Fall 2024 Research Symposium
Presenter: Mar Smith
Mentor: Kim Hackford-Peer
Presentation: Forging Representation in the Wake of Censorship: A “Trans” Analysis of Spider-Man’s Canon
Summary: The argument that Spider-Man’s story can be read as a transgender narrative is built on a strong foundation of allegory, body horror, comic history, and censorship. In a time where transgender and queer stories are being disproportionately banned from schools, it is vital to find ways to navigate around censorship and provide representation for those who need it. Therefore, this thesis is accompanied by three curriculums focused on queer joy, medium, and power reclamation.
Spring 2025 Research on Capitol Hill
Name: Marylinda Gonzalez
Poster: Traditional Bomba Dance as a Tool for Maintaining Peurtorriquenidad in Utah
Mentor: Ed Muñoz
Introduction: Utah Latinx communities have a long history that is continuously coming to light with their increased growth in recent decades. Using oral histories, this project demonstrates the construction and maintenance of Utah Latinidad and community, through traditional Puerto Rican Bomba.
Spring 2025 Research Sympoisum
Presenter: Nayra Green
Mentor: Maile Arvin
Presentation: From ʻĀina to Institution: The Carceral Transformation of Waialeʻe
Summary: The Waiale’e Industrial School for Boys was a reformatory institution primarily confined Native Hawaiian youth for offenses such as waywardness or truancy that operated from 1903-1950. Under the guise of rehabilitation, boys at Waiale’e were subjected to forced labor and harsh conditions, reflecting a broader system of colonial institutions that sought to sever Native Hawaiian kinship and sovereignty. This project addresses ongoing efforts to strengthen intergenerational healing with the ʻĀina.
Presenter: Megan McCormick
Mentor: Aaron Fischer
Presentation: Practicing Disarming Micro-aggressions in the Classroom Using Virtual Reality
Summary: I would like to present the micro-aggression module of our Virtual Education Simulation (VEX.) VEX is designed to give preservice teachers an opportunity to practice equitable classroom management before they enter the teaching field. In the micro-aggression simulation, the preservice teacher will be given a scenario in which a micro-aggression is presented. They then have the opportunity to practice responses which effectively disarm the micro-aggression.
Presenter: Brittney Mellin
Mentor: Annie Fukushima
Presentation: Feeling Safety Through Friendship and Memory: Crossing (in)between Safe and Non-Safe Spaces Within (living) Colonial Institutions
Summary: I use the autoethnography method, to contextualize my experiences as a Queer Chicane seeking safe spaces within (living) colonial institutions through friendship and memory. The intersectionality of being Queer Chicana within living colonial institutions violently limits the ability of my community to engage in the creation and maintenance of safe spaces. Therefore, the focus is on safe spaces, emotionally and symbolically, as an ongoing process within the community centering resistance.
Presenter: Talea Steele
Mentor: Annie Fukushima
Winner of the “Best in Humanities and Fine Arts Spring Symposium Poster Prize”
Presentation: Empowering People with Menses
Summary: I’m working on raising awareness of premenstrual disorders to inform, educate, & empower those struggling to advocate for themselves & others. I want to find out what resources are lacking for those struggling with PMDs specifically within communities of color due to increased taboos surrounding menstruation & mental health. In doing this I can help others understand their journey with PMDs, management of symptoms, & that they aren’t alone. PMDs are & should be taken seriously.
Presenter: Mia Strunk
Mentor: Kim Hackford-Peer
Presentation: The Need for Oral History Regarding Queer Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Summary: For my research, I am focusing on the positive intersection between the queer community and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I did this by interviewing four people with authoritative positions in organizations that help queer LDS individuals. These organizations included the RaYnbow Collective, Affirmation, and Flourish Therapy. I transcribed these interviews and am using them to look at the history, goals, and accomplishments of each organization.
Presenter: Emery Willis
Mentor: Angela Smith
Presentation: Abjection and Disability in Survival Horror Video Game Outlast
Summary: Disability has long been used to generate horror in an audience. The survival horror videogame Outlast I uses disability and mental illness as sources of horror and abjection. While some of these portrayals might be stigmatizing, this study evaluates how the game raises awareness towards the harms of institutionalization, questions the DSM’s pathologization of behaviors deemed abnormal, and ultimately encourages empathy for people experiencing forced treatment.
Additional awards from the spring 2025 Office of Undergraduate Research award ceremony
Name: Jaylee Aston
OUR Award: Recipient of the Dee Scholarship
In recognition of: A research project with Dr. Claudia Geist on a project titled “Analyzing Perceptions of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the Healthcare System.”
Name: Marylinda Gonzalez
OUR Award: Recipient of the Francis Family Scholarship
In recognition of: A research project with Dr. Ed Muñoz on a project titled “Traditional Dance and the Development of Latinx Identity (Latinidad) in Utah.”
Name: Rosa Pimentel
OUR Award: Outstanding Researcher, School for Cultural & Social Transformation
Mentor: Andrea Baldwin