2026 Social Science Student Symposium (S4) 

51st Event
Friday, May 1, 2026
California State University, Fresno

Sponsors: Office of the Provost, Fresno State; College of Social Sciences, Fresno State; Social Science Research & Instructional Council
CSU Office of the Chancellor

Official Event Website
Fresno State Map (PDF) 

Fresno State Library Map (PDF)
• 1st / 2nd Floor S4 Rooms (JPG)
• 3rd Floor S4 Rooms (JPG)

 

Schedule

•  8 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. - Breakfast, Registration, Networking, Resnick Student Union
•  9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Morning Sessions, Main Library
•  12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Lunch - Keynote Speaker: Dr. Safiya Noble (UCLA), Resnick Student Union
•  2:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Afternoon Sessions, Main Library
•  3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Awards & Closing, Main Library 
 

Overview

Student presentations will be approximately 12-15 minutes, and are related to research projects by undergraduate, master's, doctoral students (in the first two full years of a CSU doctoral program), and recent graduates from the 2024 spring term or later presenting work that was completed prior to graduation.

Topics will range from domestic and international-focused projects tied to climate, communities, consumerism, criminology, culture, education, families, gender and identity, health, history, mental health, politics, poverty and empowerment, psychology, public policy, research and statistics, rhetoric, society, and violence. 

Over 70 presentations will be held in library rooms 2108, 2127, 2206, 3212, 2134, the Ellipse Gallery (next to the north side, second floor elevator), and the Table Mountain Reading Room (room 3110) 

California community college students are welcome to present, but are not eligible for awards.

The lunch session will feature keynote speaker, Dr. Safiya Noble (UCLA). The UCLA professor serves as the director of its Center on Resilience & Digital Justice and its DataX Initiative, and co-director of the Minderoo Initiative on Tech and Power. In 2021, she was recognized as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her groundbreaking work on algorithmic discrimination.

 

Awards

At the event conclusion, four $1,000 awards will be presented by Dr. Patricia Morris (S4 Awards Committee) for the:

•  Best Undergraduate Paper (named after Dr. Charles McCall, Political Science, Bakersfield)
•  Best Graduate Paper (named after another of the Council’s founders, Dr. Betty Nesvold, Political Science, San Diego)
•  Best Use of Quantitative Data (named after Gloria Rummels, Staff, State University Data Center)
•  Best Use of Qualitative Data

Runners-up will receive a $200 award.

 

More Info

Additional event info is available by contacting Fresno State faculty Dr. Amber Crowell (acrowell@mail.fresnostate.edu) or Dr. Lisa Bryant (lbryant@mail.fresnostate.edu).

 

Presentation Schedule

SESSION 1 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

 

Panel 1 - Clinical Psychology
Library Room 3212 (Moderator Dr. Jenna Kieckhaefer, Fresno)

• Knowing the Psychopath Within: Exploring The Connection Between Psychopathy Knowledge, Opinion, and Self-Perceived Traits (Vanessa Rhodes, Fresno)

• The Duration of Untreated Psychosis and Barriers and Facilitators Along the Pathway to Care in a Mexican sample with Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective disorder (Carmen Uribe, Maria M. Santos, Ariana Luna, Berenice Rosas, and Steven R. Lopez, San Bernardino)

• Impact of Early Methylphenidate on Adult Attention and Sleep/wake cycles using an ADHD rodent model (Luis Gonzalez, Claritza Moreno and Leslie Amodeo, San Bernardino)

• Justice or Judgment: The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Shaping Attitudes Toward Juvenile Offenders (Brandy Gentry, Fresno)

Panel  2 - Campus Politics, Policy and Climate
Library Room 2134
(Moderator, Dr. Rhonda Dugan, Bakersfield)

• Campus Sexual Misconduct and Policy Perception Among College Students (Katelyn Ferry, Fresno)

• Students Knowledge of On-Campus Resources (Destiny Deweese, Fresno)

• Beyond the CSU AI Initiative Rollout: Exploring the Continued Uses, Gratifications, and Literacy of Generative Artificial Intelligence Integration at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Marshall Piros and Kaylie Marrs, San Luis Obispo)

Panel 3, Juries, Sentencing, Parole and Recidivism
Library Ellipse Gallery, next to 2nd Floor Elevator
(Moderator: Dr. Sophia Boutilier, Fresno)

• Early Release, Uneven Welcome? Social Support in an Era of Reduced Sentences (Ian Webster, Sacramento)

• The Inconsistent use of “Insight”: Does insight predict California Parole Board Decisions (Gabriel Singer, San Francisco)

• Mental Health and Recidivism: The Impact of Untreated Psychiatric Disorders on Repeat Offending (Yulissa Ortiz, Northridge)

• The Influence of Culture on Jury Decision-Making (Giselle Ossun, Stacy Sholes, Hyeri Hong, Ryan Ditchfield and Christian Wandeler, Fresno)

Panel 4 - Membership, Memory, and Connection
Table Mountain Reading Room, Library Room 3110
(Moderator: Dr. Sydney Beckmann, Fresno)

• The Erasure of the Sacramento Chinatown (Cam Engstrom, Sacramento)

• Forgotten Chapter: Chicano/a Student Activism at Fresno City College, 1967–1973 (Israel Alvarez, Fresno)

• Poland's Holocaust Memory Laws: History, Responsibility, and the Politics of Denial (Tancredo Pastores, Fresno)

• The Influence of Age and Membership Duration on Connection Scores in a Tribal Organization (Kaden Henrey, Channel Islands)

Panel 5 - Occupations and Workplace
Library Room 2108
(Moderator: Dr. Soo-Yeon Yoon, Sonoma)

• Does the National Guard improve its recruitment and retention rates when it improves public university benefits? (Benjamin Selfaison, Stanislaus)

• Unauthorized Mexican Migrant Workers in Los Angeles County: Ongoing Story of Labor Market Complementarity and Job Satisfaction? (Kevin Guerrero and Alex Jarrell, San Diego)

• The Unauthorized Legal Status Wage Penalty among Foreign-born Mexican Migrant Workers Revisited (Keyla Parra Gamiño, San Diego)

• Occupational Prestige and Earnings of Legal and Unauthorized Mexican Migrant Workers (Breea Hobrecht, San Diego)

Panel 6 - Rhetoric
Library Room 2127
(Moderator: Dr. Adam Kahn, Long Beach)

• “Don’t listen to the hate”: Mapping social media users’ responses to online toxicity in TikTok comment sections (Jillian Raschke, Fresno)

• Exploring Speech-Language Pathology in the Age of AI Charis Gray, San Luis Obispo “I’m Sorry.” vs. “I’m Sorry!”: The Effect of Punctuation on Sincerity and Accountability Perceptions (Ryan Nakada, Kiran Atwal, Savanna Batto, and Solomon Joel, San Luis Obispo)

• The Necessity of Modern Reengagement with Political Philosophy; Antiquity as an Antidote to Liberal Hegemony (Isaac Barnes, Stanislaus)

Panel 7 - Public Policy and Public Administration
Library Room 2206
(Moderator: Dr. Shelley Hurt, San Luis Obispo)

• Public Governance in an LTIC P3: Who needs it? (Meredith Sandrik, Fresno)

• All the World’s a Stage: The Role of Performance in Policy Storytelling (Noella Handley, Sacramento)

• Who Defines Sustainability? An Ethnographic Look at Groundwater Governance under California Law (Jacquelin Schuster, Fresno)

• The Price of Victimhood: Agenda-Setting and Political Polarization in the Crime Victims Fund (Maecy Dixon, Fresno) 

 

SESSION 2, 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

 

Panel 8 - Navigating Higher Education
Library Room 2134
(Moderator: Dr. Patricia Morris, Sacramento)

• The Path To College: How Gender Shapes Attendance (Ramon Torres, Fresno)

• From Boots to Books: The Experiences of Veteran Students Navigating Higher Education (Shane Armstrong, Fresno)

• Supporting the Successful Transition of Transfer Students in the Central Valley (Vanessa Lopez, Fresno)

Panel 9 - Poverty and Management
Ellipse Gallery, next to Library 2nd Floor Elevator
(Moderator: Dr. Justin Myers, Fresno)

• Guaranteed Income in a Rural Community (Rafael Mota, Fresno)

• Latino Immigrant Crime in the US and the Influence of Inequality, Poverty, and Racism (Arleen Vastida, Monterey Bay)

• Women’s Health and Child Labor in New York’s Cigar Tenements: Efforts by the Cigar Makers’ International Union to Enact Public Health Measures During the Late Nineteenth Century (Nikole Prewett, Fresno)

Panel 10 - Culture and Community
Table Mountain Reading Room, Library Room 3110
(Moderator: Dr. William Force, Fresno)

• Differences in Tribal Participation Across Member-Identified Priority Areas Within Tribe Members (Sarah Macasieb, Channel Islands)

• Salvadoran Women's Diaspora in Mexico (Melanie Gonzalez, Stanislaus)

• The Battle for Home: Gentrification and Displacement in Mexico City, 2005-25 (Damari Sanchez-Contreras, Fresno)

• How To Approach a Faerie: Authenticity and Fantasy at California Renaissance Faires (Jacob Plumb, Fresno)

Panel 11 - Health and Society
Library Room 2127
(Moderator: Dr. Eric Vogelsang, San Bernardino)

• From “How Old Are You?” to “How Are You?” Age and Authority in Transgender Patient Experiences With Healthcare (Danielle Vu, Fresno)

• Education, Social Class, and Health Outcomes: An intersectional study on affirmative action in the United States of America. (Clementine Morales, Fresno)

• Midwifery Mapping Project (Naidelyn Diaz, Cierra Sorin, Clementine Morales, Violet Gash, Shaelyn Burich, Destiny Deweese, and Marlene Mendoza, Fresno)

Panel 12 - International Conflict and Agreements
Library Room 2206
(Moderator: Dr. Everett A.Vieira III, Fresno)

• Armenian Community Perceptions of the 2025 Armenia-Azerbaijan TRIPP Agreement (Nellie Chobanyan, Fresno)

• Conflicts in The Middle East (Sela Danaf, Sacramento)

• U.S./Ukraine Mineral Deal (Jake Rodriguez, San Luis Obispo)

• Conflict and Catastrophe: Unveiling Exploitation in International Adoption Systems (Samantha Louie, San Luis Obispo)

Panel 13 - Consumerism and Society
Library Room 2108
(Moderator: Dr. Jennifer Randles)

• How fast fashion has shaped and impacted different socioeconomic groups within the United States (DeJuwuan Pope, Dominguez Hills)

• Color Cues and Consumer Elaboration: How Packaging Color Impacts Health Perceptions and Purchase Intention of Soda Products (Grace Carr, Camille Tucker, Cayden Tan, and Kavika Fitisemanu, San Luis Obispo)

• Women's Experiences Shopping for Outdoor Recreation Equipment (Carina Chavez, Fresno)

 

SESSION 3 - 2:15 - 3:30 p.m.

 

Panel 14 - Transgender Visibility and Identity
Library Room 2206 (Moderator: Dr. Cierra Raine, Fresno)

• Embracing Transgender Identities (Pamela Perez, Los Angeles)

• Transgender Visibility and Exclusivity in the Film Industry (Jesse Campos, Fullerton)

• Reddit and Weep...Or Not: Centering Trans Joy (Danielle Vu, Fresno)

• Does Religiosity Mediate the LGBT Happiness Deficit among U.S. Adults? (Sarah Romo, San Diego)

Panel 15 - Stem and Stats
Library Room 2134
(Moderator: Dr. Hyeri Hong, Fresno)

• The Evolution of Statistics Anxiety in Graduate Students: A Pivotal Journey (Stacy Sholes, Giselle Ossun, Christian Wandeler, Hyeri Hong, and Ryan Ditchfield, Fresno)

• Procedural Justice, Statistics Anxiety, and Learning Outcomes in Graduate Statistics Courses at a Minority-Serving Institution (Giselle Ossun, Fresno)

• Predicting STEM Belonging in Undergraduate Researchers: The Role of Gender and Quality of Mentorship (Anush Ghoogasian, Fresno)

Panel 16 - Intersectionality, Identity and Perception
Library Ellipse Gallery, next to 2nd Floor Elevator
(Moderator: Dr. Christopher Sullivan)

• Intersectionality Awareness and Discrimination Recognition (Nadine Alvarez, Los Angeles)

• Examining Black Men’s Masculinity Development as Fetishized Beings (Alexandria Cordova, Los Angeles)

• Building or Breaking Walls: The Contact Hypothesis and Partisanship on Attitudes Towards Immigration (Gabriela Blanco and Javier Olivares, Sacramento)

• Together Apart: Digital Media and Presence Work Among Emerging Adults in Northern Thailand (Nena Cammon, Alexa Calip, Sophia McAllister,
and Brieanna Servin, Fresno)

Panel 17 - Family, Community and Mental Health
Library Room 3212
(Moderator: Dr. Tolga Tezcan, Monterey Bay)

• Adult Foreign-born Mexican Distress & Neighborhood Environment (Mia Estrada and Valerie Navarrete, San Diego)

• Intergenerational Trauma Created By Immigration To The United States (Lucia Aquino, Fresno)

• Social Relationships among Immigrants in the Bay Area (Patcharida Srisawat, Sonoma)

• Hoarding, Clutter, and Culture: Navigated by Second Generation Asian-Americans. (Katelynn Le, Sacramento)

Panel 18 - Issues in K-12 Education
Table Mountain Reading Room, Library Room 3110
(Moderator: Dr. David Low, Fresno)

• Contributing Factors to High School Graduation Rates in California (Violet Gash, Fresno)

• Denying Education and Racializing Immigration under Proposition 187 (Ramon Hernandez, Fresno)

• Culturally Informed Literacy Instruction in California Public Schools (Bailey Pereira, Fresno)

• ADHD Student Experiences in the Classroom and at Home: As Told by Teachers and Parents (Shelby Ford, Fresno)

Panel 19 - Political Power and Violence
Library Room 2127
(Moderator: Dr. Naomi Bick, Fresno)

• Extensions of State Power or Autonomous Actors? A Comparative Case Study of Private Military Companies (Ann-Katrin Bock, Pomona)

• "We Do Not Negoiate with Terrorists" - Except When We Do: The IRA, ETA, and the Politics of Ending Violence (Ian Orozco, Pomona)

• The Paradox of Protection: An Analysis of Indian Military Presence and Violence Against Religious Minorities in the Jammu and Kashmir Region (Ganeev Virk, Fresno)

• Back to the Future: Coercive Primacy and U.S. Power Projection in the Trump Era (Ava Wolin, San Luis Obispo)

Panel 20 - U.S. Politics and Security
Library Room 2108
(Moderator: Dr. Danielle Martin, Sacramento)

• Campaign Financing in the City of Fresno (Camalah Saleh, Fresno)

• Deportability as Discipline: Immigration Enforcement and the Political Economy of American Labor (Brendan McCann, San Luis Obispo)

• Unprecedented Advantages: The United States’ Cybersecurity Dominance in the 21st Century (Cameron Glanville, San Luis Obispo)

• Advancements in United States Cyberwar Capabilities (Akshara Madabushi, San Luis Obispo)

 

 

Acknowledgment and Thanks

The organizers would like to thank Provost Xuanning Fu and ASI for their generous financial support, Dean Elizabeth Lowham and the College of Social Sciences for their contributions to and ongoing support during conference planning, Laura Ibarra-Pimentel for administrative assistance, the moderators for donating their time, Fresno State Library Services for helping coordinate the spaces, and Abigail Bryant for program design assistance.

Congratulations to all of the student presenters. Thank you for making the 51st Social Science Student Symposium a success!

 

Land Acknowledgment

The Fresno State campus sits in the midst of the San Joaquin Valley, a valley rich in the traditions and representation of Native American peoples and cultures. We are grateful to be in the traditional homelands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples, whose diverse tribal communities share stewardship over this land. (Created by: Dr. Leece Lee-Oliver, Fresno State American Indian Studies Program Coordinator)

 

About the SSRIC

Founded in 1971, the Social Science Research & Instructional Council (the Council) is the oldest of the disciplinary councils in the California State University (CSU) system. The Council is an Affinity Group, as designated by the CSU Office of the Chancellor. With representatives from each of the CSU campuses, the Council is dedicated to assisting students and faculty in their learning, teaching, and research by:

• Providing a forum for sharing information about social science data and computer products
• Initiating and conducting training programs
• Recommending computerized social science projects in the CSU curriculum
• Encouraging the collection and distribution of social science data and computer-related instructional and research materials
• Advising CSU administrators on policies related to providing quantitative social science data for research and instruction
• Supporting CSU student, faculty, and staff users of subscription data bases from the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and the Roper Center, as well as of unrestricted databases
• Presenting workshops on use of these data, as well as on SPSS, SDA, and other
topics as needed
• Offering value-added teaching resources, including modules, exercises, and online textbooks
• Organizing and sponsoring the annual SSRIC Social Science Student Symposium (S4)!

 

Social Science Research & Instructional Council

www.ssric.org
Dr. Billy Wagner-Huang (Dominguez Hills), Executive Director
Dr. Amber Crowell (Fresno), SSRIC Council Chair 2025-2026