Edelman CCCA Fall Research Showcase explores issues, opportunities and challenges

Artificial intelligence in the classroom. Head injuries from college sports. TikTok bingeing and violence.

The Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts held its 3^rd annual Fall Research Showcase Dec. 2, a deep dive into some of the most topical issues of the day.

Featuring some 50 tables of work by students and faculty, the program celebrated the college’s vast spectrum of studies.

“They’re all examples of experiential learning,” said Edelman CCCA Associate Dean Jennifer Tole. “Students are going out into the world and communicating what matters to them. They’re connecting the dots between classroom learning and the real world.”

Many presenting students started projects with a hypothesis, deployed surveys and other tools to prove or disprove them, then presented findings orally and on research posters.

Among them, advertising students Ahmad Clark and Mariah Dewland questioned other students about whether they think hip-hop culture influences drug use.

“(Many) felt it does glorify drug use, from alcohol to marijuana to hard drugs,” Clark said.

Mackenzie Criss, a junior public relations & advertising major, surveyed some 50 students about video platform TikTok and whether they feel it desensitizes users to violence and risky behaviors. About half of those surveyed think it does.

“You see so much content, over and over again, that you might be more likely to try it,” Criss said she found.

Among faculty presenters, Sam Horowitz, a newly hired assistant professor in the Department of Art, displayed examples of research he conducts into glass and ceramic sculpture. Part of his lesson to students is that they need not spend a fortune on art materials – that they can practice sustainability, produce beautiful works and save money.

“Once you start looking at salvage materials it can head-start a piece,” Horowitz said. “Environmentally it’s better and, for an artist, it can be so much cheaper.”

Edelman CCCA Dean Sanford Tweedie said the annual showcase is more than just a forum to display finished work, though that’s an important aspect of it. It’s also an opportunity to get experience presenting findings in an academic setting.

“In so many instances, students and faculty worked together to complete the work,” Tweedie said. “This is a great way to celebrate it.”