Schedule of Events
9:00 – 9:15 am
Welcome Remarks (Murdock 218)
Vice President Steve Green

9:15 – 11:00 am
Poster Session (Murdock 218)

11:00 am – 12:20 pm
Paper Presentations I-A (Murdock 201)
Paper Presentations I-B (Murdock 203)
Paper Presentations I-C (Murdock 303)

12:30 – 1:50 pm
Paper Presentations II-A (Murdock 201)
Paper Presentations II-B (Murdock 203)
Paper Presentations II-C (Murdock 303)

2:00 – 3:00 pm
Keynote Address (Murdock 218)
Presented by Gerol Petruzella ‘01
"You Want Me To What? Research, Graduate School, and a Real Life"

3:00 – 5:00 pm
Philosophy Mini-Conference (Murdock 303)

5:00 – 7:00 pm
Student Art Show Opening: “Stories of North Adams”
Gallery 51
51 Main St., North Adams


Poster Session: Murdock 218
9:00-11:00 am
Poster 1
Title: The Relationship Between Life Stress And GPA:
Authors: Brett Goodermote & Kerry Peck
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Bartini

This study looks at life stress and coping skills in traditional and non-traditional college students in relation to GPA. Researchers used an electronic survey to obtain information. The hypothesis is that non-traditional students have acquired better stress coping skills due to their life experiences and will have an average GPA higher than the traditional student. It is also suggested that because non-traditional students have better coping skills they may assign less importance to traumatic events than traditional students.

Poster 2
Title: Timeline of the Atom
Authors: Darsa Donelan, Bridget Gormalley, & David Spolidoro.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Adrienne Wootters

We report on the key experiments and theories that led to the development of a quantum model of the atom. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, scientists made several important discoveries about electromagnetic radiation. This, combined with the discovery and study of the electron, led Niels Bohr to publish his quantum model of the hydrogen atom in 1915. Throughout the early part of the twentieth century, his model of the atom spurred scientists to further investigate the makeup of the atom and led to the development of quantum mechanics.

Poster 3
Title: Acquisition of Behavior Under a Fixed-Duration Schedule
Authors: George Charest, Jonathan Fox, Rebecca Gillespie, Brett Goodermote, Kara Gulotta, & Kerry Peck
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tom Byrne

Research has demonstrated that both humans and nonhumans can acquire novel operant responding when reinforcement is delayed. However, even small reinforcement delays seem to impair learning and lead to adventitious reinforcement of arbitrary behaviors. The current investigation extends this work by examining whether human volunteers can acquire fixed-duration responding in the absence of any explicit verbal instructions. Upon entering our laboratory, subjects will be told that they can earn points exchangeable for money. Subjects will sit in front of an operant-response panel containing two buttons. One button, assigned randomly, will produce points according to a fixed-duration 5 second schedule.

Poster 4
Title: Effects of Flooding on Macros in the Suncook River
Author: Corrinn Shogry
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Elena Traister

The Suncook River located in Epsom, New Hampshire suffered a major flood on May 16, 2006. This naturally occurring phenomenon caused the river to create a new channel in which the entire river currently flows. A major impact from this event was drastic sediment movement and scour along the banks of the river. This project aims to identify changes in the river ecosystem through collection and identification of macroinvertebrates. Samples were collected quarterly throughout new and old portions of the river in order to determine the impact of this flood on the habitat and water quality of the river.

Poster 5
Title: The Effect of Mortality Salience on Religion
Authors: Darren Fitzgerald & Kim Kneutter
Faculty Advisor: Dr. April Horstman Reser

The threat of death in TMT is referred to as mortality salience (MS). In our MS manipulation, participants watch a bloody scene from a movie depicting a battle from WWII and then are asked to respond to questions about their religious beliefs. Participants in the control condition watch a neutral video about spending time with other people. Our hypothesis is that MS is causing people to re-examine their previously held beliefs, thus causing them to do an “about face” with respect to their faith.

Poster 6
Title: Aggression in College Students
Authors: Nicole Castella & Jonathan Fox
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Bartini

In this study we looked at types of aggression, overt and relational, in the college community. We were interested in the circumstances that elicited aggressive behavior, as well as the groups of people it occurs most frequently in. We hypothesized that most aggression would occur between sports team members and members of greek organizations because of their wide social network. We also anticipated that alcohol and drug use would be a predicting factor of aggression.

Poster 7
Title: Kids and Bullying: A World of Misperception
Authors: Nicole Castella, Angel Dailey,Rachel Pike, & Hannah Ross
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Bartini

The purpose of this study was to look at the relationship between beliefs about bullying social norms and bullying behavior. We questioned 4th and 8th graders first, about their opinions on bullying and second, what they perceived their peersí opinions of bullying to be. We anticipated that there would be a discrepancy between the studentís perceptions of their peerís beliefs and what their peers actually thought, and we hypothesized that there would be bigger misperceptions among the 8th graders, girls, and those students who tended to be the victims of aggression.

Poster 8
Title: The Effects of Stress on Eating Patterns
Authors: Michelle LeBlanc & Alicia Miller
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Bartini

The present study investigated the effect of stress on male and female college students' eating patterns. The main purpose of the study was to find the difference between restrained and unrestrained eaters. It was hypothesized that highly stressed female eaters who are considered restrained eaters would eat more than unrestrained female eaters. It was also hypothesized that female participants would report more disordered eating patterns than males, regardless of being restrained or unrestrained

Poster 9
Title: Neurotransmitters of Aiptasia
Author: Samantha Bowers
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anne Goodwin

Aiptasia, a sea anemone, has a nerve net distributed throughout the body. Neutrotransmitters initiate anemone muscle contractions in response to nutrient and wounding stimuli. In this project, I am identifying the neurotransmitters responsible for tentacle contractions in Aiptasia. First, pinch and electric stimuli were used to initiate tentacle contraction. Addition of the neurotransmitters epinephrine and antho RF amide also caused contraction, with higher doses resulting in shorter tentacles. Acetylcholine had no effect. To determine if epinephrine is the actual neurotransmitter used to regulate responses to pinching and mild electricity, I will add epinephrine receptor blockers before providing the stimuli.

Poster 10
Title: Ocean Conditions: Effects on Anemone Symbionts
Author: Steven Fikes
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anne Goodwin

Aiptasia pallida is a tropical anemone that contains symbiotic algae, dinoflagellates of genus Symbiodinium. Certain environmental conditions such as ocean warming cause symbiont loss among many species of coral, resulting in bleaching and death. My research focuses on how specific conditions affect the algae living inside the body of an Aiptasia individual. I am determining how changes in temperature, pH, and salinity, both singly and in combination, affect the numbers of symbionts living in the ocean.

Poster 11
Title: Real Time to Online: Assession Relationships Among “Communicator Styles” and Personality
Authors: Stephanie Cassie & Mychal Machado
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Bartini

The present study sought to explore the predictive ability of specific personality traits on college students’ communication preferences. Students from a western Massachusetts college were recruited to answer questions from the MBTI extroversion/introversion scale, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and an original scale designed to assess people’s preferences for communicating with friends, acquaintances, and professors. Researchers then used a standard multiple regression model as a method of assessing the ability of self-esteem, social anxiety, and extroversion/introversion to predict the types of communication styles people will adopt.

Skeptics Fair
Students from PSYC 299, The Psychology of Superstition and the Unexplained, will present results of their scholarly investigations of a variety of unusual claims. Topics include therapeutic touch, electronic voice phenomena, alien abductions, dowsing, perpetual motion machines, animal acupuncture, and many others.

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Paper Presentations I-A: Murdock 201
11:00 am – 12:20 pm

Paper IA-1: 11:00-11:20 am
Title: From the Bomb to the Ballot
Author: Michael Jarvis
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

My research project has focused on the change of the IRA from the bomb to the ballot box. Throughout the 1980s to the 1990s the IRA slowly started to change its policy from using violence to achieve its goals to using politics and working to agreements with the British government. My research has focused on this turn by looking at books and articles that have talked about this change and including several primary sources to help explain why the IRA changed its mean to achieve the same ends.

Paper IA-2: 11:20-11:40 am
Title: Causes of the Rebirth of the IRA in the 60s & 70s
Author: Heather Mackesey
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

After a period of some peace, during the late 1960s and early 1970s the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began to re-emerge in Northern Ireland, a time known as the Troubles. There were many factors that led to the rebirth of the IRA. Incidents and policy issues such as the civil rights movement, interment without trial, Bloody Sunday, and the Sunningdale Agreement all helped the re-emergence of the IRA during this time period.

Paper IA-3: 11:40-12:00 pm
Title: Adults’ Perceptions of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders
Author: Jennifer Hug
Faculty Advisor: Maria Bartini

Previous research suggests that essentialism and labeling are correlated with the stigma assigned to social categories. However, this research has neglected adults’ perceptions of mentally ill youths. Due to this I hypothesized the following: (a) children’s/adolescents’ mental disorders would be essentialized and correlated with lower perceived status; (b) youths with a diagnostic label would be more greatly stigmatized; (c) that adolescents and children would be perceived differently. In order to evaluate these hypotheses, a series of ANOVA’s were conducted revealing a main effect of essentialism in adults’ perceptions. Results also indicated that adults perceived children with depression more negatively than those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder.

Paper IA-4: 12:00 pm-12:20 pm
Title: Terrorism in Chechnya
Author: Luis Torres
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

If we want to truly understand the evolution of terrorism in Chechnya, we must look at the development of the first Russo-Chechen war of 1994-1996 and the events leading up to it, when pivotal actors such as ShamilBasayev, DzokharDudayev, Boris Yeltsin, and countless members of the Russian siloviki all collided in a struggle to mold the newly independent Chechnya to their own aims. An examination of these elements reveals that terrorism in Chechnya developed because of the nature of Chechens.
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Paper Presentations I-B: Murdock 203
11:00 am – 12:20 pm

Paper IB-1: 11:00-11:20 am
Title: La Violencia and the Effects it Had on Colombia
Author: Caitlin Schneider
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

After the eruption of La Violencia Colombia faced a time when politics was ruled by violence and ripped the country apart. The violence discredited any faith the people of Colombia had in their government and created a long road of recovery that was not very successful. However, the fight was much longer and drawn out then any country has seen before. La Violencia affected the country of Colombia in many ways. The people of Colombia in the time immediately following La Violencia could no longer

Paper IB-2: 11:20-11:40 am
Title: World War II: Life on the British Home Front
Auther: Jacob Brundige
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

This project will explore the impact of the Second World War on the lives of the British people. Issues such as the evacuation of children, rationing, and changes in womenís roles will be used as examples of change. Ultimately, the project will focus on how these changes stuck in the minds of the people during the post-war period and helped introduce new ideas into the British social and welfare systems."

Paper IB-3: 11:40 am-12:00 pm
Title: Shining Path
Author: Joseph Baker
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

The Shining Path was a group of Maoist guerilla terrorists in Peru over a dominating twelve years from 1980-1992. The attacks made by the Shining Path were both random attacks and targeted individuals or structures. My research explored the objectives of the Shining Path, the attacks that occurred, and the Peruvians, which were, affected the most. I argue that the objectives were to inflict fear on the Peruvians, along with political discontent. The Shining Path was looking for complete control over Peru.

Paper IB-4: 12:00 pm-12:20 pm
Title: Common Place Books of Medieval & Renaissance Britain
Author: Lyndsay DeBord
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Rosanne Denhard

In England, I researched Medieval and Renaissance “common place books.” I incorporated on-site learning at historic sites/museums and archival library research. Common place books, or miscellanies, were a way of compiling valued information: letters, recipes, prayers, scholarly work, etc. In my archival research, I examined materials at the library of York Minster, the British Library, the archives at Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum. My paper discusses the miscellany’s importance in the 16th and 17th centuries. Further, my presentation will show specific examples/pages from the researched common place books.
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Paper Presentations I-C: Murdock 303
11:00 am – 12:20 pm

Paper IC-1: 11:00-11:20 am
Title: 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing
Author: Steve DeSantis
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

My Research topic is the 1983 Beirut Marine barrack bombing. I will try to explain the situtation behind the attack that killed 241 Americans and show the events that lead up to it. I will also try to answer the question of what was Hezbollah's main reason for the attack and what did they hope to acheive from it. I will also look at why President Ronald Reagan decided to send the Marines initially into Lebanon and then deciding to send them back into the area knowing there was more danger

Paper IC-2: 11:20-11:40 am
Title: The Politics of Aging
Author: Jason Kaufman
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Diane Balduzy

The drop in the crude birth rate and an increase in life expectancy in a large number of industrialized countries have resulted in an aging of the population. The purpose of this study is to compare nations from around the world on how well they are caring for their older citizens. In addition to social security, political issues include a wide range of social policies, programs and services, such as retirement income, home care, health care, prescription drugs, living arrangements, and ageism.

Paper IC-3: 11:40 am-12:00 pm
Title: What Could Have Been: The Oklahoma City Bombing
Author: Lauren Casola
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

As a revered United States Army soldier and winner of a Bronze Star in the Gulf War, Timothy McVeigh may have seemed like one of the least likely of American citizens to commit such a horrific attack on America. I feel that even though Timothy McVeigh has been acclaimed as an ìAmerican Terrorist,î the planning of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building could not have devised by McVeigh alone. In my presentation, I would like to examine the possible accused parties that could have been responsible for what occurred to Oklahoma city on April 19, 1995.

Paper IC-4: 12:00-12:20 pm
Title: Anyone's Daughter: Patricia Hearst and The Symbionese Liberation Army
Author: Megan LaMarre
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

Throughout the course of my research I focused on the conflict surrounding Patricia Hearst. Hearst was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army, the most radical leftist group to take the political stage in America during the 1970s. Hearst claimed to have been tortured and abused by the members for nearly two years and that she was brainwashed. Many people did not believe her then and do not believe her story.
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Paper Presentations II-A: Murdock 201
12:30 pm – 1:50 pm

Paper IIA-1: 12:30-12:50 pm
Title: The Red Brigades: An Italian Phenomenon
Author: Brian Keenan
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

How much influence did their Italian nationality have on terrorist group the Red Brigades? The cultural, political, and historical factors of Italy combined to create an experience impossible in any other place at any other time. Without these factors, the Brigades could not have survived or flourished like they did.

Paper IIA-2: 12:50-1:10 pm
Title: Narration Through Stained Glass
Author: Valerie Hope
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Rosanne Denhard

Throughout the literary world there are many ways for authors to tell their stories. Not all of these techniques necessarily involve words, and in fact, many of the most ancient and widely recognizable forms of story telling make use of the pictorial element. Based on the research I conducted while studying abroad for the Medieval and Renaissance Britain travel course with Rosanne Denhard, I visited places such as the York Minster, WestMinster, and St. Margaret’s Chapel, comparing and contrasting the various stained glass illustrations. In my research, I am hoping to illuminate the historical significance of narration through stained glass.

Paper IIA-3: 1:10-1:30 pm
Title: Black September and Munich
Author: Kristean Kissel
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

The terrorist organization Black September is most famous for their attack at the 1972 Olympics. They were driven by frustrations of the Israeli Government and their take over of Palestine. Their actions helped to change how governments deal with terrorists, and how the media should cover such events. They however they accomplished their main goal, to gain world attention for a situation that they had tended to ignore.

Paper IIA-4: 1:30-1:50 pm
Title: Sleep and Memory
Authors: Nicole Castella & Beth McWhirt
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Peggy Brooks

Previous studies have shown that napping can be beneficial to certain types of memory. 24 undergraduate students were divided into three groups: habitual nappers who napped in the lab, habitual nappers who did not sleep, and non-nappers. We had all students perform tasks for declarative memory, problem solving, and procedural memory (auditory reaction time) in the morning and then later in the day, post-nap, in order to see which group had the best overall improvement. Our hypothesis was that the greatest improvement would occur in the students who took naps.
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Paper Presentations II-B Murdock 203
12:30 pm – 1:50 pm

Paper IIB-1: 12:30-12:50 pm
Title: The Effect of Sign-Postings on Vandalism in a College Dormitory
Author: Mychal Machado
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tom Byrne

The present study sought to explore the predictive ability of specific personality traits on college students’ communication preferences. Students from a western Massachusetts college were recruited to answer questions from the MBTI extroversion/introversion scale, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and an original scale designed to assess people’s preferences for communicating with friends, acquaintances, and professors. Researchers then used a standard multiple regression model as a method of assessing the ability of self-esteem, social anxiety, and extroversion/introversion to predict the types of communication styles people will adopt.

Paper IIB-2: 12:50-1:10 pm
Title: Delayed Reinforcement: What’s Really Being Reinforced?
Author: Scott Greenberg
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tom Byrne

Temporal contiguity between a response and reinforcement has long been held to be of critical importance. This has been challenged by recent research. In the current investigation, delayed reinforcement was studied using a nose-poke response. Ten Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to delayed reinforcement conditions in where a nose poke through a hole started a 10-s delay. A second, inoperative photo-beam merely counted frequencies of breaks. By examining obtained delays on the inoperative beam, the role of adventitious reinforcement was examined.

Paper IIB-3: 1:10-1:30 pm
Title: The Civil War in El Salvador
Author: Gabriela Rivera
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

There is no contemporary topic demanding our attention with more urgency than the use and abuse of power. Since C. Wright Mills, no rigorous and focused work has examined the nature of those structures that support political irresponsibility in individuals and in the dominant institutions of our Governments. My research paper investigation is from the rebels or ìgorillasî of El Salvador during the Civil war from 1980ís through 1992,and investigates the motives behind their use of violence.

Paper IIB-4: 1:30-1:50 pm
Title: Hamas and the Palestinian Commitment to the Peace Process: From Oslo until the Second Intifada,1993-2000
Author: David Dembowitz
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

How did Hamas maintain its relevance during seven years of Palestinian engagement with Israel to emerge within months of the beginning of the Second Intifada as the dominant faction in Palestine? Hamas's success was due partly to its patience, discipline, organizational strengths, and involvement in community service work. More importantly,consistent public opinion views within Palestine.
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Paper Presentations II-C: Murdock 303
12:30 pm – 1:50 pm

Paper IIC-1: 12:30-12:50 pm
Title: The Design and Synthesis of Novel C1 Ligands
Author: Carolyn Cook
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Robert Harris

Chiral molecules play a large role in chemistry. One enantiomer of a drug can relieve the symptoms a person is suffering, while the other can cause drastic side effects. Chemists have always looked for ways to design reactions that only give one enantiomer of a product. This research looks to devise such a method by using metal-catalyzed transformations and a novel norbornane-based ligand. The research begins with the synthesis of a new phosphorous(P)-nitrogen(N) containing norbornaneligand.The overall goal of the research is to create a new class of C1 ligands that will not be reaction specific. The modularity of the synthetic approach will facilitate the discovery of a catalyst with a broad range of applications in organometallic transformations.

Paper IIC-2: 12:50-1:10 pm
Title: How was the CIA Involved in Political Violence in Indonesia during the Communist Reign of Terror?
Author: Zoe Sugg
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

How was the CIA involved in political violence in Indonesia during the Communist rein of terror? Could money be the underbelly of America's partnership with Indonesia? Did the fear of Communism run so deep in the American psyche,that it would turn a blind eye to genocide? The organization that was designed to enforce security actually enforced bloodshed and terror while keeping their hands clean.

Paper IIC-3: 1:10-1:30 pm
Title: The Ulster Volunteer Force
Author: Zachary Slattery
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Daly

Ireland during the mid 1960s up until the mid 90s was an island engrossed with terror-ism and violence, specifically in Northern Ireland. During the time of the "troubles," war broke out between the Catholic and the Protestant communities. The UVF, or Ulster Volunteer Force, became the Protestant paramilitary force responsible for defending the Protestant community and their objective of maintaining Northern Ireland’s union with Great Britain. A cause meant to maintain Protestant dominance in Northern Ireland.

Paper IIC-4: 1:30-1:50 pm
Title: Finding a Unique “Non-Distorting” Transformation Between a Second-Order Linear Differential Equation and an Equivalent System
Author: Robin Clapper
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alla Kucher

When doing a mathematical problem, one can work backwards to check one’s work. While converting a system of two first-order linear differential equations into a second-order differential equation and then doing it backward, it was found that the system has another expression in comparison to the original one. In this paper a general transformation between second-order linear differential equations and corresponding systems of first-order differential equations have been constructed. The coefficients of that unique general transformation have been determined. The construction itself proves the uniqueness and the “restoring” property of the transformation.
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Keynote Address: Murdock 218
2:00 pm-3:00 pm

"You Want Me To What? Research, Graduate School, and a Real Life"
Gerol Petruzella ’01

Gerol Petruzella grew up in Pittsfield, attending public schools, Berkshire Community College, and MCLA, where he earned his B.A. in philosophy in 2001. He moved to Buffalo, NY in 2001, where he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to enter the Ph.D. program in the Philosophy Department at the University at Buffalo. During his five years in western New York, he immersed himself in the academic community, presenting at professional national and international conferences, doing editing work on several books in philosophy, and pursuing his other main academic interest, the study of classical languages, taking a Master's degree in 2005 from the Classics Department at the Univeristy at Buffalo. Gerol moved back to Williamstown in 2005 to write his dissertation. While writing, he began teaching at Mt. Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, earning his Massachusetts teacher's certification. He successfully defended his dissertation in October of 2007, and officially took his doctorate in February of this year. Gerol currently has an article under review in the New England Classical Journal, and is working with the American Philosophical Association and the Squire Foundation to bring philosophy to pre-college education, with a high school Ethics Bowl team. He has been an adjunct professor at MCLA in the philosophy department, and teaches Latin, English, Greek, and Sanskrit at Mt. Grey-lock High School. Sometimes he finds time to cook, although his results are decidedly mixed.
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Philosophy Mini-Conference: Murdock 303
3:00-5:00 pm

Philosophy Paper 1
Title: Litter and the Environment
Author: Nicholas Raby
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Paul Nnodim

Everyone concerned about the environment hates littering, yet most do nothing about it. Environmental literature usually treats litter as a symbolic issue in environmental health. In this presentation I will argue, to the contrary, that the content and composition of much litter itself creates substantive harm to the environment. Moreover, I will argue that it is every person's duty properly to dispose of litter, even if it was not personally owned. The aesthetic, behavioral, and symbolic significance of litter is not trivial, as it represents an important everyday expression of our respect for our world and each other.

Philosophy Paper 2
Title: On the Existence of Prenumbras: Right to Privacy
Author: Alex Poulin
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Matthew Silliman

I intend to prove the constitutional existence of Prenumbras (implied rights not specifically written in the constitution), using the 'right to privacy as my main example. I will draw from legal philosophy to prove my point.

Philosophy Paper 3
Title: David Hume On Miracles
Author: Jessica Dennis
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Matthew Silliman

This paper analyzes David Hume's chapter ""Of Miracles"", specifically looking at its seeming incongruity with the rest of his written work on knowledge and human understanding. A proposition is made concerning why Hume displays such inconsistency.

Philosophy Paper 4
Title: Anti-Global Warming Argumentation
Author: Peter Camacho
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Paul Nnodim

I would like to present how certain special interest groups are employing misused skeptical arguments in order to persuade the public into believing that either: 1. Global warming is not happening, 2. Global warming is happening but it is a natural cycle that is outside the influence of humans, 3.Global warming is happening and humans are the cause of it but there is nothing that can be done about it. This presentation will involve me demonstrating what the basis of these skeptical arguments are and then show that this basis is logically unsound.
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Student Art Show Opening: “Stories of North Adams”
Gallery 51
51 Main Street, North Adams
5:00-7:00 pm

Artwork by students at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will be showcased in “Stories of North Adams: MCLA Student Art Show 2008,” April 24 through May 25, in MCLA Gallery 51.

The exhibit will begin with an opening reception on Thursday, April 24, 5-7 p.m., in the Main Street gallery. The event is free and open to the public. It will include a performance by MCLA music professor Christine Condaris’ New Music Consort, which will perform four original student compositions.

Although throughout the year, MCLA Gallery 51 exhibits works by artists from around the world, once a year, the College is delighted to showcase our own students, said Jonathan Secor, director of special programs at MCLA.

Coordinated by MCLA faculty, staff, and students, the exhibition will includes works from the advanced art lab courses, including artworks from the “People Project” by graduating seniors Alyssa Weissblatt, Anne Krivoshey, Aaron Andrews, plus meditations on nature in the Berkshires including paintings by Haley Waugh, Shanna Mezcywor and Sylvia Birns-Swindlehurst.

The show also will include numerous artworks from students across campus, as they reveal their own stories of North Adams.

“Each year, students from across campus create visual artworks of all types from gutsy photography, to subtle paintings and collage experiments. In previous years we’ve had about 100 students submit work for the show – this year is sure to be exceptional with many great visual surprises for all to enjoy,” said Gregory Scheckler, MCLA art professor.

“Stories of North Adams: MCLA Student Art Show 2008” will run through May 25. MCLA Gallery 51 is at 51 Main St., North Adams. The Gallery is open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, 413-664-8718, or go to www.mcla.edu/Gallery51 .

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Acknowledgements

This conference would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of all our talented student-researchers. Without exception, they have produced quality scholarship worthy of professional academic conferences and we congratulate them on their fine achievements.

The members of the 6th Annual MCLA Undergraduate Research Conference Steering Committee are:

Maria Bartini, Psychology
Ann Billetz, Biology
Tom Byrne, Psychology
Anthony Daly, History
Fred Ferris, Facilities
Monica Joslin, Academic Affairs
Lauren O’Neal, Fine and Performing Arts
Matt Silliman, Philosophy

There’s always more room on the committee for folks interested in getting involved, so don’t hesitate to contact one of the above committee members if you’d like to help organize next year’s conference!