Honors Research Conference

Publish Date: Jan. 19, 2021

The gig economy, the influence of social media on cosmetic surgery, the need for planetary WiFi, the use of information and communications technology in the classroom,posthumanism and religion,online dating during the pandemic, conspiracy theories—what do these disparate topics have in common? They were among the topics of the Zoom presentations given at the Crafton Student Research Conference on Friday, November 20, 2020.
For the past three years, the Crafton Hills College Honors Institute has sponsored a research conference near the end of each semester. The conference has been a place where students can present research they have conducted in their classes or on their own.Their peers, friends, and mentors have been invited to attend. In previous conferences, presenters had the option of oral or poster format.
This year’s conference, of course, could not be held in the usual live format, but a Zoom session with six different breakout rooms for 21 oral presentations worked surprisingly well.Three or four presenters were assigned to each breakout room, and conference attendees were free to join any of the presentation rooms they wanted to. At the end of each presentation, attendees could ask the presenters questions or discuss the topics and issues raised.
Brystal Nevins, one of the presenters, would not have chosen to do the conference virtually if there had been an in-person option, but she noted, “I enjoyed the more intimate group setting as it led to involved conversations happening among those present and made for a relatively low-risk environment.”
This semester’s conference was the product of collaboration between English professor Isidro Zepeda, psychology professor Dr. T.L. Brink, and Honors Coordinator Judy Cannon.
The Spring 2021 Crafton Research Conference will be held in April and will include (but not be limited to) research related to the book Spare Parts by Joshua Davis, the book chosen for Crafton’s “One Book, One College” program this year.