Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

S.A.D. Survival Kit: A Podcast On Seasonal Affective Disorder, Kate Lincoln

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This document explores seasonal affective disorder through the lens of the accompanying mini podcast series S.A.D. Survival Kit. Over the course of five episode transcripts, the audience will gain a better understanding of seasonal affective disorder and its associated interrelations with the surrounding environment and any individual’s internal physical and mental health. The podcast is available on Spotify and SoundCloud. (Links are on page 1.) Seasonal affective disorder is a form of seasonal depression marked by a significant change in one’s behavior or thinking patterns when seasons shift. Episode 1 explains the basics of S.A.D. and concludes that many people …

Appeals To Transboundary Ecology: Cross-Border Advocacy At The Skagit Headwaters Donut Hole, Derek Moscato

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The Pacific Northwest’s regional news media has directed significant attention toward the Skagit River watershed since 2019 because of a controversial, long-simmering mining proposal at the international border dividing British Columbia and Washington State. At the center of this controversy sits the so-called “Donut Hole”—an area of 5,800 unprotected hectares situated between two B.C. provincial parks—Skagit Valley and Manning—located at the headwaters of the Skagit watershed.

As a result of concerns about impacts to wildlife and the surrounding North Cascades ecosystem, opposition to the project was substantial, led by environmental advocates representing a wide range of ecological, recreational, and community …

Rethinking The American National Narratives: Finding A Way Forward With Our Past And With Hope, Emma Stiff

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An essay contributing to the ongoing conversation about America's national narratives through an analysis of how stories shape our country and the steps we can take towards a more inclusive, hope-based narrative.

Framing Dr. Fauci: The Portrayal Of Dr. Anthony Fauci By Fox News And Cnn In The Early Covid-19 Lockdown, Lilian Froese Raihl

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

COVID-19 caused the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in December 2019 (Center for Disease Control, 2022). When COVID-19 became prevalent in early 2020 in the United States, the media played a large role in communication about the pandemic, whether it was transmitting updates about the spread of the virus, posting alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or sharing medical research on COVID-19 (Grasso, 2021). As the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci became a leading figure in informing the public about the virus. He was featured …

Sentimental Value: Developing A Model For Sentiment & Linguistic Analysis Of Cable News, Caitlin Bannister

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project aims to provide a tool for sentiment and linguistic analysis of news content. Specifically, the intended purpose of this research is to assess the variability of language use across cable news. In order to accomplish this, a Python script was written that allows the researcher to produce a specific set of sentiment/linguistic analysis output as well as statistical analysis of that output. While the code is written specifically to analyze cable news transcripts, it can be modified to perform the same analysis on any text of interest, news or otherwise. The output of this code allows the researcher …

The Impact Of Cross-Border Environmental Media And Advocacy At The Skagit River Headwaters, Derek Moscato

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The regional media of Cascadia has directed significant media attention toward the Skagit River watershed since 2018 as a result of a controversial mining proposal at the international border dividing British Columbia and Washington State. At the center of this con-troversy sits the so-called “Donut Hole” located at the headwaters of the Skagit watershed. As a result of concerns about impacts to wildlife and the surrounding North Cascades ecosystem, opposition to the project was substantial, led by environmental advocates and Indigenous community leaders. In turn, they harnessed extensive media coverage and advocacy to facilitate a larger regional dialogue about the …

Klipsun Magazine, 2022, Volume 52 Issue 03 - Spring, Tyler Brown

Klipsun Magazine

Dear Reader,

When I was given the news that I would be the future editor-in-chief for Klipsun, I knew immediately the theme I wanted for the spring edition.

Passion; (Noun)

1. a strong and barely controllable emotion.

2. an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.

Passion lies within all of us, waiting like a starving beast ready to pounce. Unexpected, unbidden and sometimes unwanted. It stirs, waiting to open its jaws and howl. It guides us. Passion rules us all, and we obey.

If we could live without passion, maybe we’d know some kind of peace. But we would be …

No Place Like Homeskillet, Kai Uyehara

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The iconic Sunnyland breakfast spot, Homeskillet, closed after punctuating its ten-year run with a celebratory brunch party. Watch a community built around warm hospitality, hearty comfort food and eclectic decorations gather to bid farewell to a Bellingham favourite in this video feature story. To construct this six minute video, I pulled from my knowledge of storytelling through multimedia learned in my years at Western Washington University earning an English Creative Writing major, a journalism minor and participating in a film production club. This video feature story dwells within a smaller quadrant of journalism: feel-good journalism. Community and hospitality are at …

It's The Holiday Rom-Com Season, Mariah Perez

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This study analyzes and categorizes 25 holiday romantic comedy films released between 1938 and 2021. It examines how this genre of film developed and evolved over time. It concludes that Hallmark and Netflix have both had large influences on the holiday romantic comedy genre. This study also discusses the results of a survey regarding people's holiday rom-com habits and opinions. It determines that audiences' opinions shape genre, and therefore it is likely that future holiday romantic comedies will remain lighthearted and comforting, while also becoming more inclusive regarding sexuality, ethnicity, and culture.

The Vampire Tapes, Emily Bishop

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This podcast series features interviews with five individuals who identify with the term 'vampire.' The interviews focus on how being 'vampiric' affects their day-to-day lives, interpersonal relationships, and view of self.

Episodes range in run time from around 20 minutes to just under an hour.

Each tape in the series focuses on a different individual.

Advancing Technology & Digital Lifestyles: Facilitating A Group Independent Study, Kailey Droz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

For my senior capstone project, I facilitated a group independent study (ISP) through Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University called Advancing Technology and Digital Lifestyles. A small group of students and I critically and creatively analyzed our relationship with technology, and its impacts on the individual, interpersonal relationships, culture, and society. Prior to facilitating, I did research within the fields of cyberpsychology, social psychology, communication studies, and media studies. I am sharing my syllabus and facilitation notes, my final project (two short stories), an annotated bibliography, and a reflection on the group ISP and my process.

Here …

Klipsun Magazine, 2022, Volume 52 Issue 2 - Winter, Victoria Corkum

Klipsun Magazine

Dearest reader,

When I was blessed with the opportunity to be Editor-in-Chief of Klipsun Magazine the little voice in my head whispered with glee, “Now’s your chance to inspire what others need to hear!” Living in a broken world means we are all broken people…but is that such a bad thing? We’re all a little fractured, that’s how the light gets in.

Joy: (noun) An attitude of gladness not based on circumstance; deep-rooted, inspired happiness.

This concept of joy will always receive varying responses. Some smirk at it, not fully understanding the power to be found within. Others hold onto …

Klipsun Magazine, 2021, Volume 52 Issue 1 - Fall, Sadie Fick

Klipsun Magazine

For the reader

These past years have been characterized by uncertainty. If it’s taught me anything, it’s this: We can never really know what’s coming next.

I was hired as a designer for this edition of Klipsun. I didn’t choose the theme or work with reporters to shape their stories. Now I’m Editor-in-Chief.

Sometimes we (knowingly but ungracefully) stumble into new things, as I did. Other times, we take a confident step forward only for the ground shift under us. Through the uncertainty, all we can do is look at where we are and ask ourselves what we’re going to …

Klipsun Magazine, 2021, Volume 51 Issue 3 - Spring, Jaya Flanary

Klipsun Magazine

Hi neighbor,

I lost empathy when I was young and have since spent my time searching for it. Empathy is a capacity that is messy and unnatural; it is a pain in the ass for us selfish folks. My search for it began in high school. Later, in a college literature class, I rediscovered my infatuation for empathy when I read Leslie Jamison’s “The Empathy Exams.”

“This was the double blade of how I felt about any thing that hurt: I wanted someone else to feel it with me, and also I wanted it entirely for myself.”

Considering you and …

Authentic Representations Of Youth Who Stutter: An Analysis Of Children's And Adolescent Literature, Claire Elizabeth Howerton

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This analysis seeks to explore the way in which characters who stutter are portrayed in children’s and adolescent literature. Using Joan Blaska’s criteria for reviewing depictions of characters with disabilities, I consider eight texts in how affectively they present the disability of stuttering and their main character. The eight texts considered include picture books, graphic novels, and traditional novels all centering on the story of a main character who stutters were considered. Four of these books are designed for ages four to twelve and are analyzed as children’s literature and the other four are written for ages eleven to eighteen …

Zooming In On Teletherapy: The Benefits And Challenges Of Virtual Speech, Language, And Aural Therapies, Brianne Mccaslin

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of teletherapy in the field of communication sciences and disorders. Previous research has been conducted on this subject regarding teletherapy for individuals in rural areas, or those with mobility challenges, that would normally not have access to in-person therapy. However, this study is important in furthering this research because clients are now required to attend teletherapy sessions in response to the new guidelines surrounding our global pandemic. To collect data, three surveys were distributed: the first to clients and their families who were the recipients of teletherapy services, …

The Internet Never Forgets: Student Journalists Meet The "Right To Be Forgotten", Emily R. Feek

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This study examines how journalists at college publications handle unpublishing requests in the context of United States media law, the European Union's Right to be Forgotten and journalistic ethics. Interviews with student editors at Washington state public universities' student newspapers were used to examine how student publications address requests for information or entire articles to be unpublished and what those editors' attitudes toward unpublishing are. This research reveals that this subset of student journalists tended to favor alternatives to unpublishing, although articles could be removed ethically in some select cases, and a lack of consistent guidelines regarding how to manage …

Recontextaulizing Literature: A Podcast Project Dedicated To Celebrating And Broadcasting The Voices Of Indigenous Authors And Storytellers, Xavier Hickey

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project is conducted with intention of exploring the sociocultural implications of a decentralized canon. Designed with Indigenous authors and storytellers in mind, this project perceives the way that literature and storytelling are improved by abandoning the universalized and Eurocentric literary canon and replacing it with complex and unique personal cultural contexts. As part of the overarching podcast project, this document looks to lay out a reading list that represents and enforces the power of recontextualized literature.

Speaking My Truth: Voices And Portraits Of Honors Students Of Color, Leah Kerbs

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Founded in 1962, the Honors Program at Western Washington University has prided itself on the cornerstones of academic excellence, student growth, and a tight-knit Honors community. With class sizes averaging 18 students and a dedicated Honors living space, the program certainly provides students a unique opportunity to build closer relationships with professors and peers alike as they pursue their goals within a larger university setting.

However, like colleges and universities across the nation, the predominantly white program has struggled to meaningfully include the voices and experiences of its students of color. For many, their relationship with the program remains a …

Klipsun Magazine, 2020, Volume 51 Issue 01 - Fall, Colton Rasanen

Klipsun Magazine

Dearest readers, This is the section that my predecessors have carved out to write something profound about Klipsun’s theme and the stories you will find with- in. Yet, as I write this, I realize there isn’t anything inherently profound to say about pride. Pride is something most people understand from a young age. Life is filled with proud moments. Pride in education and sports, pride in family and pets, even pride in our ability to meet milestones like talking and walking. As I list all these moments, I wonder why it was so hard for me to feel pride growing …

Black Power Imagery As Resistive Memory-Making, Courtney Kruzan

Scholars Week

The “Four Black Panthers” is a photograph of Assata Shakur (middle left), Dhoruba bin-Wahad (far left), and two other unknown individuals (middle and far right) that was found attached to the essay Assata Shakur, Excluding the Nightmare After the Dream by bin-Wahad. “Four Black Panthers” is a part of a rich genre of Black Power Era imagery that attempts to portray the collective memory of Black communities and to articulate an alternative history that challenges the hegemonic narrative put-forth in the U.S. The narrative of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is that peaceful, non-violence made the movement. Dr. …

Journalism In The Age Of Doxxing​, Kathrine Huntington

Scholars Week

Doxxing is something that is becoming more and more of a reality to many journalists today and that reality can quickly become a nightmare if used in the wrong way. Doxxing is known as the release of private information without consent of the person it is directed towards. It is important for journalists today to be familiar with what doxxing is, what ethical dilemmas it creates as well as how to protect themselves against being doxxed. Anyone can be doxxed but journalists face the highest risk in today’s modern world due to easy accessibility to technology as well as our …

Reducing Stress For Student Journalists, Melody Kazel

Scholars Week

As a student in JOUR 214 and 414, I noticed that stress levels in the class were high. I asked students, currently in the class or who’d taken it one quarter previously, to fill out a survey about their stress levels and causes of stress. In order to prevent unconscious negative bias because of the nature of a survey about stress, I included questions about student satisfaction levels and causes of satisfaction. The majority of students rated stress at an eight or ten out of ten. Satisfaction levels were more varied; most students rated their satisfaction at a four, five, …

Self-Care Practices Among College Students Today: Coping With Mental Illness, Ashley Manawa

Scholars Week

This study focuses on aspects of mental health and illness experienced by college students who access the university Wellness Center. In this study, researchers conduct qualitative interviewing with participants to better understand their perspectives and experiences, as well as treatment in the form of self-care practices. Implications of this study include the impact that the self-care practices have on the students experiencing mental illness.

The Advocacy And Rhetoric Of Students Experiencing Hunger In The Pursuit Of College Degrees, Mckenzie Goff

Scholars Week

The following proposal is examining the interaction between college rhetoric of hunger with the self-advocacy of students experiencing food insecurity. The study will be a face to face interview with 20 students of any gender, between the ages of 19 and 25. The face to face interview will cover questions on experiences in food insecurity as well as comfort level when partaking in self-advocacy and it will be followed up with an email with the same questions. The results of this study will be used to examine current rhetoric of hunger used by college administrations to reform said rhetoric.

Journalists Need To Be A Voice For The Weakest Stakeholders In The Climate Crisis, Lucille Giaccio

Scholars Week

The paper covers the ethical dilemma concerning Journalism and its lack of coverage of the animal perspective. The research was done using Western Washington University's library databases and other news articles about the issue. The articles and websites focused on the ethical aspect of the "Voice for the Voiceless" including animals and nature. The primary issue with news organizations failing to discuss the animal suffering in the climate crisis was because they claimed it was too complicated. The challenge after that is writing for a human audience with a nonhuman perspective. Many journalists have adapted their style to cover all …

An Analysis Of Vogue: Femininity & Intersectionality As A Societal Standard In Fashion, Cassidy Tamburro

Scholars Week

The goal of this research project is to see if Vogue has evolved or changed its fashion coverage to be more intersectional as well as evolved in what it means to be ideally feminine. The research question that guided my work is: How has Vogue’s intersectionality and feminine ideals evolved in its fashion coverage from 1975 to 2019? My methods include a semiotic analysis of Vogue magazine covers images from 1975 and 2019, examining model diversity, cover-photo elements, and representations of styles. A qualitative analysis, including content-coding, of Vogue fashion articles 1975 and 2019. The main findings included that Vogue …

Kulshan Gives: Helping A Nonprofit Choir Create A Culture Of Giving, Emily Jackson, Schuyler Shelloner

Scholars Week

How can a nonprofit organization change from a culture of caring to a culture of giving? Emily Jackson, Schuyler Shelloner and Emma Calvert sought to answer that question in Fall 2020 during their public relations course, Research and Campaigns. They formed the Skyline Group agency and developed a PR campaign proposal for the Kulshan Chorus. This nonprofit, social-justice-oriented choir wanted to raise awareness about their mission, increase funding and involve more choir members in more community outreach. In response to their request for proposal, the Skyline Group conducted research, defined target audiences and created a 53-page campaign booklet with deliverables …

Klipsun Magazine, 2020, Volume 50 Issue 03 - Spring, Zoe Deal

Klipsun Magazine

For the Reader, The lake is silent on a cool spring morning. As a thick mist rises from the water’s glassy surface, there is a harsh rumble, and a white speedboat rushes through. All that remains, when the buzz fades to an empty echo, is a white-capped trail, rippling, rippling, gone. While the wake of one boat disappears as quickly as it comes into existence, add one, two or 50 more to the mix and, well... just imagine the insurmountable waves. It is not difficult to picture this familiar wake. But to recognize this metaphor on a greater human scale …

Fundraising For Families: A Strategic Communications Campaign For Give Hope 2 Kids In Honduras, Emily Jackson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Honduras is a Central American country rich with natural beauty—and also stricken with poverty and malnutrition. According to the 2010 UNICEF national report for Honduras, almost 1 in 3 children under 5 years old experience malnutrition, and malnutrition and poverty worsen in rural areas. The 2020 World Bank Poverty and Equity Report for Honduras estimates that as of 2018, nearly half (48.3%) of Hondurans live below the national poverty line. Honduras had the most adolescent births in Central America in 2006 with similar rates in the 20 years prior, according to the Guttmacher Institute. UNICEF data from 2018 also showed …