2022-2023 Program Cover & Poster Artwork

Friend Group

OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING, 6’X8’. 2022.

Bailey Santaguida, ’23, a visual art and psychology major, created Friend Group as part of her research project Confrontations: Stars, Friends, Phonemes mentored by Jeremy Drummond, associate professor of art, and Erling Sjovold, professor of art. Her work uses abstract painting, film, and installation to explore process of being a friend and the process of doodling.

Modeling the Opioid Crisis in Virginia

Joanna Wares, associate professor of mathematics, mentored Maniha Akram, ‘24; Olivia Barlow, ‘23; Connor Gasgarth, ‘23; and Leah Ghazali, ‘24, as part of a student research group focused on using mathematical models to address questions related to the opioid crisis. Their paper, “Modeling the Opioid Crisis in Virginia: A Differential Equations Model of the Impact of Medication-Assisted Treatment in Correctional Facilities on the Opioid Epidemic” was presented at the Shanks Workshop at Vanderbilt University and has been recognized for its contribution to the field of dynamical modeling for the social sciences.

Asians In America

Students in Jennifer Erkulwater, professor of political science, and Tze Loo’s, associate professor of history and global studies, Sophomore Scholars in Residence (SSIR) course, Asians in America, examined the history, politics, and activism of Asian communities in the United States. Student Chise Ueda’s poster presentation highlights that Asians in America need to internalize white norms to gain their rights in society. Starting from the comparison between commercialized Japanese culture in the U.S. and the real Japanese culture, Ueda introduced Japanese exclusion history and illustrates that they are unconsciously subordinated to consolidated white power. By viewing Japanese exclusion as a part of the entire Asian exclusion history in the U.S., Ueda would like readers to reflect on how cultural consumption relates to each minority group’s survival.