The 42nd Annual Undergraduate Symposium was held on Friday, March 25, at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center where students were given the opportunity to showcase their research and creative projects.
EMU students presented their research and creative projects through oral presentations, poster presentations, and at the crossing lines design expo.
“The Symposium represents so much of what EMU is in regard to creating opportunities for student academic and professional success,” event coordinator Amy Bearinger said. “The experiences our undergrads have as they prepare and participate in the event solidify their determination and commitment to excellence.”
From research projects in the fields of humanities, social sciences, and natural/physical sciences to performances and design-based projects, The Undergraduate Symposium offers students many different opportunities to showcase their work.
Eva Long, a junior studying Public and Nonprofit Administration, presented their research project titled “Balancing Free Speech and Inclusion on College Campuses” at the Symposium. Long wanted to understand how EMU students think about free speech and how it should apply on our campus.
“It's really important for me that all people regardless of what they think, or their background have the opportunity to express themselves without fear of being arrested, or ostracized, or heckled,” Long said. “However, I also acknowledge that some speech is harmful and degrading and poses a risk to marginalized communities, so we and public universities have to learn how to balance that.”
The Symposium allows students the chance to immerse themselves in the research that they are most passionate about.
Students presented their work throughout the day, with topics ranging from “The Relationship Between Introversion/Extroversion & COVID – 19 Health Precautions” to “Sinister Programming: A Discourse Analysis of Fox News’ Rightward Blitz.” Further overview of student projects can be found here.
Among the research done within the Chemistry field was sophomore neuroscience major, Ravel Ray. In his oral presentation titled “Differences in the Relative Abundance of ProBDNF & Mature BDNF in Human Lung Cancer Cells,” he wanted to further understand if the proteins present in our brains and in lung cancer cells played the same role because Alzheimer’s disease and cancer are two disease mechanisms at opposite ends of the spectrum.
“I always had a passion for neurodegenerative diseases,” Ray said. “I actually saw my great-grandmother pass away from Alzheimer’s disease, and I realized that it’s one of the hardest things for a family to see. So that’s where my passion stemmed from.”
Along with the opportunity to showcase the research students are passionate about, the Symposium offered a great deal of representation within marginalized communities. Many students in their presentations stressed the importance of seeing someone who looks like them studying in their preferred fields.
“I hope, in general, that the community takes away that there is hope,” Ray said. “Also, just for the other black boys out there that might be discouraged into getting into the fields of STEM just because of how few of us there are out there. Just know that there are some of us out there holding it down and you can do this.”
This year was the first Symposium back in person since last year’s 41st Annual Undergraduate Symposium was held virtually for the first time ever to ensure safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were thrilled to create a space where so many people could engage and connect with our students,” Bearinger said. “While we feel our first ever online event was a success, there is something about welcoming everyone back to campus each spring to celebrate together. The energy, dialogue, and connections made as people journey through the projects showcased at the Student Center together is really something special.”
The 43rd Annual Undergraduate Symposium is expected to return next year with a tentative date set to March 31.
