SouthEastern Undergraduate Sociology Symposium

PROCEEDINGS Volume 38, 2020

Held at Emory University February 28-29, 2020

Sponsored by Emory University Department of Sociology Morehouse College Department of Sociology

Table of Contents Session 1 ...... 1 Kamau Mckie, Morehouse College ...... 1 Tierra Alcantara, Fisk University ...... 1 Emily Tingle, Mississippi State University ...... 2 Hannah Chong, Emory University ...... 2 Daniel Ramirez, Pranav Jain, Mei Xu, Emory University ...... 3 Session 2 ...... 4 Teresa Apel, Emory University ...... 4 Viviana Barreto Roballo, Emory University ...... 4 Wana’Ja Brown, Morehouse College ...... 5 Cameron D. Bankhead, Fisk University ...... 6 Session 3 ...... 7 Fredrick Thompson & Catherine Xiao, Emory University ...... 7 Lauren Ferguson, Millsaps College ...... 7 Iris Li, Emory University ...... 8 Andrea K. Junco, Emory University ...... 8 Session 4 ...... 9 Kendall Sapiro, Emory University ...... 9 Edwin Kumah, Virginia Commonwealth University...... 9 Jieyu (Zoey) Jiao, Emory University ...... 10 Ayushi Agarwal, Emory University ...... 11

Session 5 ...... 12

Bailey Rodgers, Emory University ...... 12 Brittany Howard, University of North Georgia ...... 12 Nina Reddy & Ahana Gaurav, University of Georgia ...... 13 Ian Barrett, Morehouse College ...... 13

SEUSS 2016 Proceedings, Volume 34: i

Session 6 ...... 14 Taylor Seabolt, University of North Georgia ...... 14 Negus N. Dowling, Morehouse College ...... 14 Tully Pritchett, Emory University ...... 14 Lilah Blalock, Emory University ...... 15 Session 7 ...... 16 Garrette Lewis-Thomas, Fisk University ...... 16 Joe Collica, Emory University ...... 17 Heather Marjenhoff, University of North Georgia ...... 18 Brooke Pérez-Bissell, Samford University ...... 18 Session 8 ...... 19 Yihua Xu, Georgia Institute of Technology ...... 19 Jasmine Cui & Brianna Riggio, Emory University ...... 19 Mallory K Vaughn, University of North Georgia ...... 20 Marian Dalban, AlexandruIoanCuza University of Iaşi ...... 20

SEUSS 2016 Proceedings, Volume 34: ii

Session 1

Racial Wage Gap and Urban/Rural Income Disparities for People with Disabilities in Georgia Kamau Mckie, Morehouse College

Research on social inequality has blossomed since the Great Recession. However, the examination of race’s impact on measures of social inequality has not received the same level of attention. Research on disability’s impact on measures of social inequality has been rare and oftentimes ignored. This research examines whether one's race and location influenced the incomes of individuals with disabilities. Using the Civic Engagement Supplement of the Current Population Survey, 2010, it found that the type of disability a subject has profoundly impacts one's income, more so than geographic location. Black women in the study were most adversely affected by income reducing factors like having a non-physical disability, living in a rural area, or having less education. Black men with disabilities and black participants overall found work later than other participants, and this research forwards future examination into disability discrimination in the job market and in discrimination against Black women with disabilities.

Faculty Advisor: Cynthia Hewett, Morehouse College

Race, Gender, and Intersectionality in Film Tierra Alcantara, Fisk University

The purpose of this study was to analyze any identifiable vectors of oppression and privilege in relation to the race/ethnicity of female lead characters in American film. Intersectionality theory would predict that more Black female lead characters would be portrayed as victims of oppression in films than white female lead characters. The sample selected for this study consisted of 45 current American films produced between 2017-2019 which featured female lead characters. Twenty-five white female leads, and 25 Black female leads were then selected as the focus of the content analysis. All films were found on the online streaming service Netflix. Genres of film included comedy, drama, romance, science- fiction/horror, and thriller. The variables analyzed in this study represented the “Intersecting Axes of Privilege, Domination, and Oppression” wheel reproduced by Morgan (1996). These variables were: 1) gender traits, 2) race, 3) sexuality, 4) age, 5) skin color, 6) class, 7) wealth, 8) credentials, 9) mental health, 10) physical health, 11) attractiveness, 12) fertility, 13) language, and 14) heritage. The results indicated that the majority of female leads in the films were young, heterosexual, feminine, upper/middle class, financially stable, mentally healthy, abled-bodied, heterosexual, light skin, European standard of attractiveness, non-fertile, and Anglophone. Significant relationships were found between race and skin color, attractiveness, class, and heritage. An index of oppression was produced using the 14 variables operationalized from the index of oppression. No strong level of oppression was found. The index included low and moderate levels of oppression. The index of oppression was significantly related to race. White female characters were low in oppression, but Black female characters were moderate in oppression. The level of oppression between white and Black female characters was most visible for the film genres of comedy, drama, and science-fiction/horror.

Faculty Advisor: Dani Smith, Fisk University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 1

Grass Roots Organizing and Colorblind Ideology in Association with the Maintenance of White Womanhood Emily Tingle, Mississippi State University

Progressive grass roots organizations in Mississippi attempt to address inequity in public education through campaigning for fully funding education, striving for more funding for children in impoverished areas, and promoting pro-public education candidates for state legislature. However, to what extent do these groups confront the role that race, and racism play within individual schools and how do they perpetuate the maintenance of white privilege while advocating for equality in statewide education policy? This paper is rooted in the sociology of race. Drawing on preliminary participant observations of progressive political organizations in Mississippi as well as in depth qualitative interviews from white women in various organizations across the state of Mississippi, this paper argues that white women activists perpetuate racial privileges within schools while simultaneously advocating for better statewide public education policies using Colorblind Ideology. This research is necessary because without directly confronting the realities of race in America, activists may shift attention in other directions, which may not lead to the goal of equity that they otherwise seek to achieve.

Faculty Advisor: Margaret Hagerman, Mississippi State University

The Experience and Perception of Financial Constraint Amongst Varying Income Classes in an Elite Collegial Setting Hannah Chong, Emory University

The purpose of this research is to examine how undergraduate students of different income levels at Emory University, an elite private institution, experience and perceive the cultural object of financial constraint. I investigate the relationship between financial strain and how low- and middle-income students perceive and experience financial constraint as prior research has yet to explore how varied backgrounds can play a role in shaping how college students perceive and experience different environments. For my research, I interviewed nine college students, 3 from each income level: low, lower-middle, and upper-middle all undergraduate students from Emory University. From my research, I was able to find that: (1) Lower-income students were less likely to label any experiences of financial constraint despite their reports showing different, (2) there is a taken-for-granted ideology amongst the upper-middle class students that shows a subconscious negative bias against lower-income students, and (3) lower-middle income students was the group that was most aware about their financial constraints both in perception and reporting experiences. This research highlights the relationship between culture and society as it shows how culture is unique to the individual person and how they perceive, and experience certain instances of culture may not be the same for another person. It also shows how culture can propagate inequalities in the world of higher education, but that it can also be used to combat them. Advisor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 2

Lynching’s Resulting from Gender Violations in Georgia (1875-1935): Linking Alleged Female Victims to Official Census Records Daniel Ramirez, Pranav Jain, Mei Xu, Emory University

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there was significant amount of violence against African American men. From the over 500 recorded cases of lynchings in Georgia between 1875 and 1935, there are 206 resulting from to the “outrage” of a white woman, that is, a gender violation described as a “rape” or “assault”. In 151 cases, newspaper articles provided information such as the female’s victim’s name, age, location, family members, and marital status. With this information in hand, we have focused on “linking” these women via the United States census records, marriage certificates, and family trees obtained through Ancestry.com to discover how their life unfolded after the event. We successfully “traced” 124 women. Did they ever marry after the event? Did any of the women divorce? Did any move out of town, to a different county or state? How consistent were the newspaper articles with the woman’s information? With all these data, we created biographical profiles for these women. Of the 124 women found, 100 women either married later in life, remarried, or retained their marriage; 15 women did not marry after being outraged; no women divorced. In terms of age, 81 women were younger than 25 during the event but 18 women were older than the age reported in the newspaper articles. There were no cases of the newspaper articles overreporting the age. Our findings have led us to speculate two main points. Firstly, why did the Georgia press often lower the women’s age factual age? Secondly, because few women did not marry after the event, were these women’s ability to marry adversely affected by the alleged violence against them? There is perhaps an even bigger question about the objective of the lynchings. Could it have been a method of systematically oppressing black men disguised as punishment for crimes never committed?

Faculty Advisor: Roberto Franzosi, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 3

Session 2

The Trump Effect Teresa Apel, Emory University

With the onset of the Trump administration, political discourse regarding Latinos in the U.S. has become increasingly hostile. This rhetoric has directly influenced immigration policy decisions such as the removal of DACA. Even more disheartening, Atlanta schools have witnessed an unprecedented number of high school seniors leaving their studies without attaining high school diplomas. This anti-immigrant phenomenon has led me to research the impact of the Trump administration on the educational attainment of Latinx youth attending Atlanta schools. In this essay, I conduct statistical analysis to explore potential correlations between Trump’s anti-immigrant hostility and increased truancy and discipline rates among Latinx high school youth. More broadly, this research is imperative to the field of Latina/o/x Studies because it demonstrates how the rise of radical right-wing politics and punitive immigration enforcement is associated with a decrease in school performance for Latinx students.

Faculty Advisor: Alyasah A. Sewell, Emory University Collegiate Influences on Male and Female Skateboarders Viviana Barreto Roballo, Emory University

The purpose of this research paper is to examine skateboards as a cultural object and the impact different types of educational institutions have on male and female skateboarders. I analyze features—such as faculty, staff, students, and school identity—in prestigious and non-prestigious universities that may influence skateboard use along gender lines because past research has yet to investigate how leisure products and practices intersect with educational institutions. This research gap states that educational institutions could be a potential explanation for gender differences among skateboarders. In this study, I interviewed male and female skateboarders from four different universities in the South East. I specifically asked participants about their personal experience riding skateboards on campus and any rules and regulations on Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) such as skateboards. Based on my research, I found that 1) males at prestigious universities are more likely to break rules regarding PMDs due to their salient skateboard identity over university regulations and 2) females at prestigious universities are more hesitant to break the rules against PMDs due to perceived pressure from their academic institution—such as a dissociation between their skater identity and their school identity. This study has important implications for how the social world influences culture and a possible explanation for the lower rate of female skaters. It also illuminates the way in which educational institutions affect cultural objects such as skateboards. The limitations of the current study and future directions are also discussed.

Faculty Advisor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 4

Mental Health & Treatment Wana’Ja Brown, Morehouse College

The purpose of this study is to explain how theoretically race and social stigmas has contributed to the inequality of society and culture in regard to mental health and treatment. Accordingly, the relationship between race, drug use, social status, and mental illness is believed to correlate with individual behaviors, feelings, and receiving of treatment though many studies lack an explanation as to the factors that contribute to the relationship between them. Accordingly, the relationship between ethnicity, social class(poverty), drug use, and the symptoms relating to a mental disorder(depression) is researched to correlate individual behavior and over all treatment practices among individuals that are diagnosed. Considering social class can be measured by income those who are above the median household income according to year are hypothesized to have better individual views, behaviors, and treatment practices do to living conditions in comparison to those making below the median household income. W..E.B Dubois double conscious theory and Charles Horton Cooley social interaction theory will be used to explain how race is socially constructed and determines life chances thus social structures on a micro and macro level scale can influence social stigmas which causes racial stratification among ethnic groups in the U.S thus affecting behaviors, drug use, and treatment practices . ICPSR provided the data to conduct secondary data analysis of quantitative data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archives which was provided by National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the years 2015-2018 to correlate an analysis of drug use, feelings, and receiving of treatment. The following study summarizes key findings from the following years 2015-2018 indicating a combination of alcohol use in the past year and treatment among the institutionalized population of the United States based on race, gender, age, and income.

Faculty Advisor: Adria Welcher, Morehouse College

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 5

The Effects of Stratification and Family Structure on Youths’ College Aspirations Cameron D. Bankhead, Fisk University

The present study conducted a secondary analysis of Monitoring the Future (2017). The sample was 45,500 high school seniors. This research answered two questions 1.Did having both parents in the household increase the desire to further education? 2. Did parents’ education affect the desire of adolescents to continue their education past high school? The independent variables were two measures of social class: fathers’ and mothers’ education level (completed graduate school, some high school, high school diploma, some college, college, graduate or professional school) and family structure (both mother and father live in the household, mother or father only, other). The dependent variable was college aspirations, measured by two questions: How likely is it that you will graduate from a two-year college or four-year college (definitely will not, probably will not, probably will, definitely will). Race (Black, white, Hispanic) was the control variable. No significant relationship was found between family structure and attending either a two-year or four-year college for Blacks, whites, or Hispanics. However, for whites, there was a significant relationship between the mothers’ education and attending either a two- or four-year college, as well as for Blacks and their fathers’ education and attending a two-year college. White seniors with highly educated mothers did not plan to attend a two-year college, but did plan to attend a four-year college. Similarly, Black seniors with a highly educated father did not plan to attend a two-year college. Also, fathers’ education was significantly related to attending a four-year college for all races. More seniors whose fathers had completed college or graduate school definitely planned to attend a four-year college than those whose fathers had less education.

Faculty Advisor: Dani Smith, Fisk University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 6

Session 3

Around the World In 1000 Gays: A Distant Reading Approach to the Gay Men Project Fredrick Thompson & Catherine Xiao, Emory University

Sociolinguistics has opened its doors to studying the speech of gay men in almost every social and racial context. Yet there is a lack of literature that studies the stories of gay men for what they are. This paper explores the world of gay men as provided by the Gay Men Project founded by photographer Kevin Truong. We built computational tools to scrape the data from the website (http://thegaymenproject.com/) along with data pre-processing tools, since the Gay Men Project was not built for easy structured data extraction. This project focuses on 499 of a total 1100 transcribed stories of gay men around the world and analyzes them using distant reading computational algorithms, in particular, the Stanford CoreNLP, Topic Modeling, Sentiment Analysis, and N-Grams viewer. As gay men live in an incredible wide variety of experiences, cultures and locations, it is difficult to assume they would share any similarities in world view based on one facet in an infinite number of personal characteristics. This paper explores the world view of gay men in terms of their Social Network of gayness, friends, family, and community. It finds similarities in voice and connection to each of these networks, but a disparity in defining what it means to be gay for all.

Faculty Advisor: Roberto Franzosi, Emory University

Considering the Social Nature of School Shootings Lauren Ferguson, Millsaps College

This thesis examines the social nature of school shootings. In phase one of data acquisition, the author closely investigates the life of Pearl High School shooter Luke Woodham by conducting semi-structured interviews with Pearl High School officials and Woodham’s former attorney and by analyzing court transcripts and other documents related to the case. Following the close consideration of factors that led up to this event, one of the first rampage school shootings to sweep the nation, the author uses quantitative methods to identify shared social factors associated with ten school shooting cases in the decade of 2000, all of which were committed teenagers. The author found many shared social characteristics among these shooters. First, they were often socially isolated or marginalized in school and at home, which not only detached them from social groups that promoted legal coping, but also caused the individual to seek out alternative group affiliations. Next, they often identity with and associated with alternative, deviant groups, and these groups encouraged them to seek out importance, respect, and domination over their peers. These reference groups were often online rather than in person, and sometimes they were symbolic groups of the past, like the Nazis or former school shooters. When the individual accepted deviant means of achieving seemingly normal masculine goals, like importance, respect, and control, the shooter became prepared to engage the school shooting.

Faculty Advisor: Louwanda Evans and Ming Tsui, Millsaps College

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 7

To Dye or Not to Dye: a study on hair dye choices Iris Li, Emory University

In this study, I examine people’s hair dye choices and the gender biases behind the choices. Hair serves as an essential part of individual appearance, and it is often used by individuals to express themselves, including their personalities and gender identifications. Dyed hair resembles one form of hair care and self-expression. In this study, in order to look at how the males and females use hair dye differently, I conducted interviews on college students on their reasons behind different hair dye choices. During this study, I found: 1) Males have a lower chance than females to dye their hair, 2) there are generally two kinds of hair dyes and people view them differently: the natural colors (brown, blonde, and etc) and the unnatural colors (purple, green, and etc); among these two categories 3) people with the unnatural hair color dyes are often associated with negative meanings, for example weird, dumb, and etc, according to the participants of the study. This study shows how individuals’ hair dye choices are affected by cultural ideals of males and females, specifically through hair dye choices. It also illuminates on how we create cultural meanings on hair dye.

Faculty Advisor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Extracurricular Involvement on College Campuses: The Underlying Relationship Andrea K. Junco, Emory University

The purpose of this research paper is to examine how students’ perception of extracurricular activities, based on their SES, influences their involvement in them. I look at this idea of perception, because nearly no research on the relationship between SES and extracurricular involvement delves into it. Instead, overlooking the unseen cultural aspects inherent to SES and social class, most research links the relationship between SES and extracurricular involvement to differences in leisure time between the different social classes. In this study, I interviewed 6 college students, three of low SES and three of high SES, from Emory University. I find that there is not a strong relationship between SES and students’ perception of extracurricular activities. Instead, I find that there is a strong relationship between race and ethnicity, or more broadly family culture, and students’ perception of extracurricular activities. By family culture, I refer to the beliefs, norms, and traditions of a family. Bringing to light a previously unknown relationship, this study has important implications for future research. It also highlights culture’s ability to influence even our most basic thoughts. The limitations of the current study are also discussed.

Faculty Advisor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 8

Session 4 Are Marijuana’s Usage and Perceptions Gendered? Kendall Sapiro, Emory University

The purpose of this research is to examine how marijuana usage and perceptions are gendered on college campuses. Based on findings from previous research, I hypothesize that men will have a higher frequency of marijuana usage, that men use marijuana for recreational purposes and to “soften” their masculinity while women use it to conform and escape from their stressors, that men become more relaxed while under the influence while women become more active and reckless, and that both genders will regard marijuana as masculine but not feel strongly about this stereotype. This research is motivated by previous research findings about marijuana usage and risky behaviors in general; however, as many of the findings do not speak about gender, are not conducted in the United States, and/or examine different aspects of marijuana usage, I am also building upon the gap that exists in the previous literature on this subject. In this study, I distributed a survey to undergraduate college students asking if they use marijuana and then assessing their behaviors and perceptions surrounding marijuana. Based on my research, I find that while females are more likely to use marijuana, males use it more frequently. I also find that males regard marijuana in a more casual way while females are more likely to categorize people based on their usage. Both males and females are more likely to perceive marijuana as masculine but do not feel strongly about this perception. This study has important implications for culture and society as it provides insight into the future generation’s attitudes about a controversial topic in today’s political climate.

Faculty Advisor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

A Comparative Analysis of the Decennial Average Age of Death between the US Population and African Americans in Richmond Virginia from 1880 to 1970 Edwin Kumah, Virginia Commonwealth University

This paper analyzes the average age of death from 1880 to 1970 between the United States population and the East End Cemetery (hereafter referred to as EEC) in Richmond Virginia. Richmond Virginia is the home to historic sites and the experience of African American life and culture. Its rich history in the Civil Rights movement is especially significant in Virginia history. The EEC is a historic African American cemetery where the remains of over 17,000 people are interred. The primary purpose of this study is to identify the historical events that occurred during that time period and attribute it to the disproportionate mortality rates of African Americans. It was hypothesized that the average age of death within the African American population would be significantly lower than the U.S. population due to the cataclysmic impacts of racial disparities during the twentieth century. The average death ages were computed using data compiled by the Census Bureau, the CDC National Vital Statistics System and the EEC data was retrieved from ancestry.com. The average age of death between the EEC and the U.S. population was 45.4 and 52 years, an age difference of 6.6 years respectively from 1930 to 1939. From 1960 to 1969, it was 54.3 and 63 years which is almost a tremendous decadal difference. The discrepancies— though not directly explicable by the data— revealed that the social events (i.e. The Great Depression and Civil Rights Era) as supported with evidence, may have contributed to mortality rates in conjunction with socioeconomic factors. This study sets precedent for future analyses on the common cause of death by isolating the cases and also determine how socioeconomic statuses such as place of residence and occupation may have contributed to mortality. It could then be compared to the racial majority in Richmond Virginia or the U.S.

Faculty Advisor: Susan Bodnar-Deren, Virginia Commonwealth University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 9

Analyzing Nobel-Prize Winning Stories Using Computational Linguistic Tools Jieyu (Zoey) Jiao, Emory University

In the field of literature, close reading has been the gold standard mechanism of literary analysis for a few hundred years. However, in the past few decades, distant reading has become increasingly popular in a field of study at the intersection of computer science and humanities, a field now known as digital humanities or humanities computing. Distant reading aims to generate abstract views by shifting from observing textual content to visualizing global features of texts using computing and quantitative methods. The idea of distant reading focuses on ‘not to read the text’ by applying statistical modeling and employing graphs, maps, and other visualizations to analyze texts. In general, it seeks a more global and broader pictures of texts in order to highlight some patterns.

For my research, I collected four Nobel-Prize Winning Short Stories: ‘Dry September’ by William Faulkner, ‘Gentle Breath’ by Ivan Bunin, ‘Red Dress’ and ‘Voices’ by Alice Munro. I utilized Natural Language Processing, Text Mining, and statistical tools analyze the semantic patterns and narrative schemas of these stories as well as the writing styles of different authors, which are traditionally analyzed with close reading. In particular, I relied on Stanford CoreNLP, Topic Modeling, Sentiment Analysis, N-Grams, Coreference Resolution, Part of Speech Taggin, and on R for simple statistical analyses. For each individual document, the co-occurring words can accurately predict the characteristics and actions of major characters. Across documents, the usages of “function” words (namely, pronouns and auxiliaries) vary with the authors’ gender confirming findings from previous research. In the future, the study will expand both the corpus and the analytic NLP tools to explore what distinguishes these Nobel-Prize Winning stories.

Faculty Advisor: Roberto Franzosi, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 10

Education Status and Criminality: Audience Reception of India’s Daughter Ayushi Agarwal, Emory University

On December 16, 2012, Jyoti “Nirbhaya” Singh was gang-raped and tortured by six men in a moving bus in South Delhi. A BBC documentary about the incident called India’s Daughter, aired on March 4, 2015, but was banned the following day in India. I conducted an audience reception study to answer — How does the documentary, India’s Daughter, influence the audience reception of the Jyoti Singh rape case? In particular, I was interested to look at the role of education status in justifying criminality or deviant beliefs among the rapist and lawyers interviewed in the documentary. The study consisted of 6 in-depth qualitative interviews with college students from Emory University. All participants were shown the first 21 minutes of the film. Participants were then asked to answer a set of 17 questions including — “What stood out to you the most about the documentary?” “How would you describe the defense lawyers/the rapist? Where do you think their beliefs stem from?” All participants were between 19 to 21-years-old. An equal number of South-East Asians and Americans were included in the sample to counter the effects of event proximity. Participants’ responses were recorded and transcribed onto a spreadsheet to be used as evidence in support of my research question. The results showed clear disdain for the lawyer and rapist supporting my claim that rape is universally seen as “bad.” The status afforded by the lawyers through their education made participants analyze their responses differ from those of the rapists. Although they said almost the same things, there was a difference in justification for their crimes. While the rapists were deemed uneducated, lawyers were put on a pedestal of being highly educated and moral individuals who are “within the eyes of the law.” Faculty Advisor: Sonal Nalkur, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 11

Session 5 Investigating the Perspective of Children on the Nanny-Child Relationship Bailey Rodgers, Emory University

In this research, I study the relationship between nanny and child as a cultural object from the perspective of the child. In past research, though the child’s perspective on family life has been identified as distinct from that of the adults’, there is little research from this perspective. To investigate meaning-making of children in this relationship, I interview six college-aged women at an elite, liberal- arts institution on their perspectives of growing up with nannies. I discover several factors that may influence meaning-making in this relationship: time employed, maternal involvement, and cultural background. Additionally, I find that these women draw symbolic boundaries between their parents and their nannies, supporting Weber’s theories of culture and society. It is possible that these symbolic boundaries enable the creation and maintenance of status, class, gender, and race inequalities, so further research should investigate how these symbolic boundaries operate on a larger scale. Additionally, future research should incorporate subjects of different genders and focus on the factors which impact meaning making, specifically on how cultural background alters meaning in the nanny-child relationship.

Faculty Sponsor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

The Disproportionality of African American Youths in the U.S. Foster Care System Brittany Howard, University of North Georgia

The U.S. foster care system provides temporary living arrangements for children of all ages, genders, races and ethnicities. In most states, African American youths are disproportionately represented in the foster care population compared to their representation in the general child population. These youths are not only impacted by the foster care system’s manifest functions, but its latent functions as well. The American foster care system is designed to protect children from maltreatment. Sometimes foster youths end up experiencing further harm while in the system, however. Foster care stipends can influence how youths are treated as well as the number of placements they end up in. Multiple mechanisms have been identified as contributing to the overrepresentation of African American youths in out-of-home care. This paper explores the impact of incarceration, poverty, and single parenthood on African American families. The role of social standpoint in the decision-making processes of family and children social workers is also examined.

Faculty Sponsor: David Broad, University of North Georgia

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 12

Colorism’s Influence on Attraction, Dating, and Relationship Formation in the Indian-American Community Nina Reddy and Ahana Gaurav, University of Georgia, Institute for Women’s Studies

While research on colorism isn’t necessarily novel, this study aims to fill a significant gap in the literature by exploring how colorism influences dating preferences and the formation of interpersonal relationships specifically within the Indian-American community. We examine a range of identities, including age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and generation to uncover how they interact with an individuals’ perceptions about skin tone. The study utilizes a survey assessment tool and in-person interviews to gather primary data about how skin tone impacts Indian-Americans’ dating preferences and opinions on beauty and attraction. Two versions of the survey were randomly distributed, where two separate images, one man and one woman, were digitally altered. In the first version of the survey, the man and woman appear to have lighter skin tones, and in the second version of the survey, the man and woman appear to have darker skin tones. We compare their attraction ratings across the two survey groups. We also assess individuals’ responses in both the survey and interviews to a series of other qualitative and quantitative questions about their personal experiences with dating, relationships, and colorism within the context of the community they occupy. We analyze our collected data through a feminist lens in order to better gauge the impact colorism has on dating, beauty, and relationship formation in the Indian-American community.

Faculty Sponsor: Cecilia Herles, University of Georgia

Factors Affecting Student Graduation Rates in Schools of the Metropolitan Atlanta Area Ian Barrett, Morehouse College

This study will examine the interrelations between students’ graduation rates, racial demographics, and average household incomes of families in 16 counties across the metropolitan Atlanta area. By observing this data, the goal is to identify whether racial bias has a significant effect on the areas in which Black families are moving into, and subsequently the funding and resources that schools are able to afford their students in order to help them successfully matriculate through high school. In these observations, we have found that students who reside in counties of metropolitan Atlanta with larger Black or minority populations, on average, see a larger population of families who are staying afloat as a a working- or working-middle class family. Likewise, schools in these communities have are seeing lower graduation rates than those who serve students that come from middle- and upper-middle-class families. These results raise the question of whether the permeations of racism and bigotry in these communities still affect the lives of students today, and whether it is believed by all that all students deserve access to equitable education.

Faculty Sponsor: Adria N. Welcher, Morehouse College

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 13

Session 6

The “War on Drugs” in America Taylor Seabolt, University of North Georgia

This paper cross-references primary and secondary research in order to explain the origins of the ‘War on Drugs’ in America, its’ overall effectiveness since its’ start in 1971, law enforcement and racial profiling related to the ‘War on Drugs’, and its’ effect on African American communities. Other discussions will include the induction of drugs into America through American soldiers during the Vietnam War, as well as alternative policies like Harm Reduction utilized in Switzerland that the United States has not attempted.

Faculty Sponsor: David Broad, University of North Georgia

American Veganism and Social Lag Negus N Dowling, Morehouse College

Many reports have surfaced regarding the significance, consensus, and proximity of a global climate catastrophe. While there is some debate about what exactly should be done to avoid irreversible environmental damage, it is clear that most countries are not doing enough. Among these countries, the United States of America protrudes as a flaming example of what not to do in reaction to scientific consensus about climate change. With the reality of a government that isn’t doing its part reducing America’s ecological footprint, some Americans have taken matters into their own hands by adopting Vegan lifestyles. This works seeks to acknowledge the drastic growth in American Veganism and theorize whether it signifies the reduction of social lag between this country’s ecological footprint and its capability to reduce it.

Faculty Sponsor: Adria Welcher, Emory University

An Evaluation of Educational Tracking and Advanced Learning Programs Tully Pritchett, Murray State University

Educational tracking was developed as a systematic way to guide students through an educational path that best fits their individual skills and abilities (Hallinan 1994). By the end of their high school career, students would be “on track” to enter a vocation, technical job, or a university. Advanced Learning Programs were designed to challenge students who typically score “advanced” on standardized placement tests. This paper evaluates how tracking and advanced learning programs disadvantage students that score above average for state testing requirements. The incongruencies between advanced curriculum and standard state expectations reflects the misinterpretations of educational growth of students. Removing standardized testing would allow for better preparation for post-secondary career and educational choices (Van den Brock et al. 2018). It may not be feasible to remove standardized testing entirely, however curriculums should instead decrease the emphasis on preparing for standardized testing and focus on student engagement during learning.

Faculty Sponsor: Diane Nititham, Murray State University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 14

The Generational and Gender-Based Influences on Medical Specialty Choice Lilah Blalock, Emory University

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the factors that influence medical specialty choice change over generations, specifically as they relate to the gender demographics of each medical specialty. This research paper examines the relationship between the medical school social space and the decisions of female medical students in order to interpret the cultural frameworks by which women make their decision. Though previous research identifies discrimination, work-life balance, and female role models to be the major factors determining this decision, my research puts these factors into the context of different generational landscapes. I accomplish this by interviewing female physicians who went to medical school prior to the year 2000 and current medical students. Based on the comparative analysis of these interviews, I find different factors are prioritized differently depending on the generation and the medical specialty choice, with the younger generation possessing much more foresight than the older generation. My findings support the cultural model that society and culture evolve together, meaning as demographics in medical schools change, the attitudes and cultural norms guiding the medical specialty choice change as well. My findings also support the cognitive field theory, in which medical students makes their decisions based on how the environment constructs their cultural framework of thought. This study provides insight into the ways by which women make decisions within their professional space, which will inform other male-dominated professions as to why gender inequity remains prevalent. It also reveals the progress of gender equity in the field of medicine as well as the factors that continue to exclude women from certain medical specialties.

Faculty Sponsor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 15

Session 7

Guidance Counselors’ Influence on Students’ Post-Secondary Aspirations Garrette Lewis-Thomas, Fisk University

The purpose of this study was to examine guidance counselors’ influence on post-high school college and career plans. Surveys were distributed to 102 African American college freshmen. The research questions were: 1) Did guidance counselors influence Black high school seniors’ educational and occupational aspirations?; 2) Did factors such as school location, college track placement, students’ senior year residence, school type, college or career plans affect the influence of guidance counselors on students’ decisions to attend college?; and 3) Did the impact of these factors on the influence of guidance counselors on students’ post-secondary plans vary by sex? Educational aspirations were measured by asking, “Did you have plans to attend college at the beginning of your senior year?” To measure occupational aspirations, students were asked if they knew what career they were seeking after college. School type, school location, parental residence, and being in college preparatory classes were independent variables. Students were asked the number of visits to guidance counselors, reasons to meet with guidance counselors, and most influential factors for college. The dependent variable was influential rank of guidance counselors. This variable was measured on a seven-point scale and recoded into three categories (1= moderately influenced, 2= neutral, and 3=no influence/least influenced). The control variable was gender. Over half of the students reported visiting their guidance counselors 10 or more times their senior year of high school. Almost 90 percent of them met to discuss college plans. Over half indicated they were moderately influenced to attend college by their guidance counselors. The results of this study showed that none of the independent variables were significantly related to the influence of guidance counselors on college aspirations for male or female students.

Faculty Sponsor: Dani Smith, Fisk University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 16

Out of the Picture: Social Media’s Role in Furthering the Symbolic Boundaries among College Students Joe Collica, Emory University

The purpose of this study is to analyze how social media as a cultural object plays a role in maintaining or exacerbating the existing social symbolic boundaries present in elite undergraduate institutions, and how these symbolic boundaries affect lower-income students in particular, as they typically make up a small fraction of the student population on elite campuses and are not accustomed to the elite culture. I am studying the use of social media on college campuses because there is currently a lack of studies regarding how social media and the creation of a digital identity influences social groups on college campuses in relation to socioeconomic status. Understanding how social media influences social groups on campus would give additional insight into students’ sense of belonging on campus, which has been shown to be linked to social class and to have effects on academic success. To study this, I interviewed nine undergraduates of differing socioeconomic class backgrounds at Emory University about their social media habits. Based on my research, I find the following: (1) students use social media to formulate assumptions about their peers, sometimes implicitly inferring their social class, (2) social media is used as an additional avenue to construct symbolic boundaries along class lines, as more wealthy students on average use it to create their digital identity, and (3) social media is unique since low-income students who care about social media can display themselves as higher-class through the manipulation and editing of their digital identity. This study has important implications about how society influences culture, as upper-class students value social media because it is used to maintain their high status among their peers. Because social media is highly valued in college, low-income students can attempt to increase their sense of belonging by uplifting their perceived economic and social status online.

Faculty Sponsor: Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

History and Prejudice of the Scots-Irish Heather Marjenhoff, University of North Georgia

This paper will solely focus on defining who the Scots-Irish are, where they came from, and how they have been made into a minority group multiple times over their course of history. The beginning of the paper will give more of an introduction of the group and how they got their start. That being said the first group I talk about is the highlander clan, then on to the lowlander, then the Ulster Scots, and finally the Scots-Irish. By doing a timeline approach my argument that the Scots-Irish were made into a minority group multiple times, will be illustrated far better and will give the reader a better take on just how far the Scots-Irish have come and what they had to overcome in order to have the culture they have today in the Appalachian Mountains. Only then will one be able to grasp just how hard the Ulster-Scots have fought to be able to live in a place that they can finally call home.

Faculty Sponsor: David Broad, University of North Georgia

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 17

Negotiated Order and Its Impact on the Development of Immigration Policy Brooke Pérez-Bissell, Samford University

As the rhetoric surrounding migration into the United States continues to be a heated topic among citizens and migration experts alike, one fascinating aspect of this debate is the way people talk about various migrant groups. However, one aspect of this debate lies below the surface, predominantly subconsciously to most participants. By gathering qualitative data through a participant observation approach, conjectures can be made regarding the nature of how the negotiation of verbiage can indicate the ways in which advocates, congresspeople, and laypeople approach immigration policy. Through observations of high-level refugee interest groups and congressional hearings, it can be seen that the ways in which those in conversation approach the seemingly binary issue of asylum seekers and refugees, and the ways in which these silos lead to various forms of advocacy and immigration policy.

Faculty Sponsor: Hugh Floyd, Samford University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 18

Session 8

A Quantitative Analysis of Immigrants’ Household Income with respect to years of immigration, race, sex, English-speaking ability, age, country of origin and education in Metropolitan Atlanta Yihua Xu, Georgia Institute of Technology

This study examines the disparity between immigrants’ and native-born Americans’ total household income and builds upon previous work that found a significant relationship between immigrants’ total household income with respect to years of immigration, race, sex, English-speaking ability, age, country of origin and education. The data for this study comes from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series specifically for Metropolitan Atlanta from 2013 to 2017, with the sample size of 254,140. (No missing cases) The current study goes beyond previous work by not just examining the quantitative relationship between variables mentioned above, but also incorporating interaction terms, including age and years of immigration, sex and years of immigration and English-speaking ability and years of education. In OLS analyses, previous conclusions were validated, and more precise quantitative descriptions are provided. Also, by categorizing immigrants into cohorts from different continents, I manage to quantify the relationship between their origin countries and the total household income. In addition, when analyzing relationship between age and total household income, instead of traditional methods, spline analysis is implemented, and the best split point of age is found to differentiate the income traits with regards to age. This research can help inform us about some of the factors that shape the economic understanding of immigrant households in Metropolitan Atlanta.

Faculty Sponsor: Allen Hyde, Georgia Institute of Technology

URL 2 IRL: Social Media Followership and Electoral Success Jasmine Cui & Brianna Riggio, Emory University

Social media was formally integrated into the fabric of American politics during Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign. Before 2016, platforms like Facebook and Twitter were perceived as casual features of everyday life — a kind of watering hole for everyone from geology enthusiasts to small- business owners to tech-savvy grandparents alike; however, after 2016, the increasingly political nature of social media represented one trend that no one could ignore. Because of the simultaneity of Trump’s explosive online presence and his unexpected electoral success, increasingly, mainstream media began to attribute his victory to his robust Twitter presence. Though the “data” presented by news outlets like Vice, the New York Times, and CNN were highly suggestive in terms of the causal relationship they attempted to imply, their methodology was completely faulty. Despite this, their euphemistic graphs point to the potential emergence of an interesting paradigm which must be interrogated. Indeed, Donald Trump’s ascension to the presidency was unprecedented — America was blindsided. The fact that no one truly foresaw his victory stands as a testament to the fact that traditional polling methods no longer predict the outcomes of elections as accurately as they have previously. This indicates a shift in the way campaigns are conducted, one which must be accounted for in new electoral models.

Faculty sponsor: David Davis III, Emory University

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 19

Racial Profiling within the United States Criminal Justice System Mallorie K Vaughn, University of North Georgia

This paper explores articles and data relating to racial profiling in the United States Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice System. The articles, however, vary in their definitions of racial profiling and how it is played out in the United States Law Enforcement. The reviewed literature contains three concentrated articles that present data on personal experiences and face-to-face communication or surveys with victims of this specific racial profiling. Built within research, are sociological factors that may directly or indirectly connect race and ethnicity to crime and incarceration rates. Some data may argue that there is probable cause on the question of racial profiling in the United States Law Enforcement, while other data may oppose that argument. The purpose of the magnified data throughout this paper serves to enlighten the reader on research conducted online (Internet) and some offline (non- Internet) research conducted within the reviewed articles. This paper examines the history and present day data on racial profiling within the United States Criminal Justice system, as well as, sociological factors that may buttress or contradict that data.

Faculty Sponsor: David Broad, University of North Georgia

How to become a politician? The role of educational background and academic achievement in Romania Marian Dalban, AlexandruIoanCuza University of Iaşi

This piece of work analyses the theoretic perspectives about the role of education in formation and recruiting the politic man of Romania. There have been analyzed the legislative mandates of the parliamentarians from The Chamber of Deputies from certain periods: 2004-2008, 2008-2012, 2012- 2016, and the choice of the mandates also represented the existence of two retrieved electoral types. Much more we also analyzed for 2016-2020 mandate the CV-s of the parliamentarians who ran for the first position inside of the electoral lists, on behalf of Social Democrat Party and National Liberal Party. In the analyze we took account of graduation papers from universities of Romania quality, but we also took account of absolved studies: license degree, master's degree, thesis's degree. From the analyze we can observe a low obtained degrees quality, a political elite pointed to engineering and economical science, and the presence of quality studies represent an important element for choosing the candidates only for the first positions in the electoral lists.

Faculty Sponsor: Conțiu Tiberiu ȘOITU, AlexandruIoanCuza University of Iaşi

SEUSS 2020 Proceedings, Volume 38: 20