Honors College senior presentations examine variety of issues

Graduation is nearing and while students are completing the rest of their work, honors college seniors are finishing their senior theses.
On April 4 and 5, 67 seniors of the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College made their senior thesis presentations.
Politics and justice studies major Kimesha Robyn Cooper presented her thesis titled "Police Brutality and African Americans."
She examined seven cases that involved the deaths of African-Americans from the actions of police officers. These included the high-profile cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
In her findings, she concluded a re-evaluation of police agencies is a necessary step in reducing the number of killings at the hands of police.
And she had some advice for people in encounters with police. "Go with the flow."
She urged the students present to take a different approach with police so that encounters don't end badly. If there is an issue, you can get legal assistance later to deal with it.
Another senior, Shanquel Young, a psychology major, presented "The Effect Performing Arts Have on Students Academically." Her study included passing out surveys to determine how students involved in the arts perform academically.
She gave surveys to 50 students at Claflin and got 49 responses, but the effort did not produce evidence that being involved in choir, theater, dance, a gospel group or the band improved academic performance.
"It did not give me the answer I wanted," she said. The survey size was not large enough to be conclusive.
She does, however, believe students involved in such extra-curricular activities do perform better overall.
Management major Alex Simone Allen delivered her presentation on "Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace." She examined the privacy issues surrounding cameras and unscheduled supervisor visits on worker performance.
"It is very clear the majority of participants were more comfortable when they were not being monitored," Allen said.
She cited personal work experience in stating a belief that monitoring is counterproductive.
Philosophy and religion major Denzel J. Hampton presented the "Role of the Black Church in Desegregation in the South," which focused on churches in the civil rights era that pushed political involvement as well as religion.
"Most black churches are not active as they were," Hampton said. He feels the black church today is falling short on social issues.
He called on young clergy to step out on social issues. "We can't rely on the older folks to lead the new movement," Hampton said.
The Honors Senior Capstone Thesis is a requirement for all honors college graduates.