Whittier College’s DigLibArts recently hosted the first ever Greenleaf Slam for Undergraduate Research. This event invited students to present multimedia projects regardless of academic discipline, class level, or research focus of the participant. The event was co-sponsored by the Cultural Center and ASWC Senate and was hosted by Student Technology Liaisons Nicole Guzzo ‘17 and Amer Rashid ‘17. Seven staff and faculty members of the Whittier College community were selected as judges to help determine awards for the Slam.
After submitting their project abstracts, six presenters were selected to present. Topics ranged from the punk rock to developing a website to personal stories and more. Not only were topics diverse, but the mediums in which they were presented varied student to student. Nicole Knupp ‘18 presented her zine, a self-published magazine, on punk rock and the gender binary, while Courtney Jeffers ‘19 played her digital story “Over”, which covered racial issues in our country.
The Slam also featured an open mic portion, where students who were not able to submit their abstract received a chance to present their work. Regina Valencia ‘19 showed her short film titled My Dear Digital Story on her relationship with her grandmother and the perception of mental health in her community, and group partners Sofia Duenas ‘17 and Leslie Caamal ‘17 discussed nutritional education in food banks.
After eight presentations, the event judges deliberated on their award decision. Amanda Cabanilla ’16, who presented “Form, Function, and Structure: Online Dating While Fat” received the Best Overall Presentation, earning a $300 gift card. Other award categories included Best Group Project, Audience Favorite, and Ortiz Program Award for Cultural Awareness. For more details on the awards visit the DigLibArts event summary.
by Nicole Guzzo '17
