Sociology students win awards at 2023 ISA Meeting
Three Cornell College students brought home awards for their research from the Iowa Sociological Association (ISA) annual meeting on April 21.
The event recognizes the best research papers by undergraduates across the state. Each Cornell student presented a paper they developed during a single sociology course, Research Design and Data Analysis.
Sophomore Athraa Mhanna won the Mary Ericson Award for Best Freshman/Sophomore Paper, “The Impact of Ethnic Identity on Arab Americans’ Political Activism.”
“This experience was an opportunity for me to bring awareness to the lack of research on the Arab American community and the ways that we are underserved and underrepresented in politics because of this,” Mhanna said. “Winning an award for this work was not only personally fulfilling, but it also reinforces the need for more research and accurate representation of Arab Americans.”
Senior Ruthie Hale also won the Manford Kuhn Award for best Junior/Senior Paper for “Religiosity and Community Belonging: How Religion Impacts Community in LGBT People of Color.”
“It was very exciting to receive this award,” Hale said. “I’m a competitive person, and it’s always nice to win, but even more than that, it’s really gratifying to have some real proof that a project that I put a lot of effort into was actually good work.”
Junior Tendall Weigand won the Ward Reynoldson Award for best Criminal Justice Paper, “Exploring Perceptual and Physical Experiences with the Police and Public Receptivity to Use of Police Video Surveillance with Body-worn Cameras.”
This year’s event was held at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Cornell College students have consistently attended the ISA annual meeting for more than a decade.
“This conference gives Cornell students the confidence to talk about their work and it allows them to see what their peers are doing at other institutions,” said Cornell College Professor of Sociology Tori Barnes-Brus. “It’s really exciting for them to rise to the intense challenge of Cornell’s Research Methods course and then feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment about what they have learned. It is a real testament to the benefits of our One Course At A Time curriculum.”
Additional papers submitted:
Layla Powell: “Neoliberalism and Criminal Justice: Exploring Neoliberalism and Attitudes Towards the Criminal Justice System”
Donivan Jones: “Discriminatory Success: Quantitative Analysis of Discrimination and Success”
Caitlyne Mar: “Initiating Contact and Satisfaction with Police: How Police Versus Citizens Initiating Contact Alters Satisfaction with Police”
All photos are courtesy of Professor of Sociology Tori Barnes-Brus. The top image shows senior Ruthie Hale presenting her research during the ISA annual meeting.
