Journal of Student Research 2021

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Foreword

What a difference a year makes! Recently, I went back to the unpublished Foreword to the 2020 edition of the Journal of Student Research to gauge my thinking back around February of 2020; here are a few pared-down observations from that Foreword: “There is something a little interesting about reaching the year 2020 . . . there is a certain symmetry to it—a touch of punchy repetition: “twentytwenty.” That is true enough, but it also is hard to read those lines as innocently now as they were imagined then. For so many, “punchy repetition” came off a bit more like “repeated gut-punch.” It was a year to be survived, not celebrated. It is the next thought, though, that really got spun on its head a couple of weeks after it was drafted: “[An] arresting note about the current year is the way the phrase “20-20” evokes thoughts about vision. In common speech, 20/20 vision is regarded as ‘perfect’ vision. . . 20/20 strongly evokes the idea of being able to see clearly.” Whew—fair to say that very few of us “clearly” saw coming the seismic effect of the pandemic or the social, political, and educational turmoil that erupted during the year! But, thankfully, some of my words at the time still hold true, even after the massive ‘teachable moment’ that was 2020: “I’m more interested in the metaphorical than the clinical notion of 20/20 vision—to see clearly, not merely with the eyes, but with the mind . . . With 20/20 powers of observation, one may perceive what is, in contrast to what is thought to be. We seek to equip the rising generation with that sort of insight—that clarity of mind.” Because of the sudden shutdown of campus activities last spring, the 2020 Journal of Student Research was not published. This 2021 edition (which will retain the designation Volume 19), includes submissions and juried art collections that were ready for publication in March, 2020. To those are added more submissions and art received for the 2021 edition. The limitations COVID-19 placed on campus activities resulted in only a few new JSR submissions. But that does not mean our mission to explore and examine the world or our own humanity is diminished. Indeed, the upheavals and challenges we all encountered in the past year simply give us ever more aspects of life to consider, speculate about, and formulate research on. The Journal wouldn’t happen without the support of several people on campus, representing students, staff, and faculty. I would like to thank Stephen Eibes, Ashley Ramaker, and Jackie Miller, all of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP); cover artist Vientienne Vang; Charles Lume who arranged for the juried art selections included in the JSR; and Chad Nyseth and the Graphic Communications Practicum (both for spring 2020 and spring 2021), which is responsible for production. We had valuable help from Dr. Kate Edenborg’s Advanced Editing and Dr. Joleen Hanson’s Editing Processing and Practices classes. Special thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan, who left ORSP in summer 2020 for the field of health and wellness; her support and counsel were always valued and appreciated. We are proud to present Volume XIX of the Journal of Student Research . Enjoy the view.