On Monday, December 9, seniors in the Communications department presented their senior theses to a panel of Communications professors and their supportive peers following the induction of new Lambda Pi Eta members. Inductees participated in a ceremony in which they received certificates and pins sporting the Lambda Pi Eta emblem and name before pledging to strive for academic excellence. Professors Richter, Weber, and Joseph led the service, lighting three candles to stand for the three pillars of communication: logos, ethos, and pathos.
Following the brief ceremony, all senior students presented their theses for the Communications department. Alma Gordhino kicked things off with a discussion of political cartoons in a presentation titled “Political Cartoons: Entertaining Force of Reflection or Influence.” Gordhino explained the significance of various political cartoons and how each cartoon can have great influence on an audience’s political ideologies.
Following Gordhino was Maddie Horton who presented on modern rave culture with “Can You Feel It?: Dance Culture and Why It’s Popular.” Her thoughtful presentation drew from her personal experience and passion in the rave scene as she comfortably used jargon from the culture including the particularly fun term “candy kid.” Horton emphasized the sense of community and bonding in the raver community.
Lexi Davis then spoke on “voluntarily child-free women,” for which she did a literature review. Davis found that many women who choose not to have children based on personal desire rather than medical conditions or other conditions beyond their control encounter much pushback and lack of understanding. This is due largely to the social understanding that women “are supposed to” have children. Feminists in the room appreciated Davis’ talk and found the information to be enlightening.
One of the most popular reports of the meeting was Ally Spaulding’s “A Family Affair: Drag Queen Identities and Familial Relationships.” Although her research was interrupted when the local club The Park closed, cutting off her ability to observe drag shows in action, Spaulding continued to conduct her study with personal interviews and interactions.
Another popular thesis came from Catey Doss, who titled her work “Match Made in Heaven: Reality Dating Television and Genre Division.” Doss determined that a new brand of reality television has emerged as a result of new elements in dating shows. Entertaining the crowd with jokes throughout her speech, Doss kept the audience engaged.
Kacee Eddinger followed Doss with “Tropes of Women in Action Films.” Eddinger investigated three films: Haywire, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, and Pacific Rim. In her research, Eddinger found that overall the idea of a female action protagonist has not changed much within the last thirty years.
Corinne Nicholson wrapped things up with her talk titled “Submission and Dominance in Lesbian Porn.” Prior to giving her talk, Nicholson warned the audience of her subject matter in order to give them a chance to leave if they were uncomfortable with the topic. Nicholson determined that pornography tended to depict lesbians in situations that aligned with heteronormative ideas.
The evening ended with a cake in celebration of the hard work the seniors in the Communications department had completed.