Visual art and multimedia by studio art and film and media students was displayed throughout the room. Rembert Browne '09, A.J. Fox '09, Christine Paquin '09, Shannon Prince '09 and Stephanie Trudeau '09 were chosen to discuss their projects at the gala These five students' work represented the range of topics examined by College students, according to Sam Kennedy '09, the president's intern.
Browne and Paquin are members of The Dartmouth staff. Fox is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
As a senior fellow, Price combined genealogical research with creative writing to compile a history of her own family from 1700 to the present day. Drawing from her multicultural background -- which she said includes African-American, Cherokee, Chinese and Caucasian ancestors -- Prince used Yoruba and Chinese storytelling techniques in her project, "Bones in the Other World."
"I'm telling all of our history through the lens of my family's experience," she said in her presentation. "Each of us is not only a descendant, but a continuation, of those who came before us."
Prince said she discovered several surprising facts about her family over the course of her research.
"It was such a pleasure to be given the chance to do this work," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "It turns out that one of my ancestors was a Cherokee healer, and some of my family members taught me some of her remedies."
Paquin examined every U.S. president and presidential election, searching for common factors that might account for success or failure in her thesis, "In Pursuit of Mr. Lincoln." She attempted to measure presidential "greatness" quantitatively by creating a metric based on the legacy of each president, she said.
"We think of Lincoln as our archetype for presidential greatness," she said in her presentation. "I wanted to try to define what that is."
While Paquin said her research yielded some interesting results -- left-handedness and combat experience were both common traits of historically successful presidents -- she said she did not find one presidential formula.
"There seems to be no magic trick, but we seem to be electing the people who should have won," she said in her presentation.
All five students who spoke said they had a deep personal interest in the topics they chose, which they said kept them engaged over the long course of their research.
"I'm a big presidential nerd," Paquin said. "I love 'The West Wing,' presidential trivia, anything like that."
Browne, who grew up in Atlanta, said his sociology thesis, "Upper Class Black Identity and Social Distancing," was inspired by his observations of trends in the black community.
"I wanted to see whether black members of the upper class have found ways to distance themselves from what many call the 'black masses', and to make a claim whether those who fall into the black upper class identify more with their race, or with their class," he said in his presentation.
Since the topic has not been written about frequently in academia, Browne said, he created his own survey, which he administered to black students at five colleges and universities, including Dartmouth. Three of the schools are historically black institutions. He based many of his conclusions on the survey's results, he said.
"It's probably the most exciting thing I've done at Dartmouth academically," he said in the presentation. "I'm very excited to continue my research."
Fox also examined a topic of personal interest to him in his film and media studies thesis, "American Dream, American Nightmare: Media Representations of Howard Hughes." Fox studied representations and characterizations of Hughes, the famed 20th-century filmmaker and aviator, in film and biography.
"Hughes is a man so closely tied to our collective cultural perspectives on capitalism and masculinity in America, yet his persona is so hard to pin down," Fox said in his presentation. "He redefined filmmaking, yet there's still so much speculation about his later life."
In her computer science thesis, "The Effects of Introspection on Computer Security Policies," Trudeau examined how people's decision- making processes affect their actions in terms of cyber security. People's intuitive choices about online security are often better than more considered choices, Trudeau said.
"We found that active introspecting actually makes humans worse at making decisions," she said.
As he welcomed students, faculty and guests to the gala, Wright said he was impressed by the range of interests evident in students' research.
"It gives us joy to learn with, and from, one another, because that's what Dartmouth is about," he said.
Susan Wright said she is excited for President-elect Jim Yong Kim and his wife, Younsook Lim, to interact with students, just as she and her husband have during their 40 years at the College.
"I think they're going to fulfill any hopes I could possibly have," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "They're in for such a treat, to see what our students can accomplish. I know they're going to enjoy it immensely."
While some students showcased completed theses -- Fox said he finished his at the end of Winter term -- many, including Browne, said they still have much work to do.
"It is truly an honor to talk about a thesis I have yet to finish," Browne said in the presentation. "I'm hoping to be done by Green Key."
The Academic Gala has been held annually since 1997 and is sponsored by the President's Office.
