CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS A CONFERENCE FOR STUDENT STUDE SCHOLARS AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES 15TH ANNUAL BEACON CONFERENCE A CONFERENCE FOR STUDENT SCHOLARS AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FUNDED BY A COALITION OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGES ROCKLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SUFFERN, NEW YORK JUNE 1, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION AND ACKOWLEDEGEMNTS………………………………..xx OVERVIEW OF PANELS………………………………………………………….xx OUTSTANDING PRESENTERS IN EACH PANEL Literature I – Shakespeare ―The Ancient: The General‘s Id‖……………………………………………xx By: Ori Bensimhon Mentor: Elaine Toia Rockland Community College Science I ―The Feasibility of Using Zebra Fish for the Study of Early Development in General Biology Laboratory Sections‖………………………………………xx By: Igor Nikolskiy Mentor: George Krasilovsky Rockland Community College Gender Studies ―Minimize Me: Eating Disorders as a Global Phenomenon‖……………….xx By: Kathy Bui Mentor: Shweta Sen Montgomery College International Studies/Globalization ―Winners and Losers of Globalization: Ecuador‘s Oil Giants v. Indigenous Movements‖…………………………………………………………………xx By: Martha Pena Mentor: Aram Hessami Montgomery College History ―Democratic Ideals in Post-Revolutionary Education‖……………………...xx By: Jeannine Wightman Mentor: John Lawlor Reading Area Community College Social Sciences ―Education and Discipline: Cultural Perspectives on Discipline as Shown by the Variation in Education Systems‖…………………………………………….xx By: Hilda Rizzo-Busack Mentor: Bette Petrides Montgomery College Literature II – Drama ―Heroes Revisited‖……………………………………………………………xx By: Catherine Kelly Mentor: Joan Naake Montgomery College Science II ―Brain Damage Due to Injury‖……………………………………………….xx By: Hannah Rice Mentor: Thomas Butler Rockland Community College Social Justice ―Homo versus Hetero Familial: Separate but Equal‖…………….…………..xx By: Ivy Lynn Fox Mentor: Elizabeth Bodien Northampton Community College Business and Economics ―Click Enter: Save a Life‖…………………………………………………...xx By: Carli McGoff Mentor: Sharon Ward Montgomery College Communications ―The Vampire‘s Bite on Reality‖…….……………………………………….xx By: Jacob Gagner Mentor: Sabrina Caine Erie Community College Interdisciplinary Studies ―America‘s Global Gag Rule: What Happened to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?‖……………………………………………………xx By: Josephine Ta Mentor: Shweta Sen Montgomery Collge Literature III – Various Genres ―Pale Fire: Art as a Fragment of Reality‖……………………………………..xx By: Roxana Bartolomé Mentor: Cliff Garner Rockland Community College Allied Health and Nursing ―Health Care in Need of a Cure‖……………………………………………….xx By: Catherine English Mentor: René Rojas Erie Community College Psychology ―One Man‘s Trash is Another Man‘s Treasure: A Look at Compulsive Hoarding‖………………………………………………………………………xx By: Cathy Guptill Mentor: Karen Rhines Northampton Community College Philosophy/Religious Studies ―The Unborn Person‖…………………………………………………………..xx By: Ryan Catala Mentor: Dwight Goodyear Westchester Community College The Arts ―Film Noir Then and Now: A Stylistic and Thematic Analysis‖………………xx By: Colleen Chisolm Mentor: Nancy Hazelton Rockland Community College PARTICIPATION INFORMATION…………..………………………………………xx A CONFERENCE FOR STUDENT STUDEN SCHOLARS AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES The Beacon Conference is an annual conference that recognizes and celebrates the achievements of two-year college students in research and writing. It is sponsored by a coalition of member colleges. It creates an opportunity for faculty to mentor students as they begin their education at two-year colleges and showcases the work of outstanding students. The conference is held each year on the first Friday in June and students present their work in a wide range of disciplines. Students work with their faculty mentors to prepare and submit papers that demonstrate outstanding scholarship and originality. All papers submitted are evaluated and ranked by three readers and the top three papers in each category are selected for presentation at the annual conference in June. Papers not finishing in the top three, but are deemed to have merit may be selected for presentation in a poster session. Presentations are judged on originality and quality of research, written work, and oral presentation. The judge for each category chooses an outstanding presenter. Both the outstanding presenter and the presenter‘s faculty mentor are recognized at the closing session of the conference and each receives $100.00 Beacon Steering Committee Members 2007 Bergen Community College (NJ) Dorothy Altman, Mark Altschuler, Alan Kaufman, Anne Maganzini, Goeffrey Sadock Borough of Manhattan Community College (NY) Jerold Schoenblum, Carol Wasserman Dutchess Community College (NY) Seemi, Ahmad, Mark Condon, John Desmond, Keith O‘Neill Erie Community College (NY) D. Allen, Sabrina Caine, Rene Rojas Frederick Community College (MD) Bruce Thompson, Kelly Trigger LaGuardia Community College (NY) Bob Kahn Lehigh Carbon Community College (PA) Christine Bowditch, Judith Ehninger, Ned Schillow Montgomery College (MD) Sue Adler, Dedee Aleccia, Tom Anderson, Paul Lux Northampton Community College (PA) Elizabeth Bodien, Randy Boone, Ronit Shemtov, Nancy Trautmann Northern Virginia Community College (VA) Richard Wilan Ocean County College (NJ) Vicki McMillian Orange County Community College (NY) Mary Ann van Benschoten Prince George‘s Community College (MD) Laura Ellsworth, Melinda Frederick Reading Area Community College (PA) Karen Jacobson Rockland Community College (NY) Libby Bay, Thomas Butler, Nancy Hazelton, Elaine Toia Ulster County Community College (NY) Thomas Impola, Miho Kawai, Robert Pucci, Martha Robinson, Michelle Rodden Westchester Community College (NY) Lori Maida, Mira Sakrajda A CONFERENCE FOR STUDENT STUDEN SCHOLARS AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES In addition to Rockland Community College, the other sponsoring colleges this year are Bergen Community College (NJ) Borough of Manhattan Community College (NY) Dutchess Community College (NY) Erie Community College (NY) Frederick Community College (MD) LaGuardia Community College (NY) Lehigh Carbon Community College (PA) Montgomery College (MD) Northampton Community College (PA) Northern Virginia Community College (VA) Ocean County College (NJ) Orange County Community College (NY) Prince George‘s Community College (MD) Reading Area Community College (PA) Ulster County Community College (NY) Westchester Community College (NY) Sponsoring organizations for this year‘s conference are Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Rockland Community College Priorities Committee Rockland Community College Student Government Association Rockland Community College Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Rockland Community College Community Involvement Committee We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Administration and Board of Trustees of Rockland Community College, and the assistance of our Beacon 2007 volunteers who helped make this year‘s conference a success. OVERVIEW OF PANELS Session I: Literature I-Shakespeare Readers: Barbara Ann Blackburn (Erie Community College) Allison Carpenter (Northampton Community College) Ellen Pryor (Rockland Community College) Judge: Elizabeth Wiggins (Lehigh University) Moderator: Ellen Pryor (Rockland Community College) Presenters: Ori Bensimhon ―The Ancient: The General‘s Id‖ Mentor: Elaine Toia Rockland Community College Richard Dunn ―William Shakespeare‘s Women: A Look Inside Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing and Cleopatra from The Tragedy Of Antony and Cleopatra‖ Mentor: Nancy Hazelton Rockland Community College Joshua Roberts ―Government and Theater: A Study of Historical Rulers and Literary Characters‖ Mentor: Nancy Hazelton Rockland Community College Session I: Science I Readers: Kenneth A. Beem (Montgomery College) Elyse Fuller (Rockland Community College) Ned Schillow (Lehigh-Carbon Community College) Judge: Denise M. Kay (Genomics Institute, N.Y. State Department of Health) Moderator: Kristopher Baker (Rockland Community College) Presenters: Mary A. Gomez ―Growth Effects of Fatty Acids on Mammary and Prostate Cancer Cells‖ Mentor: Mark Condon Dutchess Community College Igor Nikolskiy ―The Feasibility of Using Zebra Fish for the Study of Early Development in General Biology Laboratory Sections‖ Mentor: George Krasilovsky Rockland Community College Casey Wesley ―PCB Pollution of the Hudson River‖ Mentor: Beth Kolp Dutchess Community College Panel Sponsor Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Session I: Gender Studies Readers: Rita Kranidis (Montgomery College) Karen Clay Rhines (Northampton Community College) Martha Rottman (Rockland Community College) Judge: Colleen Clemens (Lehigh University) Moderator: Allison Briker (Rockland Community College) Presenters: Kathy Bui ―Minimize Me: Eating Disorders as a Global Phenomenon‖ Mentor: Shweta Sen Montgomery College Alysse Mealing ―Acquiring Power: The Women Behind the Throne‖ Mentor: John Lawlor Reading Area Community College Melissa Toscano ―Modern Slavery: The Legacy of Exploitation‖ Mentor: Dorothy Altman Bergen Community College Session I: International and Globalization Studies 8:45-10:15 Room Readers: Shane Burd (Rockland Community College) Elizabeth Tyler Bugaighis (Northampton Community College) Pamela Floyd (Rockland Community College) Judge: Steven Schneider (Manhattanville College) Moderator: Nancy Hazelton (Rockland Community College) Presenters: Timothy Chan ―The Globalization of Capitalism‖ Mentor: Aram Hessami Montgomery College Ezequiel Galeano ―Lessons from the Argentinean Economic Crisis: Keeping up with Globalization‖ Mentor: Aram Hessami Montgomery College Martha Pena ―Winners and Losers of Globalization: