Welcome to the Twelfth Annual
Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing!
Undergraduates who attend a great research university like UCLA have the
opportunity to engage in pioneering research with distinguished teacher-scholars.
The UCLA College has a long and proud history of encouraging students to
participate in research, and of providing a rich array of opportunities, from the
Student Research Program to Departmental Honors Thesis courses.
Today, students from a variety of arts, humanities, social science, and behavioral
science disciplines will present their work at the twelfth annual Westwind/Aleph
Conference for Undergraduate Research and Writing. At the end of the conference,
we will honor students with Deans' Prizes for best conference presentations.
I thank the staffs of the Undergraduate Research Center, Aleph (UCLA’s journal for
undergraduate research in the humanities, social sciences, and behavioral
sciences), and Westwind (UCLA’s literary journal), for help in planning, organizing,
and coordinating today’s conference. I would also like to thank Dean and Vice
Provost for Undergraduate Education Judi Smith for her leadership and vision, and
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh, Vice Chancellor for Research
Roberto Peccei, Humanities Dean Tim Stowell, and Social Sciences Dean
Alessandro Duranti for their generous financial support.
I wish all participants the best of luck with their presentations, and thank all who
attend today for contributing to the encouragement of stellar undergraduate research
at UCLA!
Dr. Reed Wilson, Director
Undergraduate Research Center for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
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The Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing
Table of Contents
Schedule of Events ............................................................................................... 3
Index of Oral Presenters ...................................................................................... 4
List of Poster Presenters ...................................................................................... 5
Oral Presentation Abstracts................................................................................... 6-23
Poster Abstracts ................................................................................................... 24-44
2009-2010 Undergraduate Research Awards........................................................ 45-52
 Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards
 Undergraduate Research Fellow Awards
 Undergraduate Research Travel Grants
Westwind 2009-2010 Editorial Staff ..................................................................... 53
Aleph 2009-2010 Editorial Staff ............................................................................. 54
2
The Twelfth Annual Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing
May 14, 2010
Schedule of Events
9:00 — 10:00
Registration and Welcoming Remarks
(Charles E. Young Grand Salon, Kerckhoff Hall)
10:00 — 10:30
Poster Setup
(Powell Library Rotunda)
10:30 — 2:00
Poster Session
(Powell Library Rotunda)
10:00 — 12:00
Panel Session One
Panel 1 Presenting Representations
(State Room 131, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 2 East Meets West
(State Room 133, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 3 The Kids Are All Right… Or Are They?
(State Room 135, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 4 What’s the Sensation?
(Viewpoint Conference Room 1 [A201], Ackerman Union)
12:00 — 2:00
Panel Session Two
Panel 5 This is Not a Pipe: Misconceptions
(State Room 131, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 6 The Global Politics of Gender
(State Room 133, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 7 Voice of California
(State Room 135, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 8 Diversity in Education
(Viewpoint Conference Room 1 [A201], Ackerman Union)
Panel 9 Westwind Readings
(Charles E. Young Grand Salon, Kerckhoff Hall)
2:00 — 3:30
Reception; Closing Remarks; Presentation of Deans’ Prizes
(Viewpoint Conference Room, Ackerman Union)
3
Index of Oral Presenters
Name
Session
Alexis Austin
2
Alfredo Calderon
2
Maribel Camargo
2
Li-tsung Alyssa Chen
1
Cailin Crockett
1
Shuo Dong
1
Aarthi Easwara-Moorthy
1
Theresa Fiddler
1
Chelsea Fuller
1
Gereme Oliver Gaffney
1
Ilona Gerbakher
2
Sophia Gu
1
Markeisha Jackson
1
Kenny Kristianto
2
Andrew Lee
2
Jennifer Lopez
2
Joan Lubin
1
Álvaro Luna
2
Rebecca MacAulay
1
Teresa Melendrez
1
Rebecca Mendoza
1
Brianna Nix
1
Alma Nunez
2
Maria Veronica Parra
2
Lizama
Catherine Perez
2
Anjana Puri
2
Rosela Roman
1
Laura Romo
2
Suan Shamime Shaw
2
Julia K. Sloane
2
Ester Trujillo
2
Leaniva Hazel Tuala
2
Wilson Yuen
1
Freddy Yusuf
1
4
Panel
7
8
5
2
2
1
1
4
3
4
6
1
3
5
5
8
1
7
4
4
2
3
8
7
6
6
3
8
5
7
6
8
2
4
List of Poster Presenters
Evyn J. Adkins
Jocelyn Meza
Sunshine Maria Anderson
Aislyn T. Namanga
Mehvish Arifeen
Carol Nguyen
Tessa Batchelor
Sara Ordaz
Stephanie Canizales
Esther Park
Jennifer Carcamo
Erik Peña
Heather Cavion
Maria I. Rangel
Nancy Cruz
Luis Roman
Stephany Del Cid
Nidia Ruedas-Garcia
Adrian Del Rio
Sombra Libertad Ruiz
Dalma Diaz
Elena Salazar
Jessica C. Diep
Cathia Sanchez
Sandy Enriquez
Andrea Slater
Geoffrey Espino-Nguyen
Gilberto Soria Mendoza
Cynthia Flores
Sharron St. John
Ida Garcia
Casey Edward Stegman
Nidia R. Gracia
Angelica Stoddard
Berenice Gomez
Ruth Tesfai
Charlene Gomez
Diane Ward
Alfredo Gonzalez
Alicia Williams
Cindy Le
Aruna Cadambi
Winnie Lee
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WESTWIND / ALEPH CONFERENCE 2010
ORAL PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
Presenter: Alexis Austin
Major: World Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: David Delgado Shorter (World Arts & Cultures)
A Journey Beyond Academia: Arts Advocacy Within the Community of Skid Row as an Astin
Scholar
For the last two years I have been working with nonprofit organizations in Skid Row that use the
arts to engage, empower, and heal people who are homeless, formerly homeless, and living with
mental illness. Since being accepted into the Astin Civic Engagement Scholars Program, my
position in Skid Row has transformed from the role of a researcher to the role of an activist,
advocating for permanent supportive housing and art programs that help rebuild lives and maintain
the community of Skid Row. This past year I have worked closely with the Lamp Art Project
focusing on what it means to be an artist who is homeless, formerly homeless, and living with a
mental illness in Skid Row. My community partnership with the Lamp Art Project has deepened my
understanding of civic engagement within the community of Skid Row and has strengthened my
relationships with organizers and artists alike. Two years of research will culminate into an art
exhibition that will be on display at UCLA. The artwork has been created by members of the Lamp
Art Project and will function as both an exhibition and a mode of raising awareness regarding the
complex conditions that surround Skid Row. The significance of my research has been to raise
awareness and help educate people who are not familiar with the homeless mentally ill and the
community of Skid Row.
Presenter: Alfredo Calderon
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Cultural Pluralism and Cutural Capital: Why Ethnic Studies Matters at Animo Venice High
School
In the past thirty years the United States has undergone some drastic demographic changes in its
most urban areas. From New York to Los Angeles urban centers, particularly the inner cities,
around the country are increasingly becoming communities of color. The demographic make up
thus of the student population in public schools has thus also become increasingly one of students
of color. Large school districts in major cities boost a majority of black and Latino students, In the
Los Angeles Unified School District alone 73% of the student population is Latino. There have been
numerous pieces in the last two decades relating to creating culturally relevant education that
speaks to an increasingly diverse student population. Scholars in the field of education have also
done work in validating the cultures of students of color. What is project will do is build on the ideas
of cultural pluralism and cultural capital that students bring to the classroom and seek to validate
the instruction of ethnic studies at the high school level based on those ideas. It will also seek to
expand on those ideas and explore what high school students at Animo Venice High School think
about ethnic studies with the belief that they will view such an instruction relevant to themselves.
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Presenter: Maribel Camargo
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Second Generation Immigrant Latina Students in Higher Education
This research hopes to bring forth the stories of resilient 2nd generation Latina immigrant scholars
that are in institutions of higher education by dismissing the idea that Latino immigrant parents
discourage Latinas from pursuing higher education. I will be discussing other factors such as
economic resources and levels of education that pertain more to the impact that parents have on
their daughters. My main question is; how does coming from an immigrant low-income household
impact Latina students in their path toward higher education? The main methods that I used in my
research were in-depth interviews that allowed me to understand the struggles that Latinas went
through on their path toward higher education. I framed my dialogue chronologically around the
following themes: biographical information, economic resources, education, and gender roles.
Through these themes I was able to note that the majority of the interviewees indicated that they
were not discouraged from going on to higher education and that in many cases they were the ones
that were attending institutions of higher education compared to their male siblings. The broader
implications of my findings are that Latina students in higher education are not hindered in attending
institution of higher learning because of gender roles but rather because of economic resources and
the level of education of their immigrant parents.
Presenter: Stephanie Canizales
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Raymond Rocco (Political Science)
The Underground Generation: Undocumented Latino Youth Redefining Community
It has been said that the act of migration is one of the most stressful experiences an individual can
encounter (Aronowitz, 1984). A migrant’s loss of ties with their culture, customs, family and
community may result in the loss of identity and sense of belonging; thus, sentiments of
marginalization, depression, and isolation occur. Scholars have found these experiences are
heightened for undocumented migrants and are especially profound among migrant children and
youth (Coll, 1997; Suarez-Orozco, 2000). Due to the sense of obligations and responsibility to their
family, young adults comprise the largest group of migrants around the world (Weeks, 2008). This
investigation examines how undocumented, young adult (19-23), Latino immigrants utilize social
networks to develop a sense of inclusion within society. More specifically, how the evolution of nonfamilial social ties developed through membership in voluntary associations cultivate a sense of
belonging. The ‘Social Capital Theory’ will provide the theoretical framework to conceptualize the
utility of social networks as a tool for immigrant integration into society (Massey, 2000). I will
conduct in-depth interviews with six undocumented, young adult, Latino immigrants who are
members of La Iglesia Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles. The examination of undocumented
Latino youths’ sentiments of exclusion within American society will be conducted in an effort to
humanize the undocumented (commonly known as “illegal”) immigrant experience.
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Presenter: Li-tsung Alyssa Chen
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Susanne Lohmann (Political Science)
Community-Based Research: Court Hearing Preparation
The Self-Help Legal Access Centers (SHLAC) throughout Los Angeles provide free legal resources
and information to people who represent themselves in court without an attorney, commonly
referred to as self-represented litigants. Unfortunately, the centers do not currently have the
resources to educate self-represented litigants on how to prepare for court hearings. In a
collaborative effort with the head attorney at Inglewood Self-Help Legal Access Center, I have
created an instructional trial preparation video for temporary custody, visitation, and child and
spousal support hearings. The surveys for the control group (those who have not seen the video)
are currently being run at the Inglewood and Van Nuys centers. Next week, litigants will have the
opportunity to view the video at the Inglewood and Van Nuys centers. I will survey litigants who
have watched the video to measure changes in how prepared litigants believe they are for their
hearing. Additionally, I will conduct interviews with staff members at each center also targeted at
measuring changes in the perception of litigants. If the survey and interviews show an increase in
the preparedness of self-represented litigants in going to court, this video will most likely be widely
used at other self-help centers throughout Los Angeles County. It also serves as an example of
community-based research.
Presenter: Cailin Crockett
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Joshua F. Dienstag (Political Science)
The Political Theory of Miguel de Unamuno: A Liberal Approach to Reconstructing Spanish
National Identity
Finding a balance between state authority and the rights of subnational groups has been a
perennial problem for political theorists. More recently, theorists such as Will Kymlicka and Charles
Taylor have directed the discussion to explore how to ensure equal rights in multinational societies.
Proudly Basque but also firm in his decidedly Spanish patriotism, scholar and activist Miguel de
Unamuno (1864-1936) created a volume of work that provides valuable insight into multicultural
Spain; decades later, his commentary offers relevance to the politics of recognition embedded in
ethno-separatist conflict. In this thesis, I not only contextualize Unamuno's contributions to the
politics of multiculturalism in the contemporary debate, but also to chart the development of his
theory.
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Presenter: Shuo Dong
Major: Communication Studies / World Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: Steven M. Peterson (Communication Studies)
What Do Women Eat?: A Comparative Content Analysis of Food Groups and Advertising
Claims Appearing in Food Advertisements Found in Popular Magazines for Women
What do women eat, and how do food advertisements appeal to the female consumer? In light of
the ongoing global health crisis, the present study aims to quantify the nature and extent of food
advertisements presented to female consumers in popular magazines. This study will examine
2009 issues of 12 popular magazines with majority female audiences. Food advertisements found
in three categories of women’s magazines—lifestyle, fitness, and cooking, will be classified by
source, food group and advertising claim type(s). It is predicted that 1) products categorized as
“grains” and “fats, oils, and sweets” will be the most frequently advertised, 2) of the 12 predefined
categories of advertising claims, the claim types used most frequently will be a) promoting the
reduced quantities of fat and calories in the product, b) highlighting emotional associations to the
product, c) emphasizing loss of weight/size as a body appearance benefit. Furthermore, the
findings are expected to 3) reveal a difference in the types food and types of claims used in each of
the three different magazine categories- fitness, cooking, or general lifestyle, in order to relate to the
readers’ various interests. Study results will complement existing research on food advertising
appeals and gender specific communication strategies. Understanding underlying sources that
perpetuate the current health epidemic is an important step towards a healthier society.
Presenter: Aarthi Easwara-Moorthy
Major: Psychobiology / Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Sanjay Sood (Management)
Advertisement Evaluation in the Persuasion Context
Provocative pictures of young women endorsing perfumes. Close range shots of scrumptious food
dishes. These are some of the eye-catching pictures we see daily in media advertisements. But do
they speak to all of us the same way? The most popular model on attitude formation – the
elaboration likelihood model (ELM) predicts that pictures in an advertisement are only effective in
low involvement situations, when the ad viewer’s personal relevance to product is low. But the
continued success of many picture-dominant text-minimum advertisements featuring fragrance and
food products suggests that viewers always process pictures. In this study, we manipulated the
relevancy of the product picture in an advertisement to show that pictures are also effective in high
involvement situations. The advertisements contained either strong or weak argument statements
regarding the product and either a relevant or irrelevant picture to examine the effects of arguments
and pictures on advertisement attitude. Through a written questionnaire, 200 UCLA undergraduates
expressed their attitude towards cologne, tourism and dessert advertisements under high or low
involvement conditions. We found that relevant pictures have a similar effect on both involvement
conditions but irrelevant pictures have a greater negative effect on high than on low involvement
conditions. These results show that pictures can have a greater influence than that predicted by the
ELM on consumer advertisement attitude across different personal involvement levels.
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Presenter: Theresa Fiddler
Major: Communication Studies
Faculty Mentor: Steven M. Peterson (Communication Studies)
The Thrill of the Chase: The Effect of Televised Drama Chase Scene Properties and Viewing
Conditions on Heart Rate and Viewer Suspense
The research of Zillman, along with that of many other scholars, has largely laid the foundation for
research pertaining to factors of suspense and physiological arousal in the media. The present
study investigates the impact of lighting conditions, scene length and presence of audio in televised
crime drama chase scenes on heart rate and viewer intrigue. Sixty UCLA students will be randomly
assigned to four different conditions, each in groups of thirty. The eight different conditions will be
comprised of combinations among lighting, scene length and audio. Participant heart rate and the
degree to which participants want to continue watching will be measured as outcome variables. I
predict main effects for all three variables such that when the lights are off, the scenes are longer or
the scene contains audio effects, the resulting heart rate and average level of intrigue among
viewers will be greater than when the lights are on, the scenes are short or the scene has no audio
in any single condition. Further, I predict that when all the conditions are present, they will yield the
highest heart rate and levels of intrigue than any of other conditions. The research is significant in
that it isolates variables to determine what causes physiological and emotional arousal in media
productions.
Presenter: Chelsea Fuller
Major: International Development Studies
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Educators for Tomorrow: The Effects of Parental Involvement on Academic Achievement
and the Factors that Inhibit Parents of Color from Being Involved
In this research I look at the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement.
I examine the way in which parent involvement affects the academic performance of high school
students. Moreover I attempt to answer the following questions: (1) what is the relationship between
parent involvement and academic achievement for students at Inglewood High School? And (2)
what are the factors that influence and inhibit parental involvement? Parent Involvement is defined
as knowledge of resources, support for extracurricular activities, daily dialogue with their student,
rapport with teachers and administration, and academic advocacy for their student. Family structure
will also serve as sub-component of parent involvement, as family structure serves as an indicator
of parental access. This study focuses on African American and Latino/a, juniors and seniors at
Inglewood High School. From this study I found that parent involvement has a positive relationship
with academic achievement; nonetheless, there are external factors, like work that inhibit parents at
Inglewood High School from being involved.
10
Presenter: Gereme Oliver Gaffney
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Gail E. Kennedy (Anthropology)
Identification of Habitual Single-strap Tumpline Use in a Mummy by CT and X-Ray Imaging
The examination of skeletal materials has proven highly successful in the understanding of past
human behavior and activity patterns. However, under some circumstances, direct examination of
the bones is not possible; such is the case with mummified remains. In this case, mummified
remains were subjected to computerized tomography as well as digital X-ray imaging. The scans
indicated a post-bregmatic depression on the left and right parietal bones. A 3D model of the skull
was constructed from the scans demonstrating that the depression extended inferiorly along the
coronal plane of both parietal bones. The scans revealed pronounced insertions of
sternocliedomastiod on the mastoid processes. The left styloid extended inferiorly; the right styloid
was not observed. Collectively, these observations suggest habitual use of a single-strap tumpline.
This case demonstrates the usefulness of such imaging techniques in reconstructing past
behavioral activities.
Presenter: Ilona Gerbakher
Major: Philosophy
Faculty Mentor: Michael G. Morony (History / Islamic Studies)
A Brief Review of the Egyptian Feminist Movement in the 20th Century, and the Shift from
'Feminism' to 'Islamism'
Historical developments in “Egyptian-Islamic Feminism’ are examined and categorized in this study.
Special attention is paid to the shift in the women’s movement from being reflective of ‘Western’
notions of secular social reform into an ‘Islamist’ attempt to re-define feminism within EgyptianIslamic paradigms. Focusing on recent developments in the Egyptian women’s movement, it can be
argued that although secular legal advances were made in Egypt between 1950 and 1970, the
recent ‘Islamization’ of gender relations has undermined the validity of secular feminism (and
therefore rights-based conceptions of female autonomy) in Egypt. Furthermore, there is evidence
that the Egyptian legal system is inadequately prepared to deal with the challenges of enacting and
enforcing women’s rights legislation. The results of this study were obtained by conducting a survey
of secondary sources written on the subject of the women’s movement in Egypt. Primary sources,
especially newspaper articles, interviews with prominent Egyptian feminists and legal opinions
regarding women’s rights legislation in Egyptian courts were used to support the findings of the
survey of secondary sources. The Egyptian women’s movement has been deeply affected by
nationalist-Islamist intellectual discourse, perhaps to the detriment of female social and economic
equality. Researching the affect of Islamism on the women’s rights movement in Egypt over the last
20 years can provide some understanding of the effect of Islamism on Middle Eastern society at
large.
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Presenter: Sophia Gu
Major: English
Faculty Mentor: Gordon Kipling (English)
Giving Up the Ghost: Remembering Elizabeth I in Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy
The Elizabethan era has traditionally been seen as the Golden Age when burgeoning commercial,
military, and literary success fostered the beginnings of an English national identity. However, this
positive portrayal of the reign of Elizabeth I obscures any negative representations of the virgin
queen, particularly after her death and the ascension of James I in 1603. Unlike previous
scholarship that views Jacobean portrayals of Elizabeth as nostalgic in light of James’s corrupt
court, I contend that literary representations of the deceased monarch reflect residual tensions from
her final years, which haunt the early cultural memory of the queen. The Revenger’s Tragedy
(1606) represents early constructions of the Elizabethan legacy as the play features and yet
obscures Elizabeth as a character of agency. I assess this absent presence of Elizabeth I in the
play in order to illuminate what female authority meant in a post-Elizabethan world. Drawing on
contemporary historical accounts, portraiture, and other tracts, the project attempts to characterize
a negative discourse surrounding the queen in the early years after her death, a discourse which
The Revenger’s Tragedy responds to and participates in. Through this examination of the
posthumous Elizabeth on the Jacobean stage, I hope to contribute to our understanding of early
modern views on queenship and to complicate notions of Elizabeth as the legendary virgin queen.
Presenter: Markeisha Jackson
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
The Expectations of Ninth Graders upon Entering High School
Transitioning from middle school to high school is not an easy task for 9th graders. Many 9th grade
students enter high school with various expectations, many of which have high expectations but low
achievement. This study will answer what the expectations of 9th graders upon entering high school
are. There are many factors that contribute to the expectations that these children have for
themselves and their school environment. This study’s objective is to find out what these
expectations are, where the students see themselves in the future, and what factors contribute to
the expectations they have for themselves. The study includes five African-American 9th grade
students who are both low and high achieving students that will be interviewed and surveyed. My
findings show that African American students enter high school with high expectations and
achievement goals, but have low achievement in the classroom setting. Their school performance
affects the students’ expectations upon entering high school and their educational
achievement/attainment. The significance of this research is to educate, inform, and enhance the
knowledge of what is already known about the expectations of a 9th grader, and expand on ideas of
how we can make sure their expectations will be met in the future without nothing restricting them
from achievement in their endeavors.
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Presenters: Kenny Kristianto
Major: Business-Economics
Faculty Mentor: Danny S. Litt (Management)
Demystifying the Real Value of Gold
After the recent unprecedented mortgage bubble burst in 2008, most people are left with a single
question: what is next? Ever since mankind came to know the existence of economic bubbles, there
has always been one similar characteristic: a rapid price increase. Based on this characteristic, one
commodity which might become a potential future bubble is gold. During the past few years,
investors have started to use gold as a method to hedge against inflation. In fact, gold has become
so popular that the average price of an ounce of gold had more than quadrupled over the past
decade. In this paper, I argue that gold is currently overpriced and might become a potential future
economic bubble. In order to asses gold’s potential to become an economic bubble, its “real” value
needs to be determined. To determine this value, I have performed various statistics analyses on
various data to create an equation based on certain variables. Some of the major variables I have
chosen include: the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the
Euro exchange rate, and the crude oil price. By determining which variables possess the strongest
correlation with the price of gold, I was able to filter and perform a multiple regression on several
variables to create several equations. By inputting the current value of these variables and
comparing it to the current price of gold, I have found that gold is currently overpriced by as much
as 20%.
Presenter: Andrew Lee
Major: English
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Mott (English)
Transcending Teleological Truth: Exploring the Infinite Multiverse of Philip Pullman's His
Dark Materials
Due in part to Philip Pullman’s affirmations of atheism and the conservative religious conviction that
his trilogy fundamentally attacks Christianity, the majority of literary criticism on His Dark Materials
has assumed that the trilogy depicts the death of the Christian God, portrayed in the demise of the
Authority. As a result, critics have variously argued that Pullman’s fiction constructs an alternative
philosophical system to supplant the moral function of God—positing a foundation of ethics upon
either a claim of essential humanism or the trilogy’s fictional creation of Dust. In this thesis, I dispute
the assumption that the trilogy portrays God’s death, as the text readily concedes that the Authority
is not God and that the actual existence of God is unknown. Instead, this thesis argues that the
trilogy transposes the concept of God into a secular notion of truth—what the text presents as the
Republic of Heaven. As I contend, the trilogy depicts truth in theoretical terms as an infinite potential
and multiplicity of realities premised upon its narrative conceit of the infinite multiverse. Thus far,
few critics have considered the importance of the multiverse to the trilogy’s formulation of truth and
corresponding ethics, which this thesis aims to correct. Current readings of the trilogy that locate
truth in either essential humanism or Dust cannot account for its presentation of a fluid and
malleable ethics, which only becomes intelligible when truth is understood to be infinite potential
and multiplicity.
13
Presenter: Jennifer Lopez
Major: International Development Studies
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
The Importance of College Access for Latina/o Students
When looking at the Chicana/o educational pipeline, out of every 100 students that start elementary
school, only 9 move on to a four-year school. One solution to increase this number is the
implementation of effective college access resources in schools across the country. This includes
providing all high school students with up-to-date information on colleges, financial aid, and
academic and college exam preparation. However, often times, although this information may be
available at a high school, it may not be as effective as it could be, and counselors, teachers, and
administrators may only be outreaching to a “select” number of students, whether they admit to it or
not. For my research, I went to Lancaster High School in the Antelope Valley and was concerned
with answering the following questions: What support systems are in place for Latina/o high school
students in regards to college access? How are they sustained? How effective are they? I
interviewed two counselors, three teachers, and eight students from all grade levels, as well as
surveyed four classrooms. My findings indicate that although some information in regards to college
access is available at the school, the support systems in place are not all effectively outreaching to
Latina/o students as much as they should. This research project is significant because it reveals
one key element of why Latina/o students at this school are not attending four-year universities at
higher rates. As a result, I offer several recommendations on how to improve this issue.
Presenters: Joan Lubin
Major: Women's Studies
Faculty Mentor: Juliet A. Williams (Women's Studies)
Queering Sex
Sex has been a primary concern for queer theory since its inception, but it has most often been
engaged as a way of articulating a critique of normativity, subject formation, or sexuality. Sex per
se, though an object and optic of queer study, has not itself been queered. To queer sex is to look
at it obliquely, to make legible as sex a set of eroticized practices that are otherwise not recognized
as such, and to destabilize the category of sex in doing so. I argue that queering sex opens up
more and different ways of understanding the operation of the erotic in the contemporary social
scene, and I develop this argument through a reading of the competitive eating circuit, for which the
annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest serves as the de facto
“Olympics.” In choosing competitive eating as an illustrative site through which to build a theory of
queered sex, I suggest both that there is something very queerly erotic about eating, and also that
understanding the erotics of eating specifically, rather than other activities of bodily maintenance or
pleasure, can significantly enhance our understanding of the ever growing obsession with the
national “obesity epidemic.”
14
Presenter: Álvaro Luna
Major: Linguistics
Faculty Mentor: Rosamina Lowi (Applied Linguistics & TESL/Academic ESL)
French in Los Angeles: Images of the French Language, & Culture and Identity Outside of
the French-speaking World
Although the 2000 USA Census reports that French is the fourth most spoken language in
American homes, little research has been done on French-speaking Americans. Previous work on
native French speakers in the USA predicts a shift from French to English in future generations. In
this study, I explore how native speakers of French in Los Angeles use the French language in their
everyday life in order to explain its low maintenance in the USA. The methodology involves a series
of interviews and questionnaires to members of an active French-Catholic community. In particular,
my research addresses the notions of French Language Shift to English, Language Loss and
Language Maintenance. My hypothesis is that due to modern communication and this community’s
involvement with the French-speaking Catholic Church, the population has a strong connection with
the French language and culture that will enable the maintenance of French for this group in Los
Angeles.
Presenter: Rebecca MacAulay
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Cindy Yee-Bradbury (Psychology)
Self-Conscious Emotions and Coping Methods: Influencing the Stress Response in
Schizophrenia Patients
Diathesis-stress models of schizophrenia posit that patients’ increased sensitivity to stress may lead
to disorder onset, as well as symptom exacerbation. It is likely that different coping methods and
affect (self-conscious emotions) contribute to variability in the stress response in schizophrenia, and
thus moderate disorder outcomes. Clinical measures of Positive and Negative symptoms,
Behavioral Measures of Coping, Brief Psychiatric Symptom Scale (BPRS), as well as physiological
measures of stress reactivity (cortisol) in response to the Trier Social Stress Test were collected
from healthy subjects (n=65), First Episode (FE; n=66) and Chronic patients (n=44). Preliminary
data suggests, in healthy subjects, positive emotions had an inverse relationship with high BPRS
hostility, whereas denial and self-blame coping methods were associated with higher cortisol
reactivity. Moreover in the FE group, denial and self-blame coping methods were associated with
increased symptoms. Similar to healthy subjects, emotions (e.g., pride) correlated with decreased
symptoms and reduced cortisol reactivity in the FE group. The use of more adaptive coping
methods reflected lower baseline cortisol levels in the chronic patients, while self-conscious
emotions (pride and shame) respectively modulated patient symptoms. In order to develop effective
interventions, it is important to recognize factors that influence patient outcomes.
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Presenter: Teresa Melendrez
Major: Women's Studies
Faculty Mentor: Kyungwon Hong (Women’s Studies / Asian American Studies)
Adolescent Agency: Oral Histories of Sex Education and Teen Pregnancy
This work is an oral history project that examined the narratives and opinions of six adolescents’ of
color, ages 13-19, from Los Angeles as they discussed “sex education” and “teen pregnancy”.
Although these topics are generally examined through public health methods this research provides
some of the missing opinions and stories of adolescents themselves that are necessary to improve
the framework that shapes our understandings of sex and adolescents. This research began as a
desire to understand how adolescents make decisions about sex and reproduction. In addition to
learning about the ways young people negotiate their lives this research is a form of agency to the
people who shared their stories as these findings can be used to improve policies and programs
designed with teenagers in mind. Venice Family Clinic is the nation’s largest free clinic providing
health care to people in need and their role in this work includes facilitating a year-long internship,
office space and access to patients during “teen clinic” to recruit informants for this project. Venice
Family Clinic has asked for a copy of these findings and will consider this work when implementing
or changing the programs that serve adolescent patients. This work contributes to the scholarship
about sex education and reproduction in a significant way as it is conducted and founded on the
perspectives and opinions of people of color.
Presenter: Brianna Nix
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
The Importance of After-School Programs and Do They Really Work?: Looking at the
Effectiveness of After-School Programs at BHMS
The purpose of this study seeks to uncover the effectiveness of afterschool programs at one middle
school in the Los Angeles area, form the students’ perspective. To understand the practices and
general response to the current programs offered at BHMS, I spent several weeks observing and
conducting interviews with students and staff members of the two after school programs based
there. In exploring the effectiveness of after school programs at this particular site, this research
seeks to understand just what the students at BHMS are receiving in their current choices of after
school programs. While after school programs seek to positively impact and influence youth within
urban communities, I argue that some after school programs may be ineffective in alleviating the
major issues that stimulate high risk environments. I will explore the effectiveness of the two
programs at BHMS through the perspectives of the students who participate within them and how
the staff interacts with their students. BHMS is located in an urban community of Los Angeles
littered with gangs, violence, poor community conditions, and low educational opportunities. I found
that the programs designed to help foster the growth of these students are not living up to the
standards that they set for the students or themselves. After school programs need to provide not
only a safe environment for students from these urban areas, but provide an experience that is
conducive to their educational growth.
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Presenter: Alma Nunez
Major: Mathematics for Teaching
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Tracking: Students in Small-Learning Communities
This research project explores the effects of having students from different small-learning
communities (SLC) interact in one class and how their interaction of the students and their teacher
influences the learning in the class. The study was done at a low resource high school in a 12th
grade Advanced Placement English Literature class. Observations of class material were used to
introduce the researcher to the class. The students as well as the teacher were interviewed on their
thoughts and experience in the class and why this class was different from past English classes.
Because the school is separated by SLCs and students are used to having classes with students
from their fellow SLC, the participation in a class where there are students from more than one SLC
is thought to be low, compared to classes that have all its students from the same SLC. However,
these students quickly glossed over the SLC that their classmates belonged to and unified as one
class. The significance of this study demonstrates that ability grouping may inhibit student learning
rather than encourage it and tracking does not matter because within each SLC students vary in
their academic achievement.
Presenter: Maria Veronica Parra Lizama
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Factors Influencing the Use of a Teacher Initiated Blog in a Low-Income, Latino Elementary
School in Los Angeles
K-12 teachers in California have been encouraged to introduce technology into the classroom and
curriculum. The experiences steaming from a teacher-initiated blog in a second grade urban
elementary school in Los Angeles will be analyzed using research on community cultural wealth,
funds of knowledge, and on cultural differences between the school settings and Latino(a)
immigrants. The blog contains instructional and pure social materials that have the potential to
support subject-matter learning outside of classroom time. Observations and informal interviews will
be conducted with teachers, administrators, and selected students and their families with the
purpose to gather information about factors that influence the way in which the students and their
families interact or do not interact with the blog. I expect to find that the factors that impede the use
of the blog have to do with degree of knowledge and accessibility to technology, computers, and a
more skilled mentor (i.e., parents or siblings). Preliminary findings suggest that home access to
internet determines the use of this resource. Most parents expected the school to monitor
homework and provide resources necessaries to advance subject-matter learning. Therefore,
suggestions are made to make this educational resource available to all students in this class.
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Presenter: Catherine Perez
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Zsuzsa Berend (Sociology)
Sterilization Practice in Puerto Rico from 1930-1970: A Look at Familial Influences
Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States during the Spanish-American war in 1898. Since
then, the American presence has affected the lives of Puerto Ricans by introducing technological
innovations that included birth control technologies such as sterilization. Some critics claim that
sterilizations served an imperialist agenda, namely eliminating the native population. While others
view sterilization as a way for women to take control of their bodies through the accepted cultural
norm of using sterilization as the preferred birth control method. For this research project, I wanted
to find out about the experiences of women who had undergone sterilization and find out how they
reached this decision. I interviewed six women, who were born and who were of reproductive age
between 1930 and 1970 in Puerto Rico. The interviews show that the motivations for having the
procedure had to do with women's desire to gain control of their fertility. The women in my study all
had financial hardships and they all thought they did not want to have more children, but their
husbands did not want to use birth control. My data shows that it was easier for women to convince
their husbands because the advice came from medical authority.
Presenters: Anjana Puri
Major: International Development Studies
Faculty Mentor: James Desveaux (Political Science)
Exploitation and Empowerment: Women's Agency in Southern Sudan
During the North-South Civil War in Sudan, atrocious violations of human rights were committed
against civilians on both sides of the battlefield. Southern Sudanese women were disproportionately
affected by this conflict and were subjected to rape, torture, sexual trafficking, and slavery. Most of
the attention focused on the gendered perspective of the conflict has portrayed the women of
Southern Sudan as a submissive population rendered powerless against the violence of male
militarization. While the victimization that women experienced during the Civil War was substantial,
the interpretation of women in Southern Sudan as passive receptors of state violence diminishes
the roles that they play as social actors. Through use of historical analyzes and case studies, this
paper explores how Southern Sudanese women, as agents of their own being, were able to form
coalitions during the Civil War which advocated for their empowerment, as well as the roles that
these organizations played in creating legislative policies that secured women greater civil rights,
specifically in the context of land ownership and political representation. My findings suggest that
these organizations exercised influence on the development of policies which increased women’s
leasehold, rented, and squatter property ownership. While the number of women in political office
has increased since the Civil War, the effect these organizations had on implementing policies
which increased female political representation could not be fully determined.
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Presenter: Rosela Roman
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
From Dropping Out to Graduating: Counter Stories of Successful Latina Teen Parents
This research is to help provide an alternative solution to retain the Latina teen-parent population in
Santa Monica High School (SAMOHI). According to Tara Yosso, whose research investigates the
Chicana/o Educational Pipeline, demonstrates the lack of transition among the Chicana/os
population as they continue their desire in higher education (20). To further investigate the high
school graduation rate among the Latina teen-parent population, we must first identify the push out
factors that lead to the contribution of such high statistics. Five out of twelve teen-parents were
studied to indicate how they have served at SAMOHI. Methods used to examine this retention
includes: participatory action research, surveys, and counter stories. It is used to exemplify the
perseverance and dedication of mother scholars who want to succeed both academically and
personally. To understand the dedication of these teen-parents, Latina/o Critical Race Theory,
Transformative Resistance, and Culture Capital Theory were examine to illustrate such commitment
to graduate from high school. Despite their circumstances, these parenting scholars have been able
to formulate their own sense of community within their school. Results indicate that Latina teenparents at SAMOHI have experienced community cultural wealth and problem-posing pedagogy
further increasing the graduation rate among this population. The motivation and encouragement
from teachers, school staff, and the community has effected Latina teen-parents to fulfill their
educational goals.
Presenter: Laura Romo
Major: Spanish
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Am I Going to College?: PHS Students’ Ideas About College and the Ways College
Ambitions are Nurtured at Their School
What are the factors that motivate/discourage students from low income high schools to attend
Four-Year Universities? College Access to four year universities in Paramount High School is
hindered because of cultural and economic reasons. Through student surveys, interviews and
faculty testimonies, I have derived that College access per student increases within their
involvement on campus and depends on their academic performance history as well as cultural
factors. While counselors do everything possible to advertise the importance of higher education,
the students do not feel a strong attachment towards college because they find no personal
connection to these higher institutions. It is normally their club advisor, friends or teachers that
orient these students to the college path. Counselors role in college access seems to be more of an
administrative role which includes filling out paperwork. There exists a lack of communication
between faculty and students. As counselors believe they provide all resources needed, and fight to
break cultural barriers; they fail to acknowledge that students are not receiving the information
provided. The significance is that miscommunication must be acknowledged and broken so that
students grow interest in attending four year universities increasing college awareness.
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Presenter: Suan Shamime Shaw
Major: World Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: Mary Nooter Roberts (World Arts & Cultures)
Why Can’t We Talk About it?
Shamime will present a narrative exploring the intersections of race, ethnicity and identity formation
within African and Asian Indian diasporic communities. She analyzes the fears and negative
connotations often paired with "blackness" in relation to perceived and internalized identity
development within the above communities. Shamime believes through her oral history based
ethnography and in-depth qualitative interviews she was able to uncover what many community
member rarely speak of. American prejudices are no longer rooted in skin tone (or only black and
white) but are interpersonal, intercultural and subtle. Shamime will express and reflect on her claims
within the context of race theory and personal growth. Shamime believes, thorough the art of
storytelling and creative writing that individuals are more inclined to listen, accept and engage with
topics that may otherwise evoke fear, guilt and hostility. As a biracial individual (Indian and African
American) Shamime will continue to write and explore other multicultural (or racial) individuals while
answering her life long question: How do individuals weave their way through society and form their
identity, while only "seeing" and discovering themselves through interactions with others?
Presenter: Julia K. Sloane
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Christopher J. Throop (Anthropology)
Music and Self Experience: The Strategic Use of Music to Model and Reaffirm One’s Sense
of Self
Mood has long been overlooked in Anthropological research. Though some efforts to understand
the effects of music on mood have been made, little ethnographic fieldwork has broached the topic.
This research contributes to the anthropological literature by ethnographically examining the
relationship between mood, music and the self in young adults of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Through interview and participant-observation, I find that music is useful in aligning the self with a
community of like-minded individuals. As a cultural system, I argue that music operates in ways
similar to religion as defined by Clifford Geertz, allowing the individual to understand reality through
culturally defined frameworks of interpretation. Strategic use of music induces moods that
compliment one’s ideal sense of self and thus, her relationship to others. The interplay of music and
culturally constructed interpretation is examined through four themes: memory, emotion,
transformative experience and social authenticity. While memory and emotion create a ersonalized
relationship with music, transformative experience and social authenticity expand the connection to
the culture as a whole.
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Presenter: Ester Trujillo
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: Maria C. Pons (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Residuals of the Civil War: Theorizing Salvadoran Immigrant Empowerment in Los Angeles
This project’s purpose is to find the source of empowerment for Salvadoran female immigrants in
order to examine the process of consciousness building that occurs among them and to explore
whether they base their experiences off of trauma or not. Empowerment is understood as the
development of increased confidence in social, economic, spiritual and political power. This study
inquires whether the experiences of Salvadoran female immigrants indicate a specific point of
departure between the social, economic, political and spiritual differences and trajectories in the
development of women’s lives post-migration. The interest of this study is to discover the types of
experiences contribute to the development of empowerment. Traumatic experiences stemming from
the military and political conflict in El Salvador have become permanent points of departure for the
empowerment of Salvadoran female immigrants. Using evidence from interview responses, I
believe that women who have had traumatic experiences have been able to harness this trauma
and use it as a continuous power source. Empowerment, for this population of women, presents
itself as positive coping mechanism systems through which they are able to gain knowledge, skills
and the attitude to put their plans into practice.
Presenter: Leaniva Hazel Tuala
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Ernest D. Morrell (Education)
Contraditicions of the Fa'a Samoa: Why Aren't the Numbers of Samoans Increasing in
Higher Education?
My research aims to look at the urban school system and its effectiveness in preparing Samoans
for higher education. Samoans, who are also Pacific Islanders, have very low enrollment rates in
college and a large population resides in urban areas. African Americans and Latinos are usually
always considered as those who suffer and are affected in the urban education system, often
ignoring the smaller population of Pacific Islanders who go through that same system. Samoans
also experience issues such as low socioeconomic backgrounds, high incarceration rates, high
dropout rates which lead to low enrollment in colleges. Through my research I will examine how the
urban education system works and ensures the academic success of Samoan students at Long
Beach Polytechnic High School, interview students and those who work with these Samoan
students, analyze the Pacific Islander Education and Retention (PIER) program at UCLA which
goes to weekly site at Long Beach Poly, as well as use literature that addresses urban education
and Samoans. It is my contention that schools do not do enough or address Samoan students
effectively and are insensitive and apathetic to their cultural and academic experiences. It is through
a culturally relevant educational curriculum that Samoan youth will increase their academic
achievement and be empowered to pursue higher education and serve their community.
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Presenter: Maya Wilson [NOT PRESENTING]
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Leslie Nicole Johns (Political Science)
Failed Conditionality: Minority Rights in EU Accession
In 1993, the European Union offered the former communist countries of Central and Eastern
Europe membership on the condition that they satisfy certain requirements, including protecting
their minority populations. Despite the potential for improving the situation of the Roma minority,
several factors limited the power of this conditionality and caused the Copenhagen Criteria pressure
to be applied to minority rights unsuccessfully. The EU severely lacked credibility, the criteria and
expectations were unclear, the disbursement system was ineffective and undermining, long-term
incentives and roll-back prevention were absent, and appropriate measures to address the root of
the problem were lacking. This paper addresses these mistakes that accounted for the ultimate
failure of EU conditionality to improve the condition of the Roma minority in the Central and Eastern
Europe.
Presenter: Wilson Yuen
Major: Political Science / International Development Studies
Faculty Mentor: James Tong (Political Science)
An Analysis of Bill Sponsorship in China's 10th National People's Congress (2003-2007)
The National People’s Congress (NPC) is the legislative branch and the highest organization of
state authority in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In post-Mao China, NPC delegates
became more active in setting the legislative agenda by sponsoring a large number of bills at the
NPC sessions. Using the 10th NPC from 2003 to 2007 as a case study, this analysis not only
investigates the patterns of bill sponsorship in the 21st century but also analyzes the (1)
characteristics of bills; (2) the characteristics of bill sponsors; as well as (3) the relationship between
the characteristics of bills and the characteristics of bill sponsors. By doing so, the results can
account for the differences in the levels of legislative activism and legislative effectiveness in
sponsoring bills. The data are collected by undergoing a compilation of personal information of main
bill sponsors from the official Yearbook of China’s NPC; the website of China’s NPC and online
newspapers from each province. The study discovers that provinces which are located at the
coastal region of China appeared to be more active and effective in bill sponsorship. This paper
offers an insight on the latest performance of the NPC and fills the gap of study on comparative
legislature of PRC.
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Presenter: Freddy Yusuf
Major: Psychobiology
Faculty Mentor: Sarosh J. Motivala (Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences)
Tai Chi to Enhance Vitality and Activity in Older Adults
The older adult population in the United States will substantially increase from 35 to 70 million in the
next twenty years to eventually represent about 20% of the U.S. population. Unfortunately, aging
can be associated with decreased physical activity, fatigue, stress and frailty. Novel strategies that
can offset these issues would be of great benefit to older adults. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese form
of calisthenics, utilizes the body’s internal energy (chi), mind, and breathing that are well-suited for
older adults. Few studies have methodically assessed the effects of Tai Chi on vitality and fatigue
and no study has objectively measured changes in physical activity. The purpose of the current
study was to take this intervention into a community senior center and test its efficacy on improving
physical activity, using an accelerometer, as well as self-reported mood, fatigue and quality of life.
This project is a waitlist control intervention study comparing 9 weeks of Tai Chi classes twice a
week with those on a waitlist. Assessments are done before and after 9 weeks of Tai Chi or wait list
period. We hypothesize Tai Chi will lead to increased vitality, less fatigue and improved mood as
compared to wait-list control participants; subsequently, Tai Chi will lead to increased their heart
rate variability and physical activity after the intervention. Larger the heart rate variability indicates
the healthier the individual.
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WESTWIND / ALEPH CONFERENCE 2010
POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
Presenter: Evyn J. Adkins
Major: Classical Civilizations
Faculty Mentor: Robert Gurval (Classical Civilizations)
The Emancipation of Slaves in Ancient Rome: Evidence from Plays and Tombs
This project is a study of the practice of emancipation of slaves in ancient Rome, which the Romans
called manumission, or literally, ‘the releasing of the hand of authority’. I will focus on two sources of
evidence: Roman comedies and burial inscriptions. Literary representations of freedmen used in
this research project are taken from the plays by the Roman dramatist Plautus (ca. 254-184 B.C).
Plautus’ plays are recognized for their prominent use of the comedic slave character, whose actions
in the play are often motivated by his efforts to be freed. Historical representations include burial
monuments of Roman freedmen – specifically Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces and members of the
imperial cult of the Augustales. A collaborative effort between literary and archaeological records –
specifically through the use of direct quotations from Plautine slaves in comparison to inscriptions
on tombs – provide a further understanding to the subject of slave life in Rome. This project
considers how the act of manumission was a regular and even ordinary process for slaves,
especially for those who lived in the city and had direct contact with their masters. Following their
freedom, a Roman slave could achieve entrance into a free and civic community and pursue
individual advancement despite his foreign background and former status of inferiority.
Presenter: Sunshine Maria Anderson
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: Alejandro Covarrubias (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Defining a New Discourse: A Look into Chicana/o Spaces Creating Identity, Resistance and
Healing Through the Arts
Paulo Freire suggests, “Education is communication and dialogue.” With this in mind, I realized that
this type of education is taking place informally within community events. My research is on
community events specific to the Chicana/o community of East Los Angeles. I present the idea of
an alternative discourse that takes place within these spaces and events. Patricia Zavalla’s notion
of social location informs my research in examining culturally specific events that give rise to
resistance, identity and healing. My focus is within the arts and music that serve as a way of
becoming consciously informed through accessible avenues available to the communities on the
east side. Dolores Delgado Bernal’s and Daniel G. Solorzano’s theory of transformational
resistance provides insight into the element of resistance being performed within these spaces via
creative avenues in connection to identity and healing that ultimately can lead to social change
within a community. The methods employed in my research are participatory observations at
community events in East Los Angeles and formal and informal interviews with attendees and
organizers of these events. The significance of my research is to reveal the value and importance of
the arts within underserved communities as a tool outside of traditional academia that promote an
empowering sense of identity, resistance to an oppressive environment and an opportunity for
healing from negative aspects of the city.
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Presenter: Mehvish Arifeen
Major: Ethnomusicology
Faculty Mentor: Angeline Nandini Gunewardena (International Institute)
Gender Based Barriers to Health Care in Rural Pakistan
Limited access to basic resources such as clean water, sanitation, education and health care, is the
predicament of majority of the population living in Pakistan. However due to socio-cultural barriers
women’s socio-economic disadvantage, especially for those in the rural areas, is tripled. Lloyd,
Mete and Grant (2007) argue that girls living in rural areas are not able to access education and
health because poverty in a rural location compounds the gender-based disadvantage that they
experience. Female infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates are increasing despite
increased investments in neonatal, primary health care and obstetrics facilities (USAID). This paper
focuses on extricating the socio cultural variables that limit women’s access to prenatal, natal and
primary health in rural Pakistan. The first section is a succinct social and cultural background to
gender differentials in Pakistan. This places my argument on gender related barriers to health in a
socio-cultural context specific to rural Pakistan. The second part is an analytical literature review
that discusses inter- and intra generational implications of gender discrimination in health. The third
section focuses on constructing a conceptual framework using the Gender and Development
Theory (GAD), that will help expose the different ways in which women’s autonomy in the rural
areas can be expanded. The fourth section is an analysis section where I synthesis my findings on
gender based barriers to health care in order to bring forth policies.
Presenter: Tessa Batchelor
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Sandra Graham (Education)
First-Generation Student's Motivation to Pursue Graduate School
This study focuses on the varying factors that motivate first-generation college students and
currently enrolled graduate students to pursue higher education. A qualitative method was used for
this study. This study was restricted to self-identified first-generation university students whose
parents have not attended college. Some research has been conducted analyzing the desire of
first-generation students to attend undergraduate school. However little research has been
conducted to understand factors that motivate these students to pursue graduate school. Using a
phenomenological approach students were interviewed and answered questions regarding internal
and external factors that motivate them to pursue graduate school. Students were asked questions
regarding their belief about control, expectations, learning, mastery and social class in order to
understand the internal factors that influence their motivation. Students were also asked questions
regarding external factors discussed students physical environment, academic associations, family,
and social groups. In addition to bridging the gap in research regarding first generation college
students and higher education, this research can further be used to aid future first-generation
college students who are interested in pursuing graduate school.
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Presenter: Stephanie Canizales
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Raymond Rocco (Political Science)
The Underground Generation: Undocumented Latino Youth Redefining Community
It has been said that the act of migration is one of the most stressful experiences an individual can
encounter (Aronowitz, M.1984). A migrant’s loss of ties with their culture, customs, family and
community may result in the loss of identity and sense of belonging; thus, sentiments of
marginalization, depression, and isolation occur. Scholars have found these experiences are
heightened for undocumented migrants and are especially profound among migrant children and
youth (Coll,C.G.1997; Suarez-Orozco, C. 2000 ). Due to the sense of obligations and responsibility
to their family, young adults comprise the largest group of migrants around the world (Weeks, J.
2008). This investigation examines how undocumented, young adult (19-23), Latino immigrants
utilize social networks to develop a sense of inclusion within society. More specifically, how the
evolution of non-familial social ties developed through membership in voluntary associations
cultivate a sense of belonging. The ‘Social Capital Theory’ will provide the theoretical framework to
conceptualize the utility of social networks as a tool for immigrant integration into society (Massey,
2000). I will conduct in-depth interviews with six undocumented, young adult, Latino immigrants
who are members of La Iglesia Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles. The examination of
undocumented Latino youths’ sentiments of exclusion within American society will be conducted in
an effort to humanize the undocumented (commonly known as “illegal”) immigrant experience.
Presenter: Jennifer Carcamo
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Peter L. McLaren (Education)
The Hstorical and Theoretical Genesis of the Union of Salvadoran University Student: A
Look into the Development of Political Consciousness in Contemporary Salvadoran Youth
Identifying the problems that directly affect the Salvadoran community has historically been a
challenge, especially with respect to the development of Salvadoran youth. This challenge roots
back to the eminent design of the University of El Salvador, the only public university in El Salvador,
where students first began to challenge government oligarchs and demand a voice for their people.
Inevitably after trying to repress the needs of the people, civil war broke out in the 1980s, which led
many Salvadorans to flee for the United States to escape their past and assimilate into American
society. This massive Diaspora forced its war-ridden Salvadoran youth to integrate into a society
where a Mexican dominant culture already persisted and eventually led to the development of the
Mara Salvatrucha (MS) 13 gang, which is now distinctly associated with all Salvadoran youth.
However, a "phenomenon" has occurred where students throughout the United States, specifically
California, are organizing in academic settings to try to transform this misconception of Salvadoran
youth. In my research, I will look into how this "phenomenon" came about and prove that it is not a
phenomenon at all. The Union of Salvadoran University Students (USEU) is an organization aimed
at transforming the realities of our world by politicizing university students. By researching the
history of Salvadoran youth and using political theory, I will identify the major aspects of USEU that
make it a new synthesis of an already existing student movement.
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Presenter: Heather Cavion
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Yuen J. Huo (Psychology)
The Effect of Subgroup Respect on Minorities
Minorities often disengage from the majority, and subgroup respect has been shown to be a factor
that tries to re-engage these individuals back into society. Subgroup respect is a feeling that one’s
own ethnic group is recognized, accepted, and valued by the dominant population. Previous
research suggests subgroup respect is positively correlated to an individual’s level of social
engagement (e.g. involvement within the community). However, this research is unclear, since
subgroup respect affects ethnic groups differently. This study brings in two moderators to try to
clear this up. One prediction is that ethnic identity is more salient for minority groups. In other
words, members of minorities are more concerned with their own ethnic identity. Secondly,
minorities place more value on their social standing. In our study, a survey from a diverse group of
students will shed light on the asymmetry of subgroup respect for majority and minority groups.
Understanding this asymmetry can help determine what factors affect the behavior (social
engagement) of individuals within a society. (this study is in progress).
Presenter: Nancy Cruz
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Maylei S. Blackwell (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
ENAC Campaign Impact
The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) is a military based program that functions
with in various high schools throughout the nation. The program remains on the school, based on a
quota system of participants, sometimes pressuring administrators and counselors to enroll
students in the program. The Education Not Arms Coalition in San Diego led a successful campaign
that demanded three things from the San Diego School Board. The demands consisted on, one, of
removing shooting ranges from high school campuses, two, obtaining full informed consent from
both the student and parents prior to the student’s enrollment in the program. Finally, students and
parents must be informed that the course does not provide towards general college admission
requirements (it is considered a non-academic elective). My study will focus on the impact the
campaign had on the JROTC’s enrollment numbers. I will measure the amount of impact by
comparing the enrollment numbers prior to the campaign and after. I will also conduct interviews
with students who choose to leave the program and students that are still currently enrolled in order
to have a qualitative view to compare with the numbers. I will focus in San Diego which is one of the
most militarized cities in the country, but also has numerous activists and community organizers.
The importance of my study lies on the fact that with the economic crisis and the wars that the
United States is involved in perpetuates military recruitment, thus the question is drawn whether
schools are promoting educational attainment or programs such as JROTC. Question - What was
the impact, if any, did Education Not Arms Coalition Campaign have on the JROTC enrollment
numbers from fall 2007- fall 2009 at Mission Bay High School?
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Presenter: Stephany Del Cid
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Name: Thomas S. Weisner (Anthrology)
Special Needs Students: Education and Integration into the Real World
Can special needs adults live active, productive and independent lives in America? Special needs
students face many inequalities. They are labeled as different, their expectations in school are
specific and therefore their experiences are distinct. This paper looks at how special education
schools are structured, how they prepare students for the outside world and what resources and
opportunities are available for special needs adults as they transition to life outside of school. I look
at the history of special education schools, how special education schools function today and share
my observations from special education school Lanterman High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Furthermore, I will also analyze the history and development of the rights of special needs adults in
the work force and job opportunities available for them. Special education schools socialize
students and teach them life skills for real world use, but their experiences in the hegemonic culture
are not equal to the rest of the population. Their knowledge, job opportunities and expectations are
unconventional. Educating and training special needs students is a way for them to become active,
gain independence and become integrated into society.
Presenter: Adrian Del Rio
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Daniel G. Solorzano (Education)
Luchadoras De La Frontera: A Story of Latina Community College Students Told Within the
'Las Fronteras' of the San Diego/Tijuana Border
Hundreds of community college students are living in Tijuana and crossing the U.S/Mexico
International border to attend a community college in San Diego. These students are often referred
to as border crossing students (BCS). Not all BCS that attend a community college want to transfer
to a four year university, but some of them want to transfer to ether a UC or CSU. Therefore, this
investigation seeks to understand and critically analyze how the crossing of the U.S/Mexico border
impacts a Latinas transfer experience at a California community college. More specifically, this
study will find out if BCS are transferring to four year universities from a California community
college. Chicana Feminist Theory (CFT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) will be used as theoretical
frameworks to centralize the role that the crossing of the U.S/Mexico border has on BCS that want
to transfer to a four year university from the community college. Utilizing visual sociology as my
methodology, I will ask four Latina BCS that attend Southwestern community college, to take
meaningful pictures of their binational transfer experience. I will then conduct interviews by having
them explain the images and the reasons for them taking the specific picture. This critical
examination is conducted, so that higher education institutions and other scholars become aware of
BCS.
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Presenter: Dalma Diaz
Major: Political Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Reed Wilson (English)
Eyes in Death Note
The stylized representation of eyes is a unique characteristic of Japanese comic books or
“manga”—a modern artistic medium which has gained popularity in Japan and many parts of Asia,
Europe, and the United States. These stylized representations often provide visual cues to the
moral state and makeup of characters. In my research, I examine the metaphoric use of the
physical and metaphysical importance of “eyes” in “Death note,” a popular manga series written
written by Tsugumi Obha and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. In “Death note” the main protagonist
Light Yagami is initially drawn with large round eyes—eyes characteristic of a young and sheltered
person. However, as the series progresses and as Light transforms from idealist purveyor of a
utopia to a Machiavellian purveyor of a dystopia, Light’s eyes become sharp, narrower and are
shaded darkly. Ohba and Obata emphasize the change in Light’s eyes in Chapter 35 “Whiteout”
and in Chapter 57 “Scream.” In my research I analyze both chapters and argue that in both
chapters Light is going through a significant transformation as represented by the abrupt change in
the depiction of his eyes; Ohba’s and Obata’s representations of Light’s eyes parallel the negative
character transformation of Light and his continual loss of humanistic vision.
Presenter: Jessica C. Diep
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Bruce Baker (Psychology)
Depression as a Predictor of Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with Typical
Development and Developmental Delays
In light of the literature indicating parenting stress as a predictor of child behavior problems in
typically developing (TD) children and children with developmental delays (DD), it is important to
examine predictors of parenting stress. While studies have consistently identified depression as a
predictor of parenting stress, we are unaware of any studies that have examined whether
depression differentially impacts different constructs of parenting stress among mothers of children
with TD and DD. As preschool is a particularly salient period for parenting stress, we examined
maternal depression as a predictor of daily parenting hassles and child’s negative impact on the
family in mothers of children with and without DD across child ages 3 to 5 years. Participants were
161 mothers drawn from the Collaborative Family Study, an ongoing longitudinal study of families
with TD children and children with DD and intellectual disabilities ages 3-13 years. Regression
analyses were used to examine the relationship between maternal depression, assessed by the
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and parenting stress, measured by the
Parenting Daily Hassles and Family Impact Questionnaire. This study addressed: (1) whether
mothers of children with DD have higher levels of depression and parenting stress than mothers of
TD children, (2) whether there is a stronger relationship between depression and parenting hassles
or depression and negative family impact, and (3) whether maternal depression ifferentially predicts
daily.
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Presenter: Sandy Enriquez
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Charles S. Stanish (Anthropology)
Paykunaka Rimaykunata (Their Stories) in Cusco, Peru: Quechua Adolescent Perspectives
on Tourism
Tourism has an immense impact on the quality of life for many local, or ‘host,’ cultures that open
their environment to tourists. Indigenous cultures interacting with tourism must often compromise
between meeting tourist expectations, set through media stereotypes, and maintaining their own
ethnic identity. One notable debate in tourism studies concerns the economic advantage gained by
marketing unique cultural features (such as foods or ceramics, crafts or clothing) for monetary
profit, leading to ‘cultural commodification’ or the literal ‘selling’ of culture. This relationship
inevitably leads to questions of cultural authenticity in tourist-focused performances, souvenirs, and
locations. This study explores the role of tourism, authenticity, and cultural commodification in the
lives of indigenous Quechua youth. Methodology includes several individual and group interviews
with adolescents throughout a three-month period. Cusco, home of Machu Picchu, not only attracts
thousands of tourists a year, but also many anthropologists. The majority of current tourism
research, however, focuses on interviews with foreigners, white and mestizo (of mixed Spanish and
indigenous heritage) middle class individuals or rural, native leaders. Studies on native adolescents
generally focus on their health (i.e. lung capacity for high altitudes), education, and/or family role.
None of these investigate the relationship between Quechua adolescents and foreign visitors.
Current research efforts focus only on adults, yet Quechua youth will develop.
Presenter: Geoffrey Espino-Nguyen
Major: English
Faculty Mentor: Arthur Little (English)
Representations of Survival and Death in the South African Literary Epoch of HIV/AIDS
Epidemiologists have theorized on AIDS in Africa, alluding to Africa as the birthplace of the
epidemic. Western non-profits and governments have written about the experience in these
environs by imposing their meaning and contextualizing a foreign culture. Yet the voices of
impacted Africans are rarely heard or given attention when juxtaposed with Western
representations. I intend to map a part of the South African AIDS/HIV experience by exploring
literary representations of HIV positive women in post-apartheid South Africa. The methodology
used for this research includes textual analysis of a variety of social panoramic texts, including:
Mpe’s novel Welcome to Our Hillbrow (2001), “Ribbons,” and Scheub Harold’s edited collection of
oral poetry, The Way we Travelled (2006). These texts challenge the way Western NGOs tell
HIV/AIDS narratives. In analyzing the national psyche of a nation that is undergoing numerous
transfigurations, I am finding a lack of access towards affordable medications as well as a complex
sexual mores that result from South Africa’s attempt to form an identity amidst the intersection of
nationalism, multiculturalism, and post-colonialism. Language functions in the form of metaphors for
representing the interplay among borders, foreign contagions, and neocolonialism. With one million
dead and ten percent of the population infected, literature has the ability to ignite consciousness,
create cross-cultural understanding, and challenges the given knowledge veiled by ineffectual
governments.
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Name: Cynthia Flores
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Alan Castel (Psychology)
An Examination Source Memory for Prices and “Better Buys” in Older and Younger Adults
Lack of attentional control may explain why older adults rely more on gist memory – the tendency to
remember information that shows a general understanding rather than memory for explicit details.
We are interested in seeing whether older adults can pay attention to small differences between
similar items when given a real-world scenario. Participants were asked to study various grocery
items in which it would be more important to remember terms that cost less than a similar
alternative. Gist memory was not helpful because detailed attention of item prices was extremely
relevant. During testing, participants were asked to identify the lower priced item between two
similar items, as well as recall their prices. We expect older and younger adults to be able to
distinguish similar items better when the price difference between the similar items is large. We also
expect that younger adults will be able to distinguish between similar items better than older adults.
As expected, younger adults correctly identified the lower priced item more often when priced
difference were larger.
Presenter: Ida Garcia
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Cesar J. Ayala (Sociology)
Member Allegiance Among Latino Gangs in the Santa Ana Area
The inner core and ghetto of the Los Angeles metropolitan area are notorious for gang activity, but
even outlying areas in Orange County are subject to the kinds of gang activity commonly
associated with East and South L.A. This has become a problem for city policy makers dealing with
local gangs and branches of larger gangs based near downtown, notably Latino and Vietnamese
groups. Through intensive interviews with Latino gang affiliates in the Santa Ana area I sought to
identify some methods through which gangs, particularly Latino gangs, instill allegiance among their
members. Different aspects were taken into consideration, including the initiation process new
recruits undergo, social activities within the gang, and whether rivalry creates stronger allegiance
among members. A key issue in these three factors is members’ ability to demonstrate their
competence to other fellow gang members. One of the ways people could gain understanding of
the social infrastructure that allows gangs to maintain a presence in the area is to look at what
factors build members’ allegiance to these gangs. My research aims to provide gang outreach
programs with more information that will help them better understand the individuals they are
working with, and thus more effectively deal with gang related problems.
31
Presenter: Berenice Gomez
Major: Spanish
Faculty Mentor: Maria C. Pons (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Mexican Literary Perceptions of the Events of the 1960s
This paper examines the motivations and ideas that lead certain Mexican writers to develop an
idealized image of students involved in the massacre on October 2, 1968 in Mexico City. These
writers commemorate and focus more on the tragedy of the event, largely ignoring the overall
student movement. This paper looks at the work of Octavio Paz, Elena Poniatowska, Luis Gonzalez
de Alba and Antonio Velazco Pina as their work relates to this event. These different perspectives
will help to clarify the motivations behind the writer’s narrative transformations of the events. The
paper employs/uses qualitative research methodology, involving an analysis of data from various
texts, essays and interviews. This paper argues that the idealistic perspective offered by the
authors in question provides their audience with less challenging version of Mexican history of the
1960s.
Presenter: Charlene Gomez
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: Alicia Gaspar de Alba (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Mujeres in Leadership: Ni santas, ni putas, solo mujeres. Sexuality at the Forefront of
Leadership Analysis
Many community college Latina students navigate through their education and leadership facing the
issue of gendered roles and expectations. Particularly, scrutiny surrounding their sexuality, with
intangible ideas like ‘virtue’ come into play for many of these women venturing into the community
college while simultaneously taking on roles of leadership in student run organizations. Therefore,
this research seeks to understand how these student-activists negotiate with the ideologies of
sexuality, like ‘virtue’ when entering education and leadership. The theories framing the research
include Latino/a Critical Theory (LatCrit) and Chicana Lesbian Theory to create an intersectionality
lens of social location for these women that considers all aspects of their identity. Using a counterstory methodology, I will conduct in-depth and focus group interviews with first generation, Latina
students in student run, student led organizations at a Community College in Los Angeles.
Additionally, I will use participatory action research to include the women in creating workshops that
will facilitate discussion on the intangible concepts of sexuality. The goal of this research is to
analyze leadership in respect to sexuality, a crucial element that is overlooked in dominant
discourses surrounding leadership. My hope is to reveal the negotiations that take place with
sexuality for a Latina in leadership and education to break the silence and taboo surrounding a
Latina student’s body and what she chooses to do with it.
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Presenter: Alfredo Gonzalez
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Mark Q. Sawyer (Political Science)
Filling the Ranks: Post 9/11 Hispanic Combat Occupational Recruiting
The need for military service after September 11, 2001 and the 2003 ground invasion of Iraq has
created a logistical burden for the U.S. Department of Defense. Military recruiters have seen a
decline in recruitment that led to a stop-loss of troops in 2006 and a subsequent recall of inactive
reserve troops. In 2001, the Bureau of Labor saw higher enlistment rates in the U.S. Marine Corps
(USMC) than any other military branch. Meanwhile, higher enlistment rates by other minority groups
were observed in other military branches. The research I am conducting seeks to understand why
Hispanics are enlisting into the USMC at higher rates than other ethnic groups, since it is the
military branch with the highest deployment rotation in both theaters of combat. More specifically,
why Hispanics enlist into infantry and combat occupations during a time of war. Racial Formations
(Omi & Winant, 1994) and Race Cycles (Sawyer, 2005) will be used as the theoretical framework to
highlight a possible racialized recruitment process targeting Hispanics. I will conduct ten interviews
with Hispanic Marines, currently training to acquire the military occupational specialty of
Infantryman at the School of Infantry in Camp Pendleton. This research is being conducted in order
to make potential recruits aware of the hazards an infantry occupation encompasses and also to
honor those who have served in combat occupations.
Presenter: Cindy Le
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Kyungwon Hong (Women’s Studies / Asian American Studies)
So That's Feminism: The Construction of Culture Through Internet Blog Comments
How is feminism represented online? How are feminist issues discussed? What are the ways
people create a dialogue around feminism? Though work by Nakamura and Byrne have illustrated
the use of cyber role-playing and discussed the creation of online communities, these are questions
still to be answered regarding collective group identity. Through analysis of comments following
blog posts on Feministing.com, my work analyzes the ways people communicate with one another
in the context, and active creation, of an online culture surrounding feminism. Specifically looking at
users’ comments after “What We Missed” blog posts, this work examines the content and style of
conversation in blog comments. Through this, it is possible to see how the content of these
websites is discussed in a way that adds to, makes decisions about, and manipulates what is
important in online feminist discourse. By individual blog comments, the collective feminist
community online is able to create and maintain a consistent definition of feminism. Ultimately, this
research seeks to contribute to the body of literature concerning culture, identity, and internet
spaces.
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Presenter: Winnie Lee
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Valerie J. Matsumoto (Asian American Studies / History)
Chinese Restaurant Business: Pass and Present
The Asian restaurant business is often perceived by the dominant culture as the stepping stone for
Asians to “assimilate” into mainstream America, but at the same time the restaurant business
serves to keep Asian Americans in the category of the “other” in which the palate of the dominant
culture often serve as the deciding factor for any Asian restaurant. Through the study of two
Chinese-American families, we begin to see how the history of immigrant restaurant businesses
can define a group’s boundary as work and labor constantly serves as a way to continue the low
status of the immigrant community yet also encourage cultural cohesion as business exchanges
cross racial lines. Shared foodways within these communities can bridge the gap between groups
or exaggerate the size of the gap. Through multiple interviews with the two businesses, I will
formulate an understanding of how the restaurant business fits into the larger picture of Asian
American immigration and how these restaurants serve as a barrier or door to opportunities. As the
Lee family operates their restaurant in a predominantly working-class Latino community, and the
Koo family in a predominantly affluent white community, they must practice various strategies in
order to maintain their business operations. Their stories constitute an important part of the history
of Chinese restaurant owners working hard to succeed in America.
Presenter: Jocelyn Meza
Major: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Jaana Juvonen (Psychology)
What Makes College Preparatory Programs Work?
An increase number of college preparatory programs geared to underrepresented students aim to
provide them with an equal opportunity for higher education. However, not much research has been
directed at investigating what characteristics of these programs are the most effective and
successful at increasing college attendance and graduation among ethnic minority students. A
review of program evaluations will be summarized to identify what specific characteristics in
programs motivate ethnic minority students to continue for higher education. I expect to see
significant differences in college attendance and completion between programs that offer motivation
through mentors and advisors and programs that do not offer mentorship and these differences will
be further discussed. Identifying the most effective components of these programs is important for
developing and promoting effective educational policies and college preparatory programs that give
ethnic minorities an equal opportunity to continue higher education.
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Presenter: Aislyn T. Namanga
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Reed Wilson (English)
Undocumdented Students Affected by Budget Cuts and Lack of Finicial Aid Within Higher
Education
How are undocumented students affected by not only budget cuts to higher education, but the lack
of financial aid in general? Over 65,000 undocumented high school students graduate each year
and 25,000 of these students graduate from California alone. Despite the external factors of not
being able to currently obtain citizenship in order to become financial aid recipients, these students
rise against the odds to pursue higher education. However, this pursuit is in danger now more than
ever due to the recent budget cuts to higher education that affect all, but undocumented students
even more. How are undocumented students from various backgrounds affected by budget cuts to
higher education? What strategies and tactics do these students employ so that they are successful
in achieving retention within the university long enough to achieve a baccalaureate? I attempt to
answer these questions through interviews with undocumented students in order to investigate how
these students manage their conditional status. It is critical to know how these students are dealing
with the budget cuts and how their conditional status affects them because these findings may
imply the need for immigration reform on the national scale. These students accomplish many
things by themselves, but may need external help from the government in order to be able to
pursue a baccalaureate.
Presenter: Carol Nguyen
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Miles Rease (World Arts & Cultures)
Vietnamese Refugee Experience: Perspective of UCLA Students
People should learn more about Vietnamese refugees because the experience is often times
omitted from history textbooks. Students are not required to learn the history of other ethnic and
social classes from third world countries such as Viet Nam that have been a major influence in
American society and the world at large. But students should be required to broaden their global
knowledge and extend their understanding of other cultures in order to be compassionate global
citizens. Learning about the suffering and humanity of other cultures and ethnicities will help us to
break down ethnic and social barriers in a more globalized society. This is more important than ever
in the world since our society is becoming interchangeably mixed with different ideas and cultural
beliefs that might often times conflict if misunderstood. Learning about Vietnamese refugees offers
one window into the need for citizens to be better informed about the different struggles and
experiences that people from other cultures can endure, which can help us understand the
consequences of our decisions at a more in depth level of conscientiousness. In this research,
Vietnamese UCLA students are interviewed regarding their knowledge about their parents refugee
experiences. The study examines the extent that these students understand and know about their
parents’ struggle, and how it has affected them as scholars and individuals as a whole.
35
Presenter: Sara Ordaz
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Bruce L. Barbee (Education)
Addressing Mentee Needs in Mentor Program
The Peer Advising Network is a program at UCLA which helps new UCLA students adjust to their
first year at UCLA. The program consists of students with at least one year experience at UCLA go
through a training and eventually mentor freshmen and transfer students during their first two
quarters. This program is a great service to many students, yet there are mentees who have
different experiences through the program and do not complete it. The question I am attempting to
answer is how can the Peer Advising Network training be reformed to best fit the needs of the
students to increase the retention rate of the program? Through literature research I have found
that effective mentors can be determined through mentor selection, mentor and mentee partnering,
and also mentor training. Focusing on the mentor training, I am attempting to determine what can
be improved in the training portion of the Peer Advising Network to ensure a higher retention rate in
the program. I gathered this information through surveys of the previous mentors and mentees of
the Peer Advising Network Program. I asked them what topics were mostly discussed during their
mentor/mentee meetings and what they feel could be discussed more thoroughly in the mentor
training. This research is important because it will potentially improve the Peer Advising Network at
UCLA which will help increase student retention rate and a positive undergraduate experience.
Presenter: Esther Park
Major: English
Faculty Mentor: Leobardo Estrada (Public Affairs / Urban Planning)
Korean Americans and Faith-Based Community Development in Los Angeles
While the U.S. is still the leading sender of Christian missionaries overseas, Koreans rank second,
and are quickly gaining, having sent over 19,400 career missionaries by the end of 2008. Korean
American churches and missions organizations in Los Angeles contribute a constant stream of
short-term missionaries and hundreds of career missionaries to that number every year,
demonstrating that Korean American Christians also have the resources and manpower to make an
impact on local community development projects in impoverished areas around the world. Whether
that impact is ameliorative or pejorative depends on the sometimes contradictory forces of modern
missiology and Korean church culture. The insular mindset of Korean American Christian churches
clashes with their more socially concerned missions and community development organizations. At
present, Korean American missionaries face the dual challenge of engaging in community
development projects overseas while helping reconcile Korean American church culture with the
necessarily outward-minded vision of modern missiology. Because of the lack of relevant literature,
this paper will not be able to address in specific terms the situation of Korean American Christian
community development. Instead, it will focus on bridging the gap between theological studies and
urban studies, using anecdotal interviews and reading faith-based research with the perspective of
an urban planner.
36
Presenter: Erik Peña
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Kathleen Bawn (Political Science)
Bruins United, Defend Affirmative Action Party, and Students First: The Selection Process
Each year, three student coalitions strive to take over the student government, legally, during the
Spring Quarter at UCLA. While Bruins United advocates for student festivities, the Defend
Affirmative Action Party and Students First promote student activism. These coalitions select
candidates to represent their ideology and their agenda. All of the candidates endure extreme
pressure from the Daily Bruin, Endorsement Hearings, and the student body itself. During the
campaign, Bruins United, Defend Affirmative Action Party, and Students First candidates struggle to
get elected in the student government. However, even before the candidates become actual
candidates, they must go through a selection process in which the coalitions decide who becomes
the presidential candidate, external vice president, and so fourth. Through observations of the
campaign trail and candidate interviews, it will be noted that the party decides who the candidates
are, not the actual candidates or party supporters. As a result, students will be aware of the
selection process the coalitions utilize and recognize the obstacles students face to become
candidates.
Presenter: Maria I. Rangel
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Chandra L. Ford (Public Health & Community Health Sciences)
Teenage Pregnancy and Latinas Living in Rural Communities
Rural communities in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) have some of the highest rates of teenage
pregnancy in the United States and the highest in the state of California. Limited opportunities in
terms of education, employment and personal development, a tendency towards conservatism (e.g.
machismo) in Latino beliefs and values, lack of confidentiality, and more homogeneous social
communities can all be associated with living in remote areas in the SJV. A socioecological
framework suggests that within a neighborhood, various characteristics may independently
influence the sexual health behaviors of its residents. These include intrapersonal factors
(knowledge and attitudes), interpersonal processes and primary groups (family and friendship
networks), and macro-level factors (e.g. access to healthcare resources). This investigation uses a
socioecological framework to explore factors influencing teenage pregnancy and access to
resources for teenagers living in a rural community environment. This cross-sectional study involves
focus group interviews conducted with two groups: Latinas living in the rural SJV community of
Firebaugh who experienced pregnancy between 12-19 years of age and a similar group that did
not. Using data from the focus group interviews and from a brief demographic questionnaire
completed by focus group participants, I hope to build an understanding of the factors associated
with living in a rural community that shape the experiences of teenage mothers in the SJV and may
influence teenage pregnancy rates.
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Presenter: Luis Roman
Major: Women’s Studies
Faculty Mentor: Maria C. Pons (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
La Vida Jota: Contextualizing and Theorizing a Developing Joto Identity in Literature
Chicana lesbian writers have been at the forefront of Chicano/a Studies. They have taken the lead
in creating fictional literature, and erudite theory. Because of their texts no one can deny their
existence, especially because their work is so easily accessible, readily available, and widely used
in many spaces. The same cannot be said about gay Chicano men. Historically, very little literature
existed, and until recently, a lack of interest, very little theorizing has been done about their work.
Therefore, there needs to be a framework similar to that of Chicana lesbians, to read the work for
and by queer Chicanos. In order to create a framework, I plan on doing a close reading and textual
analyses of Arturo Islas’ “Rain of God (1984), Gil Cuadros’ “City of God” (1994), and Rigoberto
Gonzalez’s “The Mariposa Club” (2009). By choosing three novels that span throughout three
different generations, I will be looking for recurring themes in each of the novels and create a
framework using those themes. Each generation has gone through a different facet of homophobia,
per the heterosexist ideologies embedded in the history of the United States, so any and all theme
would be essential because they would demonstrate elements that are of particular importance to
the queer Chicano experiences.
Presenter: Nidia Ruedas-Garcia
Major: Psychobiology
Faculty Mentor: Reed Wilson (English)
Rap Music and Success: From Getting Money and Girls to Getting a Degree and Acquiring
Happiness
“Now I'm rappin' 'bout money, hoes, and rims again/ and it's still about the Benjamins/ big faced
hundreds and whatever other synonyms/ strippers named Cinnamon/ more chips than Pentium…” –
“Breathe In, Breathe Out.” Kanye West Before the turn of the century, and even a few years into it,
mainstream rappers defined success in mainly negative terms. How successful one was depended
on how much money, how many women, and how much “bling” and expensive property one had.
The means to acquire such extravagancies was often through stealing, killing, and drug trafficking.
Recently, however, rap music has exhibited a change in this definition of success. I will be looking
into the recent positive transformation of the term “success” encountered in the lives and lyrics of
mainstream rap artists, with an emphasis on the discography of Kanye West. This project will
analyze the transformation of the definition of success through the messages in Kanye West’s
albums and also provide insight into the lyrical content of these rap songs which are reaching the
ears of those who are formulating their own definition of success, our youth.
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Presenter: Sombra Libertad Ruiz
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: Alicia Gaspar de Alba (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Counter Story of an Undergraduate Latina Single Mother at a Research University
This presentation will address how undergraduate Latina single mothers (ULSM) have been
excluded from the discourse of the culture of diversity at research universities. Campus policies
have failed to recognize the single mother component of ULSM. Due to the scarcity of available
research on undergraduate Latina single mothers I have conducted a literature review focused on:
1) non-traditional transfer, 2) Latinas/os, and 3) single mothers in the educational pipeline. A recent
article examining Latina/o transfer students speaks to how these students often feel academically
and socially marginalized after transferring to a four year college (Rivas, Perez, Alvarez &
Solorzano, 2007). The issue of navigating the system of higher education as women of Color is
compounded by the fact that ULSM are doing it as single-mothers. The presentation will be address
the following questions: 1) what are the obstacles and/or stigmas that UCLA ULSM experience, 2)
what are the navigational strategies they employ, 3) what steps has UCLA taken to recognize
ULSM as a culture within diversity? I will utilize a composite character counterstory methodology to
challenge the hegemonic stereotypes surrounding ULSM and center the knowledge derived from
their diverse experiences. It is imperative that research universities identify the ways in which ULSM
develop and use their own retention systems. These findings will help universities create effective
retention programs to better aid ULSM.
Presenter: Elena Salazar
Major: Worlds Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Cities for All: Integrating Our Communities
There are over a million undocumented immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area, yet they largely
remain on the sidelines of society for various reasons. These individuals face prejudice, are often
used as disposable labor, and disengage from society due to fear of deportation. Since they are
undocumented and excluded from the banking system, these individuals rely heavily on a "cashbased" economy, paying very high fees for the financial services that they utilize. New Haven,
Connecticut as well as San Francisco and Oakland in California have implemented a Municipal
Identification program as an inclusionary tool that fosters civic engagement within populations that
are not typically active in the community. My research focuses on the inclusion of undocumented
immigrants within Los Angeles, seeking to examine the potential that a municipal identification
program may have within the city of Los Angeles to promote the integration of communities and
initiate positive societal change.
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Presenter: Cathia Sanchez
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Alejandro Covarrubias (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Sex Workers and the Economic Crisis
High divorce, unemployment, and crime rates are all results of what has been identified the worst
financial crisis since the great depression. Our society as a whole has been hit from every angle
affecting the rich and the poor. The purpose of my research is to look at how this economic crisis
has impacted the female sex worker (e.g. prostitution) industry, specifically looking at whether there
has been a decrease in the number of sex workers due to a declining of demand. Furthermore, my
research seeks to answer: has this economic crisis made the industry more competitive while
jeopardizing the safety of sex workers? The first phase of my research will consist of analyzing
statistical data to conclude whether there has been a decrease in the number of sex workers being
arrested since the economic crisis. In the second phase, I will consult social welfare agencies (e.g.
women’s shelters) in the Los Angeles area to gain a deeper understanding of sex worker
conditions. Through my research I want to shed light on the struggles sex workers face, many of
which are life and death situations invisible to our society, and bring forth how these women are
affected by this economic crisis equally if not more than the rest of society.
Presenter: Andrea Slater
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Winfred J. Delloro (Asian American Studies)
Parent Organizing in LAUSD
This research is to evaluate the political effectiveness and parent satisfaction of parent
organizations in the Los Angeles School District area that target charter and traditional public high
schools. Parents of LAUSD public high school students face a steady decline in funding,
substandard facilities and overcrowding resulting in the deterioration of academic performance and
morale for many ethnic minority students This research is significant due to the conditions faced by
parents and the funding to increase parent involvement through the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Legislation and private foundations, the evaluation of parent engagement programs in the district is
essential when determining the levels of effectiveness satisfaction and empowerment achieved by
the parents. The research will entail a literature review selecting articles that focus on interventions
of U.S. Public Schools targeting parents. The parent organizations will be categorized based on
goals of the programs, organizational structure, member engagement and methods of evaluation.
The research will be expanded to include interviews and surveys from parents and school
administrators to determine if the parents and organizations when participating on behalf of their
students are operating from the same expected goals. This research hopes to answer why school
and community connections are rare and fragile at the high school level in urban areas and what
can be done to allow parents a true partnership in their students’ education.
40
Presenter: Gilberto Soria Mendoza
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Kathleen A. Lytle Hernandez (History)
Men in Prison: Masculinity and Sexuality
There has been little scholarship about the prison system in the United States and even fewer on
the topic of inmate sexuality and masculinity. The inmate population who is being abused is
neglected; we have to keep in mind that prisons were created as rehabilitation centers. There
needs to be policy to make the prison system accountable to the rehabilitation efforts that it has set
in place instead of allowing a center for abuse. I will research the atmosphere in prisons related to
the effects of masculinity and sexuality to create awareness and shine a spotlight on many of the
inmates who may be physically, sexually, and emotionally abused and those who are the abusers.
This topic can be considered controversial and hard to study since there is limited access to
inmates. To answer my research question I will review academic journals, articles, newspapers,
documentaries and many other sources. It is important to study the experiences lived by inmates
after they are sentenced by our justice department. We need to understand and study what prison
inmates endure inside and out of their cellblocks and how the system fails or may not fail its
rehabilitation efforts in a safe environment. This information will help us create policies that will keep
inmates safe while they are punished for their crimes. It is also important to study the failed system
to create a real rehabilitation system that supports inmates efforts to stay out of prison.
Presenter: Sharron St. John
Major: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Juliet Williams (Women’s Studies)
Making the Connection: Black Women and Black Masculinity
Today, normative masculinity is often caricatured as misogynistic and homophobic. However
outdated that notion may seem, women still reward the performance of this type of masculinity.
Women serve as the ultimate arbiters of a successful performance of masculinity by allowing
themselves to be dominated in sexual acts. As a result, women reinforce the clichéd concepts that
define the masculine. Many scholars have explored and deconstructed various manifestations of
black masculinity. Others have investigated the effects of patriarchy and other oppressive forms of
masculinity on black women. Interestingly, there is little research that draws connections between
the two. In my research I aim to explore how and why women participate in the construction of a
gender role based on the commodification of their bodies and the exploitation of their sexualities.
My interview-based methods provide the structure to formally evaluate gender relations between
males and females. Concentrating on the black community at UCLA, I will use the narratives of
young women and men to address the following question: how do black women participate in and
reward the construction of a stereotypically misogynistic and homophobic definition of black
masculinity?
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Presenter: Casey Edward Stegman
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Otto Santa Ana (Chicana and Chicano Studies)
Oral Histories of the “May Day Melee”
This project is an ongoing collection of oral histories from the participants of the May 1, 2007
MacArthur Park “May Day” immigration rights rally and subsequent LAPD incursion, what has
become known as the “May Day Melee.” These participants include: protesters, rally organizers,
journalists, lawyers, city officials, and LAPD officers. The question this project is concerned with is:
in what ways do these testimonials either contradict or affirm the corporate news media frames that
were employed in the coverage of this event in the hours, days, and weeks that followed? Those
news media frames, while differing slightly depending on the network and station, essentially
contained the same, central story, which was that police responded after being attacked by
protesters, trapping news media personnel in the crossfire. Using standard oral history
methodology, these testimonials are being videotaped and edited into an online achievable format.
In addition, they will eventually be edited into a short documentary, where they will be inter-cut with
corporate and independent news footage, as well as video shot by the LAPD and the protesters in
the park. In the end, these oral histories will broaden the narrative beyond the frames employed by
the corporate news media, and will serve as a testament to the lived experiences of the people that
witnessed and participated in the, now, historic May 1, 2007 “May Day Melee.”
Presenter: Angelica Stoddard
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Mary F. Corey (History)
Remixing the Gumshoe: African American Detectives in 1930s-40s Los Angeles
Private detectives played a key economic role in the development of the Los Angeles African
American community during the pre- and post-World War II period. This research
looks at their work through the lens of three guiding research questions. First, how many African
American citizens of Los Angeles were involved in this line of work, how financially successful were
they, and how did the dramatic upsurge in economic opportunity brought about by World War II
shape their work? Second, what social role did these men and women play in the larger African
American community? Third, in what ways were their activities a response to and appropriation of
the private detective both as a line of work and an iconic figure of the period? This project relies
mainly on archival research. Primary sources include historical black newspapers and government
documents. Scholarly works by historians of Los Angeles are used to frame these primary sources.
The work of African American private detectives has two main implications. First, it tells the complex
story of personal agency interacting with systemic oppression. Second, it shows how a powerful
economic and cultural figure like the gumshoe, which was defined as white and male, can be
reinterpreted, remixed, and claimed by men and women of color as a source of opportunity and
personal pride.
42
Presenter: Ruth Tesfai
Major: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Peter B. Hammond (Anthropology)
Through the Eyes of Eritrean Refugees and First Generation Eritrean Americans: An
Evolving Analysis of Tigrinya Fables
Tigrigna speakers in Eritrea use fables as a means to develop literacy and values in children.
Tigrigna is one of the two official languages of Eritrea. Though constantly evolving due to their oral
nature, fables are brief narratives that express cultural and moral values of a group. Tigrigna
speakers who have been raised outside of Eritrea and have not learned to read and write in
Tigrigna have limited access to these fables. This study explores how socio-historical context and
generational differences influence one's interpretation and understanding of the values ingrained
within traditional Tigrigna fables. After translating a collection of fables gathered in the 1950’s from
Tigrigna to English, I will conduct interviews with Eritrean refugees in Los Angeles focusing on their
interpretations of the embedded values within the fables. I will also interview first generation
Eritrean-Americans to understand their interpretations of the same fables. By comparing these
interpretations, I plan on examining how different life histories can generate variation in the
understanding of the values. Findings from this research will illustrate how tying literacy with fables
is integral to the maintenance of Tigrigna values in Eritrea. Additionally, the study will highlight the
changing interpretation of cultural meanings due to socio-historical context, as well as record the
experiences of a generation before it is lost.
Presenter: Diane Ward
Major: Geography
Faculty Mentor: Paul M. Ong (Public Affairs / Urban Planning)
Bundled Paths and Shared Commutes
In his 1969 presidential address to the European Congress of the Regional Science Association,
Torsten Hägerstrand, a geographer at the University of Lund, introduced time geography as a way
to analyze individuals’ paths through space and over time. He emphasized the need to take
individuals and their quality of life into account in the social sciences – especially in the context of
increasingly complex environments. Time geography conceptualizes individuals and their
movements through time-space as threads in a web. Limited by various constraints, these ‘threads’
can only be stretched so far, forming patterns of possible movement that can be modeled and
analyzed. Time geography gives these paths and constraints physical shape in terms of location,
extension in space, and duration in time. Hägerstrand characterized the airplane traveler as being
“imprisoned in a narrow time-space tube without openings” and effectively not existing in the
geographic locations over which he is flying. Today, we spend more and more time traveling,
bundled in various forms of public or private transit shared with others. Researchers continue to
explore the use of time-geography to represent individual “paths,” alone or bundled with others, in
both a physical and technologically-enabled virtual time-space. This research project traces various
ways these paths have been represented in time-geography since its introduction. It models the
UCLA vanpool system as one possible example of representing movement in time-space.
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Presenter: Alicia Williams
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Kathleen A. Lytle Hernandez (History)
Socialization of African-American Children of Police Officers
Historically, studies on the Africa-American community’s relationship with the police have depicted
that relationship as tense. Researchers have propagated the idea that African-Americans are more
likely to believe that they are treated worse than their Caucasian counterparts. This view comes
from accounts of police brutality and racial profiling that have been documented in the media and
within the black community. My study will focus on African-American children of police officers to
create a counter story to the narrative about the tension between African-American communities
and law enforcement. A police officer’s child may be socialized differently when it comes to
interactions with the police because of the greater likelihood of being surrounded by police officers
throughout their life. Therefore, their interactions and views of the police may be different than the
one that researchers have previously promoted. My study will try and answer the questions of how
children of police officers view the police and what problems – if any – their views of the police
create in the way they navigate among their peers in the black community. I will collect data from indepth interviews with African-American children of police officers between the ages of fifteen and
twenty-two. This study can change the way police relations with minority communities are studied
and help facilitate a dialogue between police forces and minority communities through the accounts
of these children.
Presenter: Aruna Cadambi
Major: International Development Studies & South Asian Studies and Public Affairs
Faculty Mentor: Vinay Lal (History)
Dubious Dream or Practical Possibility: Can India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) Protect
Children’s Basic Right to Food?
At the conclusion of the 1974 World Food Conference held in Rome, many of the world
governments proclaimed that “within a decade no child will go to bed hungry, that no family will fear
for its next day’s bread, and that no human being’s future and capacities will be stunted by
malnutrition.” Thirty-six years after this conference, this Universal Declaration on the Eradication of
Hunger and Malnutrition has still not been achieved and much work is still left to do in India on
issues of malnutrition and hunger. Thus, each person’s right to food is not being fully protected.
Although families can be empowered with the resources to better safeguard their own children’s
health and education, schools have the unique advantage of being positioned in a relatively central
and permanent location within local communities across India. The school can be used as an
institutional medium to ensure that children’s rights to food and education are met. However, for the
school to be used as a medium to protect nearly all of children’s rights, children must first attend
school. One incentive for children to attend school is a free meal. This paper explores the Indian
government’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), which provides free meals to primary school children
during their allotted lunch time and is the world’s largest school lunch program. In order to
determine if the MDMS has the ability to protect children’s basic rights to food and education, this
paper uses a human-rights based approach to food security and educational equity to analyze the
program’s impact on both child nutrition and educational advancement.
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2009-2010 Undergraduate Research Awards
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards
Alexis Austin
World Arts & Cultures
Mentor: David Shorter (World Arts & Cultures)
Ahmadi Azin
Sociology
Mentor: Zsuzsa Berend (Sociology)
Michael Benitez
English
Mentor: Arthur Little (English)
Aruna Cadambi
International Development Studies
Mentor: Vinay Lal (History)
Asmara Carbado
History
Mentor: Paul Von Blum (Communications)
Sarai Carrillo
Chicana & Chicano Studies
Mentor: La Tonya Miles Rease (English)
Amalia Castaneda
International Development Studies
Mentor: Reed Wilson (English)
Yuseb Cha
Biochemistry
Mentor: Richard Brown (Public Health)
Caitlin Chaney
Communication Studies
Mentor: Thomas Weisner (Anthropology)
Li-Tsung Alyssa Chen
Political Science
Mentor: Susanne Lohmann (Political Science)
Matthew Clawson
Economics
Mentor: Amy Zegart (School of Public Affairs)
Jenae Cohn
English
Mentor: Reed Wilson (English)
Daniel Cooper
Sociology
Mentor: Zsuzsa Berend (Sociology)
Diane Cordova
English
Mentor: Mona Simpson (English)
Cailin Crockett
Political Science
Mentor: Patricia C. Gandara (Education)
45
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards (continues)
John Dallen
Anthropology
Mentor: Gregson Schachner (Anthropology)
Ronald Delaney
Anthropology
Mentor: Alan Fiske (Anthropology)
Lisa Douglass
English
Mentor: Mona Simpson (English)
Aarthi Easwara-Moorthy
Psychobiology
Mentor: Craig Fox (Psychology/Management)
Mentor: Sanjay Sood (Management)
Krystle Evans
Political Science
Mentor: Mignon Moore (Sociology)
Mahyah Laila Fahimuddin
International Development Studies
Mentor: Akhil Gupta (IDS)
Monique Fronti
Psychology
Mentor: Theodore Robles (Psychology)
Marlene Gobrial
Psychobiology
Mentor: Eran Zaidel (Psych-Behav Neurosci)
Priscilla Gonzales
History
Mentor: Muriel McClendon (History)
Sophia Gu
English
Mentor: Gordon Kipling (English)
Scott Guzman
Anthropology
Mentor: Thomas Wake (Anthropology)
Mentor: Greg Schachner (Anthropology)
Henry Hamilton
Art History
Mentor: Steven Nelson (Art History)
Eboni Haynes
Political Sciences
Mentor: Muriel McClendon (History)
Jacqueline Hoang
English
Mentor: Frederick Burwick (English)
Brittany Horth
Psychology
Mentor: Naomi Eisenberger (Psychology)
Lupita Ibarra
Political Science
Mentor: Abel Valenzuela, Jr. (Chicana/o Studies)
46
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards (continues)
Angela Johnson
Psychology
Mentor: Nim L. Delafield (Psychology)
Brieana Johnson
Women’s Studies
Mentor: Ernest Morrell (Education)
Timothy Minho Kim
History
Mentor: Teofilo Ruiz (History)
Winnie Lee
History
Mentor: Valerie Matsumoto (Asian Am. St.)
Francisco Lizama
Psychology
Mentor: Douglas Hollan (Anthropology)
Rogelio A. Lopez
Spanish & Communications
Mentor: Daniel Solorzano (Education)
Iris Lucero
Women’s Studies
Mentor: Daniel Solorzano (Education)
Joan Lubin
Women’s Studies
Mentor: Juliet Williams (Women’s Studies)
Alvaro Luna
Linguistics
Mentor: Rosamina Lowi (Applied Linguistics)
Rebecca MacAulay
Psychology
Mentor: Cindy Yee-Bradbury (Psychology)
Allison Mannos
Sociology
Mentor: Thu-Huong Nguyen-Vo (Asian Am. St.)
Yvette Martinez
English
Mentor: Marissa Lopez (English)
Katie Mastro
History
Mentor: Ronald Mellor (History)
Corey Jerrell Matthews
Psychology
Mentor: Ernest Morrell (Education)
Talia McCarthy
Sociology
Mentor: Zsuzsa Berend (Sociology)
Kevin McDonald
Comparative Literature
Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Teresa Melendrez
Women’s Studies
Mentor: Grace Hong (Asian Am. St.)
47
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards (continues)
Rebecca Mendoza
International Development Studies
Mentor: Jane Pizzolato (Education)
Benjamin Moore
Political Science
Mentor: Steven Spiegel (Political Science)
Pedro Nararro
History
Mentor: Juan Gomez-Quinones (History)
Cindy Anh Nguyen
Political Science
Mentor: Geoffrey Robinson (History)
Maria Rangel
Anthropology
Mentor: Chandra Ford (Health Community)
Leonardo Rios
English
Mentor: Hector Calderon (Spanish/Portuguese)
Katya Rodriguez
Sociology
Mentor: Walter Allen (Education)
Elena Salazar
World Arts & Cultures
Mentor: Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda (Chicana/o Studies)
Anthony Sanchez
English
Mentor: Arthur Little (English)
Stephanie Sartori
Art History
Mentor: Susanne Lohmann (Political Science)
Shamime Shaw
World Arts & Cultures
Mentor: Mary Nooter Roberts (WAC)
Julia Sloane
Anthropology
Mentor: Jason Throop (Anthropology)
Ester Trujillo
Chicana and Chicano Studies
Mentor: Maria Pons (Chicana/o Studies)
Carrie Truong
Sociology
Mentor: Walter Allen (Education)
Cori Tucker
Communication Studies
Mentor: Paul Von Blum (Communications)
Marques A. Vestal
Afro-American Studies
Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Diane Ward
Geography / Environmental Studies
Mentor: Paul Ong (Public Affairs)
48
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards (continues)
Susanne Wejp-Olson
English
Mentor: Mona Simpson (English)
Maya Wilson
Political Science
Mentor: Leslie Johns (Political Science)
Sherri Yang
Linguistics / Anthropology
Mentor: Paul Kroskrity (Anthropology)
Christina Yoneda
History
Mentor: Eric Avila (Chicana/o Studies)
Ming Chak Wilson Yuen
Political Science
Mentor: James Tong (Political Science)
Freddy Yusuf
Psychobiology
Mentor: Sarosh Motivala (Neuropsychiatry)
Mantas Zvinakevicius
World Arts & Cultures
Mentor: John Caldwell (Film & Television)
49
Undergraduate Research Fellows Program Awards
Astin Research Fellows
Adriana Arizon
Jenna F. Borok
Mark J. Prandini
Stephanie Woods
Sociology
Psychobiology
Political Science
Psychobiology
McNair Research Fellows
Stephanie Canizales
Adrian Del Rio
Charlene Gomez
Alfredo Gonzalez
Geoffrey Nguyen
Luis Roman
Sombra Ruiz
Sarina Sanchez
Angelica Stoddard
Political Science
Sociology
Chicana & Chicano Studies
Political Science
English
Women’s Studies
Chicana & Chicano Studies
Sociology
History
Ruth Tesfai
Anthropology
Alicia Williams
History
Mellon Mays Research Fellows
Sandy Enriquez
Berenice Gomez
Cindy Y. Le
Andrea Slater
Sharron St. John
Anthropology
Spanish & Communications
Sociology
Political Science
Sociology
Psychology Research Opportunity Programs Fellows(PROPS)
Ryan Arellano
Tayla Ash
Heather Cavion
Jessica Diep
Nicole Edwards
Brenda Gonzalez
Psychology
Psychology
Psychology
Psychology
Psychology
Psychology
50
Undergraduate Research Fellows Program Awards Continue
URC Research Fellows
Sunshine Anderson
Nora Cisneros
Chicana & Chicano Studies
Psychology
Stephany Del Cid Mendoza
Anthropology
Cynthia C. Flores
Psychology
Ilona Gerbakher
Philosophy
Kenny Kristiananto
Business Economics
Tessie Liu
Psychology
Casey E. Stegman
Political Science
Eveleen Varela-Nevils
Psychology
Alexander Woodman
International Development Studies
Matthew Zusman
Psychology
AAP Jr. Scholar Program Awards
Evyn Adkins
Tessa Marie Batchelor
Nancy Cruz
Dalma Diaz
Ida Garcia
Jocelyn Meza
Aislyn Namanga
Carol Nguyen
Sara Ordaz
Erik Peña
Nidia Ruedas-Garcia
Cathia Sanchez
Gilbert Soria Mendoza
Classical Civilizations
Psychology
Sociology
Political Science
Sociology & Psychology
Psychology
Sociology & Psychology
Political Science
Political Science
Political Science
Psychology, Philosophy, & Sociology
Sociology
Political Science
51
Undergraduate Research Travel Grants
2009 – 2010
Eugenie Cartier
Asmara Carbado
Yuseb Cha
Ronald Delaney II
Sophia Gu
Cindy Le
Tiffany Man
Benjamin Moore
John Nelson
Sombra Ruiz
Arianna Taboada
Ester Trujillo
Carrie Truong
Cori Tucker
2008 – 2009
Tory Adkisson
Andrea Bueno
Jessica Elaine Zapanta Chua
Kevin Escudero
Yael Filossof
Eboni Haynes
Joanna Huang
Carrie Jones
Carlos Juarez
Deborah Kim
Matthew Luskin
Luz Del Carman Trejo Martinez
Edgar Munguia
Leslie Pang
Amy Willis
2007 – 2008
Matthew Alcala
Brandy Au
Amorn Bholsangngam
Heather Collette-Vanderaa
Rachael Kartsonis
Aditi Khurana
Kristina Norindr
Lisette Reynoso
Griselda Rodriguez
Daisy Salazar
Norma Velasquez
Vanessa Villarreal
52
Westwind 2009-2010
2009-2010 Editorial Staff
Jenae Cohn, Executive Editor
Genie Cartier, Senior Poetry Editor
Afton Coombs, Assistant Poetry Editor / Online Editor
Michael Tran, Senior Prose Editor
Melissa Joffe, Assistant Prose Editor
Amy Sanchez, Senior Art Editor
Fiction Editors
Yair Ben-Zvi
Marcus Bjoerkqvist
Uriel Blumstein
Michelle Boyers
Megan Brickwood
Ryan Brown
Aithi Hong
Srbui Karapetian
Jacob Klein
Angelica Lai
Shirley Mak
Paula Massingill
Carmen Merport
Kristine Miller
Rebecca Roycroft
Poetry Editors
Daniel Boden
James Bunning
Patricia Guzman
Claire Hellar
Stefan Karlsson
Krista Lauder
Andrew Moncada
John Nelson
AJ Urquidi
Advisors
Boris Dralyuk, Graduate Research Mentor
Reed Wilson, Director of URC
53
Aleph 2009-2010
2009-2010 Editorial Staff
Senior Executive Editor
Sophia Gu
Executive Editors
Kamyla Davis
Emily Gerrick
Casey Stegman
Wilson Yuen
Editors
Faris Alikhan
Melody Arian
Fred Casale
Colleen Chen
Caitlin Colleary
Marissa Martinez
Ilona Gerbakher
Alex Goodman
Azadeh Hosseinian
Matthew Lawrence
Katie Mastro
Alexander Marlantes
Shamime Shaw
Julia Sloane
Clara Tsao
Alex Woodman
Advisors
Aya Machida Winston, Graduate Research Mentor
Reed Wilson, Director of URC
54