(Originally written Apr. 14 2023)
Every semester, a brown bag lunch meeting is held to introduce student research topics specific to different majors. On March 30, this semester’s research meeting for communication majors was held.
The two students who presented were Ben Porter, a senior from Nederland, and Casey Shontz, a freshman from Spring. The Thursday meeting served to prepare the presenters for the Office of Undergraduate Research Expo, introduce their ideas to the students of Lamar, and receive constructive criticism from those in attendance. Many students and staff members from the Department of Communication and Media attended, including Andrew Coughlan, Andre Favors, Tony DeMars, and more.
“The Department of Communication and Media wants students to be engaged with activities that relate to what we teach and what students have an interest in, and we love being able to showcase the work students are doing,” Professor DeMars said.
Deaf Studies Professor Beverly Buchanan was also in attendance to review Shontz’s research project, which concerns the language inclusivity and accessibility of communication studies lectures towards Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind students.
“I had noticed some concepts and models in the communication lectures were exclusive of sign languages, tactile languages, and the perspectives of deaf people in general,” Shontz said. “Since Lamar is trying to be an accessible and inclusive place, I think it could be doing better.”
On the other hand, Porter’s research project covers the ongoing lawsuit between Apple, Inc. and Epic Games, Inc., as well as the commercial Epic Games released in 2020 parodying a famous Apple commercial referencing the film “1984.”
“Whatever you think about Apple’s 1984 ad, there were huge effects after its release,” Porter said. “For one, they kind of broke up the monopoly IBM held over the computer market, and it really was the starting point for what Apple is today. That kind of effect is essentially what Epic Games is aiming for.”
Research is ongoing for both students, and their finished proposals will be presented at the Office of Undergraduate Research Expo, which will be held in the Setzer Center on April 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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