ABSTRACTS

2019 National McNair Scholars Conference at UCLA


Researcher: Joseph Amrhein

Presentation Title: Hegemonic Masculinity and Sexual Abuse: The Sex Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Church

Research Focus: Sociology

School: Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

The Roman Catholic Church’s role as a moral authority has allowed it to exert significant social control over its members and influence within society. Relying on its culture of clericalism, policies of organizational secrecy, and a response pattern of denial and minimization, the Church has largely hidden the abuses committed by some of its priests. Despite the Catholic Church’s efforts to conceal compromising information regarding sex abuse among a minority of its priests, and the subsequent cover-up, the scandal has largely dominated news coverage of the Church since 2002. The secrecy, abuse, and domination within the Catholic Church suggest that hegemonic masculinity plays a role within the organizational culture. This raises an important question: In what ways does hegemonic masculinity play out in the framework of the sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church?

Raewyn Connell first formulated the concept of hegemonic masculinity more than three decades ago and it has been a driving force behind the expanding field of masculine studies. Hegemonic masculinity can be found in particular groups of men and that it refers to a type of masculinity characterized by unequal, domination-based gender relations. Based on case studies of individuals who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, this study presents an analysis of the Catholic Church—both the institution itself and individual priests—using the lens of hegemonic masculinity. The findings demonstrate how hegemonic masculinity plays out within the framework of the sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church.


Researcher: Citlaly Escobar

Presentation Title: Where Were The Chicanas During the Twin Cities Chicano Movement?: A Historical Analysis On How Mexican-American Women Were Involved In The Twin Cities Chicano Movement

Research Focus: History

School: Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

During the 1960’s and 70s, marginalized populations in the United States organized for liberation through social movements like the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, and the Chicano Movement. While traditionally understood as a movement that occurred in the Southwestern United States, Minnesota had a vibrant Chicano Movement in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Despite the expansive nature of the Twin Cities Chicano Movement, little has been documented. The few published sources focus on masculine voices due to the gender disparity of the time, and now, their depiction of women as passive actors in the movement has been adopted in the dominant narrative of the Twin Cities Chicano Movement. As time passes and women from the movement begin to pass away, their stories are further being pushed aside and forgotten.

This research challenges this narrative by centering women as the focal point of the Twin Cities Chicano Movement. The experiences of women who have been previously disregarded by historians are highlighted through oral history interviews and give insight into the fundamental roles women held in the movement. These interviews, along with formerly discounted archival sources from the community, holistically describe the processes of their organizing work and academic contributions. As the stories come together, the research reveals how many women such as Ramona Arreguin de Rosales, Linda Castillo, and Marcela Trujllo institutionalized the movement by founding various cultural and political organizations. Ultimately, the research publicizes the radical legacies left by women in the Twin Cities Chicano Movement.


Researcher: Sandy Lee

Presentation Title: Eye development: The effect of Hedgehog signaling pathway on Daphnia magna and Artemia franciscana

Research Focus: Biology

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a disorder of midline development that includes a single eye and midline palate defects in humans. The water flea Daphnia magna carries one common feature with HPE: a cyclopic eye. In contrast, the brine shrimp known as Artemia franciscana exhibit widely spaced eyes. Both creatures, from the class Branchiopoda, are known to carry the hedgehog gene just like humans. A mutation of the sonic hedgehog gene (shh) is a possible cause of HPE.

Previous studies in our lab have shown that the hedgehog expression decreases in Daphnia magna as it matures, and its two eye spot fuse together to form a cyclopic eye. To determine the role of Hh signaling in Daphnia and Artemia eye development, I treated the invertebrates with Hh activator and inhibitor drugs, respectively and continued to assess their eye phenotype every 24 hours.

By treating Daphnia magna with a Hedgehog activator, 20(S)-Hydroxycholesterol, I predict that the drug will increase the Hedgehog protein, and the Daphnia will develop two distinct eyes. On the other hand, by treating Artemia franciscana with a Hedgehog inhibitor SANT-1, I hypothesize that the Hedgehog protein will decrease, and the organism will form a cyclopic eye like the Daphnia. By studying and comparing the drugs effect on Daphnia and Artemia eye development, we hope to understand HPE and the formation of cyclopia.


Researcher: Cinthia Ramirez

Presentation Title: Organizational Secrecy, Structural Resources, & Stigma: The Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal in Pennsylvania

Research Focus: Sociology

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Since the scandal first broke in 2002, there has been a focus on the Catholic Church and the worldwide pattern of sexual abuse of children by priests. For decades, the sexual abuse committed by priests and the subsequent coverup of this behavior by Church leaders were kept a secret from society and even laypersons within the Church. Though we have known about the scandal for years now, there is still more to learn about how the abuse was kept a secret for so long. The Grand Jury Report that was released in 2018 by the state of Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity for an in-depth analysis of both the extent of the sexual abuse within the eight dioceses of that state as well as the subsequent cover-up of this abuse. The report contains profiles of various pedophile priests, letters from high-ranking leaders of the Church about the abuse and their responses to the accusations made against the Church. This study focuses on an analysis of the methods used by the Church to avoid stigmatization and being discredited as a moral authority in society. This focus will also provide supporting evidence that the sexually abusive behavior by priests represent an institutional problem within the Church and not simply an individual problem.


Researcher: Sydney Saygbe

Presentation Title: Does Attending Community College Reduce the Costs of Receiving a College Degree?

Research Focus: Economics

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

In 2017, national student loan debt reached $1.5 trillion and the average college student amassed $28,650 in debt. One strategy students use to reduce the cost of a bachelor’s degree is attending community college and then transferring to a four-year university. However, many transfer students from community colleges are spending more than two years to complete their degrees at a four-year institution. In addition, only 29% of students from community colleges attend a four year institution. Of those 29%, only 42% of students obtain their bachelor degree. Thus, the transfer credit process is not as seamless as students may expect. Community college credits may not transfer or be recognized at a four-year institution. Also, students may not be aware of additional course requirements needed at the four-year institution. The inefficiencies in the transfer process may result in higher costs and a longer time for students to complete their degree. Data from Augsburg University, an urban private liberal arts university in Minneapolis, Minnesota will be used to develop a cost accounting model of student debt under various financial scenarios. Preliminary findings suggest that under some circumstances it is actually cheaper to attend a four-year university, rather than to attend a community college for the first two years. This study can help students make more informed decisions on whether transferring credits from a community college to a four-year university is the most efficient and low cost path to obtaining a degree.


Researcher: Terrence Shambley

Presentation Title: A Novel: What Does Black Liberation Look Like?

Research Focus: The history and political ideologies of Black liberation movements

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Black liberation movements are historically characterized by heartfelt resistance, productive disagreement, and are often right on-time. The examples are endless: from the Reconstruction era (1863-1877), a period of Black advancement responsible for wins such as the abolishment of plantation slavery and the granting of full citizenship for Black people, to the second Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), to the empathic activist response directed at continued unjust killings at the hands of police officers known as #BlackLivesMatter (2013- present), African Americans have always fought America tooth and nail for the freedom it actively denies them.

Therefore, to create a world where Black people can live their best and most joyous lives– that is, a world where the Black experience is absent of the barriers of systemic oppression– is a radical form of resistance. This begs the question: what does a Black liberated world look like? Taking the form of a literary novel, exploring this question is the focus of my project. My research zeroes in on the history of the Atlantic Slave Trade, Maroon societies (living communities founded by Black Americans who escaped from their enslavement) and Black liberation movements, studies theoretical frameworks, world-building fiction, Black linguistics and more to design A’home– an island founded by escaped Black Americans in the 19th century.

By creating and developing A’home and its people, I aim to make tangible a world of Black joy as a means of rewarding the work of Black freedom fighters and facilitating critical discussion on the subject of liberation.


Researcher: Quentin Smith

Presentation Title: Differential gene expression of stress response-related genes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and three accessions of its wild relative (Hordeum spontaneum K. Koch) in response to infestation by the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi L.)

Research Focus: Biology

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Sustainably feeding a growing population while reducing the use of harmful chemical pesticides is a pressing concern for agronomists. The bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi, BCOA) poses an increasing risk to barley (Hordeum vulgare) production, particularly because it acts as a vector for several plant viruses. Understanding the genetic mechanisms facilitating plant resistance to aphid feeding and the potential of wild relatives of cultivated barley as sources of genetic resistance will aid in the development of barley cultivars more resistant to phloem-feeding insect pests. In this study, we evaluated the reproduction of BCOA on three accessions of the wild barley relative, Hordeum spontaneum, compared to a commercially grown cultivar. Estimates of BCOA fecundity were derived by calculating the intrinsic rate of increase of foundresses isolated via a modified aphid clip cage. Differences in aphid reproduction were correlated to differences in plant response to infestation. We measured changes in gene expression of HvSOD1, HvLOX2:3, HvHSP70 and HvSF427, key genes involved in several plant biotic stress response pathways. We employed a histological staining approach to visualize and quantify oxidative responses elicited by aphid feeding in wild and commercial barley lines. We hypothesize that the differences in BCOA reproduction rate, are associated with differential induction of stress response-related genes. The allelic variants of these genes from crop wild relatives may be beneficial to plant breeders for developing aphid resistant barley.


Researcher: Daniella Vasquez

Presentation Title: Effects of normal and Cystic Fibrosis airway secretions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Research Focus: Biology

School:  Augsburg University

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease in which affected individuals experience many complications including the inability to clear mucus from their lungs. This allows for bacteria to settle in the lungs and cause chronic lung infections. People with CF are particularly susceptible to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. When P. aeruginosa settles in the un-cleared mucus in the lungs, it multiplies and eventually forms a biofilm. The biofilm forms when P. aeruginosa cells group together, adhere to the surface, and embed themselves in a self-made extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix protects P. aeruginosa from antibiotic effects, resulting in a chronic lung infection that can lead to respiratory disease and early death for the majority of CF patients. However, P. aeruginosa virtually never grows or forms biofilms in non-CF patients. Our hypothesis is that normal, but not CF, airway mucus secretions protect normal lungs by directly inhibiting P. aeruginosa growth and/or biofilm formation. We are testing this hypothesis by incubating P. aeruginosa in the presence or absence of normal and CF-like airway mucus secretions and then measuring either growth over 12 hours or biofilm formation after 18 hours.

We predict that normal secretions have an inhibitory factor that doesn’t allow P. aeruginosa to survive/grow properly and CF secretions lack this factor.