Kindergarten reading habits are expected to persist into adulthood; however, for many adults in Washtenaw County this is not the case. This population will rise as half of their children will become illiterate themselves. Survey responses of 76 teachers regarding selection of reading materials based on grammar, syntax, and reading topics were collected in the fall of 2018. Teachers commonly selected pre-leveled reading materials regarding grammar with minor focus on topical matter. These materials did not correlate with topical-matter focused adult reading materials. This study suggests renovation of adult reading materials to help combat the ongoing cycle of illiteracy in Washtenaw County.

National Award Winning Makeup Design for Evil Dead: The Musical by Amy Beltrán and Constance Hill. Due to the theatre department not having a makeup class dedicated to teaching FX makeup, we had to teach ourselves the entire process of face casting, creating latex prosthetics, and designing realistic gore makeup. Our creativity ranged from using fake nails to create teeth on zombies, to using chocolate syrup to make fake blood. Our collaborative design won us the national award for excellence in Allied Arts at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival back in February, 2019, as well as an internship with the Stage Craft Institute of Las Vegas over the summer.

My concept for the mask design is rooted in sustainability, using found materials to decorate the masks. The masks are made out of items that are found in nature - items that animals would use if they were able to make masks for themselves. Ranging from feathers, to redwood tree leaves and bark, to pine cones, and to dirt. Each material provides texture that is accurate and unique to that of the animal, or to the animal’s personality.

Trauma is repeated throughout a victim’s life, but the biological mechanisms of its recurrence (revictimization), even though understood biologically, are not accepted or discussed in all disciplines. To understand these issues, I conducted a synthesis of existing scientific research on revictimization. Sociological research revealed that initial trauma and revictimization are in a positive feedback loop, with incidences of one increasing the other. In biology, however, this loop has been acknowledged but has not been integrated into these disciplines. Recognizing the existence of this biological feedback loop has the potential to mitigate the damage of past, present, and future trauma.

Memes, photographs or videos that are edited to be satirical and that makes fun of cultural ideologies, are passed rapidly through the internet and phone applications and can end up on hundreds of websites within hours. Methods employed included participant observation, literature review, and screenshot analysis from Facebook and Instagram. Patterns in the types of posts indicate that people of all ages actively seek out dog memes to reduce anxiety and that dog memes are more popular when they are humanized. Dog memes are an artifact of our generation that transcends age groups and allows us to research meme culture that reflects a virtual population.

The microbiome is many single celled organisms, which play an essential role in protecting the body against pathogens. Studies show that stress decreases microbial diversity, and thus negatively impact the body’s immune defenses. This study explored relationships between stress, cortisol levels, and the oral microbiome. Daily questionnaires and biweekly salivary tests assessed stress levels and microbial diversity. Data collection was conducted the first and second week of December 2018. Stress plays a significant role in the experience of college students. Understanding how stress impacts what microbes are in the mouth could lead to the development of better stress management strategies.

The objective of this historic preservation project is to evaluate the historical significance of an Arcata landmark, the Nixon House, constructed on Wiyot land, to determine its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. We analyzed literary and primary source documents, consulted with the homeowners and local historic preservation organizations, and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. The property is significant under National Register Criteria A & C. Our analysis of this process highlights colonial hegemony in our society by basing the house’s historical value on its association with a period of genocide.

The project examined the damage caused to skeletal remains by ancient Mesoamerican weapons, due to the lack of research into this topic. The project focused on macuahuitls, wooden clubs lined with obsidian blades, which were produced through a combination of ancient and modern techniques. These weapons were then tested on animal crania acquired from a local butcher. The preliminary results show that the weapons left similar patterns of damage to the skeletal remains while having unique characteristics reflective of the individual weapon. These results show potential for future research in the area that could be compiled into a database similar to those used today for modern forensic cases.

Data show that Indigenous students are underperforming academically in schools because Western based education is failing to adapt multicultural pedagogies into the curriculum. To explore this issue, I examined peer-reviewed literature and conducted interviews from local teachers and experts in the field of secondary education. Indigenous concepts of community based building exercises, oral and social communication, as well as storytelling challenged Western discipline based learning methods focused on isolated learning and individual success. Understanding why Western education is flawed gives insight to immediate and future goals of improving education as a multicultural based discipline.

It is ironic that scientific depictions of our hominin ancestors often overlook female representation, despite reproductive success being a major cornerstone of evolutionary theory. The story of evolution is instead told from male-centered, eurocentric perspectives, as in Rudolph Zallinger’s March of Progress (1965). My research employs a feminist critique on such popular models of human evolution in the form of an illustrated depiction of female hominid ancestors based on data from paleontological records and literature review. This research creates a balanced view of our evolutionary history, and encourages appropriate dialogue towards better understanding the evolution of humanity.