Digital Commons Network^™

The Accused, Nathan Damon Hopper

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Exonerations are increasing, largely thanks to the advent of DNA evidence, which several prisoners’ rights advocacy groups, like the Innocence Project, have used to prove the innocence of the convicted. But returning home after spending years imprisoned for a wrongful conviction brings with it several types of challenges: psychological, financial, and simply personal.

Roy Brown, the main subject of this story (though there are several other important characters) is an incredibly intricate man. Before his 25-to-life sentence for the murder of a county social worker, he’d faced several other convictions for a slew of misbehavings and a general disregard for …

Medusa Magazine, Hannah Kristin Warren

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Medusa Magazine is a student-run campus publication, co-founded by the author of this project and Samantha Lifson, a 2011 graduate of Syracuse University. The idea for the magazine came together over the summer and fall of 2009, with Medusa gaining official status as a Recognized Student Organization in the spring of 2010. The first issue was printed in April of 2010, and we have published two issues per semester since.

The process of Medusa’s creation involved the drafting of our constitution as a student organization, numerous meetings with Bethany Piraino, our consultant within the Office of Student Activities, to ensure …

Journey: Students' Perspectives On Studying Abroad, Rachel Tjornehoj

Honors Capstone Projects - All

How can I share my entire study abroad experience in a short article? With all of the photos, stories, challenges, new experiences, comparisons and travels from a year abroad, it can’t be done. In a series of short articles, however, it is possible to catch a glimpse of all of the opportunities available when one decides to study abroad. For “Journey” magazine, I compiled stories from a variety of students’ study abroad experiences to show the diverse opportunities and possibilities available through study abroad. As more and more students study abroad and travel to new countries, the range of possibilities …

Penance: A Novel, Rachel Anne Weiser

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Penance is a fictional novel written both as an Honors Capstone project and as a work that will be further revised and eventually submitted for professional publication.

The novel is set in modern day, in the fictional southern city of Avington. Avington, like the rest of the world, is home to a group of terrifying creatures called the nephilim, a name derived from Hebrew, meaning “the fallen.” The nephilim are humans who once died and were reborn as undead creatures; because of their insatiable thirst for human life energy, they are considered demons with the faces of men. Despite the …

The Gatekeepers Of The Black Press, Sadé Khadijah Muhammad

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract Not Available

Nothing Is Free: A Screenplay, David Hetzron

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Film has been an invaluable part of American society for nearly a century. From having political significance, to solely entertaining purposes, this versatile medium has only garnered more and more cultural investment each year of its existence. While it may not always be a vital component to a completed project, it is within the script writing process that ideas, themes, and messages are negotiated and developed. The real meaning of a story is encoded within the words. The script can be considered provocative, emotional, informative, and may incite a unique effect for each of its readers. While no reader is …