced bat and the pallid bat were detected only in the unlit environment while the California myotis, long-eared myotis, silver-haired bat, southeastern myotis, Underwood’s bonneted bat, western small-footed bat, and the Yuma myotis were only found in the artificially lit environment.

The characteristic frequencies of the identified passes varied between bat species. Figure B shows the average characteristic frequency of each bat species detected as well as the number of passes in each environment. The overall average characteristic frequency of all of the bats detected was 32.47 kHz. The average characteristic frequency of the artificially lit environment was 30.65 kHz, and the average characteristic frequency of the unlit environment was 23.22 kHz. The Mexican free-tailed bat, which was mostly detected in the unlit environment, had an average characteristic frequency of 22.63 kHz. The big brown bat, which was mostly detected in the artificially lit environment, had an average characteristic frequency of 32.63 kHz. Overall, the bat species with more passes in the unlit area had a lower characteristic frequency while the bat species with more passes in the artificially lit area had a higher characteristic frequency.

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Species

Scientific Name

Conservation Status

Number

Location

of

Detected

Passes Florida bonneted

Eumops floridanus

bat Hoary bat

Federally

3

Both

38

Both

5

Lit

2

Lit

12

Both

Endangered Lasiurus cinereus

Moderate Conservation need in Virginia

Silver-haired bat

Lasionycteris

Moderate

noctivagans

Conservation need in Virginia

Southeastern

Myotis

Moderate

myotis

austroriparius

Conservation need in Virginia

Tricolored bat

Perimyotis

(Eastern pipistrelle)

subflavus

State Endangered

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Figure D: Overall list of bat species of concern and number of passes in the unlit area and the artificially lit area of the old growth urban forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

Of the eighteen species of bats detected, five were species of conservation concern; Figure D shows the species of concern, the number of passes, and the location in which the signal was detected. The hoary bat, silver-haired bat, and the southeastern myotis are of moderate conservation need in Virginia according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan of 2015 (20). The silver-haired bat and the southeastern myotis were found in the artificially lit environment while the hoary bat was detected in both environments. The hoary bat had the most passes of any species of concern at 38 passes. The tri-colored bat, also known as the eastern pipistrelle, is endangered in the state of Virginia. The tri-colored bat was found in both the artificially lit and unlit areas and consisted of 12 total passes. Lastly, the Florida bonneted bat was detected in both the artificially lit and unlit environments and is federally endangered (22). The Florida bonneted bat had 3 passes on the normal sensitivity setting of Kaleidoscope’s bat auto-ID feature as well as on the more accurate conservative setting. The first pass occurred in the artificially lit environment on October 12th, the second pass occurred in the unlit environment on

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November 13th, and the last pass took place in the artificially lit environment on November 24th. This suggests that the Florida Bonneted bat was present in Virginia Wesleyan University’s old growth urban forest.

Overall, there were a total of 60 passes by species of concern in both areas, constituting approximately 25% of all passes detected.

Figure E: This graph shows the overall bat activity in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

There were a total of 242 passes detected on the normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID setting: specifically, 119 passes in the artificially lit area and 123 passes in the unlit area. Figure E shows the overall bat activity in both the artificially lit and unlit areas of the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings.

There was an average of 3.7 passes per day. There was higher activity in late September and early October than there was during the rest of the study. When the data was analyzed using liberal

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(more sensitive) settings and conservative (more accurate) settings, similar overall activity trends were observed. The overall bat activity for species of concern aligned with the overall bat activity.

Figure F: This graph shows the

Figure G: This graph shows the

overall bat activity in the

overall bat activity in the unlit

artificially lit environment in the environment in the old growth old growth forest on normal

forest on normal Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID

bat auto-ID settings in the fall of

settings in the fall of 2023.

2023.

The overall bat activity in the artificially lit environment on normal Kaleidoscope analysis settings is shown in Figure F. Bat activity in the artificially lit environment was high in late September and early October, decreased in late October, and peaked again in mid November. Bat activity peaked in the artificially lit environment on October 4th and November 18th with nine passes on each day. The overall bat activity in the unlit environment on normal Kaleidoscope analysis settings is shown in Figure G. More bat activity was observed in October than in the

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following months. Bat activity in the unlit environment peaked on October 9th with 33 passes; 29 of these passes belonged to the Mexican free-tailed bat. There was no bat activity recorded in the unlit area after November 20th. Bat activity consistently decreased as time progressed into the winter months in the unlit area, while bat activity continued to increase again as time passed in the artificially lit area.

Figure H: This graph shows the overall activity of the Mexican free-tailed bat in the artificially lit and unlit environments in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

The Mexican free-tailed bat was detected in both environments and had increased activity in the unlit environment.

The Mexican free-tailed bat had a total of 69 passes; there were sixty passes in the unlit area and only nine passes in the artificially lit area as shown in Figure H. Activity peaked on October 9th with a total of twenty-nine passes, all of which occurred in the unlit

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environment. The Mexican free-tailed bat was first detected in the artificially lit area on October 14th. From November 3rd to the end of the study, there were eight passes in the artificially lit area and only four passes in the unlit area. Overall, the Mexican free-tailed bat was detected more frequently in late September and early October than in the rest of the study. There was no further activity detected after November 19th.

Figure I: This graph shows the overall activity of the big brown bat in the artificially lit and unlit environments in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

The big brown bat was detected in both environments and had increased activity in the artificially lit environment. The big brown bat had a total of twenty-one passes; there were twenty passes in the artificially lit area and only one pass in the unlit area as shown in Figure I. The big brown bat was first detected on September 29th in the artificially lit area. Activity peaked on

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November 9th with a total of four passes, all of which occurred in the artificially lit environment. The big brown bat only had one pass in the unlit area, which occurred on October 19th. Overall, the big brown bat was detected consistently in the artificially lit environment throughout the study. There was no further activity detected after November 18th.

Figure J: This graph shows the overall activity on the hoary bat in the artificially lit and unlit environments in the old growth forest on normal Kaleidoscope bat auto-ID settings in the fall of 2023.

The hoary bat was detected in both the artificially lit and unlit environments, as shown in Figure J. There were a total of eleven passes in the artificially lit environment and twenty-seven passes in the unlit environment. Activity peaked in the unlit environment on October 9th with a total of four passes and activity peaked in the artificially lit area on November 29th with a total of four passes. The hoary bat spent time in both the unlit and artificially lit

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environments throughout the length of the study. There was no further activity detected after November 29th.

Discussion: A total of twenty species were detected in the old growth forest of Virginia Wesleyan University. Of those twenty species, seven were expected to occur in Southeast Virginia according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources website, which was last updated in 2024 (26). These species included the big brown bat, the hoary bat, the northern yellow bat, the silver-haired bat, the southeastern myotis, the tricolored bat, and the Mexican freetailed bat (26). There are three bat species that, while expected to be detected in southeast Virginia based on the habitat distributions reported by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, were not detected in this study. The Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, the evening bat, and the eastern red bat were not detected despite their Southeastern Virginia habitat. This is worth noting since the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat is endangered in the state of Virginia and the eastern red bat is of moderate conservation need based on the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan (26).

Of those twenty species detected in Virginia Wesleyan University’s old growth urban forest, five are species of concern.

The hoary bat, the silver-haired bat, and the southeastern myotis are of moderate conservation need in the state of Virginia

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according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan (20). The tricolored bat, also known as the eastern pipistrelle, is endangered in the state of Virginia (20). Lastly, the Florida bonneted bat is federally endangered (22).

The Mexican free-tailed bat was detected in both the artificially lit and unlit areas. There were 60 passes in the unlit environment and nine passes in the artificially lit environment. The Mexican free-tailed bat only occurs incidentally in Virginia (20).

There were a total of 69 passes by the Mexican free-tailed bat, making up approximately 28% of the total passes in this study. Bat activity in the unlit environment peaked on October 9th with 33 passes; 29 of these passes belonged to the Mexican free-tailed bat.

The cause of this peak in activity is not known.

The Florida bonneted bat is federally endangered and endemic to southern Florida (27). According to an article published in June of 2022, the distribution and abundance of the Florida bonneted bat within Southern Florida is still unknown (27). The Florida bonneted bat is thought to be at risk due to their small population sizes, causing inbreeding and genetic drift, and leaving them vulnerable to natural elements such as storms (27). The Florida bonneted bat was detected in VWU’s old growth forest three separate times. The first pass occurred in the artificially lit environment on October 12th, the second pass occurred in the unlit environment on November 13th, and the last pass took place in the

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artificially lit environment on November 24th. Since there were only three passes total, the data was processed using the more accurate conservative setting, which also indicated the presence of all three passes. During each of these three passes, there was a match ratio of one; this means that each of the detected pulses matched the auto-classification of the species identified. This suggests that the Florida bonneted bat, while thought to be endemic to Florida, was detected in this study.

It was predicted that there would be more bat activity in the artificially lit environment throughout the study. Since insects exhibit a “flight-to-light” behavior, there is often increased insect activity near artificial lighting (11). Studies have shown that ultraviolet (UV) lights attract more insects and therefore more insectivorous bats (3). However, approximately 49% of the passes were detected in the artificially lit area and 51% of passes were detected in the unlit area. The data collected did not show a significant difference in bat activity in artificially lit and unlit environments. In both the artificially lit and unlit environments, bat activity consistently decreased as time progressed into the winter months. This decrease in activity may have been caused by the cooling temperatures as the season changed from fall to winter.

North American bats are known to migrate and hibernate as the temperature of their environment decreases (12).

Eleven bat species were found in both the artificially lit and unlit environment, seven species were unique to the artificially lit

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environment, and only two species were unique to the unlit environment. Certain bat species had more passes in the artificially lit area than the unlit area, as seen in the case of the big brown bat.

Other bats had more passes in the unlit area, as seen in the case of the Mexican free-tailed bat. This difference in activity in each environment was predicted to be attributed to either their diet or echolocation frequencies.

The big brown bat’s diet consists of coleoptera and lepidoptera, as well as ephemeroptera, which refers to mayflies (28).

Of these, the big brown bat most commonly eats coleoptera and are even referred to as “beetle-specialists” (29). It was found that big brown bats tend to consume more beetles when in proximity to artificial lighting. The Mexican free-tailed bat’s diet consists mostly of order coleoptera, which refers to beetles, and order lepidoptera, which refers to winged insects such as butterflies and moths (30). It was found that Mexican free-tailed bats consume mostly moths (31).

Both coleoptera and lepidoptera are attracted to light and would therefore be expected to be found in artificially lit areas (32). Since big brown bats and Mexican free-tailed bats have similar diets, this is likely not the cause of the drastic difference in activity in artificially lit and unlit areas.

As stated in the results section, the average characteristic frequency of each bat species differed. The average characteristic frequency of the artificially lit environment was 30.65 kHz, and the average characteristic frequency of the unlit environment was

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23.22 kHz. The Mexican free-tailed bat, which was mostly detected in the unlit environment, had an average characteristic frequency of 22.63 kHz. The big brown bat, which was mostly detected in the artificially lit environment, had an average characteristic frequency of 32.63 kHz. It was found that the bat species with more passes in the unlit area had a lower characteristic frequency while the bat species with more passes in the artificially lit area had a higher characteristic frequency. This trend, however, does not explain why the Mexican free-tailed bat had more passes in the unlit area while the big brown bat had more passes in the artificially lit area. The reason for the difference in activity of certain bat species in the artificially lit and unlit areas is not known. It is unclear why some bat species are attracted to artificial light while others are not (4). It has been found that artificial light at night can increase aggressive behavior in bats, which may exclude certain species from feeding near the artificial light source (4). Further research needs to be done to pinpoint the cause of the difference in activity of the Mexican free-tailed bat and the big brown bat.

Even though there was a similar number of passes in each environment, the distribution of these passes throughout the study differed. In the unlit area, bat activity was not detected after November 20th. In the artificially lit area, passes were recorded until the end of the study on November 30th. Given that insects are attracted to light, there is likely a stable food supply for

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insectivorous bats near artificial lighting. In some cases, the bats that frequented the unlit environment moved to the artificially lit environment as the temperature decreased for a steadier food supply. This was observed in the Mexican free-tailed bat and the hoary bat. There was still bat activity in the artificially lit area when the sensors were uninstalled. Further research could be done to determine when the bats were no longer detected in the artificially lit area, and whether there was any more activity in the unlit area after the end of November.

It is possible that the artificial lighting is affecting the bat’s seasonal queues. Artificial lighting can interfere with bat migration and navigation and can even affect their circadian rhythm (4). This research suggests that there is a difference in when bat activity decreases and ceases in artificially lit and unlit environments. The effect of artificial light at night on the timing of migration needs to be studied further to better understand whether artificial light at night is affecting their seasonal queues. If the bats are migrating later due to exposure to artificial lighting, then there could be serious ecological consequences. The consequences of delaying migration should be studied to further assess the impact of artificial light on bats.

Since artificial lighting is known to attract insects, it was predicted that there would be more bat activity in the artificially lit area. Based on the data collected, the bat activity was similar in both areas; there were a total of 119 passes in the artificially lit

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environment and 123 passes in the unlit environment. Since the decrease in the availability of insects due to decreasing temperatures initiates bat migration, it was predicted that there would be more bat activity in the artificially lit area than in the unlit area as the temperature outside decreases. Based on the data collected, there was more bat activity in the artificially lit area than the unlit area as temperatures decreased. It was predicted that the eastern red bat and the hoary bat would be observed in the old growth urban forest. The hoary bat was detected, but the eastern red bat was not. Lastly, it was accurately predicted that the Mexican free-tailed bat would be present based on past on campus student-led research.

Overall, of the species found on campus, three bat species are in need of conservation according to the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan: tri-colored bat, hoary bat, and silver-haired bat (3). The Mexican free-tailed bat was detected in both environments despite occurring only incidentally in Virginia (4). Lastly, the Florida bonneted bat, which is federally endangered, was detected despite being endemic to Florida (5). This research has identified the need for a conservation plan to protect the bat species on campus that are endangered or in need of conservation as stated by the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan. The data suggests that bats in the artificially lit environment migrate at a later date than those in the unlit environment. This may be due to increased food availability in the

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artificially lit area due to insects being attracted to the artificial light source.

There were no obvious sources of error in this research study. Given that there were only two ultrasonic sensors deployed in the Virginia Wesleyan old growth urban forest, the data collected was limited. Increased funding for ultrasonic sensors would have allowed for the simultaneous collection of data in multiple locations. While there was an odd peak in bat activity on October 9th, this occurred naturally and was not a source of error.

Further research is needed to monitor the bat species on campus, especially those that are species of concern. A larger study should be conducted in Virginia Wesleyan University’s old growth urban forest to gain a better understanding of the bat species present and the habitats that they prefer. More ultrasonic sensors could

be

installed

throughout

the

old

growth

forest

to

simultaneously collect data in multiple locations. The sensors could be placed in areas with and without the edge effect as well. A yearround study could be conducted to document when exactly bat activity ceases in the winter and resumes in the spring to better understand the effect of artificial light at night on seasonal queues.

It would also be helpful to assess whether the bats return to the artificially lit area or the unlit area first. More specifically, the presence of the Florida bonneted bat should be monitored since it is a federally endangered species.

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There are still countless unanswered questions related to bat activity in Southeast Virginia. There is still a question of why certain bat species spend more time in artificially lit environments and why others spend more time in unlit environments. A study on the diets of the bats on campus could be helpful in understanding why they spend more time in one environment than another.

Given that some of the bat species detected occur only incidentally in Virginia, such as the Mexican free-tailed bat, their ecological effects should also be assessed. Specifically, the diet of the Mexican free-tailed bat could be studied to better understand whether they are competing with other bats in the area for the same food source. Further research could be conducted to determine whether the installation of bat-friendly lighting on campus positively affects bat species in the artificially lit area. On a larger scale, more bat monitoring research is needed in Southeast Virginia to refine conservation plans for endangered and threatened species.

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1982;10(4):271–275. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00302816 8. Buchler ER, Childs SB. Use of the Post-Sunset Glow as an Orientation Cue by Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Journal of Mammalogy. 1982 [accessed 2023 Dec 12];63(2):243–247. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/1380633 9. Erkert HG. Ecological Aspects of Bat Activity Rhythms. Ecology of Bats. 1982:201–242. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-34217_5 10. Hartley R, Hustler K. A less-than-annual breeding cycle in a pair of African Bat Hawks Machaeramphus alcinus. Ibis. 1993 [accessed 2023 Feb 1];135(4):456–458. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474919x.1993.tb02119.x 11. Owens ACS, Lewis SM. The impact of artificial light at night on nocturnal insects: A review and synthesis. Ecology and Evolution.

2018;8(22):11337–11358. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4557 12. Parker KA, Li H, Kalcounis-Rueppell MC. Species-specific environmental conditions for winter bat acoustic activity in North Carolina, United States Powell R, editor. Journal of Mammalogy.

2020 [accessed 2021 Nov 17];101(6):1502–1512. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa133 13. IUCN. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024. https://www.iucnredlist.org/

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14. Arroyo-Cabrales J, Miller B, Reid F, Cuarón AD, de Grammont PC. Lasiurus borealis. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015 Jul 20 [accessed 2023 Dec 12]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-1.rlts.t11347a22121017.en 15. Gonzalez E, Barquez R, Arroyo-Cabrales J. Lasiurus cinereus.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015 Jul 20 [accessed 2023 Dec 12]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.20161.rlts.t11345a22120305.en 16. Solari S. Myotis septentrionalis. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 Feb 14 [accessed 2021 Nov 27]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t14201a22064312.e n 17. Arroyo-Cabrales J, Ospina-Garces S. Myotis sodalis. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 Jan 7 [accessed 2024 May 13]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.20161.rlts.t14136a22053184.en 18. Solari S. Myotis leibii. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 Feb 12 [accessed 2024 May 13]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t14172a22055716.en 19. Barquez R, Diaz M, Gonzalez E, Rodriguez A, Incháustegui S, Arroyo-Cabrales J. Tadarida brasiliensis. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015 Jul 20 [accessed 2024 May 13]. doi:https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-4.rlts.t21314a22121621.en 20. Virginia Department of Wildilfe Resources Special Status Faunal Species in Virginia. 2023.

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https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/virginia-thr eatened-endangered-species.pdf 21. Mission & Values. Bat Conservation International. https://www.batcon.org/about-us/missionvalues/ 22. Koches J. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Designates Critical Habitat for the Endangered Florida Bonneted Bat | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. www.fws.gov. 2023. https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-03/us-fish-and-wildlif e-service-designates-critical habitat-endangered-florida 23. North American Bat Monitoring Program. NABat. https://www.nabatmonitoring.org/ 24. Bat Acoustic Monitoring. Virginia Master Naturalists. http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/bat-acoustic-monitoring .html 25. Kaleidoscope User Guide. https://www.wildlifeacoustics.com/uploads/user guides/Kaleidoscope-User-Guide.pdf 26. A Guide to the Bats of Virginia. dwr.virginia.gov. [accessed 2024 May 13]. https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/bats 27. Austin JD, Gore JA, Hargrove JS, de Torrez ECB, Carneiro CM, Ridgley FN, Wisely SM. Strong population genetic structure and cryptic diversity in the Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus).

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28. Clare EL, Symondson WOC, Fenton MB. An inordinate fondness for beetles? Variation in seasonal dietary preferences of nightroosting big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Molecular Ecology. 2013 [accessed 2022 Apr 13];23(15):3633–3647. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12519 29. Cravens ZM, Brown VA, Divoll TJ, Boyles JG. Illuminating prey selection in an insectivorous bat community exposed to artificial light at night Struebig M, editor. Journal of Applied Ecology. 2017 [accessed 2020 Aug 22];55(2):705–713. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13036 30. Whitaker JO, Neefus C, Kunz TH. Dietary Variation in the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana). Journal of Mammalogy. 1996 [accessed 2021 May 4];77(3):716. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/1382676 31. A species account of the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). www.depts.ttu.edu. [accessed 2024 May 13]. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online edition/Accounts_Chiroptera/Tadarida_brasiliensis.php 32. Pan H, Liang G, Lu Y. Response of Different Insect Groups to Various Wavelengths of Light under Field Conditions. Insects. 2021 [accessed 2022 Oct 30];12(5):427. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8151050/. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12050427

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Aiden Croghan

“We Found a Better Way”: Krishna Consciousness in 1990’s Hardcore Punk

Punk rock, and its other subgenres, like hardcore punk (hardcore), which is a heavier and faster version of punk rock, and religion have generally been seen as opposing forces. Nada Brahma, meaning ‘God in Sound,’ means to invoke praise for a deity faster version of punk rock, and religion, have generally been seen as opposing forces. From punk rock icons like Bad Religion, to modern hardcore punks like Taqbir, who fight against religious culture in Morocco, the sonic ideas of punk are usually used to wage war against religion, but with Krishnacore, something different happened. Krishnacore is a genre of hardcore punk primarily characterized by its usage of ‘Nada Brahma’ and band membership consisting of Hare Krishna practitioners. It is also characterized by similarities to the principles of straight-edge hardcore, such as abstaining from drugs, sometimes abstaining from sex, and sometimes including a vegetarian diet. Nada Brahma, meaning “God in Sound’ means to invoke praise for a deity orally.

Straight-edge hardcore is a movement of hardcore which invokes personal responsibility to abstain from drugs, sex, and in some cases, animal products (Dines 148-150). This essay explores the history of this subculture, if this subculture can improve people’s lives, and if it can, how does it improve your life?

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Some of the most important bands of the Krishnacore movement are the bands Shelter and 108. Shelter is widely considered to be the father of the genre, and 108 was one of the most prominent bands in the movement. In the documentary N.Y.H.C., while discussing Krishnacore, Rob Fish of 108 said, “The whole idea of hardcore is to reject the society, this culture that forces us into a lifestyle that we don’t want to be a part of and Krishna Consciousness is about rejecting that lifestyle and coming to the real” (Pavich). People within hardcore, or similar subcultures, often find themselves struggling with mental health issues. These issues often have to do with the rejection of society, as without an alternative path, this rejection presents no other way to live. For some people, religion, such as Hare Krishna, can provide this alternative path to life. A devotee of Krishna, named Madan Gopal, who came to Hare Krishna through hardcore music stated, “It’s about being a vegetarian and doing something positive in the world.

But everybody screamed about the problems and not solutions.

Things I was doing before felt like a dead-end. There’s a whole spiritual aspect to life that I had never experienced before” (Wanderer).

Hare Krishna had an early involvement in the hardcore scene, through people like John Joseph of the Cro-Mags, who was introduced to Hare Krishna through working at a health food shop run by Hare Krishnas. The Cro-Mags’ first album, The Age Of

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Quarrel, is named after the concept of Kali Yuga, an age of conflict within Hinduism (Dines 1263). The music, however, did not have a clear intent to worship until bands like Shelter and 108 in the early 1990s. Lyrics from some songs, such as Better Way by Shelter, talk of the better life that can be found with religion, The people run to have some fun But their frowns give them away Give up the chase for a higher taste We found a better way. (Shelter) Other lyrics serve as direct worship towards Krishna, such as those from Pale by 108, One path for me through destiny And I will tread it till the blood red end Because I stand in the shelter Of the strength of my lord I stand in the shelter Of the strength of my lord. (108) Many of the album artworks within Krishnacore also use Hindu artwork, such as Attaining The Supreme by Shelter. B.G. Sharma, a celebrated religious artist, did the artwork for the album. The artwork appears to include people engaging in worship, signaling what can be found upon listening to the album, a worship of Krishna.

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Among the positives that can be gained from Krishna Consciousness and Krishnacore , there remains debate among scholars and the public on whether International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the leading religious organization of Krishna Consciousness, is a true Hindu religious movement, or if it is a cult (Kurachev 16). Practitioners of Hare Krishna within the hardcore scene struggled with these sentiments when interviewed, and many punks looked down upon the religion due to their view of it as a cult. In an interview with Maximum Rock and Roll, Ray Cappo of Shelter struggles to explain his religious concepts to the interviewer, who questions him on his beliefs (Dines 1263). It could be argued through the framework of ISKCON as a cult that ISKCONs were simply targeting punks, who tended to be vulnerable youth, as easy recruits for their organization. ISKCON had a history of cult-like practices, such as distancing members from non-members and absorbing much of member’s incomes (DiCara). In spite of allegations against ISKCON, many members still felt that they had found something good through Hare Krishna, a sense of peace or understanding. Ray Cappo stated on his life before Krishna Consciousness: I had a nice situation, lots of friends, nice girlfriend, a waiter in a restaurant…a pretty simple life and I had money, but I was really miserable […] I was getting really sick of material life, didn’t feel that I was accomplishing anything major with

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the band, and thought there were higher things in life to do. I wasn’t interested in settling down…I wasn’t interested in family and thought there were higher truths to be found before I accepted a slot in society. (Dines 1263) Cappo now is still a devotee of Krishna and a yoga teacher.

On what his spiritually did for him, Cappo stated: I think the clean living gave me a foundation, and the spirituality started to refine who I was becoming as a man, and who I later became as a husband and a father. It starts to refine your consciousness – the way you think and see the world, the way you treat people, the way you treat your body and yourself. It sort of acts as an internal GPS. (“Clean Living And High Thinking: How Hardcore And Hare Krishna Can…”) There are clear contradictions between the ideology of Krishna Consciousness and the actions of ISKCON; however, ISKCON does not have a monopoly on devotion to Krishna or Hinduism, so it is possible to find solace in Krishna in the West, and to engage in worship such as Krishnacore, without falling into cults. Vic DiCara of 108 explained that he initially felt he could take the good from the bad within ISKCON: Instead I just steeled myself to the ugly reality that a good percentage of ISKCON was really fucked up in a big way. But even if a diamond is covered in shit, I reasoned… just wash off the shit and take the diamond. Devotees assured me that the

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vast majority of all the insanity MRR revealed was a thing of the past, and ISKCON was now making strides forward to reform themselves and represent Krishna and Prabhupāda more purely. I could buy that, it seemed true.I decided I would be one of the guys helping the reforms. (DiCara) However, later, DiCara did admit that ISKCON is a cult and urged followers of Hare Krishna to find devotions outside of ISKCON: We must realize that ISKCON has a flaw of having been built as a cult, and that the social values of ISKCON do not reflect the social values of classical Indian culture, or the Veda history. If we don’t, we won’t be able to figure out 80% of the Veda. ISKCON will tell us that it understands Indian culture better than centuries of Indians do. ISKCON will tell us it understands the Vedas better than centuries of ācāryas do.

ISKCON will tell us to ignore or ‘rise above’ the parts of the śāstra that contradict the values of a cult. This is just a cult being a cult. It is certainly not the Vedic method of approaching śāstra to cut out the parts that don’t match what we expect to hear. The Vedic method of śāstric analysis is samanvaya: syncretic, holistic, and all-inclusive. (DiCara) To conclude, the ideology of Hare Krishna can provide a lot of positives to youth in the hardcore, including preventing indulging in the excesses of drugs and alcohol and promoting a healthy lifestyle, but it is important to be wary of organizations that might

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seek to exploit people under the guise of this religion. There are other organizations of Hare Krishnas outside of ISKCON that should be considered on one's religious path in light of the allegations of abuse made towards ISKCON and the very strict religious path of Hare Krishnas in ISKCON. ISKCON has proven to be a dangerous organization, but its exposure of Hare Krishna to members of the hardcore subculture has created unique cultural artifacts and allowed people to explore spirituality in a space where spirituality is often looked down upon.

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Glossary punk (or punk rock). Punk is an aggressive style of music and an international social movement associated with rebellion and alienation. (Savage) hardcore (or hardcore punk). Hardcore is a genre of music that originated from amplifying the more extreme parts of punk rock, such as speed or aggression. Hardcore has a large focus on do-it-yourself ethics. (“Hardcore Music: A Complete Guide to the Genre”) Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna is a branch of Hinduism with beginnings in the 16th century but is linked to ISKCON in modern society. Members of the religion are often referred to as Hare Krishnas or just as Krishnas. Hare Krishna, ISKCON, and Krishna Consciousness are often used interchangeably, but there is a distinction between these (Hagerty) krishnacore. A subculture of hardcore music consisting of Hare Krishna membership and music intended as worship towards Krishna. (Ediriwira)

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Works Cited “Clean Living And High Thinking: How Hardcore And Hare Krishna Can….” Kerrang!, 28 October 2019, https://www.kerrang.com/clean-living-and-high-thinking-h ow-ray-cappo-mixes-the-worlds-of-hardcore-and-hare-kris hna. Accessed 14 April 2024.

DiCara, Vic. “Careful with Cults – The Enquirer.” The Enquirer, 25 January 2017, https://vicd108.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/careful-with-cu lts/. Accessed 15 April 2024.

DiCara, Vic. “The Day Punk Rock Learned the Dark Side of Hare Krishna.” The Enquirer, 22 July 2015, https://vicd108.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/the-day-punk-r ock-learned-the-dark-side-of-hare-krishna/. Accessed 15 April 2024.

Dines, Mike. “Finding Freire: Punk, Praxis and the Quest for Spirituality in Krishnacore.” Religions, vol. 14, no. 10, 2023, p.

1263. Hofheimer Library, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101263.

Accessed 14 4 2024.

Dines, Mike. “The Sacralization of Straightedge Punk: Bhakti-Yoga, Nada Brahma and the Divine Received: Embodiment of Krishnacore.” Muzikološki Zbornik, vol. 50, no. 2, 2015, pp.

147-156. Hofheimer Library, https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.50.2.147-156.Accessed1442024.

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Ediriwira, Amar. “Hare Krishnacore - An introduction to the most improbable punk subculture ever.” The Vinyl Factory, 26 June 2015, https://thevinylfactory.com/features/hare-krishnacore-an-i ntroduction-to-the-most-improbable-punk-subculture-ever /. Accessed 15 April 2024.

Hagerty, Barbara Bradley. “What You Need to Know About Hare Krishnas.” NPR, 22 May 2008, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90 643796. Accessed 15 April 2024.

“Hardcore Music: A Complete Guide to the Genre.” Pianity, https://pianity.com/tag/hardcore.Accessed15April2024.

Kurachev, D.G. “The Self-Awareness of Young Adepts of the Hare Krishna Cult.” Russian Education and Society, vol. 54, no. 2, 2012, pp. 16-34. Hofheimer Library. Accessed 14 4 2024.

108. Pale. Genius, https://genius.com/108-pale-lyrics.

Pavich, Frank, director. N.Y.H.C. 1999. Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmDnCOBUW4&ab_ch annel=BabyGorillaTV. Accessed 14 4 2024.

Savage, Jon. “Punk | Definition, History, Music, & Facts.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/punk. Accessed 15 April 2024.

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Shelter. Attaining the Supreme. Discogs, https://www.discogs.com/master/36345-Shelter-AttainingThe-Supreme.

Shelter. Better Way. Genius, https://genius.com/Shelter-better-way-lyrics.

Wanderer, Ande. “Hare Hare Hardcore: Krishnas Woo Devotees Through Punk Music.” Ande Wanderer, 9 April 2021, https://andewanderer.com/hare-krishna-hardcore-music/.

Accessed 15 April 2024.

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Mikayla Dayton

The Harold, Long-Form Improvisation, and Del Close: Twelve Scenes & Endless Possibilities

The Harold is a type of long-form improvisation created by Del Close, a pioneer in improvisational theater. Long-form styles differ from short-form improvisations because they take much longer to perform, typically lasting for half an hour due to performers exploring more complex ideas. In the beginning, players establish patterns and themes that will be developed throughout the performance, allowing players to think deeply and critically about exploring their themes. Performers build their ideas and work together to form a creative and impactful performance based on the given suggestion.

Close, a well-known American actor, writer, and comedian, was inspired to develop the new improvisation game after his experiences with Compass and Second City Players. He hoped to create something that would be more than a rehearsal technique but rather a unique form of entertainment (Drinko, 39). Close's interest in improvisation began after auditioning for and being cast as a member of the Compass Players at the St. Louis Compass, the first improvisational theater in the United States.

Close combined various elements of Victoria Spolin’s popular

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theater games to invent the Harold, which has become a fundamental part of modern improvisational theater. Some of these concepts originally inspired by Spolin include the ‘Yes, And’ mentality, the group mind, and building a strong sense of characters and relationships among the characters. Due to Close's dedication to the theatrical form, the Harold is a widely recognized and respected improvisation technique used by performers globally.

Close shared his philosophy for creating the Harold: “It began as a way to get professional improvisational performers all on stage at the same time, all improvising at the same time” (1986). He found it meaningful to develop a structure that could accommodate up to a dozen performers ‘playing’ together simultaneously on stage.

Close aimed to demonstrate the possibility of creating art collaboratively, even when individual contributions can diverge. In an interview in 1986, he emphasized that “moments of discovery and connection” are when the “group brain starts functioning”.

According to Close, this collective “emotional discovery” has a greater impact than one individual’s artistic experience can. Close recognized the value of improvisation beyond scripted or filler performances, particularly for actors who wanted to develop vital skills such as adaptability and intuition (Drinko, 38).

The Harold is a valuable tool for performers to develop strong collaboration and communication skills. This style requires high energy levels to sustain the performance, making it an excellent way to build stamina. While performing the Harold, it is essential

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to establish a cohesive group dynamic and reinforce recurring themes, which helps performers understand their fellow performers' strengths and weaknesses. Because no individual should dominate or lead any of the beats, each performer must contribute to the development of the scene. Each scene in the Harold incorporates different groups of players filtering in and out of the scenes, making it vital for performers to be aware of what other players contribute at all times, even in other groups. This style is challenging because it requires performers to be constantly aware of sudden changes and developments, enhancing their ability to think quickly and adapt to new situations. The Harold consists of three segments, each including three scenes that build on the previous ones. Improvisation games are sometimes incorporated between the scenes to introduce new patterns, adding variety to the performance.

The audience interaction that fuels this style differentiates itself from other improvisation styles because it prevents actors from using preconceived ideas to move the scene forward. Unlike traditional improvisation, the actors depend on the initial audience suggestion, ranging from an object's name to an emotion, activity, or even a single word. This forces the actors to improvise and prevents them from reusing ideas. Close emphasized that the suggestion should be used as a point of inspiration and not the topic for the entire scene.

Once the main idea of the performance is introduced, the Harold often begins with an opening scene that involves some or

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all of the players. This opening is a creative foundation for the rest of the scenes and should be distinct from the more structured scenes that follow. Players might incorporate elements such as an interpretive dance or spoken-word poetry that reflects the chosen theme and immediately captures the audience's attention.

The goal is to establish a connection between the players and the audience, building a rapport that will carry throughout the performance.

The first segment or beat, called discovery, is crucial to setting the tone for the group dynamic. During this phase, each group performs seemingly unrelated scenes and establishes a foundation of specific ideas that will continue to develop. Scenes can start with an impromptu monologue, a word-association game, or recalling a memory, depending on the audience's suggestion (Bradford). Groups differentiate themselves during the first scenes by considering how their theme can be portrayed differently. The initial idea sets a precedent for the performance and is essential to the show's success.

The Harold incorporates games between the sets of three scenes to maintain audience engagement by acting as a buffer.

These games are “spontaneously created” while also connecting to previous scenes, thus allowing performers to be imaginative (Bradford). If a game occurs between the first and second beats, its purpose differs from one that would occur between the second and third beats. During these games, all performers come on stage to participate, allowing players from all three groups to engage

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with each other. These games provide a break from the rigidity of the other scenes, enabling performers to have fun without focusing on discovering new themes. The second game is intended to foil the first, highlighting a critical parallel between a pre-established pattern and adding an exciting twist to the format. During the second game, a musical number or dance may be included, adding a new dimension to the performance and providing a unique experience for the audience. It is important to note that although these games are not required in the Harold format, many players find them to be a valuable break between the regular segments. Incorporating games in the Harold format is a great way to add variety and excitement to the performance.

The second segment in the Harold improv structure is heightening, a crucial phase where the actors elevate the stakes by adding a new layer or dimension to the patterns established in the initial scenes. Furthermore, the performers are encouraged to create new plot points to move the scene forward. The Harold's second segment uses one of three techniques to generate ideas: the analogous pull, the time-dash pull, and the tangential pull. The analogous pull enables performers to “explore the comedic premise from an earlier beat in a new way with a new set of characters” (Steger). This style works best when a clear comedic concept requires further exploration. Comparatively, the time-dash pull will incorporate “characters from an earlier scene in a new situation” (Steger). This form is most effective when performers want to continue developing their created characters. With this

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approach,

the

performers

can

explore

their

characters'

personalities and how they will react to different situations. The tangential pull is less frequently used and “explore[s] a side concept, character, or idea” that was not fully developed in the previous scenes (Steger). This technique allows performers to embrace creativity by coming up with new ideas that were not initially explored. It is important to note that in the second segment of the Harold, groups may offer similar interpretations of the initial suggestion, or their scenes may differ significantly, but this unpredictability makes it an engaging form of improvisation.

The final segment, called connecting, is where everything comes together. The scenes performed during this segment are meant to tie together all themes, storylines, and characters introduced earlier. According to the Improv Conspiracy Theatre, “Several worlds and characters collide” in this final beat, and performers can incorporate themes and patterns introduced previously by any of the groups, allowing for a wide range of possibilities and ensuring that each performance is unique. During this segment, Close emphasized that “the scenes are beginning to interrelate, to be affected by each other, to mirror each other, [and] to rhyme with each other in some sort of mad conceptual way” (Close 1986).This contributes to a constantly evolving and dynamic performance, based on meaningful connections derived from previously stated ideas.

The Harold has a particular emphasis on the importance of adaptability. As with any improvisation, mistakes are bound to

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happen. However, adapting to the situation is a vital skill performers can learn while executing the Harold. Its fluidity and structure allow actors to embellish scenes through multiple rounds of improvisation, allowing them to explore various characters, scenarios, and emotions (Woo). This structure encourages performers to take creative risks by unexpectedly interpreting the audience's primary suggestion. The Harold is more than just a form of improvisation; it challenges actors to take risks and collaborate with other performers to create something unique.

Many theater companies have performed The Harold, embracing the boundless nature of the improvisation with some groups choosing to integrate audience insight. One improvisation group, The Cage Free Humans, performed the Harold and developed their half-hour performance based on the audience's suggestion: a lawn mower. The performers took turns sharing oneword ideas related to the initial lawn mower concept during their opening. After a few rounds of this, players began their first beat of scenes based on an idea about a father because one of the players was reminded of his dad when he thought of lawn mowing. This scene turned into a disagreement between a father trying to teach his son to mow that lawn and an apprehensive son. For the second scene in the first beat, the lawn mower suggestion took on a different shape due to a different, less explicit interpretation; a performer who suggested a ‘bikini’ in the opening, which reminded her of mowing the lawn, developed a scene about a bride-to-be

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and her bridesmaid discussing lingerie and dresses. The third scene in this beat consisted of a high school jock struggling to ask a girl to the school dance. This idea was generated by a performer who connected lawn mowing to school sports fields and sports teams. A unique aspect of this Harold was the performers' dedication to drifting away from typical improvisation conduct. In addition, when one of the players mimed going through a dress rack, another performer pointed out how she was sewing a dress herself. This caused her scene partner to react quickly, adjusting her movements and explaining that she was sewing a dress because she could not find any in the store that met her standards.

This simple, alternate interpretation of an action led to the character development of a bridezilla sewing her own wedding dress. It is important to prevent performers from driving a scene independently without contributions from other players, even if they challenge the ‘Yes and’ rule of improvisation. These scenes' remarkable diversity and sheer creativity showcase the range of possibilities to express a single word visually. Actors portrayed both subtle and bold interpretations, with each representation showcasing the boundless nature of creativity in improvisation.

Another example of the Harold was performed by the Upright Citizens Brigade, with their one-word audience suggestion being ‘muffin’. Most of the ideas shared by players in the opening, which had loose connections to muffins, became the driving force behind the performance. Some of the emerging connecting themes and patterns include the muffin man passing on the family business

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and a council of witches voting on laws. This illustrates the power of inspiration and how any suggestion, no matter how random, can spark creativity and generate a thoughtful performance. This Harold unlocked an imaginative part of the performers’ minds, inspiring them to delve deeper into their personal experiences and emotions. This performance specifically took on a fantastical and magical quality, leading performers to reflect on childhood memories or storybook characters and events. Players were excited to continue developing patterns and themes, as this form of improvisation allowed for few constraints. One of the most remarkable things about the Harold is how scenes can develop and drift from the initial audience suggestion. Another engaging element of UCP’s performance was how the players frequently referred back to characters, events, or ideas presented in earlier scenes. This typically would trigger a laugh from the audience because maintaining these connections to previous scenes is a clever way to develop past ideas. This Harold also underscored the importance of the opening as the crucial foundation for the performance. Essentially, players must be prepared to make creative choices as soon as the Harold begins as the ideas shared at the beginning become the premise for the direction and shape the performance will take.

Close's creation of the Harold exemplifies the limitless possibilities of improvisation, enabling performers to tap into boundless creative potential. This style encourages players to explore their imaginative potential by deconstructing the

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traditional concept of linear storytelling. Instead, it emphasizes unconventional methods of presenting and developing themes, providing performers with the opportunity to showcase their improvisational skills. The Harold is an excellent tool for performers to build their collaboration, communication, and improvisation skills. This style not only serves as a platform for building other performance skills, but also an entertainment genre of its own.

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Works Cited Bradford, Wade. “The Harold Long-Form Improv Game Activity.” LiveAbout, 3 Feb. 2020, www.liveabout.com/harold-long-form-improv-game2713206.

“Cage-Free Humans Performs the Harold (Improv) 02/13/2015.” YouTube, 17 Feb. 2015, youtu.be/l56qQhubsVE? feature=shared.

“Del Close 1986.” YouTube, Interview, 28 Sept. 2010, youtu.be/dQzzLmR93o8?feature=shared.

Drinko, C.D. (2013). Del Close and the Harold: Improvisational Time and the Multiple Draft Modeled Mind. In: Theatrical Improvisation, Consciousness, and Cognition. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137335296_3

“Graceland - UCB Harold Night - November 26, 2013.”

YouTube, 27 Nov. 2013, youtu.be/EQ7oCgvPr2s? feature=shared.

“The Harold.” The Improv Conspiracy Theatre, improvconspiracy.com/the-harold.

Steger, Martin. “The Harold Improv Format: What Is It?” Comedic Pursuits, 8 Mar. 2019, comedicpursuits.com/what-is-harold-improv-format/.

Woo, Elaine. “Del Close; Improvisational Comedy Pioneer.” Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 1999, w w w.latimes.com/archives/laxpm-1999-mar-08-me-15171-stor y.html.

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Elena Lichtenwalner Olives: Branching to the Past, Present, and All Worlds Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats allows for multiple interpretations, even when read in the modern era. A.E. Stallings practices this type of classical reference, taking on myths and gods to retell and reimagine the stories of old for the people of now.

Stallings has written five poetry books, earning a Poet’s Prize and translating multiple texts from greek. She is currently a Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford. While she lives in Athens, Greece, she grew up in Georgia and went to the University of Georgia and the University of Oxford for her education. As a translator, she is able to carefully add context to the texts.

Translating allows for the translator’s tone, even if unintentional, to come through in the text, creating a certain feeling for the reader.

By retelling a story, the writer has more control over the interpretation that the audience will consider because of the details and historical context added. Each retelling offers a different perspective, but why would an author decide to retell the story now?

Stallings is known for her work in New Formalism. New Formalism, as listed in The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, was “A movement in American poetry of the 1980s and 1990s that returned, after the prolonged dominance of free verse, to traditional meters, stanza forms, rhyme, logical syntax, and

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comprehensible narrative or discursive exposition” (Baldick).

Within the book Olives, Stallings exemplifies the New Formalist approach, showing comprehensible narrative and rhyme as she tells stories of old and new for her modern audience. This type of approach creates the notion of finding the present in the past and blending the line between fantasy and the real world, allowing for a larger audience to interact with the poems.

Through the topics presented, the themes of sharing and bonding over stories and creativity are shared through the book, which is supported by the traditions used. These themes of communication can be seen in the chapter titles: “I. The Argument” is about two people fighting; “II. The Extinction of Silence” looks at the importance of silence; “III. Three Poems For Psyche” which considers why myths are told; and “IV. Fairytale Logic”, which offers stories of real and imagined fantasized life. Each chapter focuses on a different mode of communication, which is important since communication is used by all civilizations. With each generation, communication changes on how information is based down. Fairy tales and myths were used to tell morals, while arguments were meant to figure out a resolution to a problem.

Silence is used in communication when nothing can be said, so the use of silence is meaningful to a conversation, versus filling in every moment with useless words. It is the fact that these topics

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are meaningful to staying in the present that makes these forms of communication important to reconsider.

The third chapter looks at the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros, the retelling offering new perspectives. Psyche and Eros is about Psyche, who, after being praised as being more beautiful than Aphrodite, is sentenced by Aphrodite to fall in love with a monster. This monster, Eros, lives in a palace far away from the rest of civilization. On her first night in the palace, Eros, invisible at the time, explains to her that she must never see him in his true form or go in his room. One night, Psyche takes a look at Eros, breaking his only rule. Psyche, while leaning down, gets pricked by his arrows falling in love with him. Feeling betrayed, Eros runs away to Aphrodite. Psyche is then sentenced to multiple trials by Aphrodite to prove her love for Eros. After a few small tasks, she goes down to the Underworld to get a box of Peresphone’s beauty.

She opens this box, which kills her. Eros then saves her by giving her food of immortality, the two get married and have a daughter together.

The poem “The Eldest Sister to Psyche” looks at the relationship between Psyche and her sister, with her sister criticizing Psyche’s situation with Eros and pleading for Psyche to escape. Stallings uses a mirrored structure, such as the first and five lines in the first stanza features: This place, those invisible hands

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That stroke the music from thin air, Call it magic: everywhere The haunted rooms obey commands, And yet it sounds like loneliness. (41) Stalling then uses these same five lines at the end of the second stanza, in a mirrored order: And yet. . . It sounds like loneliness, The haunted rooms. Obey commands: Call it magic. Everywhere, That strokes, the music. From thin air, This palace, those invisible hands. (41) The way the stanzas are mirrored allows the reader to take in this change in tone to be able to understand the meaning and to see that this poem has a narrative structure. To Catch the Last Applause

by Erica Mcalpine discusses the first poem: Clever as it is, especially with enjambment, ‘The Eldest Sister to Psyche’ represents one of the few cases where form—rhyming couplets comprising two long stanzas, the second of which repeats every line from the first in reverse order like a mirror (i.e., AABBCCDDE EDDCCBBAA)—takes away from the subject at hand. (409).

I disagree with the sentiment that the form takes away from the subject. This format adds to the concern of the sister, but also

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communicates how words can be interpreted in different ways making conversations difficult.

The first stanza is the Eldest Sister coming off as making fun of Psyche, “Yes, I’m that ugly sister, true, / You’ll say I only envy you.” The tone comes across as aggressive, focusing on the Eldest Sister as “that ugly sister.” The second stanza changes the tone of this couplet to be softer, “You’ll say I only envy you / Yes I’m that ugly, Sister True” (41). The second stanza separates “ugly” and “Sister True”, changing it into a title. The second stanza “Sister True” can reference either sister. “Sister True” could be the eldest sister, who is not sugarcoating things for Psyche, or she could be Psyche, who is so set in her ways that she will only see the situation as her truth. “The Eldest Sister to Psyche” reveals how these ideas can be misconstrued, and the use of it being mirrored just shows how looking back on one's self can help point out those flaws or missed lies.

The second section, “The Boatman to Psyche, on the River Styx”, uses allusions and images from modern life to allow for more personal and connective interpretations. Stallings uses allusions that are common knowledge to the modern day audience, including the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with the line “Lovers who refuse to grieve” (42). Orpheus and Eurydice is a Greek myth about two lovers, where when Eurydice dies, Orpheus goes to the Underworld to retrieve her, and he gets to walk her back up to the

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surface, which ultimately fails when he turns around and she is forced to go back. The myth Eros and Psyche shares similar themes with this myth including trust and love, yet Eros and Psyche are able to have a happy ending. This allusion means that love and trust should not be taken for granted, instead considered truly. This meaning is emphasized since both myths are stories of love being rushed, pointing to the more modern day message of love needing to be consensual, and considered before continuing the relationship. Stallings also brings in modern day images like “An X-ray developing in your chemical bath / your dark room” (43).

This metaphor is something being hidden and needing to be found, which links to the idea that Psyche should not be in this place. In a modern day interpretation, it comes across as death being hard to catch and find, even with all of this technology like X-rays that we have. Stallings including such a metaphor leaves a dark tone and feeling with the reader, but also allows the reader to make their own personal connections to death and love.

The final section is “Persephone and Psyche” which leaves readers in a modernized context of the myth, while also not finishing the story for the readers, allowing them to guess or research what happens next. Like her other poems in this section, this is a narrative poem that is a conversation between Persephone and Psyche, meaning it is all said from Peresphone’s perspective.

Stallings welcomes in this contemporary setting from the first line,

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saying “Come sit with me here at the bar”, this is not a normal setting for a talk with the Queen of the Underworld but a setting that readers can picture and understand. This Persephone has a relaxed and disconnected tone to Psyche, making fun of the underworld and death, “The place is dead– a real dive” and “But what the hell. We all arrive” (45). The disconnected tone, along with making fun of death, shows a freedom in the interpretation, with Persephone being able to not be the ‘perfect woman’ for women to emulate, but instead someone closer to how someone would act now. Stallings is not the only poet to reimagine Persephone’s perspective into a modern context: “While the ancient myth [“Hades and Persephone”] still speaks to me today, I’m interested in the way contemporary poets and writers reimage the myth, and reconsider Persephone’s perspective…. Rachel Zucker joins the chorus of contemporary poets that revise the traditional myth” (Gandolfo, 20). Similar to Zucker’s reimagining of Persephone, Stallings takes time to modernize and bring the reader into this conversation, taking the ancient myth into a contemporary interpretation. This poem ends without resolving the myth, expecting the readers to know what happens next. Even within its own page this future is referenced with the lines “The story went, Soul [Psyche] married Love [Eros] / And they conceived, and called her Pleasure” (45). The reference to the ending allows for the readers to determine whether they think the story will end in the

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same way, yet it also points out how these characters that Stallings focused on had limited roles. Stallings gives these limited characters a voice, which encourages the interpretation of the original myth to consider how these characters do have a power which are not considered originally.

Olives is a book that brings up a lot of questions. New Formalism criticism asks questions like “How does a certain word, phrase, or the use of rhyme help set the tone?”. Framing these poems in New Formalism allows for myths to be texts to learn or spark inspiration from. Stallings references the classics, similar to the children/teen book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan which relates the classics to growing up. Overall, this text was enjoyable through its connections to the modern and classical world, showing different themes of communication and growing up.

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Branching Out: Portfolio

Poet’s Note: These poems were inspired by A.E. Stalling’s “Olives,” specifically the third chapter, “Three Poems for Psyche”. I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Ryan, Associate Professor in English at Virginia Wesleyan University, for her guidance in this project!

Notes to Myself Never have I ever.

Which you phrased to focus on the Things I have yet to do.

Is it really necessary To list everything? Finding an equal, trying to find my place, deciding what to do with all my time.

While being unable to make a decision, What else goes on this list?

I figured - you said about my list You could have done it differently.

To Show I am still learning? really is worth it truly thinking about how.

Yes, I am still lost.

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Yes I am, still lost, Really. This is worth it, truly. Thinking about how To show I am still learning, You could have done it differently, I figured - you said. About my list, What else goes on? This list, While being unable to make a decision, Deciding what to do. With all my time trying: to find my place.

To list everything, finding an equal Is it really necessary?

Things, I have yet to do, Which you phrased to focus on the Never have I ever.

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Marching Band The stands screeching with every step These bleachers are from When you went to high school, 30 years ago Metallic flashes break through under the stadium light’s afterglow The band starts in now, The crowd watching as the players go towards the lockers And kick up turf as they leave the benches The band taking up the end zone.

In line, the gold spiraled baton is left in the past, Three flutes hunched in the front, Swing up, left foot out, step, Step again, with each line moving closer The bass drums cross the field, Some kids run with poles “Set to top of show” Reverberates down the line.

People running from each 20 yard line The steel towers placed on either side,

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Sections of instruments come forward Pushing lines and diagonals to creates mountains And bass drums shake your chest The sections are only two people No plumes in sight, just makeup The singular tin ladder in the front From the top row, The instruments are just dots on a grid Connecting to make pictures Yet this now there is just a rectangle.

The stands stop jittering, For even with the legacy of thousands Musicians, the field is only a few students The set of bleachers empty but a few cases

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Atalanta General Info on the Myth: Atalanta was a princess and only child, who was originally abandoned in the woods as a baby. Once she came of age, her father made her prepare for marriage, setting up men to become her betrothed. She promised to marry whoever beat her at a race, though if they lose, they die. Someone does win against her after distracting her with golden apples. The other myth she is known for is for killing a magical boar, taking the shot at the heart and killing it. She had to be fought for to be acknowledged and given credit.

Why did the race occur You may ask, or why did I let it happen?

Was it won out of love Or out of deception?

A kingdom with a princess.

Who had fought for her arrows And worn down sandals With ankle guards Or the kidnapping

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From the woods, Rushed into society Reigning the castle Going to contests To take up the mantle of ‘hero’ Coming back with new skin, And you said I was “distracted” Or “just a girl” But I was ready Running multiple lifetimes To find one where no one came I was spurred into staying here My bow being strung on a wall And my arrows made into a new feather duster My sandals became heels.

You won a husband who loves you, You may say, but what is love When something shiny Is the only thing

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Works Cited “A.E. Stallings.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ae-stallings. Accessed 8 May 2024.

Baldick, Chris. "New Formalism." The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. : Oxford University Press, , 2008. Oxford Reference.

Date Accessed 2 May. 2024 <https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/978 0199208272.001.0001/acref-9780199208272-e-773>.

Gandolfo, Marcene. “Revisioning Persephone: A Reflection on Gender and Identity.” FEMSPEC: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Journal Dedicated to Critical and Creative Work in the Realms of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Surrealism, Myth, Folklore, and Other Supernatural Genres, vol. 22, no. 2, July 2022, pp. 19–39. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ml f& AN=202330495244&site=ehost-live.

Persistent link to this record (Permalink): https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ml f& AN=202330495244&site=ehost- ve Mcalpine, Erica. “‘To Catch the Last Applause’: The Poetry of A. E. Stallings.” Parnassus: Poetry in Review, vol. 33, no. 1/2, May 2013, pp. 393–413. EBSCOhost,

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https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hl h& AN=88866406&site=ehost-live.

Permanent link to this record (Permalink): https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hl h& AN=88866406&site=ehost-live Stallings, A.E. Olives: Poems, TriQuarterly Books, Northwestern University Press. 2012

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Sarah Richards The Pay Gap in the Arts

The pay gap has historically been one of the many barriers to women in the workplace and remains a major gendered issue in today’s society. However, there have been policies put in place to prevent inequalities like these. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits discrimination in pay based on sex, but since 1963,” women have still been paid less than men (Women's Bureau U.S Department of Labor, 2023). Even as recently as 2021, women are paid only 0.84 cents to every 1 dollar that men make when comparing “the median annual earnings of full-time and year-round employees” (Women's Bureau U.S Department of Labor, 2023). The wage gap can be defined as “a complex construct that reflects processes at multiple levels of social organization, including gender segregation in training” and includes “differential penalties and rewards for ‘non-productive’ roles” like parenthood (Platt et al., 2016). One of the careers that the pay gap is especially prevalent in is the visual arts, due to gender bias and structural barriers. These two issues prevent women from achieving the same success in the art world as men. This paper aims to address the psychological effects of the extraordinary pay gap between female and male artists due to gender bias and ambivalent sexism theory. Liberal feminist theory is also discussed as a method to continue to close the pay gap. The sources included mostly focus on the art market in the United States, while also acknowledging that the gender gap is a worldwide phenomenon.

Historically, women artists have had limited opportunities

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for art school and participation in artistic movements. Qualitative studies have shown that women who were able to take art courses were still treated unequally to their male counterparts; only some teachers taught “lady pupils” and classes for women were taught “irregularly” (Greenwald, 2021). Consider ‘The Grand Tour’ where affluent aristocratic White men in the late 16th century would travel across Europe, mainly to Italy and the Mediterranean, to learn from renowned artists. This is seen as one of the great artistic movements, and yet no women were able to participate due to the belief that they could not be artists and that their art was inherently less interesting than men’s art (Sorabella, 2019). Women have also had restricted access to money and could not have a bank account in the United States until 1974 with the passing of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bans banks’ ability to deny credit card applications on the basis of sex (The United States Department of Justice, 2017). With obstacles like gender bias and laws that limit women’s independence, women have been unable to gain a voice in the art world along with the financial means for selling their art. Within this context, it is evident that women have systemic barriers that prevent profiting from their art and establishing their presence in galleries.

Although selling art can be a difficult feat for women with restricted access to the arts, there have still been many influential female artists who have persevered. For example, Georgia O’Keeffe holds the record for the highest auctioned piece by a female artist

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at 44.4 million dollars for her piece, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (Elsesser, 2022). However, this price is contrasted by the highest auctioned amount for a male artist: 450 million dollars for Leonardo DaVinci’s Salvator Mundi (Elsesser, 2022). Although the gap has improved, auction records for current living artists reflect the extreme difference in pay. The highest auction price for art by a living female artist, Jenny Saville, sold for 12.4 million dollars, only 13.6% of the 91 million dollars that living male artist Jeff Koons made for his work (Elsesser, 2022).

Despite this disparity, there has been progress made with the art market for women doubling in the past ten years (Halperin & Burns, 2019). Although the amount of female artists in the market has improved, there has not been a significant difference in the amount that the work is selling for. A total of 196.6 billion was spent on auctioned art from 2008 to 2019, and of this amount, only 4 billion was work created by women. This is still less than the total amount of money from Picasso’s paintings alone, further illustrating the incredible gap between the pricing on women’s and men’s artwork (Kring, 2022). Ultimately, these statistics have led researchers to declare a 192 billion pay gap in the arts (Kring, 2022).

The following research investigates possible psychological explanations for this extreme pay gap. Although much of the available data collected is from the United States, it is important to acknowledge that the pay gap is a worldwide issue, as the following research takes on a global perspective. In a study by

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Renee B. Adams and colleagues, researchers concluded that gender bias, or prejudice against women, was the main reason for the pay gap in the arts (2021). Their analysis gathered a sample of 1.9 million auctions in 49 countries and determined that a “gender discount” exists (Adams et al., 2021). The “gender discount” describes how women’s work is unfairly priced due to prejudice against women artists. The study found that overall, paintings by women artists sell at an “unconditional discount of 42.1%,” and this discount only increases in countries where the level of gender inequality is more severe (Adams et al., 2021).

Another possible explanation for this continued prevalence of gender bias in today’s society is discussed in a study by Polly Cheng and colleagues (2020). They investigated the “ambivalent sexism theory” where women are treated with either “hostile sexism” or “benevolent sexism” (Cheng et al., 2020). Women who go against traditional gender roles are treated with negative attitudes through “hostile sexism” (Cheng et al., 2020). On the other hand, those who conform to gender norms are treated with “benevolent sexism,” or “positive” and “paternalistic” attitudes (Cheng et al., 2020). Men engage with hostile sexism to gain power in the workplace; essentially, they are expressing an “outgroup derogation,” or in this context, holding negative attitudes towards women to maintain the patriarchal system that they benefit from (Cheng et al., 2020). Additionally, those who express this type of sexism tend to seek career advice primarily from men and engage in career comparisons between themselves and other colleagues

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(Cheng et al., 2020). Cheng and colleagues concluded that “seeking career advice from men is positively associated with subjective career success” since they connect with men who hold greater power to gain connections and advance in their careers (Cheng et al., 2020).

Concerning the pay gap in the arts, both studies can provide insight into the psychological processes of the curators within galleries and auctions, especially considering that it is a maledominated profession. For instance, if a woman comes to a gallery looking to sell her work, a male gallery curator may express gender bias or negative attitudes towards a female artist and reduce pricing on her work in comparison to other male artists. In regards to the Adams and colleagues study, this price reduction could vary based on the level of gender inequality in this artist’s area (2021).

The act of unfairly pricing women’s work can also be a form of ambivalent sexism, with men creating an in-group of male artists and an outgroup of female artists to amplify their prejudiced attitudes towards women (Cheng et al., 2020). The ambivalent sexism theory can also be applied to explain how men maintain their position of power in the art world and sustain the pay gap.

Being a male dominated industry, male artists are able to ask other male curators and auctioneers for advice, make professional connections, and further propel their career. On the other hand, female artists have been able to create their own feminist galleries and spaces within the art world, but they are still limited by their male colleagues’ prejudice against women creating

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art. Thus, limiting women’s presence in the art world is influenced by psychological thought processes of hostile sexism that places high importance on group status and superiority (Cheng et al., 2020).

These studies offer explanations for the pay gap in the arts, but there are also serious psychological effects of unequal pay and discrimination against women. A study by Jonathan Platt and colleagues explores the effects of gender discrimination in relation to mood disorders (2016). These disorders tend to be more common among women than men, and research has pointed towards structural gender discrimination in the workforce to be one explanation for this difference (Platt et al., 2016). Statistical studies showed that the odds of Major Depressive Disorders and Generalized Anxiety Disorders were “more statistically significant among women whose income was lower than their matched male counterparts” (Platt et al., 2016).

Additionally, women who are denied positions or promotions may perceive this as an act of discrimination, therefore facing “increased psychological distress” (Platt et al., 2016). This can be applied to the arts when women are denied gallery space due to gender bias; if women artists perceive this as discrimination, they may be more vulnerable to develop these mood disorders later in the future. Instances like these can lead women to have lower self-efficacy when they feel they are limited by gender roles and also make them less likely to keep pursuing their art career.

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Although the gender gap in the arts remains prevalent, there is possibility for change. For example, women have increased opportunities for education in art degrees; as of 2015, women earn 70% of bachelors in fine arts and 65-75% of masters in fine arts degrees in the United States, but only 46% of working artists are women (“Taking Note,” n.d.). Again, the disparity between female and male artists can be attributed to the pay gap and with lower auction prices expected for women. Despite these inequalities, liberal feminist theory can be utilized to counteract gender bias and structural barriers that contribute to the pay gap in the arts.

Liberal feminism is a branch of feminist theory that emerged in the 19th century during the women's suffrage movement, when women advocated for the right to vote and created change through policies (Maynard, 2006). Proponents of this theory believe that equality is best brought about through legal and social system reform (Guy-Evans, 2024). It can be applied to the issue of the pay gap in the arts by encouraging galleries to participate in regular pay data collection; by including data on their artists gender, galleries will be able to reevaluate if their space is inclusive and allows fair opportunity for all artists (Khattar, 2024). Another way to assure more space for women in galleries is to increase pathways to jobs as collection curators, directors, and owners.

Galleries that invest in internships and apprenticeship programs, proven diversification tools for female artists, can make a difference in the art world by encouraging women to keep creating art with the ability to progress in their career and the

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right to fair pricing (Khattar, 2024). Each of these methods align with liberal feminist theory as they challenge the current social systems of gender bias, and create change from within to uplift women artists and close the pay gap in the arts.

Overall, the pay gap in the arts is a current and constantly evolving issue that is influenced by social and political systems.

Women have historically been denied access to the arts due to gender bias, with repercussions that span to today’s art world (Greenwald, 2021). As previously mentioned, women did not have access to major art movements of the time, nor did they have access to art academies (Greenwald, 2021). Possible psychological explanations for the extraordinary $192 billion pay gap can be attributed to gender bias and ambivalent sexism theory, which makes male artists in positions of power less likely to fairly price and accept women’s art in their galleries (Cheng et al., 2020).

Additionally, the pay gap can have negative effects on women’s mental health. Researchers have found that women who are paid less than their male colleagues are more vulnerable to develop mood

disorders,

which

can

inhibit

women’s

careers

and

progression in the art world (Platt et al., 2016). However, as discussed, there are ongoing solutions to close the gap. By applying liberal feminist theory to the pay gap, galleries can assess their pay and gender inclusivity to inspire change, more opportunities for female artists in internships can be created, and women artists can continue to fight for a more equitable art world.

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References Adams, R. B., Kräussl, R., Navone, M., & Verwijmeren, P. (2021).

Gendered Prices. The Review of Financial Studies, 34(8), 3789–3839. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhab046

Cheng, P., Shen, W., & Kim, K. Y. (2020). Personal Endorsement of Ambivalent Sexism and Career Success: An investigation of Differential Mechanisms. Journal of Business and Psychology, 35(6), 783–798. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48737144 Elsesser, K. (2022, August 30). The $192 Billion Gender Gap In Art. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/08/30/th e-192-billion-gender-gap-in-art/? sh=651f35e12d14#:~:text=The%20art%20world%20has%20a Guy-Evans, O. (2024, February 13). Liberal Feminism: Definition, Theory & Examples. SimplyPsychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/liberal-feminism.html Greenwald, D. S. (2021). Why Have There Been No Great Women

Artists?: Artistic Labor and Time-Constraint in Nineteenth-Century America. In Painting by Numbers: Data-Driven Histories of Nineteenth-Century Art (pp.

85–114). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv15r588t.6 Halperin, J., & Burns, C. (2019, September 19). Female Artists Represent Just 2 Percent of the Market. Here’s Why—and How That Can Change. Artnet News. https://news.artnet.com/womens-place-in-the-art-world/f

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emale-artists-represent-just-2-pe rcent-market-heres-can-change-1654954 Khattar, R. (2024). Closing the gender pay gap. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/playbook-for-th e-advancement-of-women-in-th e-economy/closing-the-gender-pay-gap/ Kring, A. (2022, March 15). Stuck in the Dark Ages: A Woman’s Place in the Art World. (n.d.). MADE in BED Magazine. https://www.madeinbed.co.uk/agents-of-change/stuck-i n-the-dark-ages-a-womans-pla ce-in-the-art-world#:~:text=Scholars%20argue%20that% 20cultural%20stereotypes Maynard, M. (2006). Beyond the “big three”: The development of feminist theory ... Taylor & Francis Online. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0961202950 0200089 Platt, J., Prins, S., Bates, L., & Keyes, K. (2016). Unequal depression for equal work? How the wage gap explains gendered disparities in mood disorders. Social science & medicine (1982), 149, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.056 Sorabella, J. (2019). The Grand Tour. Metmuseum.org. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grtr/hd_grtr.htm Taking Note: How About Those Undergraduate Arts Majors? (n.d.).

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Www.arts.gov. https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2017/taking-notehow -about-those-undergraduate-ar ts-majors The United States Department of Justice. (2017, November 8).

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Justice.gov. https://www.justice.gov/crt/equal-credit-opportunity-act-3 Women's Bureau U.S Department of Labor. (2023).

UNDERSTANDING THE GENDER WAGE GAP What is the Gender Wage Gap? https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/equalpay/W B_issuebrief-undstg-wage-gap -v1.pdf

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Ryan Symposium 2023-2024

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Breana Mahoney Broadening Awareness of Melanoma and Skin of Color on College Campuses

“Melanoma. Oh that’s a nice science term, something. I don’t know.”

-Participant 1, female in her 20s In December 2022, the findings of a group of researchers were published in the BMJ Open medical journal regarding their interviews with the 26 black Americans from ten different states.

In these interviews, the researchers evaluated the participants’ general awareness and knowledge about melanoma. Three common themes emerged in the notes of these interviews: generally participants had little knowledge about melanoma, had little suspicion before their interviews that black people could even have melanoma, and had no prior knowledge regarding where and how to identify melanoma on one’s skin (de Vere Hunt, et al. 4).

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer. It accounts for 75% of skin cancer deaths, and is one of the most common cancers in the United States. In 2023 the National Cancer Institute predicted that there would be 97,610 new cases of melanoma of the skin and an estimated 7,990 people would die from the disease (National

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Cancer Institute). However with early intervention, the prognosis for surviving melanoma is quite good given that patients receive proper medical treatment and care. For example, about 20 years ago my father went to the doctor to remove, what he believed to be, a particularly stubborn cyst on his scalp. After several attempts to lacerate the growth himself which failed when it inevitably returned, he went to a doctor who surgically removed it. Later after examining the tissue it was identified as, not a stubborn cyst but, a cancerous skin growth. The remaining growth and surrounding tissue was swiftly removed in its early stages. My father was blessed with the chance to stop skin cancer in its tracks, but for many other black Americans their chances for catching skin cancer early on are worse. While the average white American diagnosed with melanoma has a 92% chance of survival for five years post diagnosis, black patients nationwide have a significantly lower 70% rate of survival (de Vere Hunt). Gone undetected for some time the chances that a patient survives melanoma are greatly decreased, and black patients often receive later diagnosis and worse prognosis. In a study published in 2021, researchers examined the rates of survival for melanoma patients in Wayne County, Michigan from 2000 to 2016. They observed that black patients suffered the highest rates of late stage diagnosis, and thus were approximately three times more likely than their white counterparts to die within five years of their initial diagnosis

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(Brady). This phenomenon largely stems from an unfortunate lack of medical research regarding treating darker skin and a lack of awareness in the vulnerable communities affected by this research gap.

The field of dermatology is severely lacking in its resources regarding darker skin. In 2006 a study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology focusing on the representation of darker skin in major dermatology educational resources. Founded in 1983, the American Academy of Dermatology is the largest non-profit dermatology group in the United States with over 20,500 members hailing from the United States and Canada. In this study researchers examined program guides from 1996 to 2005 for the non profit’s annual teaching programs. On average, 370 teaching events were held yearly. It was found that on average only 8 (approximately 2%) of these teaching events focused on nonwhite skin. At the time of the study’s publication, it was reported that “No postgraduate course, discussion group, or poster discussion group has focused on ethnic skin.” (Ebede) There’s also a striking lack of black dermatologists in the field, whose perspective and knowledge could help bridge this gap of research. According to the Black Derm Directory only 3% of American dermatologists are of African descent (Black Derm Directory).

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The effects of lack of proper dermatological care and knowledge is felt not just in the U.S. but worldwide. It’s estimated that globally 3 billion people have inadequate access to medical care for skin disease (Coustasse). The lack of knowledge to properly treat black skin in America signifies a global famine of the necessary knowledge to treat brown skin and prevent melanoma worldwide. Tackling this issue is a necessary step to ensure one of the UN’s 17 goals of sustainability; Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Efforts are already being made to tackle the effects of this disparity by increasing the curriculum related to darker skin tones and racially sensitive training for dermatologists. While undoubtedly important, these efforts would do more good if coupled with more proactive and preventative measures. The net of safety that medical treatment offers to patients is one to be grateful for, but a faulty net as it stands. There is no way to guarantee sufficient quality of care for dermatology patients with darker skin. In addition, there is a significant lack of knowledge and concern regarding melanoma and skin damage in the black community. Initiatives such as readily available online resources and the promotion of sun safety practices and routine skin self checks are key. Marketing this information to the public, and this especially vulnerable demographic can be empowered and

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equipped with the knowledge to effectively counter the deadliness of melanoma.

Education and prevention are the best tools for combatting melanoma. Equipping youth with these tools is especially important since sun damage in one’s youth, such as a painful sunburn, can nearly double someone’s chance of developing melanoma (De silva). Initiatives within schools could be the key to cementing knowledge and healthy practices early on. In 2004 Pfiezer developed and published, Pfizer Principles for Clear Health Communication: A Handbook for Creating Patient Education Materials That Enhance Understanding and Promote Health Outcomes. This handbook details recommendations for communicating health information to the public, keeping the audience in mind. Major boundaries identified in the book include literacy being poor worldwide, meaning messages must be meaningful while staying clear and concise (Doak). Regardless of educational level, most people want their public health information to be easy to understand and implement. Summarized on Pfizer’s website, the five key recommendations are that educational materials must aim to (Pfiezer): 1) Explain the purpose and limit the content, as to not overwhelm readers.

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2) Involve the reader by making it appropriate for the desired demographic and emphasize the importance of what a reader can do.

3) Be easy to read by using simple language and explaining any difficult concepts.

4) Be well designed for optimal readability with good organization, large text, and contrasting colors.

5) Utilize visuals that clarify and motivate patients to learn more.

The world of social media is also a valuable venue for health information to be easily shared. Health Agencies such as the WHO, CDC, and the Ministry of Health regularly post infographics, PSAs, and guidelines to social media to reach people within their nation and worldwide. These organizations also often create accounts adapted to reach people who speak different languages or have different cultural backgrounds. With large amounts of misinformation online, a social media presence for these verifiable health organizations can serve to correct and dispel misleading information. These social media posts can also be valuable tools used to gauge public knowledge and reception, as people may repost or comment affirming or negative comments. (Merchant).

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Some organizations create campaigns and hashtags to popularize and spread important information. For example, on the National Eczema Association’s website, the popular skincare company Aveeno released a campaign to call attention to the difficulties of black patients struggling with eczema, the second most frequent skin disease for black Americans, when a majority of online resources related to eczema were dedicated to identifying and treating eczema on fair skin. The campaign, dubbed #SkinVisibility, provides access to a digital hub on Aveeno’s website wherein community, a series of digital talks with certified dermatologists, quizzes to help users determine if they have eczema, and lifestyle guides for eczema prevention and management can be easily found (Aveeno). This information is also found on Aveeno’s United States instagram page (@aveenous). The tag #SkinVisibility accompanies many posts on Instagram posted not just by Aveeno by sponsored advertisers using the cause to profit and sell Aveeno’s eczema related products. Similarly, the #LoveYourSkinProtectYourSkin hashtag created by the Skin Cancer Foundation accompanies many of the organization’s posts on Instagram (@skincancerorg) which generally consist of important data points and recommendations stressing the importance of prevention and early intervention.

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There is a vast variety of emerging research on the disparities in dermatology and how the public can use simple habits to lessen their chance of developing melanoma and identify it in its earliest and weakest stages. This knowledge is valuable but, given the complex and often inaccessible nature of academic research, may seem impenetrable to the average reader. Using concise and clear infographics online on Virginia Wesleyan associated social media accounts and physical locations on campus where students can easily see them and on social media, the key points and takeaways from these works can be conveyed and inform the student body.

The Importance of Awareness

With the difficulties in receiving dermatological care, it's vital for the members of affected communities to be knowledgeable about what they can do to take care of and recognize causes for concern on their own skin. However, it seems that within the black community there is a worrying lack of concern regarding melanoma or sun damage. In a 2023 study, a 16 question survey was deployed on social media with over 350 respondents from the Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia area. Given the disparity in melanoma diagnoses and treatments across races with black patients being diagnosed at later and more vulnerable stages than whites, this survey aimed to explore the relationship between race and skin health knowledge. The survey also looked into things such

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as the respondent’s perceived risk of skin cancer, sunscreen usage, perceived education from primary care providers on skin health, perceived education, and skin checks performed. Less than half of black survey respondents (40%) reported receiving information about the risks of sun exposure, suggesting that it is not widely circulated knowledge. Only 8% of black survey respondents reported feeling at risk of skin damage as a result of sun exposure.

A majority of the survey respondents who self-identified as at risk for melanoma were white (69.885%), while black survey respondents were the fewest to identify themselves as at risk (7.963%) (Fliorent).

These low rates of concern and proactive action to keep one safe from sun damage have long been an issue for the black community. On an NPR broadcast in 2006, Journalist John McCann can be quoted urging listeners from the black community to heed his warning and protect their skin against the ravages of the sun: “See, we've got grown folks using Baby Magic to make their skin feel like a one-year-old's. There's that thick, Keri lotion for those with real ashy knees and elbows. Or if your skin is really dry, there's that Palmer's Cocoa Butter that comes in a jar, and you don't squeeze it out, but you dip your fingers in and scoop it and slap it on. Or maybe you're one of those people who put baby oil on like you're planning to go out in the sun and sauté

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yourself. Yet talk to a brother or a sister girl about using sunscreen and they're like, what're you telling me about sunscreen for? I ain't white.

But let me tell you what the people at the American Cancer Society told me. Black folks get sunburned too. You know how you can be out in the sun for a minute and you come back in and your auntie or your cousin or somebody will say, woo, child, you done got black! It means you've been sunburned.

Instead of turning red like fairer-skinned people, dark-complexioned folks get blacker.”

It’s true that black skin does have some sort of barrier against sun damage. UVB radiation from the sun is what causes skin to burn, while UVA ages the skin. Black skin is less likely to be burnt

by UVB, but both UVB and UVA can penetrate and damage the skin.

UVA is everywhere and never varies in intensity in comparison to UVB which’s intensity varies depending on the level on sun exposure throughout the day. Both forms of UV, especially UVA have been linked to the development of skin cancer (Chien). SPF (skin protection factor) helps to protect our skin against it. In a 1979 study it was found that black skin had a greater level of SPF than white skin, based upon levels of UVA and UVB radiation reaching the upper epidermis of black and white skin. It was estimated that black epidermis have an SPF of 13.4, nearly four

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times greater than that of white epidermis (Kaidbey). This gives black sunbathers on average three times as much protection than UVB and four times the protection from UVA than their white counterparts. However, for proper protection from the sun during outdoor activities, the Skin Cancer Foundation recommends wearing sunscreen with an SPF level of 30, more than twice the amount the black skin holds on average (Wang).

Despite this, black Americans more often than not forgo wearing sunscreen. In the findings of a nationally representative survey of over 2,000 American adults taken in 2020, 39% percent of African Americans said they ever used sunscreen in comparison with 77% percent of whites (Wadyka). Black Americans are likely to neglect wearing sunscreen because of the belief that darker skin is immune to sun damage, which pervades the community. This belief also seems to affect the Latino population. As observed in a literature review published in the medical journal Cancer Control in 2008, in various literature regarding melanoma rates among black and hispanic patients there’s a common thread of delayed diagnoses. These late diagnoses are due in part to a lack of resources in the medical community regarding identifying melanoma on darker skin but also misconceptions and a perceived lack of risk among patients.

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“Because of the low index of suspicion in both the medical community and these ethnic populations,diagnosis is often delayed, resulting in advanced presentation and a poorer prognosis.”(Rouhani) Suspicion and safety practices are of utmost importance for prevention of melanoma, as Jacqueline Smith, would likely agree.

Smith, a self-described dark-skinned black woman, is a member of the Melanoma Research Foundation's Board of Directors. She is also a survivor of two bouts of melanoma. As someone who had long believed that melanoma was not something that black people had to worry about, Smith was caught off guard and unaware when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma as an undergraduate senior. She had gone to the doctor several times over to have a lump on her bikini line checked. She had been waved away the first few times- but she persisted, looking for an explanation. She was taken aback when finally diagnosed: "I'm not a fair-skinned, middle-aged Caucasian woman," she remembers telling her doctor. She had grown up with the same misconceptions as everyone else when it came to skin cancer — that it was something that people like her didn't have to think about or protect against.”

Her own lack of suspicion and her doctors’ dismissals, possibly attributed to a lack of expertise in diagnosing melanoma

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on darker skin, could’ve likely been the death of her. Her story of diagnosis surprises many of the people she tells it to, including doctors. She reflects on her fortune- and now unfortunate many others similar to her have been.

"And I think it's unfortunate, because you start to wonder — you know, I was someone who was very vocal and kept going back in. I just didn't care if I was a bother to my physicians. And I questioned my doctors when I didn't feel that they were doing as much as they could or should. Well, what if there's someone who isn't as secure, or would rather say, 'OK if you say it's nothing, I'll believe it'? Those are the people that end up really not having a good overall prognosis, because they're just going to take at word what they're told by the medical experts." (Smith qtd. in Donella) Now, as a member of the Melanoma Research Foundation's Board of Directors, Smith advocates for patients, regardless of their skin color, to take care of themselves. Her tips for people include wearing sunscreen, limiting their sun exposure during peak hours (usually between 10AM and 2PM), wearing a hat when doing yard work, completing self skin examinations, and scheduling regular regular check-ups with their healthcare practitioners. Smith also emphasizes the importance of prevention to avoid having to seek treatment. Many believe that simple

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excisional surgery is the worst of melanoma treatment- but as previously mentioned treatment is determined on a case by case basis. Smith’s treatments were incredibly extensive, strenuous for her body, and time consuming. As she describes it: "I have an 8-inch scar from my surgery. They removed every single lymph node in my pelvic and groin region. I have a bigger scar around that from radiation. I had to give up two years of my life. I had to inject myself weekly with interferon.

Because of that I have weakness, my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. I developed lymphedema in my right leg. I just last month had a lymph node transplant, where they remove lymph nodes from my side and put them into my ankle. And so all of this is from a cancer that, had I known I could have perhaps prevented it, I would definitely have just worn sunscreen."

(Smith qtd. in Donella) Just wearing sunscreen is an incredibly simple but effective action that people would take to protect their skin. But it seems that Americans in general are slacking on this front. In the previously mentioned 2020 survey of sunscreen habits, only 40% of those who do wear sunscreen said that they wore it most of the time, while 58% said they only wore it some of the time. 52% of survey respondents said they had never gone to a doctor to get their skin checked for cancer. It also seems that even skin cancer is

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not enough to completely change one’s behaviors. While 64% of respondents who had had skin cancer before change their habits after diagnosis, 36% did not. In all, the public could be much more wise in their sun and skin safety habits. (Wadyka)

Early Identification and Intervention

Early identification and intervention are vital to treating skin cancer. Thankfully, the recommended basic procedure for identifying melanoma doesn’t require x-rays, blood tests, or any expensive medical equipment– just a bit of time and attention. In the comfort of one’s home, a total self skin examination (TSSE) can be done in order to identify signs of skin damage or melanoma.

Dermatologists stress that patients have the best chance of noticing these signs at their earliest.

There are a variety of reputable resources online with advice from dermatologists regarding how to complete self skin exams.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends that people should get well acquainted with their own bodies, including their skin’s regular pattern of moles, freckles, and marks.

Using a mole body map, one can make note of the markings along their body’s landscape and have some frame of reference for their self examinations. The best time to do a self skin assessment is typically after a shower or a bath when one’s skin is clean and body fully visible for in depth inspection. At least once a month, in front

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of a full length mirror one should take the time to examine their fully exposed body in a well lit room with the help of a handheld mirror or a partner to examine any hard to see spots. It’s also recommended that one should ask their barber or hairdresser to let them know if they spot anything new on their scalp or neck or for one to check themselves when combing, parting, or blow drying their hair. Checking thoroughly from head to toe is key in identifying causes for concern at their earliest stages. Using one’s handheld mirror or a second pair of eyes, as they continue their exam one should take the time to examine the top of their heads, base of their neck, full back, behind their ears, groin and buttocks, the backs of their calves, inner thighs, and nailbeds. They should also examine often overlooked areas such as the palms and soles of the feet.

Potential causes for concern include: Dark spots, growths, or darker patches of skin that seem to be growing or changing in anyway Spots or patches with uneven edges A spot, sore, or patch that is a continuous source of pain, itches regularly, gathers crust, or bleeds Sores that remain unhealed, heal slower than usual, or that heal and reappear

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Rough, dry, or unusually textured patches of skin Dark lines underneath or around one’s fingernails and toenails

Sofia Chaudhry and Laurin Council, both professors of dermatology at St. Louis’ School of Medicine and Washington University respectively, co-lead an educational initiative to educate school children about detecting and preventing skin cancer. The program, called Sun Protection Outreach Teaching by Students or SPOTS for short, was founded in 2006. Over the years, SPOTS has spread across the country to train medical and K-12 students to easily identify signs of skin cancer using the easy to remember ABCDE method (O’Neil). The ABCDE refined and coined in a 2004 study (Abbasi).

Most skin cancers are found by people themselves, so check your entire body once every month. Unusual growths or spots can sometimes look different on darker skin tones. Use the ABCDE method to know what to look for: A — Asymmetry Normal moles are evenly shaped. Melanoma can be uneven – one half may be larger and have a different shape than the other half.

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B — Border Normal moles have smooth, round borders. Melanoma may have irregular, scalloped edges.

C — Color Normal moles are usually an evenly colored brown or tan color.

Melanoma can have multiple colors, such as blue, red, black, or white.

D — Diameter (size) If a spot is larger than a pencil eraser, about 6 millimeters, get it checked out by a doctor.

E — Evolving “Evolving” means that a spot on your body is changing. It can also mean “elevated” or raised. If that happens, especially if it’s growing in height, see a doctor immediately.

SPOTS’ use of simple acronyms make important health recommendations easy to understand and memorize, and falls in line with Pfizer’s recommendations for effective health messaging.

Unfortunately, skin self examinations aren’t common and the knowledge required to determine the severity of potential damage is not widespread. In a 1999 survey randomly distributed amongst

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adult Rhode Islanders, though more than half of the participants reported that they “systematically and deliberately” examined their own skin, only 9% said they regularly performed TSSE’s on their skin on the basis of at least once every few months (Weinsten, Thorough skin examination…). In a clinical trial published in the Preventative Medicine journal in 2004, 2126 patients were interviewed before a routinely scheduled visit with their primary care physician; it was found that only 18% of participants performed regular TSSEs that adequately met the study’s standard for the procedure (Weinstock, Reliability of assessment…).In a 2014 survey, researchers aimed to evaluate the potential accuracy of self skin examinations amongst frequent beach goers.The survey results include responses from 290 participants. Respondents were asked to examine 10 pairs of images of patients of varying skin tones depicting identical conditions and evaluate whether the images depicted conditions cause for concern on a scale of one to ten. All images of benign conditions included in this survey scored less than 2.5 on the scale for concern when evaluated by dermatologists and dermatology residents beforehand, while all malignant conditions were scored higher than 7.5. When viewing depictions of malignant melanoma all participants demonstrated a high level of concern, but there was still some variation among the responses of participants of different races- especially when comparing the differences in responses from respondents of different races. While white and

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nonwhite hispanic respondents rated these images at means of 7.38 and 7.44 respectively, black respondents generally rated these images lower at a mean of 6.39 (Amber). While black patients may be able to identify reasons for pause on their skin, a lower level concern could imply a lower likelihood to get it checked out by a medical professional.

Checking places such as the nail beds, palms, and soles of the feet are especially important for black individuals in order to identify acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), an aggressive form of melanoma that is most commonly seen in those with African ancestry. Instead of forming in typical spots affected by UV light, ALM forms in these hairless spots that generally don’t receive much sunlight. One particularly prominent black figure who died from ALM is the legendary Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter, Bob Marley. Born in 1945, Marley lived only 36 years until he succumbed to melanoma in 1981. The singer had noticed a dark spot that appeared underneath one of his toenails, but attributed it to a previous soccer injury. After some time he was diagnosed with ALM. Usually ALM is treated with excisional surgery, removing the primary tumor and an appropriate margin of healthy tissue around it. Other treatments for ALM include radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and chemotherapy. Marley had the spot excised but at that time the

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cancer had progressed too far. The cancer metastasized, or spread, eventually reaching other areas of his body including his brain, liver, and lungs. If identified and treated earlier and more effectively, perhaps Bob Marley would still be here today. It’s advised that in the case that anything seems amiss on one’s skin that they consult their dermatologist.

Disparities in Healthcare Aside from ensuring a better chance of survival, treating melanoma sooner with the guidance of a dermatologist can allow someone to bypass more expensive options of treating melanoma at its later stages. Excisional surgery is also a more well defined and researched form of treatment than methods such as radiation therapy. While excisional surgery is generally the standard method, other methods are recommended to be employed on a case by case basis as every patient’s circumstances are different (Testori). Treatment for melanoma is also incredibly expensive.

“Among studies examining all stages of melanoma, annual treatment costs ranged from $44.9 million among Medicare patients with existing cases to $932.5 million among newly diagnosed cases across all age groups” (Guy). With or without insurance, making a visit to a specialist can be potentially a bank breaking venture.

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Time is of the essence for potentially urgent cases, and with a shortage of dermatologists patients may face long wait times to get evaluated by a professional. In a report from May of 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was found that for the roughly 333.9 million American citizens that may seek care there were approximately only 11,640 dermatologists to care for them (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In 2006, to assess how this disparity may affect the wait time for patients seeking evaluation for a potentially urgent program, researchers performed scripted patient telephone calls to 851 dermatologists. These phone calls aimed to assess wait-times for both patients complaining of changing moles, which could signify malignancy. Patients either had Medicare or would be paying out of pocket, but the insurance or lack thereof had no discernible effect on the mean wait times.

These times varied from 19.7 to 73.4 days, meaning that patients could potentially go more than two months waiting for evaluation of a time sensitive issue as their condition worsens (Tsang).

Significantly, the uneven distribution of dermatologists in the US, and the world at large, makes it difficult for people in poor or minority communities to get access to skin related healthcare. In the United States, most dermatologists are based in places like California and Texas, leaving rural areas where those above 65 and most likely to suffer from skin diseases are likely to reside (Edison, Cromartie).

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There are currently further initiatives to use technology to fill the lack of dermatologist healthcare in the world in place. Many of these diagnostic tools have not been tested on a diverse range of skin colors and types however, limiting their effectiveness. Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen rapid growth over the past few years and researchers have been investigating ways to use it to provide healthcare globally. AI diagnostic and decision support tools in dermatology could help determine the urgency or lesions or growths on a patient's skin or aid non dermatological healthcare providers in the process of diagnosing skin and treating skin diseases. In order to test the reliability of these tools, a group of researchers published in the August 2022 Science Advances journal created the Diverse Dermatology Images dataset- “the first publicly available, expertly curated, and pathologically confirmed image dataset with diverse skin tones.” This data set included a wide variety of benign and malignant skin lesions and spots. Three different widely used and state of the art AI models were tested using this dataset, ModelDerm, DeepDerm, and HAM10000. While ModelDerm had previously been trained on images of white and Asian skin, DeepDerm and HAM10000 were predominantly trained on white patients. All three of these programs exhibited significant limitations in regards to their assessment of lesions and spots on darker skin, performing far worse than their assessment of similar spots on fairer skin (Daneshjou). Given the rapid rates of advancements seen in AI

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technology, by 2024 the performance of these models may have improved significantly- but these tools are just part of the solution.

Additionally, the current average experience for black patients visiting a dermatologist leaves much left to be desired. A study held at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago compared the experiences of black patients under the care of physicians who were trained at a SOCC with their previous dermatological experiences. SOCCs are skin of color clinics that specifically train and equip their physicians with the knowledge to properly treat their patients of color. The patients recruited for this study, experienced care with the SOCC trained physician that they felt was far superior than their average visit to the dermatologist (Gorbatenko-Roth).

Participants valued dermatologists who listened to them, normalized the patient’s experience, involved them in decision-making, and educated them about their skin condition. Participants were critical of dermatologists who did not perform a complete examination or seemed to be avoiding physical contact during the examination. One participant observed, “I don’t want to come to a person who isn’t comfortable touching me.” Another participant

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praised the SOCC dermatologist because “she was very sensitive and didn’t have a problem touching your skin.”

Patients also expressed frustration at a lack of special knowledge and resources regarding disorders in black skin and hair. As one patient stated, “…You can’t tell a black person’s lung from a Caucasian person’s lung, but skin…is different. There is a difference culturally, environmentally, and socially.”

It’s worth noting that in part what made this study feasible was the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago’s status as a notably diverse institution with 31% of its residents and approximately 12 to 15 dermatologists being black.

Encouraging more black medical students to pursue research and careers and dermatology may be key in continuing to improve the conditions and experiences of black patients.

Implemented Solutions and Proposals for Further Action In efforts to promote awareness on campus regarding the racial disparities in rates of melanoma and what students can do to protect themselves, an informative display titled Melanoma and Skin of Color, based on the key findings of this research paper, was put together and placed in Virginia Wesleyan University’s Hoffheimer library. As a hub of student activity where students attend classes, study, and seek out resources for learning and

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leisure, the library is a location with a sizable amount of day to day traffic and potential viewers for the display. The large display mainly serves to promote knowledge of the importance of sunscreen usage and self skin examinations to catch melanoma early on . Conveying these topics in an easy to understand manner with images and simple text effectively communicates the most important things students can do in their day to day lives to promote their wellness.

Printed and displayed Melanoma and Skin of Color display.

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Digital excerpts of the aforementioned display.

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The display also includes a prominently displayed QR code, allowing students to interact with the material, and leading students to a webpage with relevant information including accessible resources from the Skin Cancer Foundation. Other supplementary materials include brochures related to the key topics, such as Skin Cancer & Skin of Color by Skin Cancer Foundation, The Big See Self-Exam Card by Skin Cancer Foundation, and Sunscreen & Your Daily Routine by the Melanoma Research Foundation.

Large sign accompanying Melanoma and Skin of Color display with QR Code leading to additional resources.

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In addition, in order to reach students and remind them of the importance of skin self examinations in their daily lives, Residence Life Director Elyse Rosen collaborated with student RAs to put up posters in VWU’s residence halls from the American Academy of Dermatology. Eye-catching posters close to communal bathing areas can serve to encourage self skin checks after bathing when dermatologists most recommend them.

How to Spot Skin Cancer infographic by the American Academy of Dermatology

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In order to make extra efforts to reach the student, a short series of Instagram stories with similar content to the library display was featured through the Marlin Chronicle’s (@marlinchronicle) social media account. As Virginia Wesleyan University’s school newspaper and source of reliable news for students, the Marlin Chronicle has a sizable following on Instagram (currently 599 followers, comparable to a third of Virginia Wesleyan’s student population).

Excerpts from the implemented social media awareness effort on the Marlin Chronicle instagram account (@marlinchronicle)

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The featured Instagram stories could serve as a prototype for a future effort to increase awareness in the form of short social media campaigns with posts dedicated to breaking down the key points of relevant and reliable peer reviewed research. The proposed social media campaign account would aim to make hard to access and understand research readily available and digestible, with each post dedicated to a different source and a linked website where summarized research can be read in more detail and cited to encourage interested users to read research for themselves and continue learning. Additionally, the use of the #LoveYourSkinProtectYourSkin and frequent referral to the social media presences of reliable health organizations may aid in popularizing and increasing the followership of said organizations, so that the student body can continue to be informed after the campaign’s end.

Other potential venues of action could include workshops coordinated with Virginia Wesleyan University’s Black Student Union to hold workshops targeting our campus’ black population.

As an especially vulnerable population, planning efforts for direct marketing would be incredibly helpful. In addition, to address the needs of the medical field, Virginia Wesleyan University could pursue the organization and promotion of scholarship funds for black students to pursue degrees in fields of medicine such as dermatology. These forms of scholarship and support could serve to create a brighter tomorrow for the field of dermatology by closing the gaps regarding darker skin.

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The task of tackling the UN’s third sustainability goal, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, is a cavalier one. Addressing the lack of awareness and research for melanoma is just one of the many efforts that must be made to attain this goal. However, the suggested and implemented solutions for this issue can easily be related to a number of other issues that can be addressed with the simple effort to circulate information. Knowledge is a powerful tool, and in the hands of civilians and medical professionals alike, death and disease can be kept further at bay.

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Works Cited

Abbasi NR, Shaw HM, Rigel DS, et al. Early Diagnosis of Cutaneous Melanoma: Revisiting the ABCD Criteria. JAMA. 2004;292(22):2771–2776. doi:10.1001/jama.292.22.2771 Amber, Kyle T., et al. “Visual identification of skin cancer in beachgoers: A need for improved education on non‐melanoma skin cancer in the general population and melanoma in the African‐American population.” International Journal of Dermatology, vol. 54, no. 3, 17 Dec. 2014, https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.12684.

Aveeno. “Eczema in Skin of Color.” AVEENO®, www.aveeno.com/skin-concerns/eczema/skin-of-color.Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Black Derm Directory. “BDD: Skin of Color Dermatology.” Black Derm Directory, 22 Sept. 2022, www.blackdermdirectory.com/.

Brady, Joshua et al. “Racial Disparities in Patients with Melanoma: A Multivariate Survival Analysis.” Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology vol. 14 547-550. 24 May. 2021, doi:10.2147/CCID.S311694

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Chien, Anna, and Heidi Jacobe. “UV Radiation.” The Skin Cancer Foundation, 21 July 2022, w w w.skincancer.org/risk-factors/uvradiation/.

Coustasse, Alberto, et al. “Use of teledermatology to improve dermatological access in rural areas.” Telemedicine and E-Health, vol. 25, no. 11, 1 Nov. 2019, pp. 1022–1032, https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2018.0130.

Cromartie, John. “Rural Aging Occurs in Different Places for Very Different Reasons.” USDA, 20 Dec. 2018, www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/12/20/rural-aging-occurs-diffe rent-places- ver y-dif ferent-reasons#:~:text=As%20the%20Uni ted %20States%20population,in%20urban%20(metro)%20areas.

Daneshjou, Roxana, et al. “Disparities in dermatology AI performance on a diverse, curated clinical image set.” Science Advances, vol. 8, no. 32, 12 Aug. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq6147.

Da silva ES, Tavares R, da silva Paulitsch F, Zhang L. Use of sunscreen and risk of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Dermatology. 2018;28:186–201

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“Dermatologists.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25 Apr. 2023, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291213.htm. de Vere Hunt I, et al. “Qualitative exploration of melanoma awareness in black people in the USA”. BMJ Open 2023;13:e066967. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066967 Doak, Leonard G., and Cecilia Conrath Doak. Pfizer Principles for Clear Health Communication: A Handbook for Creating Patient Education Materials That Enhance Understanding and Promote Health Outcomes. Pfizer, 2004.

Donella, Leah, host. “Will Your Melanin Protect You From The Sun?” Code Switch, NPR, 5 July 2018.

Ebede, Tobechi, and Art Papier. “Disparities in dermatology educational resources.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 55, no. 4, Oct. 2006, pp. 687–690, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2005.10.068.

Edison, Karen, and Bruce Brod. “Commentary: Burden of skin disease report.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 76, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 973–974, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2017.01.008.

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Fliorent, Rebecca et al. “Racial Differences in Perceived Risk and Sunscreen Usage.” Cureus vol. 15,1 e33752. 13 Jan. 2023, doi:10.7759/cureus.33752 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9925027/ Gorbatenko-Roth K, Prose N, Kundu RV, Patterson S. Assessment of Black Patients’ Perception of Their Dermatology Care. JAMA Dermatol. 2019;155(10):1129–1134. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2019.2063 Guy, Gery P Jr et al. “Melanoma treatment costs: a systematic review of the literature, 1990-2011.” American journal of preventive medicine vol. 43,5 (2012): 537-45. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2012.07.031 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4495902/ Kaidbey, Kays H., et al. “Photoprotection by melanin—a comparison of black and Caucasian skin.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 1, no. 3, Sept. 1979, pp. 249–260, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0190-9622(79)70018-1.

Merchant RM, South EC, Lurie N. Public Health Messaging in an Era of Social Media. JAMA. 2021;325(3):223–224. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.24514 National Cancer Institute. “Melanoma of the Skin - Cancer Stat Facts.” SEER, seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/melan.html.

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O’Neil, Bridjes. “With Spots Program, SLU MED Students Encourage Skin Cancer Awareness for Young People.” SLU, Mar. 2023, www.slu.edu/news/2023/march/spots-program.php.

Pfizer. “How Do the Principles of Clear Health Communication Apply to Written Communication?” Pfizer, w w w.pfizer.com/health/li teracy/healthcareprofessionals/clearhealth-communication. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.

Rouhani P, Hu S, Kirsner RS. Melanoma in Hispanic and Black Americans. Cancer Control. 2008;15(3):248-253. doi:10.1177/107327480801500308 Testori, A et al. “Surgery and radiotherapy in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma.” Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology vol. 20 Suppl 6,Suppl 6 (2009): vi22-9. doi:10.1093/annonc/mdp257 Tsang, Matthew W, and Jack S Resneck Jr. “Even patients with changing moles face long dermatology appointment wait-times: a study of simulated patient calls to dermatologists.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology vol. 55,1 (2006): 54-8. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2006.04.001 Wang, Steven Q. “Ask the Expert: Does a High SPF Protect My Skin Better?” The Skin Cancer Foundation, 23 May 2023,

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Wadyka, Sally. "Sun Safety Tips for the Entire Family." Consumer Reports, 20, May 2020. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/sun-protection/sun-s afety-tips-for-the-entire-family-a7948562866/#:~:text=More%20 than%20one%20in%204,they're%20in%20the%20sun. w w w.skincancer.org/blog/ask-the-expert-does-a-hig h-spf-prote ctmy-skin-better/.

Weinstock, Martin A et al. “Reliability of assessment and circumstances of performance of thorough skin self-examination for the early detection of melanoma in the Check-It-Out Project.”

Preventive medicine vol. 38,6 (2004): 761-5. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.01.020 Weinstock, Martin A., et al. “Thorough skin examination for the early detection of melanoma.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 17, no. 3, Oct. 1999, pp. 169–175, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(99)00077-x.

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Edward McDonald Localized Solution to Glass Recycling in Urbanized Coastal Communities History of Glass: Four thousand years ago, Mesopotamian merchants discovered that a homogenous mixture of sand, soda ash, and lime would melt down into a fragile, transparent new material that could be molded into beads, cast into containers, or inlaid into decorative architectural pieces (Corning Museum of Glass, 2024).

Soon after, ancient craftsmen discovered that glass synthesized from shattered remains of previous pieces, known as cullet, would be identical to glass made from raw materials (Corning Museum of Glass, 2024).

Two thousand years later, the Roman Empire had developed a robust glass material supply chain. Archaeological evidence suggests that regions rich in the natural resources necessary for glass production, such as Egypt and Israel, would produce virgin glass to trade across the Mediterranean. Local glaziers in Europe would then use cullet from their local region’s waste to produce new products. When trade was stifled during the medieval period, “the withdrawal of the Roman empire from Western Europe in the 5th century led to a marked reduction in the usage of glass vessels” (Freestone, 2015). During this time, glass was considered a luxury item when compared to more common materials such as metal,

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ceramic, or wood. Yet today, we consider the large majority of glass vessels as disposable.

With industrialization, the modern natural resource regime has been perverted; the impact of unsustainable production and consumption on the planet by our people has been ignored in favor of prioritizing corporate profits and endless growth. While glass became more accessible to the general population, the tradeoff was that the life cycle of these products became linear, rather than cyclical.

Unlike the Mesopotamians and the Romans who used ornamental glass containers for precious perfumes and oils, modern glass bottles have become single-use containers for inexpensive beverages such as beer, soda, and liquor. Additionally, while ancient civilizations would generally repurpose their glass waste, 70% of glass bottles and jars are thrown away in modern America (Environmental Protection Agency, 2018). This linear economy necessitates that additional sand be mined, shipped, and smelted in order to supplement the supply sent to landfills.

Glass in the Modern Economy: To put the consequences of this paradigm shift into perspective, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that only 3 out of every 10 glass containers were recycled in 2018. While our nation's landfills are drowning in 7.6 million tons of glass

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material waste (Environmental Protection Agency, 2018), the beaches of California and the dunes of the Great Lakes continue to be unsustainably harvested to create virgin glass products identical to the ones being burned and buried across the nation.

This wasteful consumption unnecessarily increases carbon emissions and depletes nonrenewable resources from deposits across the globe.

While the effects of increased carbon emission and depleting sand deposits will impact the entire global community, the consequences of this behavior will disproportionately affect urbanized coastal communities. These coastal cities rely on sand to provide economic benefits, ecosystem services, and raw materials but are facing intersectional issues such as coastal erosion, sea level rise, and land subsidence. Considering the linear nature of the current glass material supply chain, as well as the existential threat to coastal cities posed by climate change, there is opportunity for localized solutions that can minimize glass material waste while simultaneously combating the climate crisis. As an alternative to processing and transporting glass waste from isolated coastal urban communities to distant manufacturing plants, urbanized coastal communities have a unique opportunity to process glass waste in a manner to return the industrial commodity to its raw material, sand. This reclaimed sand can then be deployed by local municipalities to support coastal restoration

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and reclamation projects as they adapt to the effects of climate change.

Sustainable Development Goals: Problems and Solutions Creative solutions to complex problems, such as reclaiming glass waste for coastal restoration projects, are the foundation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Launched in 2012 following the success of the Millenium Development Goals, the United Nations developed the Sustainable Development goals as a universal methodology to “meet the urgent environmental, political, and economic challenges facing our world” (United Nations Development Program 2024). The Sustainable Development Goals organize 169 individual improvement targets into seventeen broad categories. This organizational breakdown serves as a comprehensive framework that is used to guide a variety of international, national, and local initiatives. Specifically, three of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are relevant regarding the initiative to utilize reclaimed glass waste to adapt to the effects of climate change.

First, urbanized coastal communities should consider Sustainable Development Goal 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities. Goal 11 recognizes that “by 2050, over two-thirds of humanity will live in cities” (United Nations Development Program 2024). Additionally, while urban communities only occupy about

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3% of the Earth's land, “cities account for 60%-80% of global energy usage and at least 70% of carbon emissions” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). Consequently, specific attention must be paid to the way we build and manage urban communities to ensure that their development is sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.

One of the individual improvement targets of Sustainable Development Goal 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities is decreasing the per capita environmental impact of urban communities by “paying special attention to air quality, municipal, and other waste management” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). By processing glass waste in a method that returns the industrial product back into a raw material, cities and other communities can divert and diminish their municipal waste, while decreasing the local demand for raw natural resources.

Next, urbanized coastal communities should consider Sustainable Development Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production. Goal 12 recognizes that “achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). Industrialization, urbanization, and the sophistication of lifestyles in developed and developing nations has led to what some consider to be a garbage crisis. According to a study by the

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University of Denver, “urban populations produce two to three times more municipal solid waste than semi-urban and rural populations per capita per year” (Karthikeyan and Rani, 2018).

One obvious way to substantially reduce waste in urban communities is by diverting materials that have industrial value away from landfills via “prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). For glass material waste, this could include developing additional avenues to extract its industrial value, such as processing glass into sand in order to conjoin the demand waste products with demand for its raw materials.

Additionally, one of Goal 12’s specific targets is to “develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that create jobs and promote local culture and products” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). In urbanized coastal communities, beaches are significant draws for tourism and its derived economic benefits. By processing glassmaterial waste into sand, municipal waste can be diverted from landfills to beaches while supporting the local tourism industry.

Finally, coastal cities should consider Sustainable Development Goal 13 Climate Action. Goal 13 recognizes that “global warming is causing long-lasting change to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not

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act” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). One of these long-lasting changes is sea level rise, which has a direct impact on coastal communities. Since 1880, sea levels have increased eight inches “and are expected to rise an additional 1-4 feet by 2100” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). This existential threat is already manifesting itself in many coastal communities via erosion, land subsidence, and sunny-day flooding.

One of Goal 13’s specific target goals is to “strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters in all countries” (United Nations Development Program, 2024). Unsurprisingly, sand dunes and beaches are critical to protecting coastal communities from storm surge during hurricanes and tropical storm systems (National Center for Coastal Ocean Science, 2022). One of the most important factors that affects the ability of coastal ecosystems to protect is beach width. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Increasing the width of beaches via nourishment reduces dune erosion and prevents overwash by diffusing wave impact. Nourishment combined with sand fencing provides the most protection from overwash and inundation during a single storm.” By utilizing processed glass-material waste in beach nourishment, coastal communities can effectively strengthen their resilience against rising seas levels and the longer, larger, and stronger storms caused by climate change.

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A Nonrenewable Resource The importance of addressing the intersection of glass-waste, sand consumption, and sustainable development is only heightened with the knowledge that sand is the second-most exploited natural resource (World Economic Forum, 2023). Over fifty billion metric tons of raw materials are extracted every year for industrial uses, much of it from marine environments (World Economic Forum, 2023). This equates to an average consumption of forty pounds of sand extracted from the natural environment per person per day; only water is more misused in our global economy.

Like water, it is understood that the distribution of consumption of sand-material is unequal between developed, developing, and undeveloped countries (United Nations Environmental Program, 2022). A study by the University of Copenhagen and McGill University suggests that the human and environmental costs of sand extraction affects lower and middle-income countries more than high-income countries. Yet, developed countries in North America and Europe have much higher demand for glass-material than their counterparts (Statista, 2023).

Despite this, developing countries are following in the footsteps of Western society. Global demand for sand has tripled

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since the turn of the millennium (World Economic Forum, 2023).

As economies industrialize, countries urbanize, and standards of living rise, consumption of glass products will increase as the products and services that sand-resources provide will only continue to grow (World Economic Forum, 2023).

Recognizing that the inadequacy of sustainability standards in the current international sand and glass resource-regime are a threat to the successful achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Environmental Program published a report in 2022 titled Sand and Sustainability: 10 Strategic Recommendations to Avert a Crisis. This report found that in addition to Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12, and 13, “the sustainable consumption of sand-resources is linked to all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, either directly or indirectly, as sand plays an important strategic role in delivering ecosystem services, vital infrastructure for economic development, providing livelihoods within communities, and maintaining biodiversity.”

In regards to the ecosystem services that sand provides, sand serves as the foundation for a variety of vital marine and terrestrial ecosystems such as marshes, beaches and sandy shorelines, dunes, and subaqueous shallows (Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, 2020). The most important shared characteristic of these various ecosystems is erosion protection. Without these coastal habitats,

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fragile terrestrial ecosystems such as forests and prairies would be subjected to constant wave and wind erosion, as well as the inundation of salt-water into coastal aquifers, killing most, if not all life. However, sand is also extremely important in processes like soil formation and nutrient transportation, which provides the substructure for future terrestrial ecosystems to survive and thrive (Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, 2020).

Furthermore, providing these important ecosystem services, sand-based ecosystems protect biodiversity by serving as vital habitat for thousands of species of plants and animals. Creatures such as birds, shellfish, and turtles, many of which are endangered or threatened, use beaches, riverbeds, and sand dunes as shelter for nesting and feeding (United States Army Corp of Engineers, 2024). Beyond serving as shelter for these threatened species, most sand-based habitats serve as transitions between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, leading to the implication of a greater number of species than are found in either of the two ecosystems (Britancia, 2024). In ecology, this is known as the edge effect and can have positive effects on biodiversity when occurring along natural separations between ecosystems.

Additionally, sand-resources provide vital infrastructure for economic development. Not only the key ingredient in glass, sand is also a necessary component in the creation of concrete. With the increase in industrialization and urbanization, the demand for

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concrete, and thus sand, has never been higher (International Monetary Fund, 2015). Concrete is used for the construction of roads, bridges, foundations, skyscrapers, superstructures and much, much more (eSUB, 2020). However, new uses for sand are being developed every day. One of the most impactful novel demands for sand has come from the fossil fuel industry, where sand is used in hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, to increase the extraction yields of shale deposits. In 2003, hydraulic fracturing only accounted for 5% of US industrial sand production, but in 2015 fracking accounted for 72% of American industrial sand production (International Monetary Fund, 2015).

Consequently, sand industries provide livelihoods for millions of people across the globe. Tourism, mining, manufacturing, and research are just some examples. According to the US Census Bureau, 33,038 people are directly employed in sand mining, with an additional 89,776 employed in glass product manufacturing (IBISWorld, 2023). Across the globe millions more are employed either directly or indirectly due to the tangible and intangible ecological and economic benefits that sand provides to our planet.

Overall, sand is undervalued, overexploited, and necessary for the functioning of economies and ecosystems. How do we fix this?

American Failure:

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Considering the importance of sand to the environment and the economy, the United Nations Environment Program’s report emphasized that the global glass economy should take advantage of the material’s unique properties and pursue a cyclical supply chain that is supplemented, rather than replaced by, virgin glass.

Unlike other common industrial products, such as plastic or cardboard, glass can be reused indefinitely without compromising quality or purity. “The fragility and immutability of the material allows glass to be broken down into small pieces and infinitely reused in future projects” (Glass Packaging Institute, 2024). These characteristics make glass material inherently suited for a cyclical and closed-loop supply chain life-cycle (Freestone, 2015).

In order to adopt a circular glass market in our globalized economy, we must recognize that specialization is an important factor in world-wide industry. Similar to how Egypt and Israel produced the majority of the virgin glass for the Roman Empire, China, Germany, and the United States are titans of industry that lead the world in virgin glass production (Statista, 2023). Yet, they are also massive consumers; the United States and Germany have the highest imports of glassware, 9.8 billion and 6.5 billion respectively (Statista, 2024). This production/consumption overlap offers a unique opportunity to implement circular and sustainable practices to these economies.

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However, Germany and the United States have very different policies, practices, and outcomes when it comes to recycling. In Germany, over 85% of glassware was recycled in 2021 compared to the United States’s mere 30% (Statista, 2024). This disparity is largely due to the effectiveness of their deposit-return scheme in Germany, where consumers are rewarded for returning their recyclable waste to sorting centers (Statista, 2024). In America, transportation costs, efficiency of scale, and the lack of a universal deposit-return scheme make effective recycling programs more difficult in a nation that is larger, more populous, and more spread out than their German counterparts.

In the United States, transportation costs are one the greatest barriers to the transporting of recyclable goods from locations of consumption to processings and manufacturing centers.

Firstly,

America

has

far

fewer

processing

and

manufacturing plants per capita than Germany. In 2020, Germany had 1,250 glass manufacturing enterprises, compared to America’s 3,838 (Statista, 2024 and IBIS World, 2024). Per capita, there is roughly one glass manufacturing enterprise for every 65,600 people in Germany, and roughly one glass manufacturing enterprise per 86,000 people in America. That's 21,000 people per processing plant difference. While an argument can be made that the United States needs less glass manufacturing enterprises because they are larger and more efficient, that perspective is not

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reflected in America’s recycling rates, which are dramatically lower in America than they are in Germany.

Additionally, the American population is far more isolated than their German counterparts. Germany has a population density of 239 people per square kilometer, whereas America has a significantly lower population density of only thirty-seven people per square kilometer. Given the context of fewer glass manufacturing enterprises, this lower population density means that an average American's glass waste must travel much farther in order to be processed into new industrial material. Consequently, the American recycling industry has greater costs associated with transportation, as well as a disadvantage when it comes to efficiency of scale. Furthermore, once the glass waste is processed and recycled back into an industrial material, it often must be transported farther from the recycling facility to the glass factory.

Thus, the United States’ large size and isolated population centers pose significant logistic and economic challenges. The isolation of recycling centers, processing plants, and scattered demand for glass cullet exacerbate these geographic challenges, making them more difficult to overcome. Despite these challenges regarding waste-management, the demand for glass products remains steady amongst American communities.

Challenges within Coastal Communities:

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Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of glass-waste being diverted to landfills, recycling regimes must be adapted to better serve the unique niche of the American recycling market.

For example, while there may not be industrial demand for glass manufacturing in every American community, there is always demand for industrial sand. Not only a key ingredient in glass, industrial sand is also a necessary component for road construction, structure foundations, water filtration, oil and gas recovery, and metal casting (Wisconsin Industrial Sand Organization, 2024). Consequently, by further processing glass waste into industrial sand, recycling centers can expand the consumer market for recycled glass-waste beyond glass manufacturing enterprises, increasing demand for derived products and increasing recycling rates for glass products.

Specifically, coastal urban communities have a uniquely elevated demand for industrial sand. Not only do these urban communities have needs for industrial sand in their construction sector, but given the threats of climate change, their coastal nature necessitates investment into coastal restoration and climate change adaptation. According to Kirezci et al, “Over 600 million people live in coastal zones less than 10 meters above sea level, and more than half of the world’s megacities, [cities with a population greater than 10 million], are considered coastal.” These massive population centers must take immediate steps in response to the

148

threats of global warming to protect their land, their economies, and their people.

According to C40, a network of coastal cities committed to dedicated to fighting climate change, there are three main methods to adapt to rising sea levels and more extreme storm systems: “protecting coastlines with flood defenses, reducing the impact

of

coastal

flooding

by

upgrading

and

adapting

infrastructure, and retreating from at-risk areas.” While each coastal community must consider their unique characteristics when developing their adaptation strategies, all three of these avenues of adaptation require the utilization of sand, either as a product for beach nourishment, landfill, or construction.

With regards to protecting coastlines with flood defenses, the United Nations Environmental Program suggests that “keeping sand on coasts may be the most cost-effective strategy for adapting to climate change due to how it protects against storm surges and impacts from sea level rise - such services should be factored into its value” (United Nations Environmental Program, 2022). Researchers at Old Dominion University investigated how sandy beaches respond to storm conditions, and how they affect coastal resilience. “In general, the wider the beach, the farther will be the distance from the ocean to beach structures, and hence the lower the damage that will occur to them during a storm” (Old Dominion University 2006). This is because during extreme

149

weather events at sandy beaches, sandbars form farther away from the store, absorbing impact of waves that would otherwise be eroding the coastline.

The City of Virginia Beach, recognizing the importance of their coastline not only for flooding and erosion protection, but also their tourism industry, is extremely active in protecting their coastlines. Large-scale nourishment projects, such as “Operation Big Beach” took eight years and $143 million to complete, increasing the beach width at the oceanfront resort district to 300 feet by dredging 3.5 million cubic yards of sand offshore (Virginian Pilot 2020). However, beach replenishment is not a one-time effort, and annual maintenance is always required. Therefore, in addition to irregular large-scale projects, the City of Virginia Beach spends an average of $15 million annually to import and ‘install’ roughly 400,000 cubic yards of sand to combat systematic erosion (Old Dominion University 2006). While the extreme cost of beach nourishment may concern the taxpayers of Virginia Beach, Old Dominion University reports that the city receives roughly $5.86 in economic activity for every dollar spent on sand replenishment.

However, this cost-benefit analysis fails to account for the environmental impact of sand replenishment along marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems. Until recently, most industrial sand was extracted from land quarries and riverbeds, usually great distances away from the coast. Consequently, high transportation

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costs, as well as elevated carbon and emissions from the mining and shipping equipment, made this source of sand environmentally and economically unsustainable. Yet, with skyrocketing demand, suppliers sought alternatives. The most obvious solution: dredging.

Today, many beaches, including Virginia Beach, are nourished by pumping sand from offshore resources by dredges, with tremendous environmental impact. The Public Interest Research Group suggests that “the pumping of sand for beach ‘nourishment’ or ‘replenishment’ actually counters the goal of restoring beach health by damaging natural beach functions that are critical for plants, wildlife, and storm protection” (U.S. PIRG, 2003).

These operations indiscriminately destroy marine habitats, capture and kill marine animals, create turbidity clouds, and negatively impact the quantity and diversity of coastal creatures (Old Dominion University, 2006). The dredging boats make matters worse by rejecting sand particles that are too fine, releasing vast plumes that muddy the waters, disrupting habitats well beyond the actual extraction sites. The United Nations Environmental Program reports that “dredging and extraction of aggregates from the sea bottom destroys organisms, habitats and ecosystems and deeply affects the composition of biodiversity.” These disturbances have a profound impact on the foundation of the coastal food web, destroying the habitat for worms, crabs, plants, and grasses, and

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spawning grounds that support higher trophic levels like fish, marine mammals, and coastal birds.

Additionally, by removing sediment and deepening waterways, water moves at a higher speed and volume. In freshwater environments, this results in elevated rates of bank and bottom scouring (Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet, 2018). The International Monetary Fund reports that coastal dredging leads to higher rates of erosion, requiring additional and more frequent beach nourishment, necessitating more coastal dredging to meet the demand. This positive feedback loop will only continue to spiral, increasing costs for cities and damaging their environment. No matter the source, “Extracting sand where it plays an active role, such as rivers, and coastal or marine ecosystems, can lead to erosion, salinization of aquifers, loss of protection against storm surges and impacts on biodiversity, which pose a threat to livelihoods through, among other things, water supply, food production, fisheries, or to the tourism industry” (United Nations Environmental Program, 2022).

Intersectionality Coastal communities are in a unique position to ‘kill two birds with one stone.’ By employing their excess glass material waste, urban coastal communities can supplement their sand-deficient

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shorelines. While a simple solution at face-value, there are a variety of factors that must first be considered.

The greatest challenge to supplementing sand-different shorelines with glass-material waste is processing the recycled glass cutlet to match the naturally occurring sand sediment.

Regarding large-scale beach nourishment projects, the United States Army Corp of Engineers places an emphasis on choosing fill material that mimics native sand as closely as possible. “This benefits environmental restoration because closely matched beach fill helps accommodate the needs of sea turtles and birds for nesting, egg incubation, and hatching success” (United States Army Corp of Engineers, 2024).

In 2019, the Georgia Coastal Restoration Committee addressed a variety of concerns regarding the feasibility of refined glass cutlet as an alternative source of sand in coastal restoration projects in both appearance and characteristics. Regarding grain size, pulverized glass can be “tumbled or heat treated” to achieve specific characteristics, a process which simultaneously removes points and sharp edges. Furthermore, colors can be manipulated by a mixture of primary white and brown glass-material alongside samples of native sand (Georgia Coastal Restoration Committee, 2019).

Additionally, when assessing the geotechnical, biological, and abiotic similarities of glass cutlet compared to native sand, there

153

are some distinct advantages. Primarily, the wave reflection coefficient for the glass cullet is slightly smaller than that of native sand, which suggests that glass cullet absorbs wave energy better than native sand (Edge et al. 2002). This characteristic is especially valuable along coastlines suffering from extreme erosion, where wave-energy can be mitigated without the need for offshore structures such as seawalls, bulkheads, groins, and breakwaters.

Furthermore, “small differences in the surface area of the cutlet-grains may contribute to higher moisture content within a glass cullet sand dune, thus optimizing growing conditions for dune vegetation” (Georgia Coastal Research Committee, 2019). The ability to retain moisture can expedite the formation of coastal sand dunes, which, when paired with sand fencing and natural vegetation, provide the most efficient protection against overwash and inundating during extreme weather events (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022).

Given that there are no geotechnical, biological, abiotic, or chemical variances between native sand and glass-cutlet beyond these advantageous qualities (Makowski and Rusenko, 2007), why is glass-cutlet not deployed more frequently in coastal restoration projects? The answer is economics.

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Implementation: Transportation costs are the largest challenge coastal cities face when attempting to employ pulverized glass in beach nourishment projects: with the nearest glass beneficiation facility being located in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the processing plants are too isolated and glass is too heavy. Brett Vassey, president and CEO of the Virginia Manufacturers Association, said that “at the moment, operators are taking glass cullet and using it for landfill cover, largely because there are no other beneficial uses, and the material is too heavy to transport across state lines'' (Virginia Pilot, 2019). However, if municipalities can capture and process glass material waste within their city limits, rather than outsourcing to a distant manufacturing facility, the transportation costs can be significantly reduced. By providing a beneficial use that does not require long-distance transportation, coastal cities create an environmentally conscious economic demand for the 315,000 tons of glass-waste disposed of by Virginians annually (Northern Virginia Regional Commission, 2020).

How can individuals encourage these investments to be made in our city’s future? One organization in particular, Glassroots, has been extremely successful at employing community engagement to address issues at the intersection of glass waste and the climate crisis. In their first year of operation, Glassroots single-handedly tripled the amount of recycled glass material in the State of Louisiana, exhibiting the extreme impact that small actors can

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have. Their purple recycling bins dedicated exclusively for glass-material waste have created an efficient supply chain that propels waste from consumer to sandbags with minimal effort. At their warehouse based processing plant, the non-profit pulverizes thousands of tons of glass annually with just a single machine.

Their coarse sand is then distributed to meet the specific needs of New Orleans, such as producing sand-bags for oyster reefs, wetland restoration, and coastal flooding prevention (Glassroots, 2023).

Similar to New Orleans, grassroots advocacy has been successfully employed in advocacy and conservation efforts throughout Hampton Roads for the past seventy-five years.

Coalitions like the Elizabeth River Project have conserved and restored more than 9,600 acres of watershed land, and significantly reduced pollution within the tidal estuary (Elizabeth River Project). Additionally, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a testament to the success of stakeholder engagement. Spanning 64,000 square miles across six states, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation coordinates the vertical integration of local watershed management with the various state departments and federal agencies in order to maintain and improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay (United States Geographical Survey).

These beneficial traditions of grassroot activism, community engagement, and stakeholder education should be reproduced

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across Hampton Roads to encourage government leaders to invest in the ecological and economic future of the region. With a handful of pulverizing and processing machines, some purple bins, and a metropolitan region motivated to protect their future, urbanized coastal communities can swiftly transition towards a more sustainable management system, reducing waste, minimizing pollution, and fostering a healthier environment for generations to come.

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Rhian Tramontana

Implementing Opioid Education in Universities: A Study of the Effectiveness of an Opioid Education Plan at Virginia Wesleyan University Introduction In an article published by WVEC 13News Now on August 9, 2023, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate spoke on the 33 opioid overdoses in Virginia Beach during August. He said, “The fact is that it's younger folks, and younger folks are not within the normal range. Something is going on, not indicative of what we normally see at the beach.”

1

The prevalence of opioid overdoses

has increased in the past few years, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) marking a sharp increase from 2019 to 2020 from 35.6 to 47.3 deaths per 100,000 people.

2

The

importance of the increase is not only that there are more opioid overdoses, but that younger age groups are experiencing more overdoses than in previous years, supported by the fact that ages 25-34 rose from third to the second-highest rate of overdoses in the United States in 2020.

3

1

(WVEC), Author: Alex Littlehales. “Crack Cocaine, Suspected of Being Laced with Fentanyl, Leading to Overdose Deaths in Virginia Beach, Police Say.” 13newsnow.com, 29 Aug. 2023, para. 7.

2 “Products - Data Briefs - Number 428 - December 2021.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Dec. 2021, Fig. 2.

3 Ibid., Fig. 2.

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Colleges and universities, including Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU), hold untapped potential to educate younger populations on how to protect themselves and others as opioid overdoses plague the nation. The Virginia Wesleyan Honor Code states that the university is “committed to values of citizenship and social responsibility fundamental to a community of scholars,” which includes preparing students for challenges they will face outside the campus and classroom community, as the school “inspires students to build meaningful lives through engagement in… the nation, and the world.” 4 Virginia Wesleyan’s commitment to its students extends to health and safety matters such as the opioid epidemic. As a part of the global community, Virginia Wesleyan must look towards the international UN recommendations and national recommendations from other universities to best prepare students to face the opioid epidemic.

The dangers of the opioid epidemic are evident by the inclusion of drug addictions in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the United Nations, which seek to find solutions to global sustainability problems by 2030. Spanning all topics from adequate housing to environmental issues, the SDGs present suggestions and goals for nations to attempt to implement before 2030. Target 3.5 relates to drug use, with the goal to “Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including 4

“VWU Student Handbook.” Virginia Wesleyan University, 2023, p. 4.

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narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.”

5

With the

established fact that drug overdoses, particularly from opioids, are an increasingly prevalent issue for younger age groups, it stands to reason that action must be taken. Given that colleges and universities have a high concentration of younger populations who may experience or witness opioid overdoses, they provide an opportunity to widely educate people on how to help someone misusing or abusing opioids and how to possibly prevent a death from opioid overdoses.

Literature Review Previous research provides evidence for the necessity of opioid awareness and education programs in the United States. A study from 2023, published in the Implementations Science Communications showed that the number of drug overdose deaths between 1999 and 2022 increased by over six times the amount, with 76% being deaths 6

due to opioids. In terms of young adults, the research showed that polysubstance-involved opioid overdose deaths (meaning including multiple substances, most often synthetic opioids and cocaine) increased by 760% for young adults ages 13-25 between 1999 and 7

2018. The greater increase in deaths at younger ages is severely

5 6

“Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations. Shelton, Rachel C., et al. “Application of the consolidated framework for implementation research to inform understanding of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of opioid and naloxone training on college campuses.” Implementation Science Communications, vol. 4, no. 1, 2023, p. 2.

7 Ibid., p. 2.

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evident and begs the recognition that opioid education can help save lives.

Groups that could benefit from being targeted in educational programs are presented in an article entitled “Narcan Is Increasingly Common on College Campuses,” published in Inside Higher Ed. The article includes findings from a Columbia University study run by psychiatry professor Patrice Malone, which states that “opioid use among college-aged students is often underreported, and that nonmedical use of prescription opiates is the second most common form of drug use among college students in the United States.” 8 In addition, common drugs used on college campuses, such as cocaine, Xanax, and Adderall, pose a risk of containing lethal amounts of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. 9 A scholarly project from Belmont University estimated that 50% of college students are offered a prescription drug for nonmedical, recreational purposes before their second year. 10 Oftentimes, the recreational use is caused by students receiving and becoming accustomed to taking prescription opioids.11 Research from a survey from 2019 of students at West Virginia University found that “over half of the study sample reported receiving

8

Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common on College Campuses.” Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs, para. 8.

9 Ibid., para. 9.

10 Thode, Mackenzie, "Opioid Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Training Among College Students" (2021).DNP Scholarly Projects, p. 8.

11 Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

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a prescription for opioids.”12 Prescription medications for injuries or other purposes are commonly used among college student-athletes, and the prevalence of prescription opioids in America has been studied as a factor contributing to the opioid epidemic. 13 Prescription drugs are regarded as a major issue leading to the opioid epidemic in the United States. Richie Uba Onwuchekwa published a paper in 2020 in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association that linked prescription opioids (POs) to addiction. The research found that countries such as Chile, Japan, and South Africa, which have less use of POs due to regulations or monetary barriers, experience less addiction to opioids. 14 Thus, it is suggested that a partial solution for the U.S. to reduce opioid addiction is to reduce the amount of POs being prescribed.

Reducing POs would reduce the amount of POs being misused or disposed of improperly, meaning less would be stolen or sold to communities illegally. 15 Columbia University published a study in 2023 using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to collect research on potential opioid use and misuse education programs. Findings from their study name

12 13

Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common,” para. 29.

Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 8.

14 Onwuchekwa Uba, Richie, et al. “International Comparison of Mitigation Strategies for Addressing OPIOID MISUSE: A Systematic Review.” Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, vol. 60, no. 1, 2020, pp. 195–204., p. 198-199.

15 Kaafarani, Haytham M. A. MD, MPH, et al., “Opioids After Surgery in the United States Versus the Rest of the World,” Annals of Surgery: December 2020 - Volume 272 - Issue 6, p. 880.

172

college student-athletes as primary targets for education programs because of their more common use of POs as a way to treat injuries.16 However, reducing POs is a national problem that can’t be tackled at just a college level, so alternative methods are needed to take action on college and university campuses.

While campuses can’t reduce POs by themselves, it is suggested in the same article written by Rachel C. Shelton, et al., and published in Implementation Science Communications, that college students have a “limited knowledge about what constitutes an opioid.” 17 This includes a lack of recognition of fentanyl, and extends to the effects of opioids, such as “opioid overdose causes, opioid overdose and withdrawal signs and symptoms, and the importance of naloxone.” 18 Mackenzie Thode’s scholarly project from Belmont University found a common “misconception among students that prescription drugs are ‘safer’ than other illicit drugs.”

19

Chesapeake Narcotics Detective Matthew McCleery spoke in an interview about the variety of party drugs that contain opioids without the consumer’s knowledge. These opioid-containing party drugs have “been more common lately as the slang term is a Mexican blue,” McCleery said. “So it looks like a pressed Percocet, it's got the M30 stamp just like a Percocet would and that's

16

Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 4.

Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 2.

18 Ibid., p. 2.

19 Thode, Mackenzie, "Opioid Overdose Prevention,” p. 8.

17

173

oftentimes how they're sold.” 20 According to McCleery, pills can offer a false sense of security. “They might see the Percocet and think, oh, they just took it from dad, so while they know that it's not for them to take, they don't think it's going to do them harm,” McCleery said. “They're not going to differentiate the Mexican blues.” While research doesn’t prove that lack of education is the cause of increased opioid use in the U.S. or on college campuses, suggestions from research almost unanimously support that education programs are viable options for decreasing opioid use.

Research shows various areas where education programs can target the needs of college students. Shelton’s research stated that “college students and misuse of prescription opioids is connected to suicidality, depression, anxiety, other forms of psychological distress, and other substance use.” 21 On the other hand, “illicit opioid use (e.g., heroin) is associated with relationship problems like intimate partner violence.” 22 Education surrounding the signs of opioid use and misuse can help students recognize problems before they lead to deaths. In short, noticing the signs of an addiction can empower students to help those struggling.

In the event that an overdose does happen, bystanders are often able to assist. Naloxone, which frequently is referred to by Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

21 Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 2.

22 Ibid., p. 2.

20

174

the common brand name NARCAN, is a drug that reverses ongoing opioid overdoses used by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and is approved for bystander, civilian use. 23For bystander use, the drug is FDA-approved to be given intranasally (through the nostrils), while EMS can also administer the drug intravenously (in veins), intramuscularly (injected in muscles), and subcutaneously (under the skin). 24 It works by displacing “opioid from the mu receptor to reverse opioid-induced respiratory depression” to stop respiratory depression

from

reaching

the

hypoxia

and

death

stages.25

Respiratory depression is defined as “a slow, shallow breathing rate.” 26 Hypoxia is a state of insufficient oxygen in the tissues, which can be life-threatening in a severe case.27 Over a dozen feasibility studies on naloxone show “reversal rates ranging from 75 to 100 % of cases.” 28 In short, studies prove that naloxone is effective and safe for bystander and EMS use. Even in cases where bystanders are not trained to administer naloxone or don’t have access to naloxone, it is imperative that bystanders know that EMS is able to revive a person experiencing an opioid overdose, as long as they are called to the scene.

23

Beauchamp, Gillian A, et al. “A Study on the Efficacy of a Naloxone Training Program.” Cureus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 23 Nov. 2021.

24 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Information about Naloxone and Nalmefene.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, para. 2.

25 Doyon, Suzanne, et al. “Expanding access to Naloxone in the United States.” Journal of Medical Toxicology, vol. 10, no. 4, 2014, pp. 431–434, para. 3.

26 “Respiratory Depression: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, para. 1.

27 “Hypoxia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - National Center For ...” National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2023, para. 1.

28 Ibid., para. 9.

175

“Emergency medical services (EMS) professionals equipped with intranasal naloxone have achieved reversal in greater than 98% of cases of suspected or known opioid overdose.” 29 Calling EMS to the scene of an overdose increases the chances of survival for someone experiencing an overdose. However, a study by Suzanne Doyon, et al., published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, found that “while all bystanders are instructed to call 911, it is activated in only 10–60 % of cases.” 30 Despite the large range of the percentage, the statistic can still be addressed in education programs. A main reason for avoiding contacting EMS is “concerns of police involvement” and legal consequences. 31 Similar concerns are seen on college campuses. Shelton found that a “primary cause of student apprehension would be about getting themselves or another student in trouble if they administered naloxone to a student that was overdosing.” 32 A solution to the concerns raised by students and the overall public is to educate people about Good Samaritan Laws, which protect the bystanders and persons in need of medical help to allow for care to be given to the person experiencing an overdose whenever possible. 33 Education on laws specific to the counties in which college campuses reside is essential to increase the likelihood of bystanders calling EMS

29

Beauchamp, Gillian A, “A Study on the Efficacy para. 2.

Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 11.

31 Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 11.

32 Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 6.

33 Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 11.

30

176

when they see and suspect an opioid overdose. This can be easily combined with the aforementioned topics to decrease the number of opioid deaths for college-aged students and beyond.

Literature suggests that colleges and universities hold great potential for educating younger populations on opioids because of its growing relevance and improved research on the issue.

Additionally, a pilot project at VWU can be successful and may grow to serve larger communities if the information and project are well received. To achieve this, the project will have to draw on research about the opioid epidemic as well as previous efforts to educate student populations on opioid awareness.

Case Studies A study from 2023, published in the Implementations Science Communications, found that college students have limited knowledge of how to recognize fentanyl, opioid overdose causes, opioid overdoses, withdrawal signs and symptoms, and the importance of naloxone, which is a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses.

34

The research also shows that colleges and

universities are an “underutilized, understudied setting where implementation of evidence-based public health strategies for providing education and training around opioid use and naloxone” can see widespread effectiveness. 35 Campuses across the United 34 35

Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” p. 2.

Ibid., p. 3.

177

States have tested formats for improving opioid awareness and naloxone education for college students; each offers insight into how to develop education and awareness programs that may work for university students at VWU. In 2023, Columbia University in New York City, New York published a study of nine student focus groups that discussed the usefulness and acceptance of students to an opioid awareness program.

36

Participants widely agreed that they understood the

concerns around opioid use and were “motivated to learn more about opioid overdose and how to prevent it.” 37

Barriers for

students included a lack of time to dedicate to training and education programs. 38 Students expressed concerns about the societal stigma that is associated with opioid use, making them hesitant to want to attend potential naloxone training sessions.

39

The information is detailed in Fig. 1. From these focus groups, it was suggested that programs looking to spread awareness or train students on naloxone use should be integrated into current clubs, organizations, or class responsibilities. 40 Similarly, it was suggested that educational programs aim to reduce the societal stigma present on college or university campuses.

41

36

Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 1.

Ibid., p. 6.

38 Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 6.

39 Ibid., p. 7.

40 Ibid., p. 8.

41 Ibid., p. 8.

37

178

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia allowed a smaller, non-school affiliated program to help spread awareness on campus. John Freyer, an associate professor of cross-disciplinary media at VCU, runs a free naloxone bike, which functions as a legal place of distribution for naloxone.

42

Interested

students can take a short training session and learn how to administer naloxone.

43

The project began with Freyer giving out

coffee and educating people on drug use and overdoses. 44 Freyer’s general idea can be adapted for other campuses as well, even without a bike. Offering coffee or a similarly engaging incentive may encourage students to stop and learn about opioid overdoses and awareness without forcing the information through a long education session. The inspiration is useful for the beginning stages

42

Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common,” para. 1.

Ibid., para. 4.

44 Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common,” para. 2.

43

179

of an education and awareness program.

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Bowling Green, Ohio, applied a Teach-In in 2018 to provide education for students, faculty, staff, and the local community. 45 Teach-Ins include “structured educational activities on campus beyond the traditional classroom aimed at political protest.” 46 The point was to raise awareness for the opioid epidemic and after the Teach-In, more than 60% of attendees reported an increase in knowledge regarding resources.47 This data was collected through anonymous questionnaires from participants to assess “knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and awareness of resources.”

48

While this resource doesn’t

offer many specific tactics as to the organization of the educational program, it is useful in showing that programs such as the Teach-In can be effective. Using an anonymous survey would help discover the effectiveness of an education program at VWU to adapt and improve the program. The downside of relying on an anonymous survey is the reduced credibility of the study. Still, an anonymous study’s ability to provide a sense of security may encourage students to answer more honestly.

45

Knippen, Kerri Lynn; LaVenia, Kristina N.; and Burek, Melissa W. (2020) "Changing the Story: Evaluation Results of an Opioid Awareness Teach-In," Mid-Western Educational Researcher: Vol. 33: Iss. 2, Article 4. p. 150.

46 Ibid., p. 148.

47 Ibid., p. 161.

48 Ibid., p. 153.

180

Marymount University (MU), in Arlington, Virginia, has been educating faculty, staff, and students on how to use NARCAN, the brand name naloxone, since 2018. 49 The actions followed shortly after the State Health Commissioner of Virginia declared a public health emergency for opioid addiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 50 When the efforts increased in 2021 and 2022, the training programs targeted Resident Assistants, student-athletes, and their coaches, along with students, faculty, and staff. 51 By August 2022, 568 campus community members were trained to dispense NARCAN, and by December 2022, MU had thirty-nine emergency NARCAN supplies around the campus. 52 MU’s total undergraduate enrollment is 2,606 students.

53

VWU’s population of about 1,500

students is slightly smaller, but the success at MU with a similar student body size suggests that a program can be successful at VWU as well. 54 MU’s success was achieved by offering training sessions twice a semester, up from their previous twice-a-year program. 55 The ability to provide NARCAN or naloxone is a benefit for MU, and would need to be researched further for VWU. It is a Schedule IV drug in Virginia, meaning that it can only be given out at licensed distribution sites. 56 However, given the effectiveness 49

Munson, Nicholas, “MU Increases On-Campus Access to Lifesaving Medication Narcan.”

University, 12 Jan. 2023, para. 5.

50 “Declaration of Public Health Emergency.” Commissioner, 2016, para. 11.

51 Munson, Nicholas, “MU Increases On-Campus Access,” para. 7.

52 Munson, Nicholas, “MU Increases On-Campus Access,” para. 2, 8.

53 “Marymount at a Glance.” Marymount University, 9 Aug. 2023, para. 4.

54 “Quick Facts.” Virginia Wesleyan University, para. 2.

55 Munson, Nicholas, “MU Increases On-Campus Access,” para. 6.

56 Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common,” para. 4.

Marymount

181

of the programs at MU and the ability of MU to provide naloxone for emergency situations, it can be used as inspiration for programs applicable to VWU. This project and proposed work will draw on the case studies and their effectiveness while keeping in mind that the resources at VWU are limited due to the size of the student body and campus.

The proposed plan will be more personal and interactive so that students can learn about the necessary information and where to go for further help. All the case studies will have to be adapted for the student body’s needs and the project will change as students offer feedback.

Education for VWU Students In an interview, Chesapeake Narcotics Detectives Ethan Dreyer and Matthew McCleery as well as Chesapeake Police Officer and VWU Counseling Intern Shamber Garrett gave insight on the most important topics to provide in an educational program for college students. These included signs of an opioid overdose and how to assist the person, the specifics of Good Samaritan Laws, proper use of naloxone, and how to educate themselves on false pills. 57 In addition, VWU Director of Counseling and Student Health April Christman provided resources for those struggling with an opioid overdose. Combined, these create the starting point for developing an educational program for students at VWU. 57

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

182

Noticing and Responding to an Overdose The website for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration under the U.S. Government wrote that emergency personnel should be called through 911 if someone is presenting the signs of an opioid overdose. 58 The signs are consistent with those presented by Elizabeth Schiller, et al., in the National Library of Medicine. Signs of an opioid overdose include: 59 60

- Lethargy - Euphoria - Drowsiness; inability to speak - Change in mental status - Fresh needle marks - Seizures - Conjunctival injections - Patch marks on the body - Shallow breathing, hypopnea, bradypnea - Hypotension - Blue nails or lips - Pale/clammy skin - Nausea/vomiting

58

“Opioid Overdose.” SAMHSA, para.10. “Opioid Overdose.” SAMHSA, para.10. OJ;, Schiller EY; Goyal A;Mechanic. “Opioid Overdose.” para.

60 40-46.

59

183

In addition to signs of an opioid overdose, the website lists conditions that would make a person more susceptible to an overdose. These include: 61

- Those that take escalating doses - Return to use after cessation - Those with severe medical and psychiatric conditions such as depression, HIV, and lung/liver disease - Those that combine opioids and sedative medications - Male gender - Younger age (20 to 40 years) - White non-Hispanic race The information on signs of an opioid overdose and the knowledge of what increases the risk of an overdose can be easily spread through flyers or informational literature. In addition to the signs, students should be aware of what to do in the event of an overdose. Dreyer stated that even if bystanders can revive an overdosing person with naloxone or provide first aid, EMS should still be called to the scene. “You still should follow up with legitimate medical evaluation at the very least,” Dreyer said. 62 The reasoning behind always calling 911 is that EMS have multiple doses of naloxone, and patients may need multiple doses to completely reverse the effects of an overdose.63 In addition, patients often 61 62

OJ;, Schiller EY; Goyal A;Mechanic. “Opioid Overdose.” para. 40-46.

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

63 Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 10.

184

wake up acting extremely violent, which EMS are trained to handle.

64

Good Samaritan Laws Instructing bystanders to call 911 is important information to distribute because previously mentioned research from Suzanne Doyon, et al. in the Journal of Medical Toxicology said calling 911 “is activated in only 10–60 % of cases.” 65 The hesitancy can be partially attributed to fear of consequences of involving EMS and police personnel, especially among college students. 66 Dreyer, Garrett, and McCleery stressed that a key way to combat the hesitancy is to provide information on Good Samaritan Laws.67 “This is kind of your Get Out of Jail Free,” Dreyer said about the Good Samaritan Laws. 68

Under the Virginia Good Samaritan Laws, or Safe Harbor Laws, an individual and any bystanders are protected from arrest or prosecution during an overdose, as long as they remain cooperative with EMS and police presence and call for emergency medical attention. 69 Dreyer stressed that the laws are meant to make people feel comfortable calling EMS so that the professionals can save lives.

64

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

65 Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 11. Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the 66 consolidated framework,” p. 12. Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview.

67 Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

68

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

69 “Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally.” § 18.2-251.03. Arrest and Prosecution When Experiencing or Reporting Overdoses, para. 2-4.

185

“We would rather deal with somebody who's struggling with an overdose and save their life than have to respond for somebody who's no longer there to tell their story,” Dreyer said. 70 Furthermore, the exemption does not apply unless medical assistance is called for. “If we come across you and you've overdosed, then we could technically charge you because nobody called for help,” Garrett said. “It's better to call for help and fall under that umbrella of Safe Harbor.” 71 “The point of the safe harbor laws is, in the moment, you're calling for a medical emergency, and medical assistance is provided,” Dreyer said. 72 For further clarification, Dreyer continued and said, “You're protected even if there's drugs on the scene.

There's drugs in their pocket, you're still protected under those laws.” 73 In addition, people at the scene are protected from unwarranted searches. The only items or places that are seized or searched are with the purpose of protecting emergency personnel.74 “We kind of keep it wingspan,” Dreyer said. Shamber reinforced that they have to “make sure that the medics are safe working.” 75 This includes protecting against violence if the overdosing person wakes up. “When you wake up, you can become very violent,” Garrett said.

70

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

71 Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

72 Ibid.

73 Ibid.

74 Ibid.

75 Ibid.

186

“We can search where you're laying [and] in a car where you could have put a gun or something between your seats.”

Besides searching the immediate area, bystanders and people overdosing are completely protected from arrest and prosecution for drug use, regardless of the evidence at the scene. 76 In addition, police personnel may question bystanders to better understand the situation and, in some cases, to find the source of the drugs. “A murder affects a family. A drug dealer affects the community,” Dreyer said. 77 He emphasized that the purpose is not to incriminate people at the scene, but rather to understand the situation and possibly prevent future overdoses from opioids. Students should be aware of the protections in place so that they can contact the correct personnel to save lives in the event of an overdose.

Identifying Dangerous Substances An education program should also include information on how to identify potentially dangerous substances. 78 Currently, it is common for illicit opioids to be laced into pills. Mexican Blues, which are pills stamped to look like Percocet, are commonly sold and contain opioids. Pills like these are common because they are easy to manufacture. “You can buy a pill press online, you can buy one on Amazon,” McCleery said. “So go whichever way [dealers] get 76

Ibid.

Ibid.

78 Doyon, Suzanne, “Expanding access to Naloxone,” para. 5.

77

187

their fentanyl, the distributor will get that, and then they'll get whatever they're going to use to cut into it. And then they can just press it.” 79 College students should be aware of the ease of making and selling counterfeit pills because they are frequently sold to younger audiences. “Pills are a great way to target a younger audience, too, because pills are much less threatening,” Dreyer said.

This misconception can often lead to overdoses. “When they take what they could normally take a pill or a half of an X bar, they're ingesting fentanyl,” McCleery said. “They have no good way to respond to that. So that's when you see them have an overdose.”

80

Students need to learn how to be cautious when ingesting drugs of any kind, and the lack of education surrounding opioids in pills is a gap that needs to be corrected. Furthermore, students would benefit from being educated on the nuances of how drugs are manufactured and distributed in the Hampton Roads area. “What's unique to Virginia is that it's real common for fentanyl or heroin to be in little gelatin caps,” Dreyer said. 81 Different states and regions have varied commonalities for the production and consumption of opioids. Educating students on the drugs that endanger people in their area is an essential step in equipping students with the

79

Dreyer, Ethan, Garrett, Shamber, McCleery, Matthew. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 6 October 2023.

80 Ibid.

81 Ibid.

188

knowledge students with the knowledge needed to prevent death from an overdose for themselves or others.

On-Campus Assistance Students should be aware of resources to assist in opioid addictions, alongside resources to inform themselves on opioid overdoses and the EMS procedure. The resources pertaining to addiction should include how to help a friend struggling with opioid use and how to help themselves if opioid use is an issue. For VWU students, the Counseling Center in the Jane P. Batten Student Center is a confidential resource. According to the Counseling Center website, “The only time information can be disclosed without [student] consent is when it is necessary to protect you or someone else from imminent danger.” 82 The Counseling Center can be a resource for students who want to discuss personal problems with opioids or concerns about another student. 83 Student Health Services, which includes the Counseling Center, is also able to perform a wellness check if a student or another member of the campus community has concerns for the health and safety of a student on campus. 84 A wellness check includes a visit and conversation with a school counselor. Given that the Counseling Center treats information “with the highest regard for confidentiality,” students should be aware of the free resources

82

“Confidentiality.”Virginia Wesleyan University , Virginia Wesleyan University, para, 1.

“Services We Offer.” Virginia Wesleyan University , Virginia Wesleyan University, para, 3.

84 Ibid., para. 3.

83

189

that it provides. 85 In addition, it can be a place to find outside treatment for problems that the Counseling Center is not trained to help with.86 In addition, this project will build on the aforementioned resources to increase the support students may receive on campus.

Off-Campus Addiction Support and Education Services outside campus that VWU students can receive education and assistance from include Curb the Crisis, REVIVE!, and the State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. All the available information from these programs and their websites can be easily conveyed to students on campus through QR codes. Curb the Crisis is a collaborative project of five Virginia agencies: the Department of Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Department of Health Professions, and the Department of Social Services. 87 The website offers information on recovery treatment, signs of an overdose, and statistics and research on opioid use and misuse in Virginia. 88 Levels of treatment and support can often depend on available insurance, but the Curb the Crisis website offers options for all levels of insurance. This includes baseline help from the toll-free helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, to residential opioid

85

“Confidentiality.” Virginia Wesleyan University, Virginia Wesleyan University, para, 1.

“Services We Offer.” Virginia Wesleyan University, Virginia Wesleyan University, para, 7.

87 “About Us.” Curb The Crisis, Curb the Crisis, para. 2.

88 Ibid., para. 2.

86

190

treatment services throughout the state.

89

Links on the website

offer advice on how to support loved ones, find care for yourself and prevent overdose deaths. 90 The REVIVE! program in Virginia provides opioid overdose and naloxone education. It offers training for naloxone use and for people who want to teach naloxone use to others. 91 REVIVE! was utilized on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus as a method of training students in naloxone use and opioid education.

92

In addition, REVIVE! offers training in the Virginia

Beach area, where students can receive information on opioid overdoses and learn how to use naloxone for bystander intervention. 93 Since naloxone is a Schedule IV restricted drug, REVIVE! acts as an important resource for students who want to receive proper training and carry naloxone.

The State Opioid Response (SOR) Program uses a grant to fund medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) and recovery support. 94 It is specifically designed for Virginia Beach residents and is geared towards helping those without insurance to cover the necessary treatment in other places. 95 In addition to providing resources for recovery, the website lists signs of opioid abuse, 89 90

“Treatment in Virginia.” Curb The Crisis, Curb the Crisis, para. 3.

“Curb the Crisis.” Curb The Crisis,Curb the Crisis.

“Revive! Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education (Oone) Program for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services , para. 3-4.

92 “Virginia Tech Rescue Squad, Hokie Wellness Partner to Fight Opioid Overdoses.” Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, para. 4.

93 “Revive! Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education,” para. 3.

94 “StateOpioidResponse(SOR)Program.” City of Virginia Beach ,para.1.

95 “StateOpioidResponse(SOR)Program.” City of Virginia Beach ,para.5.

91

191

signs of withdrawal, and contacts for peer support specialists and detox services. 96 The website acts as an extensive database for recovery and treatment options that are readily available for anyone who is struggling at any level. Since the program is focused on treatment within the Virginia Beach area, it is a helpful resource for students who need immediate assistance around the VWU campus.

Methodology To begin implementing education and awareness programs for opioid education, the two main VWU groups to focus on are the Resident Assistants (RAs) and the Athletic Department. These two offices reach students all across the campus, which may improve how students respond to the program. In addition, it would target students within and outside of residence halls, making the program itself more accessible. These groups are also chosen based on previously mentioned studies. Marymount University had success in targeting both student-athletes and RAs. 97 Columbia University’s study by Shelton found that student-athletes are prime targets for education because of their high likelihood of being prescribed POs for injuries. 98 According to the 2023 Equity in Athletics Data Analysis report for VWU, the school hosts 384 student-athletes,

96

Ibid., para. 6-9.

Munson, Nicholas, “MU Increases On-Campus Access,” para. 5.

98 Shelton, Rachel C., “Application of the consolidated framework,” p. 4.

97

192

99

which makes up about a quarter of the student body.

Given that naloxone is a Schedule IV, restricted drug, the university would require a license and trained personnel to distribute it.100 University policy is that students should call emergency services if naloxone is needed.

100

Therefore, information

on the use of naloxone will be left out of the program. Instead, resources will be provided on where to go for naloxone training and students will be made aware of the effectiveness of naloxone when administered by emergency services.

The education program will utilize an in-person training/information session and flyers to be distributed to the student body, which will be used to track interest in the project. The information session will be implemented for RAs, beginning during their Spring training period, and subsequently in all Spring and Fall training periods afterward, given there is substantial positive feedback. For the Athletics Department, the program will be geared towards the captains of sports teams. Other students are welcome, but specifically inviting captains would create a smaller group and may encourage honest feedback about the effectiveness of the program and how their respective teams would best respond to information.

99

“2023 EADA Survey.” Office of Postsecondary Education, 2023, p. 4.

Knox, Liam. “Narcan Is Increasingly Common,” para. 4.

101 Christman, April. Interview. Conducted by Tramontana, Rhian. 26 September 2023.

100

193

Each session will be 30 minutes and will be assisted by a Google Slides presentation. It will focus on signs of an overdose, what to do in the event of an overdose, and what is covered under Good Samaritan Laws. After the information session, each participant will be asked to fill out a form with feedback, focusing on what information they think is most relevant to VWU students, what methods of communication they feel VWU students would best respond to, and what they wish to know more about concerning opioids. In addition, students will rate the effectiveness, relevancy, and importance of the information on a scale of 1-5. This will provide both qualitative and quantitative feedback for further analysis.

The second stage of the project will be to introduce the information to more students in the form of flyers with QR codes.

The flyers will be designed to draw attention, but the main focus is a QR code for the presentation from the information sessions and a QR code for the feedback form. Flyers will be posted in each student locker room, offered to each coach for their offices, and placed in each resident hall. Students will be given the same information that was given in the presentation to keep consistency, and results from feedback can be tracked with time stamps to determine how many students interacted outside the session.

194

Results from the feedback form will be analyzed to determine whether students find the information helpful and applicable to their lives. If students respond positively to the information, the programs can continue and work to develop other methods of dispensing information. If the reactions towards the program are not favorable, then the program can be adapted to fit the needs of the students based on comments from the feedback form. Both results may lead to partnering with local organizations or emergency personnel to bring awareness to the campaign, in addition to tailoring the knowledge to what VWU students feel is necessary for them to know.

Conclusion Target 3.5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals aims to “Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.” 102 The first indicator to show the progress being made towards sustainable prevention and treatment of substance abuse is “Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders.” 103 This program focusing on the VWU campus and student body will provide resources for treatment interventions and information for students who are becoming increasingly in danger of succumbing to the opioid epidemic. The program is in progress and is meant to be 102 103

“Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.”United Nations , United Nations.

“Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations , United Nations.

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adapted to the needs of the students, which encompasses the nature and essence of sustainability. With collaboration and future work, this project will become a reality to prepare students for their lives ahead of them.

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