George Mason Review - 2020-2021

EXEMPLARY UNDERGRADUATE WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM VOLUME 30

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2020– 2021

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

E X E MP LA RY UNDERGRADUATE WRI TI NG AC ROSS T H E CURRI CULUM VO LUME 3 0 | 2020 – 2021

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T The mission of The George Mason Review is to capture Mason’s spirit, where “innovation is tradition,” through the publication of diverse works from across the curriculum.

The George Mason Review, a publication for undergraduates by undergraduates, seeks scholarship that demonstrates creativity and critical thought. In its print and virtual form, this cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary journal features exemplary academic work and welcomes submissions that challenge the boundaries of how scholarship has traditionally been defined.

H OW T O S U B M I T YO U R WO R K The George Mason Review accepts submissions year round. We accept research writing, literary critiques or analyses, creative nonfiction, and all other forms of scholarship.

Please submit your work electronically at gmreview.gmu.edu.

PEER REVIEW PROCESS Submissions undergo a two-tiered, double-blind peer review process. Initially, each paper is evaluated by four Peer Reviewers from different majors. Once all papers have been read, our Peer Reviewers vote on which papers should proceed to the second round of review. Papers included in the second round of review are assessed by the GMR editorial board, which consists of our Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Editor, and are subsequently voted on. Throughout the entire process, the identity of the author remains anonymous to the reviewer, and the identity of the reviewer remains anonymous to the author, constituting a double-blind review.

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This volume would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of the following people: E X EC U T I V E B OA R D Saahil Iyer

Editor-In-Chief

Mariam Qureshi

Assistant Editor

Sarah Luria Minh Duc Vu

Copy Editor Graphic Designer

FA C U LT Y A D V I S O R Jason Hartsel AC K N OW L E D G M E N TS Special thanks to Ashley Platenberg for assisting us with Peer-Reviewing.

Special thanks to Minh Vu for the cover design.

TA B L E O F CONTENTS

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

6

Saahil Iyer

GUEST ESSAY

8

Enya Calibuso

EXISTENCE UNDER FORCED RESETTLEMENT: THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA NARRATIVE

12

Dahlia Mohamed — First Place Submission

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: #METOO, NARI MOVEMENTS AND THE PRICE OF NEOLIBERALIST FEMINISM

30

Hailey Rastrelli — Second Place Submission

MODELING THE EFFECTS OF DEHYDRATION ON CELLULAR GROWTH AND WOUND REPAIR Emma Dando — Third Place Submission

38

THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICS ON DANCE COMPOSITION

56

Sophie Amundson

THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF FUTURE FITNESS TRAINERS: INCREASING EXERCISE ADHERENCE IN APPLIED EXERCISE SETTINGS

62

Abdullah Hass Alhasasneh

SOURCES

68

FACULTY GUIDE: GMR IN THE CLASSROOM

76

NOTE FROM THE ADVISOR

77

Jason Hartsel

PREFACE

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR I have been at The George Mason Review (GMR) for three years. Even now, as I say that to myself, I cannot believe it. Three years at a publication that is now 30 years old. Over those three years, from my time as a volunteer Peer Reviewer to Assistant Editor and now Editor-in-Chief, I have always been amazed at the kinds of work I have had the privilege of reading. What makes GMR unique, and what makes George Mason University special, is the students. The students who go out of their way to research areas they find interesting and explore ideas that blur the lines between fields truly embody the spirit of this university and the spirit of curiosity that drives humanity itself. It is with great honor that I present to you just a handful of the exemplary works we received from such students.

When people think about research, they usually do so in the context of the hard sciences, like biology or chemistry. There certainly is a lot of area for discovery and exploration, as Emma Dando demonstrates in her work “Modeling the Effects of Dehydration on Cellular Growth and Wound Repair.” She has created a detailed simulation that exposes the intricacy of our bodies’ most essential functions. Of course, research is not solely the domain of hard sciences. Hailey Rastrelli explores the complex nature of our social dynamics around feminism in her work “A Comparative Analysis, #MeToo, Nari Movements, and the Price of Neoliberal Feminism.” This is a work that’s thoughtprovoking and provides a look into international movements that we don’t often get to see through other channels. Fundamentally, all forms of research lead back to the ways in which people and the world interact. No paper encompasses this idea more than Dahlia Mohamed’s “Existence Under Forced Resettlement: The Palestinian Diaspora Narrative.”

This is an important paper to read, not only because of the timeliness of its subject, but also because of the way in which it cohesively connects the stories of so many people.

Mohamed’s work is a look at a community in diaspora that also shows us what it means for people to be in diaspora and exposes the real human costs that often go unreported.

There are several people I want to thank, for their contributions made this possible.

I want to thank my team for working so diligently during extraordinary circumstances.

You have all been indispensable. Special thanks go to Ashley Platenberg for aiding us in peer-reviewing works submitted to us. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors after you graduate in the coming fall. Lastly, I want to thank Jason Hartsel— Assistant Director of Student Media and our advisor—for his ongoing support, advice, and encouragement for everyone at GMR. A special thanks also goes to you, dear reader, because it is your continuing support that makes this all worth it. We hope the works of your peers enclosed within these pages will inspire you to pursue your own passions and burning questions as these authors did.

Sincerely, Saahil Iyer, Editor-in-Chief 6 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

G U E S T E S S AY

GUEST ESSAY ENYA CALIBUSO Author of “Factors that Affect Reverse Culture Shock” in GMR Vol. 27

At six years old, I sat on the corner of the Piazza Navona in one of the many wicker chairs that always had a slight stench of mold no matter how many hours they were taken out to air in the burning sun. At eleven years old, I gazed out unblinking and astonished at the four-lane expanse of asphalt that Americans called highways. At seventeen years old, I stood 19,341 feet above sea-level on the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. I was a girl who had lived on 3 continents, moved 8 times, and attended 9 schools. It was only after an introductory research methods course that I discovered that I was a ‘third culture kid’ – a child of nomadic parents who live neither in the first culture (parent’s home country), nor the second culture (host country); in turn, making up the third culture. Given my nomadic lifestyle, I gravitated toward this research interest completing my first academic paper examining “Factors That Impact Reverse Culture Shock.” After a series of in-class presentations, undergraduate symposiums, and lengthy discussions with my professors, I was encouraged to submit my paper for publication with The George Mason Review (GMR). I later learned that GMR had selected my work to be made available to the public; thereby, earning me my first academic publication, and spurning on a deep commitment to high-level research, intellectual collaboration, and interdisciplinary debate.

To enumerate, the following year, I applied and was accepted into a 3-semester elite research-intensive scholar program, the Psychology Honors Program. Under the mentorship of Dr. Adam Winsler, we collaborated on my honors thesis entitled “Who Switches Schools?: Child-Level Predictors of School Mobility in Middle School Students.” When considering the popular opinion that moving is associated with negative academic outcomes, it is critical for researchers to first control for predictors of mobility – how students who move are initially different from those who do not move. In order to address this gap, I conducted a series of bivariate and multivariate analyses and; ultimately, found that students who have a greater probability of moving later on in middle school were those who already tended to struggle academically in elementary school. Due to the significance of these findings, I both defended my thesis to a committee of experts and disseminated our results at the National Conference 8 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

GUEST ESSAY

on Undergraduate Research as well as the Association for Psychological Science. In addition to going on to publish this thesis in the peer-reviewed Journal of Child and Family Studies, it earned me both the 2019 Outstanding Honors Psychology Thesis and the Best Overall Research and Scholarship Poster Presentation from George Mason University. Given this, it was GMR whom provided me with the original medium in which to expand my nascent interests and continue my research endeavors to this capacity. Their dedication to amplifying diverse undergraduate voices provided me with the confidence and support that the research I was and continue to conduct is pertinent to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Although this research varies from my current interests – medical humanities and libertinism – it has imparted me with invaluable research skills from developing hypotheses to integrating my own work with previous literature, from applying for grants to analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. This sequence of research and publication experiences coupled with my cross-cultural upbringing and interdisciplinary education as demonstrated through my dual degree (BA in French and BS in Psychology) has fostered in me a plethora of interests. This includes but is not limited to: the history of psychiatry, psychoanalytic theory and literature, history of medicine and science, medical anthropology, military medicine, the libertine novel, cultural identity, and colonial and postcolonial studies. Now, as a first-year Ph.D. student in the French and Francophone Department at the University of Chicago, I hope to merge and develop historical medical ideology, the manifestation, and consequently the representation of psychological symptoms, with that of 18th century French literature using a number of perspectives whether that be cultural, humanistic, medical, narratological or psychological.

Notably, the following two texts have greatly influenced this decision: 1) Suffering Scholars: Pathologies of the Intellectual in Enlightenment France by Dr. Anne Vila and 2) La Philosophie dans le Boudoir by the Marquis de Sade. First, in Vila’s text, I would like to consider how ‘Suffering Scholars Syndrome’ manifested itself in 18th century France and its evolution into the modern-day Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition as a Somatic Symptom Disorder more explicitly known to medical professionals as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Specifically, I would be eager to examine in greater detail the origin, diagnosis criteria, causes, and treatment of 18th century pathologies in comparison to our modern day equivalents as well as the privileges and perils to which these intellectuals were subjected. Second, in La Philosophie dans le Boudoir, it is crucial to evaluate the extent to which this text could be considered pornographic given Sade’s penchant for paraphilic behavior. It seems that Sade’s primary goals in using such obscene verbiage was to shock the reader; in turn, gaining their attention and lending them the necessary catalyst in which to truly VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 9

learn his political stance. Hence, investigating the latent and manifest content in these controversial texts together with their historical and political grounding would be a theme I would be interested in further pursuing in my doctoral research.

In aggregate, GMR’s engagement in and across multiple disciplines has set the baseline for which I hope to aspire. It has led me to value working in similarly inclusive environments both professionally and academically. This singular formative experience has shaped much of my academic trajectory, furnishing me with the scope and the opportunity to build my own voice as I undertake my graduate work and continue into my academic career.

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SUBMISSIONS

FIRST P L AC E S UB M I SS I ON

EXISTENCE UNDER FORCED RESETTLEMENT: THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA NARRATIVE DAHLIA MOHAMED Major: Government & International Politics Conflict Analysis & Resolution Class of 2021

ABOUT THE WORK This work was written for my Conflict Analysis and Resolution 301 course, Research and Inquiry in Conflict Resolution, instructed by Dr. Claudine Kuradusenge-Mcleod. In this piece, I explore theories I have equipped during my undergraduate research in this field, including Social Identity Theory, Relative Deprivation, Trauma Theory, Strain Theory, and many others.

In previous courses, I had written about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but not in the same way I wrote this paper. Where before I had focused on the legality of Israel’s actions against Palestinians, in this paper, I focus on the psychology of what having their human rights infringed is like. I spoke with Palestinian diaspora members who were forced to resettle and asked of their experiences both outside and inside Israel/Palestine and how those experiences shaped their identity and created a narrative of victimization.

In conducting this research, I found that many Palestinians believe that they have been silenced. Their traumas and painful experiences had been swept under the rug in the realm of politics and power. They fear that if they speak up, they may never see their home country ever again. Thus, I wanted to make sure that they could share their stories through my voice. This work revisions scholarship in the sense that Palestinian tragedies are not presented as mere statistics, but as real life stories that deserve to be heard.

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THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA NARRATIVE

INTRODUCTION Having a homeland gives humans the ability to distinguish themselves. For millenniums, disputes over possession and control of land have persisted, causing fatality, split political ties, and isolation of economic resources. Both Palestinians and Israelis believe that they are the rightful owners of Canaan based on several factors including a deep connection with culture, historical presence, biblical stories, Zionism, and the tragedies of the Holocaust. There is a perceived divergence of interest as each community desires to call this land home but does not desire giving up their identity in do so. Neither side is willing to assimilate for peace and there is little consensus for a two-state solution.

The international community pushed for a Jewish home in Palestine and once a legal government was achieved, the legitimacy of Palestine as a state dissipated. Despite formulating an agenda to uphold peace in the region, the United Nations has ultimately failed to monitor ceasefire, occupation, and all other human rights violations committed by the Israeli government and military. Many Palestinians have been forcibly displaced

by Israeli settlements, rendering them the largest and one of the longest-standing refugee populations in contemporary times, with over 5 million refugees.

Although Palestinians have been inhabiting this land for centuries, their ownership in the recent century has been stripped almost completely, with only a fraction of the land left under their control. They can no longer reside in, build on, or enter territories they once considered their own. As they are being pushed out of their homeland and/or backed into specific regions such as the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their ability to survive has decreased drastically. Their livelihoods—ability to earn a quality education, find jobs, receive medical attention, and even have access to running water—has deteriorated since the building of Israeli settlements in 1948. It is also important to note that many of these settlements violate international law. In addition to displacement measures, Israeli police and military forces have been found guilty of many Palestinian civilian deaths from police brutality and military air strikes. The international community has gone on record condemning Israel but has failed to take any action to obstruct these illegal acts.

This depreciation of survival has only gotten worse during the COVID-19 global pandemic. On July 21, 2020, property that was dedicated for coronavirus testing in Palestine was demolished by Israeli soldiers. Though just before doing so, all of the medical equipment was also confiscated. Ra’ed Maswad, the owner of the land, said that “the facility, at the northern entrance of Hebron city, was supposed to provide rapid testing service to reduce the overwhelming pressure on Palestinian hospitals, especially amidst the dangerously increasing number of Palestinians testing positive VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 13

for the virus.” Maswad did not have a permit to build the facility, and that is the offered excuse for its demolishment. However, it is clear that getting a permit would have been impossible to do as Palestinian residents of Area C were not granted the same liberties as their Israeli counterparts. As of September 17, 2020, there are 44,037 Palestinians who have tested positive with the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, In West Bank, “the total number of COVID-19 cases has risen by 30% or 13,407, an average of 788 cases per day. In the Gaza Strip, cases have risen by 83% or 1,820, an average of 109 cases per day for the same period.” By demolishing a COVID-19 testing center, the chance of surviving the deadly aftermath of the virus is significantly reduced.

It is apparent that the Israeli government has, whether it be by direct or indirect violence, made survival a difficult task for Palestinians. This article will address the many ways that Palestinians are suffering with the inquiry: How have forced resettlements of Palestinians created a narrative of victimization within the Palestinian identity?

PALESTINIAN LIFE UNDER ISRAELI OCCUPATION: A LITERATURE REVIEW The actions of the Israeli government and defense forces against the Palestinian people has been identified as a frequent issue in the realm of human rights and international law. Human rights have been described as “rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.” Examples of human rights are the right to life, liberty, and security of a person, the right to express opinion, the right to work, the right to face no inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to face no arbitrary arrest, the right to fair trial, the right to freedom of movement, the right to have a nationality, and the right to own property and not be arbitrability deprived of it. Many scholars, cited in this literature review, have found that the actions of Israel have been contradictory of these human entitlements. In this literature review, information has been collected on the repercussions of land deprivation, safety and security of Palestinians, with additional information on the psychological trauma experienced by Palestinian civilians, refugees, and diaspora.

REPERCUSSIONS OF LAND DEPRIVATION

Land is where communities are built, culture is adopted, and a collective future is established. Without land, man cannot exist. Displacement refers to unnatural settlement and a forced exodus of people from their land of origin. In many cases, 14 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA NARRATIVE

displacement is schemed by a powerful outside force who wishes to seize contested territory to exploit native labor and natural resources. Rarely is there a case of pursuing assimilation. Displacement also refers to disrupted familiarity with one’s identity and belonging. Oren Yiftachel writes that “settler societies, such as the Jewish community in Israel/Palestine, pursue a deliberate strategy of immigration and settlement that aims to alter the country’s ethnic structure.” He defines an ethnocratic regime as one that is, despite claiming that the incumbent regime is democratic, focuses “ethnicity (and not territorial citizenship) [as] the main determinant of the allocation of rights, powers, and resources, and politics is characterized by constant democratic-ethnocratic tension.”

Literature suggests that this is the case of Israel as the Palestinian people are denied many rights, yet must abide by the laws. Several decades of painting colonization as legitimate, democratic, and moral has effectuated Israel’s reproductive and oppressive hegemony. When Palestinians resist the regime, they are crushed by security forces, as seen in the First and Second Intifadas. It is currently illegal for Palestinians to protest as they, with a conviction rate of near 100%, can face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

The Palestinian people perceive the creation of Israel as a catastrophe (al-Nakba).

Their continuous displacement has disturbed “key psychosocial domains of human security.” Uprooting has transformed their way of life, their hopes for the future, and the perception of the world around them. The forced military occupation of their land has fostered a sense of resentment towards former allies to which many have abandoned them and have even shaken hands with their oppressor. Dissent in neighboring nations is even more prevalent as refugees cannot become residents and consequently, cannot own property. The acceptance of Zionism ultimately cultivated the isolation of the Palestinian culture, inducing a “Palestinian identity, as opposed to identifying primarily as Muslim or Arab.” However, this does not mean that religion is not important to them, as the inaccessibility of holy sites of worship, such as Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, has caused profound psychological distress.

When homes are destructed by Israeli air strikes and crops are destroyed by the military, Palestinians experience immense irreversible trauma.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Violence is a mode of oppression, but it can also be utilized as a mode of retaliation.

In 1987, the First Intifada was a peaceful attempt of protest. In 2000, the Second Intifada was a violent attempt of protest. Both times, instead laying down arms and allowing Palestinians their independence, Israel responded with disproportional military might, piloting the obliteration of several Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza.

Noam Chomsky asserts that Israel strategically justifies the repression of Palestinians by VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 15

claiming attacks are an ad hoc response. However, victims of destruction consist more of civilians than of militants. Between September 2000 and November 2008 “more than 4700 Palestinians—mostly civilians, including more than 900 children—were killed by Israeli military action.” In less than one month alone, “from Dec 27, 2008, to Jan 17, 2009, 1366 Palestinians were killed.”

In regard to the post-Intifada world, Palestinians still experience violence from Israel.

In 2018, 295 Palestinians were killed and over 29,000 were injured. In 2019, 133 were killed and 14,788 were injured. In addition to homicide, many Palestinians are arbitrarily arrested and subject to inhumane conditions. Imprisonment settings include small windowless cells, exposure to extreme heat or cold, foul smells, and painfully bright lights. Detainees are denied hygiene and quality food. Many have reported being forced into solitary confinement. In the interrogation room, they are bound to a chair for hours, and in some cases, days. Interrogators, offering no opportunity to meet with council, shout and strike detainees and threaten harm to their families. Not one Palestinian has been able to launch a criminal investigation against their torturers since 2001. Among Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) violence against Palestinians, Israeli settler vigilantism is common. The article written by Nir Gazit examines cases of Jewish settler violence and explains that they are a by-product of the harmful narrative pushed by the state that concurrently reproduces their control. In other words, this vigilantism is a form of state collusion. Israel informally considers illegal settlements as an extension of policy in order to bypass accountability. In return, the government fails to address settler violence.

The borders built to separate the two groups also contribute to the belittling nature of the Israeli state. The publicized aim for these borders was to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel without permits. In reality, the wall was strategically built in order to serve pseudo objectives such as de facto annexation and expansion. 85% of the barrier is inside the West Bank when it has been advertised to run through the Green Line . This prompted the creation of more than 600 Israeli-controlled checkpoints in the West Bank, where many Palestinians testify they experience degrading treatment.

Approximately 150 Palestinian communities have been unable to access and cultivate their land in result of this barrier. And much of what they can access, $73 million worth to be precise, has been deliberately targeted by the military including food production facilities, farmland, and crops, including almost 1 million olive trees between 2001 and 2015 alone. The Olso Accords only permits Palestinian herders access to 31% of Palestinian rangeland, 54.5% of agricultural land, and in Gaza, fishermen have a three nautical mile limit. Fishermen who go past this threshold risk facing the Israeli navy who will not hesitate to shoot, arrest, and confiscate their belongings.

According to the literature evidence base, Palestinian food insecurity is a direct result of food sovereignty absence. Despite presence in the Fertile Crescent, as of 2018, 16 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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68.5% of Palestinians in Gaza were considered food insecure, as well as 11.6% of those in the West Bank. However, the numbers in West Bank are most likely larger as 76% of residents are living in poverty. Restrictions on selling goods in Jerusalem and on the international market have damaged Palestinian income. Selling goods through the international market requires export through Israel. Wages are consequently embezzled with a reporting of revenue leakage of about $115 million of the Palestinian economy to Israel annually. A contributing factor of food insecurity is the predominant water crisis. Scholars argue that the issue does not lie on water availability, but rather political turmoil where the Israeli government refuses supply to Palestinians. Under the Oslo Accords, Israel maintained control of all water resources, extracting 80% from West Bank water into Israel. Today, the Palestinians receive only 75% of the remaining 20%.

As a result, Palestinians obtain lacking water from Israel’s national water company and or rainfall. However, even company water is unsustainable as 1/3 pumped is lost through leakage from faulty pumps that have not been approved for repair by Israel.

Palestinians are not authorized to dig water wells and this has damaged their agricultural development. Marwan Haddad reveals that the former Israeli water commissioner, Ben-Meir, said that he would be willing to provide water needs but was not willing to give up any sovereignty. This has instilled a Palestinian fear of negotiating water needs as opposed to demanding their water rights. Fulfilment of water needs puts Palestinians in a position where they are recognized as consumers and visitors, rather than a settled community, risking further Israeli monopolization of the water supply.

Accessible water is contaminated by Israeli settlement pollution. In 2016, 19 million cubic meters of wastewater were drained into the West Bank. It is estimated that 9095% of it has been exposed to sewage and dangerous levels of pesticide and fertilizer chemicals such as nitrate and chloride. The intensity of this dehumanizing behavior has led to malnourishment in which, as of 2015, “for every 1,000 babies born in Gaza, 28 die from malnutrition, anemia, or other food insecurity related causes.” Ilan Pappé documented that 72.8% of children under the age of 2 suffer from anemia, 34.3% are wasting, 31.4% are stunting, and 31.45% are underweight.

Among lack of food and water, lack of education has played a role in the distress of young Palestinians. The influx of poverty and food insecurity has generated child laborers and brides. In 2020, between January and March (pre-COVID-19), The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in its quarterly unemployment report, documented another rise in the unemployment rate of Gaza, which reached 45.5% (comparably to 42.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019) and in the West Bank which reached 14.2%. Palestinian youth who are consistently unable to find jobs endure psychological problems. The inability to contribute to their already suffering society impedes their sense of purpose.

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CONCLUSION

The reviewed literature suggests that Palestinians living under Israeli occupation are bound to a cycle of inescapable oppression. There are visible self-perpetuating factors that are trapped in a web designed by the Israeli government. Palestinians are unable to complete their education, find employment and develop their economies, which in turn, makes them unable to acquire the funds required for existence. A path for Palestinian livelihood is flooded with obstacles instilled by the Israeli government and military forces. This is a consensus amongst human rights defenders, including Israeli scholars Nir Gazit, Ilan Pappé, and Oren Yiftachel. The instances above and emotional trauma are directly linked. To further delineate this, studies evaluating the psychosomatic impact of living under occupation and/or uprooting should be performed.

METHODOLOGY In conducting this research, it is evident that a cause-and-effect relationship between Israel’s policies concerning Palestinians and the victimization of Palestinian diaspora members exists. To have answered this inquiry qualitative data was crucial for investigating the magnitude of prevailing persecution. This included data that represented the Palestinian perception of their identity and experiences of resettlement.

The interviews were semi-structured in which the same guide was used for every session, however, additional follow-up and probing questions were asked in some sessions to provide more detailed answers. Narrative Analysis is a methodology used in the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution to investigate the content of the stories told by my participants. Through Narrative Analysis, I used what scholars call ‘Thematic Analysis’ for “comparing cases and groups (that is, for elaborating correspondences and differences between the various groups in the study).” The sampling process was purposive and consisted of reaching out to eight people via social media who previously indicated that they had a relationship to Palestine. For example, if their social media, namely Instagram and Twitter, biographies consisted of the Palestinian flag emoji, they were contacted. Snowball sampling was also utilized as contacted participants suggested individuals they knew that would be interested in partaking in this study.

Limitations of this study include the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made communicating with interviewees much more difficult as face-to-face interaction was impossible. Due to the older generation being less interactive on social media, I was unable to find older Palestinians with my chosen method of sampling. I considered asking participants to refer their older family members, however, they seemed more excited to refer their friends. Thus, I opted to ask the younger Palestinians what they 18 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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knew about their parents’ and grandparents’ experiences during our interviews. The limitation to only online interaction also meant that interviews were conducted either over the phone or over video calls. Face-to-face interviews ensure more quality as they entail more human connection, increasing response rate, and they integrate the analysis of non-verbal behavior. However, digital interviews assure a sense of privacy that face-to-face do not. It makes participants, who are speaking about sensitive issues, feel that they are communicating in a safe space. This sense of security is reinforced as they will be in whichever location they so choose. Another limitation of this study was a language barrier. The native language of Palestine is Levantine Arabic, whereas I am only familiar with Egyptian Arabic. This limited interviews to English speakers only.

This meant that participants would consist of Palestinians who have assimilated to a new culture.

Ethical concerns in this research consist of my own identity. My mother is Palestinian, meaning that I am exploring a community to which I belong to. While conducting interviews, if the participant knew of my background, bias may have been elicited. My appearance, my name, and perhaps even my activity on social media can reveal my ethnicity. To address concerns of consent, a consent form was created and sent to each participant before the interview process. Emphasis on the voluntary nature of the interview was made, clarifying that no question asked is required an answer. It was also emphasized that participants would remain anonymous and that nothing they said could trace back to them.

INTERVIEWS How have forced resettlements of Palestinians created a narrative of victimization within the Palestinian identity? To address this inquiry, I explored the stories that Palestinian Diaspora in the United States tell about themselves and how they position themselves vis-à-vis Israel. I explored how Palestinians have cognized their identity, both individual and group, and the types of narratives they have used to cope with the continuous occupation of their homeland. This article goes beyond identifying historical events by dissecting responses to such incidents and understandings of the past. This information would further inform me of the transgenerational community dynamics and what their sight of the future looked like. In essence, the official account of occupation endorsed by the Israeli government and security forces has had an impact on both the individual and group identity transformation of Palestinians.

Selected participants were not required to have ever lived in or visited Palestine.

One participant was born and raised in Palestine. One was born in Palestine but raised in host countries. Six participants were born in the United States, but only three would VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 19

visit Palestine often, the other two only visited once in their lifetime, and one had never gone at all. Regardless of where they were born or reside, they are all Palestinian and are thus able to provide insight on the experience of resettlement. Of the eight participants, six of them were female and two of them were male. My youngest participant was 16 years old and my oldest was 24.

Themes that were present in the experiences shared by the interviewees included identity, homeland, and trauma. With regard to how participants felt about their identity, Palestinians are proud of their history and culture, regardless of how assimilated they have become to the land in which they have resettled on. Many understand their existence to be demonized by the West, but some manifest this rejection into honor.

In terms of the theme of homeland, participants expressed feelings of both belonging and exile. Palestinians own a sense of solidarity in which they all believe they and their country have a right to exist. In terms of the theme trauma, participants shared a collection of stories that rendered inescapable desolation.

DISCUSSION WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PALESTINIAN

The Palestinian Diaspora identity has been molded by the event of their resettlement and the opposing narratives that strive from it. Combatting the propaganda that is elicited by Israel and its allies has stigmatized their existence. Participant #7 expresses being Palestinian as a “constant loss and constant argument” in which she must “have all the facts all the time to argue why [she] exist[s].” Participant #3 adds to this by expressing a feeling of “constant injustice.” She also expresses the feeling of guilt in which she believes she “should be in Palestine. [She] should be there fighting” for her country. Participant #1 referred to this as survivor’s guilt. “I am grateful for the life I have, but I’m also motivated to fight the obstacles that stand in Palestinian success. I always want to do better and do more because I know my people are oppressed.” Many shared that embracing their identity has come at the cost of maintaining the status quo foreign policy perspective. From a young age in American schooling systems, they were taught that being anti-Israel and being anti-Semitic were synonymous. Thus, their struggles were consistently projected to be invalid. Participant #7 admits that sometimes she felt jealous of her cousins living in Palestine who “can exist without being gaslit . They can be Palestinian in the culture.” Despite these unpleasant feelings, every participant I interviewed is proud of their heritage and strongly holds on to it.

As Participant #4 explained, “no matter how removed you are from the homeland, you are still from there.” Many participants claimed that this is even the case for those who 20 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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have never visited or those who cannot even speak Arabic. In conducting this research, I found that the Palestinian Diaspora community is a close-knit one, in which they befriend and develop deep bonds with each other.

Palestinian identity is further dissected depending on the location in Palestine one is from. Participant #5 explained that there are “different perspectives of Palestine— people from Jerusalem see differently than the people from Gaza.” Participant #3 exemplified with the statement, “if I’m from West Bank, I’ll never be able to enter Jerusalem, even if where I want to go is five minutes outside of my city. I can’t see al-Aqsa… I would have to go to see al-Aqsa secretly and against the law. There would be consequences for me if I’m caught.” Participant #2 explained that those who had Palestinian-Israeli passports could move around more easily than those who only had Palestinian passports. Foreigners, with neither Palestinian nor Israeli citizenship, also had difficult experiences as they could be suspected to be spies. This was supported by Participants #1, #8.

For many, distinguishing Palestinian identity is difficult because Israeli identity has become so similar to theirs. Participant #4 stated, “Israelis try to hijack our culture.”

In which he expressed would not have been as painful under different circumstances, “you can share my knafeh , my hummus, but don’t tell me that I’m not indigenous to this land. Participant #7 added, Our culture is being stolen. It’s not a secret, it’s in your face. It’s thievery and murder and nobody cares. People think that’s normal…They want to be us, but they don’t want us to exist. They want us to dissolve into thin air… I believe Jewish people deserve to be in Palestine. But I can’t help but feel anger when I see Ashkenazi Jewish people claim that they have the same ties to the land that I do.”

Describing the Palestinian identity involves having either no or a negative relationship to Israel. Participant #7 declared, “we pretend Israel doesn’t exist in any way except that they are our oppressor. Violence, brutality…we don’t acknowledge they have a culture.

Jewish people in the Middle East have a culture, but it’s not Israeli.” Participant #6 said, “I feel anger towards the government, but also towards Israelis that contribute to the discrimination of Palestinians.”

PALESTINE IS OUR HOME

The first thought that enters Palestinians’ minds when speaking about Palestine is not a negative one. They do not immediately think of sorrow, but rather, look to their country with fondness and nostalgia. Participant #7 told me about her grandparents’ VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 21

love story in their tiny village. “Their houses were so close together. My grandpa only wanted her. The salon where my grandma got her bridal hair done is still there.”

Participant #4 told me about the train rides his grandmother would take to visit her family and eat picnics together on top of the mountain. He said that picturing the view of the sky would put him at peace. A lot of Palestinian life revolves around food, agriculture, gardening, and cooking. Participant #7 reminisced on the oranges in Yafa.

Participant #1, #2, and #5 told me about the olive trees. Participant #2 said in Jenin, there were some that once belonged to her grandfather. She remembers him being sad about the Israelis occupying his land and taking them away from him.

Many of the participants have seen Palestine in person. Participant #6 gave an interesting description, “it’s not a 24/7 war, but it’s 24/7 occupation.” All of the participants believe that Israel wants to control Palestinians and remove them from the region. Participant #1 stated that the purpose of the checkpoints in the West Bank is to make sure “anyone who is Palestinian in West Bank cannot leave Palestine.”

Participant #3 said “they want us to know they are in control. It’s not Palestine, it’s Israel… They’re so threatened by us, they want us to feel lower than them.” Similarly, Participant #7 said Israel uses a “territorial tactic to show their control over us…They want to separate us, look how far Gaza is from the West Bank. They’re telling us ‘we’re in between you and we’re surrounding you’.” Every participant who has visited Palestine has experienced a pro-longed process of travel. This includes interrogation, unsolicited search of belongings, and background checks. Participant #5 asserted that “the IDF wants to make it a longer journey than it should be to make Palestinians think twice before entering their homeland again.” Many participants shared an experience of what Participant #7 calls “playing nice” in order to evade problems when entering their homeland. Participant #3 said her dad would greet IDF by saying Shalom and they would translate the Arabic name of their city into Hebrew. Participant #1 pretended that she and her fiancé were strangers in hopes to bypass passport control quickly. This is a painful, but necessary action they partake in. Participant #4 said it is juxtaposing to his identity. “We’re supposed to hold our ground; that’s what it means to be Palestinian.

Do I have to give up who I am to enter my country?” Participants #3 and #8 have taken photos and videos of the illegal actions committed by Israeli soldiers. Participant #3 recorded a young boy get physically abused by the IDF. When she showed the video to her family members, they told her to delete it in fear of never being able to enter Palestine again. This claim is supported by Participants #2 and #4. Participant #2 stated, “they look you up at the checkpoints and try to find out if you’re ‘pro-Palestine or antiIsrael.” Participant #1’s fiancé and Participant #7 had their phones taken from them without their consent and their social media apps and messages were scrolled through.

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LIVING A NIGHTMARE

Palestinian Diaspora have experienced transgenerational trauma, dating back to biblical times. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will be referring to events that occurred no earlier than the 20th century. Participant #3 shared a story her grandmother told her about living through Al-Nakba. “They would hide in tunnels. My mother was always warned not to speak to the IDF and to always be wary of them.” Participant #4 shared a story of his uncle’s close-to-death experience during the 1967 war. He told me, In Nablus, you were supposed to surrender by putting a white sheet on the window.

My dad’s family didn’t get the memo and when the soldiers came into our town, they started shooting into the house. The entire family hid under a table, unable to get to my baby uncle sleeping in a crib, in the room soldiers were shooting at.

Although his uncle survived, Participant #2 had a family member that did not. She was named after her mother’s aunt who was killed by an Israeli soldier. Participants’ #6, #7, and #4 families left Palestine as early as 1948, when the Israelis first began occupying their territory. Participant #6 said, “it was hard. Families got separated, some left and some that remained were killed. My grandfather left Gaza in 1948, leaving behind his mother and his siblings. He has siblings that he hasn’t seen since.”

Participant #7 said, “my mom’s family left out of fear of what was to come. She wasn’t born in Palestine.” Participants #3 and #8, had family that did not leave until much later. Participant #3 said, “my dad came to America when he was 13 years old. My grandparents didn’t want my dad to be a victim of brutality. It was the hardest time of his life—seeing occupation before his eyes, leaving his mom behind.” Participants #1, #2, and #5 lived in Palestine and left more recently. Participant #5 described the most difficult part of leaving being that he was still close to home. “I lived in Jordan. I would hear about troops being deployed in Gaza and my neighbors’ homes being raided. And I couldn’t do anything about it.”

It is important to note that trauma in the case of Palestinians is not limited to homicide.

Participant #1 said that “it’s a misconception that [Palestine is] always a warzone. The bad days are bad, but the good days are really good.” Relatedly, Participant #6 said, What we fight for here [in the US] is different than the reality of it. I remember seeing the IDF at the gates and a group of kids were playing soccer. I watched as their ball rolled towards the soldiers’ feet. One of the kids ran to pick it up and continued to play. These kids were playing soccer while having guns pointed at them. It’s their normal life.

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Participant #3 said that they had never gone to the West Bank or Gaza. “I have no family there, but also, it would be too sad to see it. It’s destroyed and my heart wouldn’t handle it.” However, Participant #5 who is from Gaza does not recognize it as destroyed. He told me that “Gaza doesn’t look like a warzone. It’s beautiful. But there are camps. Areas are demolished, but we always build it back up.” However, he does not deny that Gazans are suffering. Participant #5 had his home demolished by Israeli soldiers who used it as a hideout. His family’s olive trees were destroyed and there were bombshells all over their property. Despite this, they were never reimbursed entirely for the damage. Participants shared the same belief of why they endured inhumane treatment by the IDF. Participant #7 asserted, We are being ethnically cleansed. We are the victims of ethnic cleansing and we aren’t wrong for being upset about it. US propaganda is so engrained in our education system.

We believe what our teachers say and there’s a pattern behavior of them being wrong.

Similarly, Participant #4 said, In the beginning, it was blatant ethnic cleansing. Now, they’re trying to hide it and slowly ethnically cleanse the West Bank. They kick out Palestinians, but if you were to give refugees the right of return, the demographics would be altered as more Arabs would be there than Jews. And that’s what they don’t want.

All participants believe that the checkpoints throughout West Bank have a purpose to control and torment Palestinians. Palestinians experience aggression from the IDF while in transport. Participant #7 shared her experience when trying to enter Jerusalem, “They did it so passively. They’d have a smile on their face when asking us the most invasive questions. They made us feel like criminals.” Participant #8’s earliest memory of violation was when she was ordered to take off her bra during a full body search. Participant #1 was forced to drink baby milk to prove that it did not contain drugs. Participant #8 had a cousin who was shot and killed by the IDF in front of their fiancé at a checkpoint. The couple was in the West Bank purchasing goods for their upcoming wedding. Likewise, they believe detention camps to have the same purpose.

Participant #8 informed, Soldiers shoot rubber bullets at you to make you bleed. Blood identifies you as the enemy, making it easier for the IDF to rally you up and arrest you… Once you’re arrested, you’ll always get rounded up during any protest. They call it having a ‘tick.’

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he was 13. He was initially arrested for throwing rocks at the IDF. He’s got a ‘tick’ on him and the IDF regularly picks him up.

Participant #6 said, I met a young elementary school boy who said that he was excited about seeing his friends in jail. He got picked up by the IDF while walking by a funeral. The IDF was trying to convince him to be their spy. They offered him tea, and he laughed about how he drank the tea and left.

Participant #5 described the Gazan experience differently, he said that “in Gaza, you wouldn’t see Israeli soldiers picking up children. Instead, they eliminate on sight. They are more extreme; they’ll bomb the house of and kill everyone of immediate family to the person they’re looking for.” Similarly to Participant #8, Participant #1 explained that at the border and at checkpoints, Palestinians who travel frequently are flagged.

And “if you have a ‘suspicious’ name, like ‘Muhammad’ and the IDF is looking for a person with that name, you could be detained.” Comparably, Participant #3 shared her experience of “IDF targeting ‘suspicious’—whoever they deem suspicious—Palestinian boys…July 19, 2017, I’ll never forget the day I saw a soldier shoot this boy in front of my eyes. He was unarmed, wearing a keffiyeh .” Participant #8 informed me that when a wanted person dies, the IDF will keep their body until the end of their sentence. She told me that one protestor from her town had a sentence that was 100 years long.

Jerusalem is a city in which both Palestinians and Israelis reside. There is increased security to protect Israeli citizens and reprimand Palestinians. One of my participants shared their violent experience with the IDF in 2019. I will not be saying which participant told this story as this event has become public information. They said, I was taking touristy pictures in front of the Dome. We were there like 30 minutes after Salat trying to take the perfect picture. At the time, the Bab Al-Rahma conflict was heightened so there was increased security because the Palestinians had just taken it back forcefully… All of the sudden, we see a masked person throw firecrackers. Israeli soldiers started shooting rubber bullets and chasing that person.

Within seconds, there were triple the number of soldiers and the fire department had arrived. People were running and screaming. The soldiers marched into the mosque and forced people out. People were getting arrested just for walking. I had this instinct to start recording. I always wondered how I would react if I were in a situation like that and I thought that I would run. But I just wanted to document what was happening and show other people.

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IDF soldiers started to push me and told me to leave, but I stayed and continued to record. There was this big crowd, I saw this old woman on a wheelchair and the Israeli soldiers were pushing her in a way you shouldn’t push an old lady. I reached in to help her, but one of the female guards that told me to leave recognized me.

She grabbed me with both hands and took me down to the ground, but I managed to pull out my American passport right before. She threw it away and told me she didn’t care about my identity. She proceeded to get on top of me and handcuff me and that was when all of the soldiers used their legs to keep me down. Guns pointed. My mom was trying to help, but she was smashed against the wall and handcuffed. My sister was on the outskirts of the barricade they had formed around me and was getting pushed and tossed. I guess when the female soldier’s supervisor realized that I was an American after picking up my passport, he gave it back and undid my handcuffs. At that point, I was half unconscious.

It is recognized by Palestinians that Israel wants full sovereignty over Jerusalem and its holy sites. Participant #8 shared her experience one night in 2017.

It was 3:00 A.M when all of the surrounding mosques and imams called for all able Palestinian men to defend Al-Aqsa. The Israelis were trying to siege it with bulldozers. My fiancé at the time and all of my male cousins left and stood in front of the mosque. I was so worried about them; I wanted to tell them to come back.

But if they didn’t defend it, who would? I have this constant struggle of choosing what’s more painful: losing my family or losing my country.

In describing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, participants emphasized that it was complex, unnecessary, and sadistic. Participant #7 was displeased with the terminology used to describe the struggle. She said, Calling it a conflict suggests that there’s two equal parties fighting over something.

When in reality, it’s colonialism. It’s ethnic cleansing… I hate the wording that’s used to describe this issue. It suggests that they are both wrong. One side responds with anger and pain, the other side is the perpetrator of violence. I hate when it’s put on the same level of each other… It wasn’t a conflict when it was the Aboriginals in Australia, or the Native Americans in the US, or Black people in South Africa.

Participant #4 agreed with this claim of imbalance and explained, The Israelis have a military force and the play of social engineering. Israel has nuclear weapons; Palestinians are fighting with sticks and stones (both literally and 26 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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figuratively)… The conflict started off as a noble effort. The Israelis were seeking asylum. But that turned into something ugly. It turned into the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians.

Participants were not optimistic that the future of Palestine would be in their favor.

Participants #5, #4, #7 believe that there has been progress, but not enough. Participant #4 saw a “shift in diaspora Palestinians having conversations with Israelis. We are changing the belief that all of them are the same.” Participant #7 is slightly hopeful as she said, “ten years ago, I wouldn’t have thought Rashida Talib or Ilhan Omar could have their platforms. I always thought you’d have to be a Zionist.” However, for the most part, participants believe that Israel is too strong for Palestine to fight back alone.

Participant #6 believes that Palestinian liberation would be “more possible if we elect a president that pushes for it. But no president will win an election without fully backing Israel.” Participant #2 added to this and mentioned that the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will not help. She also asserted, “we are not on any map. It’s Israel.

The world has already accepted that there is no Palestine.” Participant #4 feared that “Palestine could disappear.”

Every participant believes that a two-state solution is improbable. Participant #3 claimed, “Israel doesn’t want a bi-national state.” They all acknowledge that it is more likely for the one state solution to be in favor of Israel. Some participants idealized coexistence while others were indifferent. Participant #4 argued that “coexistence and peace are needed in the reality we live in for our existence.” On the contrast, Participant #8 said, On paper, living together seems great, but that’s not reality… I don’t know if coexistence is possible… It’ll be hard to forgive the person who killed your friend, your neighbor, your brother. How do you forgive a genocide?… Would you forgive them? Maybe in my kids’ lifetime, my grandkids’ lifetime, we can all live together and share. But not in my lifetime. I can’t forgive the man that shot my cousin. But my kids didn’t go through that that. They can forgive.

Yet, Participant #6 illustrated that coexistence already exists and is unsatisfactory.

“We see coexistence in Jerusalem, but there is still a lot of segregation. Palestinians will always be looked at as second-class citizens.” Participant #1 had “no expectation for peace beyond this.” Because of this reality, Participant #2 advocated that Palestinians should “use the enemy resources… Take Israeli citizenship if you can. You’ll be able to open businesses; your voice will be heard; you’ll have an easier life.” Participant #7 completely opposed this point, VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 27

It’s not good enough. We want a right to return. And until we get that, we will continue to be angry. Coexistence is impossible without reparations. We need monetary and land compensation to prove that we can trust them…We want our land back. We want the names of our cities back. We want reparations. But even then, that’s not enough. We want the respect that we deserve…Anger deserves to be heard, hurt deserves to be shown. Coexistence only asks us to give up something. It asks them to give up nothing.

CONCLUSION Exploring the American Palestinian Diaspora allows scholars to identify the disruptions of life committed by Israel on an international scale. The repercussions of Israeli occupation are transboundary. It is clear that Palestinians have been expelled from their homeland on a mass scale. Returning to the land in which they have deep historical and cultural connections to has become a challenge due to the restrictions put in place by the Israeli government and forces. I have found that every Palestinian diaspora member knows of someone who was seriously injured or killed by an Israeli official, whether that be an immediate relative or a friend of a friend. These struggles are pertinent in everyday life and affect the perception they have of themselves and the world. Transgenerational trauma exists as there is a feeling of never-ending crime committed against their people. Palestinians express a deep fear of losing loved ones to an act of hate on a daily basis. This loss is not limited to death, but also includes imprisonment and relocation. It also includes never being able to see the land in which they are ingenious to and all of its historical markers.

Despite this victimization, Palestinians are perceived as the problem. Their description in the media and education systems is that they are of terrorist and antiSemitic intent. American Palestinians reside in a country that openly supports their oppressor, both by media and foreign aid. This feeling of unwantedness, in both their homeland and the land in which they currently live, has damaged their psyche. Fear has enveloped their lives and ability to not only prove their innocence, but to advocate for their freedom. Upon interviewing my participants, they seemed to show a deep gratitude for my research. They felt silenced in that they could not own both a voice and a right to return.

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SECOND P L AC E S UB M I SS I ON

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: #METOO, NARI MOVEMENTS AND THE PRICE OF NEOLIBERALIST FEMINISM HAILEY RASTRELLI Major: Global Affairs Class of 2021

ABOUT THE WORK Identifying the problems associated with the role of neoliberal feminism in #MeToo is a major feat.

However, comparatively analyzing Nari: Mahila Bus Service Limited, a movement similar in cause, yet differing in approach allows for reflection. As such, while neoliberalism is certainly not a new phenomenon, neoliberal feminism is. Through this paper, it is clear such feminism has no place in a women’s movement. Tarana Burke’s ‘Me Too’ originated with the promise of powerful, effective mobilization. Otherwise, a movement for all women, striving to dismantle sexual violence for all. Finally, the #MeToo movement’s intersectional failure is rooted in the resources mobilized by white, neoliberal feminists (time, energy, and money) to benefit themselves (Mohanty, 1984). Nearly the Movement fails to become intersectional when the resources mobilized are not accessible to all identities. In a world where our privilege is so public, it is easy to wonder if posting or purchasing is all privileged activists are doing. At its best, #MeToo has exposed male entitlement within our culture. This is important; however, it is not enough for survival and longevity. White, neoliberal feminists have yet to mobilize their most crucial resource––privilege.

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ABSTRACT When the #MeToo movement erupted over social media in October of 2017, women, men, and people alike, across the globe united on social media. Through contemporary, transnational feminism, advocates took to their screens. Deep engagement with social media and culture has begun to offer women opportunities to mobilize for women’s rights. While #hashtag activism has allowed feminists to address sexism, misogyny, rape culture, and sexual harassment in public spaces, although this mode of activism was introduced in the West, it would not take long for it to expand its influence from Global North to South. However, the women associated with the digital boom of the #MeToo Movement have received significant, high praise for dismantling structures of sexual harassment, in the workplace. The presence of Neoliberal Feminism has created new barriers of their own. White, Neoliberal feminists colonized a movement initially built by women of color and continually silenced them; while neglecting to recognize how unique forms of harassment affect people of marginalized identities. Where Tarana Burke’s original ‘Me Too’ was built upon community justice and healing, #MeToo has diminished shared narratives to likes, retweets, and sales––primarily to the benefit of White, Neoliberal Feminists. This paper will thoroughly examine the problematic tendencies associated with #MeToo. Further analyzing the movements weaknesses by comparatively analyzing a similar, yet successful movement in the Global South; Nari.

INTRODUCTION It was 1997, when young activist Tarana Burke sat across the table from a 13-yearold girl; speechless. The young girl courageously expressed her experience as a survivor of sexual violence to Burke––who couldn’t help but feel outraged at the fact that this could happen to someone else… too. In that moment, Burke had no idea what she would do next would inspire a movement for decades to follow. However, the saying “Me Too” was not actually used until 2006 to raise awareness of rampant sexual misconduct in society (Donegan, 2018). Burke’s ‘Me Too’ was one centered on community healing and justice. But still, it hadn’t gotten the limelight yet. In 2017, with a single tweet, the #MeToo movement surged across the internet. White, actress Alyssa Milano demanded “time is up” for the serial sexual abuser, Harvey Weinstein; and sexual harassment, assault, and abuse survivors alike, across the world, rallied on Twitter and Instagram roaring #MeToo. Even today, #MeToo remains trending on social media.

Since then, the Movement has brought down 202 serial abusers (including Harvey Weinstein), brought on non-disclosure agreement bans (NDA’s), protections for VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 31

workers, and more. Besides its effect on the west #MeToo has also busted down the “behind closed doors” nature of assault, transnationally (Donegan, 2018). Rightfully so, the women associated with the rise of #MeToo deserve some praise for their ability to use their privilege to expose culturally ingrained male entitlement; at its best. Equally, white, neoliberal feminists deserve criticism for further imposing structures of violence and discrimination against people of marginalized identities. To be clear, though ‘Me Too’ stemmed back to 1997, with a young black activist, Tarana Burke––white, neoliberal feminists like Alyssa Milano––continually take credit for the movements transnational boom.

Across the world, #MeToo was on everyone’s Instagram feed. However, a movement, such as Bangladesh’s Nari: Mahila Bus Service Limited wasn’t taking up transnational screen time. Yet Bangladeshi feminists were breaking down barriers of their own.

Just because it wasn’t trending, doesn’t speak to failure; instead, it’s success. The Nari movement, like #MeToo, was similar in cause and platform. The difference lies in the mobilization of resources and framing of their cause, in addition, to culture and mentality. These distinct differences will be highlighted and drawn upon throughout the paper. Nevertheless, to be specific, Bangladeshi feminists did not fall to western Neoliberalism, like American feminists did. In short, Bangladeshi feminists were not concerned with the visibility of their movement, in the same way the West was… but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Thus, visibility is not particularly a metric for success.

To illustrate, by definition and practice, the actions of white, neoliberal feminists are harmful. In other words, in the context of this text, a neoliberal feminist is primarily a variation of Western feminism, where such ‘feminists,’ by nature direct their energy and resources towards the upper-middle classes (Banet-Weiser, Gill, & Rottenberg, 2019). Thus, lending itself to the erasure of intersectionality by placing a price on every aspect of inclusion. Moreover, Neoliberal feminism is exclusively informed by the market calculus and motivated by ‘capital’ gains as a means of empowerment. Capital, in this case, not only refers to monetary value but cultural capital, as well. As such, neoliberal feminism (particularly amongst white women) is uninterested in traditional forms of achieving social justice or intersectionality of mass mobilization. Instead, to white, neoliberal feminists––inclusion comes at a price. Such feminists detect the price of market freedom in areas of oppression, like a flare. Therefore, incentivizing them to flock towards the movement as an untapped market for profit. Thus, confusing such gestures as actual, tangible, direct action.

So, indeed, the #MeToo movement is in trouble. Such neoliberal and colonial prospective could render the movement, ultimately useless given its problematic nature.

However, it’s not unable to be remedied. In fact, ‘Me Too’ activists and feminist scholars have echoed that the movement is at a pivotal moment for change (Ulus, 2018) (Jones, 32 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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2019). Through this paper, I argue––it is white, neoliberal feminists’ mobilization of inaccessible resources that forces people of marginalized identities to resort towards other social movements. Thus, these actions communicate white, neoliberal feminists’ commodification of oppressed narratives as a means to garner monetary and cultural capital by reinforcing privilege through capitalist structures of systematic oppression.

Through comparative analysis with Bangladesh’s Nari Movement to illuminate the pitfalls of #MeToo’s adoption of Neoliberalism, as a means to combat social injustice.

ORIGINS: THE 2016 ELECTION & RISE OF NEOLIBERAL FEMINISM Just a year prior to #MeToo, author Nancy Fraser (2016) sets precedent for this topic seamlessly. In her work, “Progressive Neoliberalism versus Reactionary Populism: A Choice Feminists Should Refuse,” Fraser (2016) asserts in the wake of the 2016 election, feminists who rallied for Hillary Clinton were essentially left grasping at straws to formulate a ‘new’ strategy for feminism. In the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump, Progressive Neoliberalism became an ally to “new social movements” (particularly feminism). Pitting groups such as feminists on one end and service-based business sectors (Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood) at the other. This alignment preemptively configured the functions of the #MeToo as a white, neoliberal feminist movement. The structure of such power within a social movement disguises forces of cogitative capitalism and financialization, falsely presenting it as emancipation.

This movement towards Neoliberal feminism is explicitly imperialistic and colonial, in nature. To explain, Neoliberal feminism operates on behalf of American empire building (Eisenstein, 2017). Further, this feminism seeks to impose, rather than negotiate. In other words, it seeks to dominate not liberate. Which are not inherently feminists, at all.

Feminism in nature seeks to promote equality for all––rather run into the same problem of gendered domination (Beam, 2014). Also, Neoliberal feminism is privatized and individualized with little commitment to the masses of women or non-binary gendered peoples, truly a westernized concept. Which allows one to recognize parallels to #MeToo. PRECEDENCE: THE PROBLEM OF PROFIT In recent years, white (so-called) ‘activists’ have experienced criticism for exploiting black trauma through artistry, they profit off of. Also, straight ‘activists’ and retailers turning profits from pride branded items during June. Now, privatized and individualized white, Neoliberal ‘feminists’ make money off of #MeToo marketed DIY Rape Kits and necklaces. Yet, the problem with profit, is not uniquely monetary.

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In fact, profit can lie within garnering cultural capital through digital interaction. For instance, when ‘activists’ make a post on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook––it doesn’t come free of cost. To get down to brass tacks, social media users are really just pawns in yet another Neoliberal institution; Big Tech (if you will).

To demonstrate, western ideas of ‘success,’ typically lie within visibility––one statement western readers can resonate with is “If I’ve never heard of it, it must not be that good.” However, when the focus is social justice and movements, that is surely not always true. In fact, in the case of Bangladesh’s Nari Movement, it might’ve been for the best. In the example of Nari, Bangladeshi feminists did, in fact, establish their following online. However, the online platform was merely used to leverage communication and accessibility. In economics terms, the Facebook platform was a Public Good, nonexclusive and non-rival (Eisenstein, 2017). This platform aided Bangladeshi feminists in communicating strategy, providing support to one another, and hashing out ideas without endangering psychical space (Moitra, Hassan, Bhuiyan, & Ahmed, 2020). Additionally, the fact that, transnationally, no one had heard of them––made their work even more meaningful because they didn’t need the incentive of cultural capital to keep moving.

In contrast, #MeToo values cultural capital as a metric and means of success. Likes, comments, new followers and reposts are all forms of capital exchanged in this digital, cultural arena. Like a market, social media platforms carry their own forms of exchange, in western eyes. For instance, western social media users typically make assumptions about themselves based on their number of follows, likes, comments or retweets.

Thus, verifying their status as incentives, driving human behavior. Which would explain social movements, mega-boom on social media but failure to affect change in the physical setting. Sure, there are positives when it comes to dissemination of information, accessibility, and movement visibility associated with #hashtag activism.

Yet, its success is rooted in method and mindset.

When white, Neoliberal feminists rely on forms of monetary and cultural capital as a means of empowerment and metric of success, they minimize comprehensive social action to a purchase. In most cases, exploiting narratives all to turn a profit. Ultimately abolishing pre-existing successful methods of union like community organizing and inclusion efforts (Jones, 2019). Then, further stratifying social structure within the movement to fit the needs of the most privileged, rather than oppressed.

FRAMING RESOURCE MOBILIZATION: WRONG TOOLS, RIGHT THEORY Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) was developed in the 1970s, as a means to study social movements. The praxis of the argument relies on the idea that the 34 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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success of a social movement is dependent upon resources mobilized by dominant actors (i.e., time, money, skills, etc.). In addition, to the activists’ abilities to effectively use or ‘mobilize’ them (McCarthy & Zald, 1977). Resources can be material, human oriented, socially organized, cultural, or moral (McCarthy & Zald, 1977). Whatever form they come in; they must be accessible in order to truly measure success. Which is easy to do in the case of Nari and #MeToo. Rather successfully, Nari organizers were effective with the resources they were able to mobilize. Digitally, Facebook was a platform that Bangladeshi feminists were familiar with and equally able to use. For activists that did not have social media or cellular devices––community organizing proved to be effective and accessible, as well.

Bangladeshi feminists were deliberate in being accessible but also protective of their members in the fight to end sexual assault on public transportation. By meeting online or in-person, with spokespersons for the groups, they were able to write petitions and raise funds. Collectively the group agreed to place the funds towards a “Women’s Only Bus-Service,” which were fully operational and accessible to anyone who needed them. Additionally, they wrote to legislature, demanding reforms be made to the law––outlawing sexual assault and abuse. Which was granted, thus becoming the first mandate outlawing rape in the history of Bangladesh (Das, 2016).

On the other hand, #MeToo activists, such as Alyssa Milano took on social media platforms, not as a means of mobilization but stratification; however, not intentionally.

To put it in perspective, Alyssa Milano (and other women like her) is white, which comes with inherent privileges, yet on top of that––she is also rich and a celebrity.

Thus, setting precedent for inaccessibility. Simply put, the forefront action of famous women taking responsibility for #MeToo’s trending, puts many resources on the other side of the glass ceiling. Meaning women of color and people of marginalized identities needs are left at the bottom of the ladder, while white, neoliberal feminists are more easily able to climb ahead and break through.

Frankly, women of color are disproportionally affected by sexual assault and harassment; leaving black women to ask, when will ‘Me Too” become ‘We Too,’ (Jones, 2019). In fact, per 100,000 workers, black women were three times more likely to be harassed in the workplace than white women (Ulus, 2018). Yet it is the resources of white, financially liberated women that are being placed at the forefront of #MeToo. To be clear, neoliberal feminists tend to mobilize resources, such as time, money, and even the justice system. Which are often resources that people in the United States have inequal access to, particularly in discussions of race and class (Donegan, 2018).

Particularly when discussing the criminal justice system, which has a history for mistreating black women. For instance, for every black woman who reports sexual violence, at least 15 black women do not report (Jones, 2019). Further, to date, white, VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 35

neoliberal feminists have effectively mobilized their time, energy, and money to benefit themselves––leading to their role at the center of the movement––granting inclusivity to few marginalized voices. Exploiting such narratives later for monetary and cultural capital. #MeToo has become corporatized, pandering to potential consumers instead of promoting justice. As a result, the #MeToo movement reflects the bourgeois’ needs who have the resources and means to prosecute or seek justice through the legal system; that was not designed to benefit the marginalized in the first place.

FRAMING THE ISSUE: CONTINUING ‘WRONG TOOLS, RIGHT THEORY’ Framing Theory, a phenomenon coined by scholars Benford and Snow (2000) involves the social construction of a societal happening. Moreover, it is in the way mass media sources, political figures, or other social actors present a social issue as a means to garner support (Benford & Snow, 2000). Perception and deception come to play when movement recruitment takes place; and messaging is everything. To gain a healthy following, movement organizers tend to stress different parts of their cause to appeal to different types of people. Through both Nari and #MeToo, one may observe the ways by which these two movements, similar in cause differ in applying their framing techniques.

Nari’s framing techniques were not too complicated. Given Bangladesh’s history with women, the majority of Bangladeshi women are not shy when it comes to fighting for their rights. So, the vast majority of women actively participate in the social, cultural, economic, and political activities for which they need public transport to meet up the daily necessities (Das, 2016). Given their recent, silent history of feminist activism, it’s no surprise women in Bangladesh did not hesitate after learning fortythree percent of women had reported being sexually assaulted in public (Moitra, et. al, 2020); particularly on public transportation. Similarly, to #MeToo, female commuters created a digital space where women felt comfortable sharing their experiences. Also, the women responsible for facilitating such discussions were well-educated and members of the middle class (Das, 2016). However, they used this platform to enlist new members by using narrative to create a collective sense of belonging and raise awareness (Moitra, et. al, 2020). Their cause was put up front as ‘what you see, is what you get.’ Whereas #MeToo told a different story.

The trouble is most white, neoliberal feminists do not consciously comprehend why their methods of employment are problematic. Nevertheless, that does not mean they should not be critiqued. To put it best, #MeToo was not merely framed as ‘inclusive’ it was advertised. To be clear, white, neoliberal feminists employed the west’s most elite, high profile, and wealthy women as the face of #MeToo’s brand. The movement 36 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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cared more about visibility through cultural capital that neoliberal feminists further marginalized communities of color by advertising #MeToo as a safe haven. However, due to the nature of neoliberalism, women of color and people of marginalized identities’ narratives were simply used as leverage. In other words, a means to gain cultural capital and appear ‘intersectional.’ Further implicating other less fortunate groups, whose narratives would simply serve as leverage for profit. Then forcing them to resort to other movements––less specific to their cause, but rather branded identity.

CONCLUSION & FINAL THOUGHTS FOR SUCCESS In short summary, identifying the problems associated with the role of neoliberal feminism in #MeToo is a major feat. However, comparatively analyzing Nari: Mahila Bus Service Limited, a movement similar in cause, yet differing in approach allows for reflection. As such, while neoliberalism is certainly not a new phenomenon, neoliberal feminism is. Through this paper, it is clear such feminism has no place in a women’s movement. Tarana Burke’s ‘Me Too’ originated with the promise of powerful, effective mobilization. Otherwise, a movement for all women, striving to dismantle sexual violence for all. Finally, the #MeToo movement’s intersectional failure is rooted in the resources mobilized by white, neoliberal feminists (time, energy, and money) to benefit themselves (Mohanty, 1984). Nearly the Movement fails to become intersectional when the resources mobilized are not accessible to all identities. In a world where our privilege is so public, it is easy to wonder if posting or purchasing is all privileged activists are doing. At its best, #MeToo has exposed male entitlement within our culture. This is important; however, it is not enough for survival and longevity. White, neoliberal feminists have yet to mobilize their most crucial resource––privilege.

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THIRD P L AC E S UB M I SS I ON

MODELING THE EFFECTS OF DEHYDRATION ON CELLULAR GROWTH AND WOUND REPAIR EMMA DANDO Major: Bioengineering Class of 2022

ABOUT THE WORK Dehydration is a common problem among athletes and the elderly, both of whom get injured more frequently than the average adult. Dehydration has been linked to reduced circulation, a reduced amount of water being absorbed into the cellular matrix, increased inflammation, decreased blood pressure, decreased volume of plasma, increased heart rate, decreased cellular density, and increase adhesion constant, depending on the severity and duration of dehydration. A comprehensive and functioning model describing the impacts of dehydration on tissue growth could be used when studying and designing treatment plans for groups vulnerable to dehydration and to inform decisions on environments for growing cell cultures and tissue in vitro. Previous models have described hydration and water replacement in the human body or the process of tissue growth or wound repair. This model integrates the effects of dehydration with the parameters of wound repair to create a more comprehensive model. This resulting model is a combination and modification of a continuum and a partial differential equation model. The continuum model is modified to consider more of the effects of dehydration on the tissue with the intent to increase the accuracy of the model. The overlapping parameters and relationships are used to link the models together. The combined model is then modified with unitless parameters that represent the severity and duration of dehydration to create the final model. The model found that while the simulated subject is fully hydrated, intralayer elastic couplings are the largest factor that increases cell density, being to a power of nine. The influence of the tangential diffusion of cells is only to a power of one and comparatively uninfluential. The grouped effect of cell crowding and cell synthesis and apoptosis to decrease cellular density is to a power of negative nine, so mathematically it balances out the effect of the elastic couplings. The influence of the tangential velocity of cells is the next most influential component to decrease the cellular density, at a power of five. During severe dehydration, the cell crowding component and the elastic component changed by a power of four, the cell crowding component becoming less negative and the elastic couplings component increasing. Both the tangential diffusion and tangential velocity decreased by a power of two. Unexpectedly, the cellular density changed very little with varying simulations of dehydration. Despite this, the model shows that dehydration slows the rate of wound healing and it suggests that the severity of dehydration is more detrimental than the duration of dehydration.

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INTRODUCTION The impacts of dehydration on cellular growth have been studied, but not formed into a computational model that could inform medical treatments and in vitro experiments that involve growing tissue [1]-[5]. Dehydration is defined as a reduction of the total concentration of water in the body, such that the body weight is reduced [6]. Acute and chronic forms of dehydration can cause a variety of symptoms [6],[7]. Mild to moderate dehydration is common in athletes and the elderly [4]. Both groups are also more likely than the average population to get injured [4],[8],[9]. A comprehensive and functioning model describing the impacts of dehydration on tissue growth could be used when studying and designing treatment plans for groups vulnerable to dehydration and to inform decisions on environments for growing cell cultures and tissue in vitro. The expected model will seek to combine, simplify, and modify two computational model: a continuum model and a partial differential equation model [1],[2],[3]. Due to the composition of the two computational models, which will act as a base for the combined or resulting model, the resulting computational model is a set of ordinary differential equations. The resulting model has the same limitations as the continuum model and the partial differential equation model. Any areas where the limitations of the two models overlap could be areas of concern, as any errors may be compounded. Physiologically, the final model references the known role of dehydration on inflammation [5],[10],[11], circulation [4],[5], and the extracellular matrix [1],[2],[4]. The final model highlights and helps explain the differences between wound repair while the patient is healthy and while the patient is dehydrated, which is of medical significance as it could help inform medical opinions on wound care and as a factor in medical studies on wound repair [4],[5],[12],[13].

This project is done via computational modeling, due to the unfeasibility and invasiveness of any other method. This project studies the movement and growth of living cells, which is difficult to study experimentally. Biopsies could be used, to a limited extent. However, in order to control for variables, such as medical conditions, lifestyle factors, and age, each subject would have to be biopsied multiple times. This still would not have perfect comparability, as the biopsy would be a slightly different area each time. Additionally, as the study involves wound repair, taking repeated biopsies of the area could slow the healing of the wound by damaging the scab or enlarging the wound itself. There are, to the knowledge of this paper, no scans that could be used over the course of the study that would provide the required information.

This model focuses on the impact of dehydration on wound repair, specifically seeking to determine the differences between wound repair in a healthy patient and wound repair in a dehydrated patient. Previous work on this subject includes two VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 39

computational models. One model [1],[2] describes cell density by modeling the tissue as a compressible fluid in a two-dimensional continuum model with the extracellular matrix as a vector array. The final equation of which is shown in Equation 1. The continuum model simulates the intralayer elastic couplings, the adhesion of cells, the forces of the lamellipodia, and the rate of apoptosis and replacement of cells within a cell sheet. Specifically, the left side is the derivative of the cell density in terms of time. The first term on the right is the ratio of the residual bulk modulus to the adhesion of the epithelial cells (κ) multiplied by the change in cellular density (∆ρ). The second term is the growth factor of the equation (g(ρ)), which is a function of the cellular density.

During cellular expansion there are four boundary conditions, shown in Appendix A. The variables are the same as in Equation 1; additionally, φ is a situationally defined constant and ρ0 is the initial cell density. The model and boundary conditions are based off a series of assumptions. The conditions are assumed to be steady state. The acceleration of each cell is assumed to be negligible compared to its velocity. The model assumes that the cell layer responds passively and instantaneously to any force acted on it. The model also assumes that ρ(x,0) is constant and the initial density is relative to the prestress created by the action of the lamellipod in the interior of the cell sheet at confluence [1],[2]. The second of the two computational models that is used as a base for the resulting model is not a continuum model, but a partial differential equation which is shown in Equation 3. The left side of the equation represents the cellular density derivative over time when the trajectories are always perpendicular to the surface. The terms on the right describe how the cells diffuse tangentially along a tissue surface that is not a straight vector, the influence of tangential velocities of individual cells and the

tangential velocities over the tissue surface, the collective effect of cell crowding or cell spreading, and the rate of change of the number of cells present due to tissue synthesizing cells, respectively. The parameter D is a constant for diffusive flux, ρ symbolizes cellular density, un is the surface velocity’s tangential component, κ is the local mean curvature, vs is the individual cell’s tangential component, t is time, and l is the arc length. In addition to steady state assumptions, the partial differential equation model assumes that the initial cell density distribution and initial radius are arbitrary and subject to a boundary condition of ρ(-π,t) = ρ(π,t). It is assumed that 40 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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the cells are subject to a tangential cell velocity field that depends on the length of the cavity wall [3]. These two models will be combined with precedence given to the continuum model. The parameters already in the combined model will be modified to reflect how dehydration effects them based upon a literature review. Specifically, the cellular density decreases [14] and the adhesion constant increases [11], depending on the severity and duration of dehydration. In addition to these impacts, dehydration can reduce circulation [4],[5], prevents enough water from being absorbed into the extracellular matrix [4], increases inflammation [5],[11], decrease blood pressure [7], decreases the volume of plasma [6],[13] and increases the heart rate [12].The relationship between these changes and the modeled parameters has not been well defined in literature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The project is done via computational modeling, specifically, a continuum model.

The general pattern of cell density change within wound healing can be defined as cell spreading or cellular growth in terms of the literature. Figure 1 shows how dehydration impacts the physiology of the body based off of literature defined relationships.

Literature defines this growth in terms of logarithmic growth and partial differential equations. The creation of the final mathematical model is shown in Figure 2. The final mathematical model is made up of a primary linear first order partial differential equation and four boundary equations.

The equations are originally based off of two computational models, whose final equations are shown in Equations 1 and 3.

The continuum model shown in Equation 1 and 2 was used as the primary model and the secondary model, shown in Equation 3 was used to modify the continuum model. The original continuum model describes the main forces that control cell migration of a cell sheet. Specifically, the Figure 1: The flow diagram showing how dehydration intralayer elastic couplings, the impacts the body and the model. adhesion of cells, the forces of VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 41

the lamellipodia, and the rate of apoptosis and replacement of cells [1],[2]. The secondary model describes how cells diffuse tangentially along a tissue surface that is not a straight vector, the influence of tangential velocities of individual cells and the tangential velocities over the tissue surface, the collective effect of cell crowding or cell spreading, and the rate of change of the number of cells present due to tissue synthesizing cells [3]. The additional factors of the secondary model are incorporated into the primary model by modifying the growth of the cellular density segment of the continuum model’s main equation. The growth segment is assumed to be Equation 2 during cellcolony expansion, which would be present during wound repair [1],[2]. The equation Figure 2: The flow diagram showing how is assumed to be logistical growth in this the final mathematical model is derived. The equations are Equations 1, 2, 5, and 6. model during tissue growth. The parameter ρk is the limiting cell density and α is a situationally defined growth constant. This equation already has some factors that overlap with the factors of the secondary model, namely the rate of cell growth and apoptosis and ratio of the cell density and the limiting cell density. To simplify the final equation and prevent from overweighting these factors in the final equation, they are assumed to be analogous. Specifically, the factors from the continuum model that are assumed to be analogous to the partial differential equation model are, respectively, the rate of change of the number of cells present due to tissue synthesizing cells is assumed to be analogous to the rate of apoptosis and replacement of cells and collective effect of cell crowding or cell spreading is assumed to be analogous to the ratio of the cell density and the limiting cell density. The secondary model is not a continuum model, so it looks at the movement of individual cells and the surface area in two separate parameters [3]. The continuum model lumps these areas into the movement of the tissue as a whole [1],[2]. To allow for more direct comparability between the results of this model and the continuum model that serves as a base, the parameters for the cell and surface area will be lumped together. The additional factors were added to the equation. The final growth equation is shown in Equation 4. The parameters are 42 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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Figure 3: The simulation model for the parameters and the dehydration modifiers. The severity (bet) and duration (tau) modifiers are assigned a value of X, as this is changed in each simulation. The other values are from the continuum model [1],[2] and the partial differential model [3].

the same with s being an additional parameter which is the surface that is used in the gradient. This becomes part of the combined model, shown in Equation 5 and 6.

Equation 5 has the residual bulk modulus (k) and cellular adhesion (b) combined into a constant, κ. Equation 6 elaborates to show the adhesion constant, which has been shown to be modified by the dehydration [1],[2],[3],[11]. The combined model uses the assumptions that both models used in their own creation, in addition to the ones stated. These assumptions keep the final equation and boundary conditions simple enough to model and analyze.

The factor of dehydration was added to the combined model [1],[2],[3],[11],[14], [15]. The literature review indicated how each of the parameters in the model changes in dehydrated conditions. Specifically, the cellular adhesion of the epithelial layer VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 43

increases with dehydration [11] and cellular density decreases with time in and severity of dehydrated conditions [14]. Partially based on models for dehydration, the dehydration factors were added as dimensionless multiplied modifiers for the parameters [1],[2],[3],[15]. The equation is shown in Equation 7. Two dehydration modifiers were used to alter Equation 7. The parameters were modified solely by the severity of dehydration or by the severity and the duration of dehydration [11],[14].

Both modifiers are defined as being from 0 to 1, with the lower bound being noninclusive. The severity modifier is labeled β. Α value of 1 is defined as normal hydration.

A lower value is defined as some level of dehydration. The duration modifier is labeled as τ. A value of 1 is defined as no time spent dehydrated. A lower value is defined as some time spent dehydrated. For both modifiers, a value of 0 is assumed to be fatal.

This approach assumes a direct and linear correlation that impacts the parameter with even the slightest dehydration and does not have a limit to how much it changes.

Dehydration has been linked to other symptoms as well. Depending on severity and duration of dehydration it reduces circulation [4],[5], prevents enough water from being absorbed into the extracellular matrix [4], increases inflammation [5],[11], decrease blood pressure [7], decreases the volume of plasma [6],[13] and increases the heart rate [12]. The relationship between these changes and the modeled parameters has not been well defined [4],[6],[7],[11],[12],[13]. This model assumes that the factors either do not impact the rate of wound repair or are described by the change in the parameters that are modeled.

The final equation was translated to a SIMULINK model and MATLAB code. The general code for the input values is in Appendix H. The code allows the parameters to be easily changed and the output to be captured. All but the created dehydration modifiers are filled with test values from the two models the model is derived from and a literature review, as shown in Appendix H. This allows the model to be run and validated based on standard averages and general trends. Additionally, the boundary conditions was coded into the model [16],[17]. The SIMULINK model is shown in Figure 3. The model uses a node as the sink to capture the values in the code for analysis. The source used is a constant, as the model assumes that the internal cellular factors that dictate cell and tissue growth do not change as the wound heals.

The model will be validated by using a set of literature values and various values of dehydration. The comparison of the different outputs should reveal that the rate of change of cellular density over time decreases and thus show a decline in the rate of wound healing as dehydration increases in severity and duration. The final model 44 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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Figure 4: The results of the model when run to model fully hydrated conditions. The tau and beta were both set to one. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H. This is used as a control for the dehydrated simulations to be run against.

It is also used to compare against the continuum and partial differential model to test the accuracy of the model.

This model shows that cell crowding and elastic couplings components have the largest influence on the model. The rho value shows that the cellular density of this model is higher than expected.

has six nodes to capture the model’s final results and to allow the analysis of the components of the model.

There is one node for each of the four grouped segments of the equation that are combined via addition and subtraction to make the final model. There is also one node to look at the cellular density and one to observe the derivative of the cellular density in terms of time.

Figure 5: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the duration modifier. The beta was set to one, the tau was set to 0.9. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H. The simulation shows the same pattern of decreasing values and slowed wound repair as Appendices B, D, and E.

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Figure 6: The results of the model when run to simulate acute dehydration.

The beta was set to 0.1, the tau was set to 0.9.

The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H. This simulation shows that acute dehydration does not have the same level of impact as severe dehydration, but it does decrease the components. This indicates that wound healing would be slowed, but not significantly.

RESULTS The simulation was tested in three ways in addition to a control. The control was to run the model at fully hydrated values. The first type of modification was changing the severity constant while keeping the duration constant at 1. The second type was changing the duration constant while keeping the severity constant at 1.

The first two types were not based on anatomical values. Instead they were controlled attempts to model the impact of each variable on the model as a whole. The third type involved changing both parameters. These values were not based on experiments.

Instead they were based on theoretical situations and assigned theoretical values. This created a possible source of error where any situations that were not anatomically possible could have created results that were not anatomically possible and did not reflect physiological relationships. Despite the lack of physiological relevance, the trials proved that the modifiers were influencing the model independently and the model produced a single type of output.

The simulation at fully hydrated values is the closest to the models that were used to derive this model. The resulting lines all reach a visually steady state, with minor oscillations found when the data is examined. The node that is attached to the part of the model that represents the elastic couplings between layers shows that the steady state is a large, positive value. Based on the simulations, no change smaller than a 46 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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Figure 7: The results of the model when run to simulate severe dehydration during a long period of time. The beta was set to 0.1, the tau was set to 0.1.

The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H. This simulation is slower to reach steady state than any other simulation. The change in the steady state values shows that the rate of wound healing would be slower than when fully hydrated, but faster than when acutely dehydrated.

factor of ten has any notable effect. Comparatively to the other values, the elastic couplings have a large influence on the change of density over time. The part of the model that represents the effects of cell crowding and the synthesis and apoptosis of cells resulted in a large, negative value. Both of these factors having this level of influence makes sense with the continuum model, as they are some of the primary factors considered by the continuum model [1],[2]. Additionally, it has been indicated that dehydration increases adhesion forces, which would impact the influence of the elastic couplings, and decreases the overall cellular density, which would impact the grouped effect of cell crowding and cell synthesis [11]. The part of the model that represents tangential diffusion along non-straight lines is a small, positive value at the steady state. Compared to the rest of the model, tangential diffusion has a small effect on the change of cell density over time. The part of the model that represents the tangential velocity of cells and tissue returns a medium, positive value at steady state. Tangential velocity appears to have less influence on the model than the elastic couplings or cell crowding, but notably more than the tangential diffusion. These factors were only considered by the partial differential equation model [3]. The steady state value of the cellular density, ρ, was approximately 2.3 * 104 cells/mm3. when rounded to accommodate for oscillations. This is larger than the upper end of the cellular density found in the continuum model, which ranged from 1000 to 9000 cells/mm3 [1],[2]. Mathematically, this difference is partially accounted for by the

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Figure 8: The results of the model when run to simulate moderate dehydration for a medium length of time. The beta was set to 0.5, the tau was set to 0.5. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H. This simulation’s values are show that the moderate dehydration would allow wound’s to repair faster than during severe or acute dehydration.

addition of the tangential diffusion along non-straight lines and the tangential velocity of cells and tissue. Generally, adding more elements makes models more accurate [2],[15], but some factors may have been overweighted in the creation of this model due to unintentional overlap.

To test the behavior of the model and the influence of the individual modifiers, two sets of trials were run where one modifier was set to a value of 1 and the other was set to 0.1, 0.5, and 0.9. The severe value was chosen as the largest value that does not exceed one decimal place, the mild was chosen as the smallest value that does not exceed one decimal place, and moderate was chosen as the halfway point. There is no direct physiological correlation, however severe is assumed to be the most the human body can take before dying and mild is assumed to be the smallest amount of dehydration that will impact the body. All of these were physiologically unfeasible trials as they would involve either a person being some degree dehydrated while not having been dehydrated for any length of time or being dehydrated for some length of time while not suffering from dehydration. Both sets of trials maintained the same type of behavior that was exhibited in the fully hydrated simulation. For both sets of trials, the farther the dehydration constants got from fully hydrated values, the lower the eventual steady state values of the equations were. This matches the expected trends from literature [4],[6],[7],[11],[12],[13]. The lowering of the modifiers, for the most part, produced similar behaviors and steady states, as shown in Appendices B, D, E, and Figure 5. When one modifier was set to 0.5, the differences were more apparent as shown in Appendices C and F. The trial where the duration modifier was 48 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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set to 0.5 showed larger values for all of the components of the equation than the trial where the severity modifier was set to 0.5.

There were three simulations where both modifiers were altered. The first modeled the subject during acute dehydration, severe in duration and short in time. For this situation, the severity modifier was set to 0.1 and the duration modifier was set to 0.9.

This is shown in Figure 6. The resulting cellular density was very similar to the fully hydrated value. The derivative of the cellular density in terms of time, the tangential diffusion along non-straight lines, the elastic couplings between layers, and the tangential velocity of cells and tissues were all decreased. The effect of cell crowding was increased to a less negative number. This may be because a section of tissue with lower cellular density has less issues with cell crowding. The second simulation was of the body during severe dehydration after a long period of time. For this situation, the severity and duration modifiers were set to 0.1. This is shown in Figure 7. The modifiers significantly slowed the exponential curves, so it took until approximately 1.4 seconds to achieve the approximate steady state that the fully hydrated model achieved in approximately 0.1 seconds. The modifiers also decreased all the values except the cell crowding, which increased, and the cellular density, which changed very little. The third simulation was of a person who had been moderately dehydrated for a medium length of time. This had both modifiers set to 0.5 and is shown in Figure 8. The graphs show the same pattern as Figure 7, though not as severely. In both simulations where both modifiers were set to the same value, the cellular density did not drop significantly, which would have been expected with the established literature correlation. However, the derivative of the cellular density in terms of time did, which matches the slowed rate of wound healing that was predicted by literature [4],[5],[6],[7],[11],[12],[13].

The model can be characterized as exponential. Each component exhibits either an exponential growth or decay curve. The curve that represents the cellular density, the tangential diffusion along non-straight lines, the effect of intralayer elastic couplings, and the effect of the tangential velocities of individual cells and the tissue as a whole are a growth curve. The grouped effect of cell crowding and cell synthesis and apoptosis is an exponential decay curve. The derivative of cellular density in terms of time is most closely characterized as a bi-exponential model. The initial spike is brief, then decays to a steady state value that is greater than the initial value, which is most clearly shown in Figure 7. Based on the resulting graphs when the modifiers are changed from fully hydrated values, the most effected segments are the grouped effect of cell crowding and the effect of cell synthesis and apoptosis and the tangential diffusion along nonstraight lines. When the modifiers are altered enough, the curve delays and the peak seen in the final value widens.

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DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY The final model and its results demonstrate the impact of dehydration on otherwise healthy tissue growth. The relative influence of various factors of cellular growth were shown in the value of each factor during the fully hydrated simulation. Specifically, after the initial exponential curve the relationship of the steady state values can be used to determine a general relationship between the components of the equation and the final cellular density. While fully hydrated, intralayer elastic couplings are the largest factor that increases cell density, being to a power of nine. A correlation has been shown between higher cell density and higher elastic expression within tissue [18]. This does not guarantee that a higher elastic expression would indicate that the cell density should be higher there, but it suggests the possibility. The influence of the tangential diffusion of cells is comparatively small being only to a power of one [19]. The area chosen was chosen for mathematical simplicity, it is possible that a different surface area would change the level of influence of this factor. The grouped effect of cell crowding and cell synthesis and apoptosis to decrease cellular density has an approximately equivalent amount of effect as the elastic couplings, being to a power of negative nine. The nature of wound repair is likely the reason why this factor is so large. The need to replace cells would be increased, but the number of cells that had been damaged would also be increased. Dehydration reduces circulation, thus reducing the nutrients that would reach the cells, which could decrease the rate of cell synthesis [4]. Additionally, the process of wound healing has been shown to be contingent on cell movement and the shape of the cell groupings [19]. These combined factors together could cause the cell crowding component to decrease cell density by such a large amount. The influence of the tangential velocity of cells is the next most influential component to decrease the cellular density. Physiologically, it’s likely that the movement of the cells allows them to spread out and decrease the cellular density at any one point [19]. Mathematically, the cell crowding component and elastic forces appear to effectively cancel each other out in all of the simulations.

This leaves the tangential diffusion and the tangential velocity to determine the change in cellular density.

The simulations that only change one of the dehydration modifiers were used to determine the relative level of influence of the two modifiers. The change of both factors independently produced the same general trends for the components of the equation. The effect of crowding became less negative. It is possible hydration, to some extent, disrupts the natural movement and shape changes that are necessary for a wound to repair itself [19]. Cellular adhesion increases with dehydration, which could change how the movement of cells and their extrusion [11],[20]. The 50 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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value of tangential diffusion and tangential velocity decreased. Both are types of cell migration, so any factor that would impact cell movement would impact them both [20]. The same increase in cellular adhesion that could impact the effect cell crowding could impact the tangential diffusion and velocity components [11]. Additionally, dehydration decreases circulation, which reduces the amount of nutrients [4]. This could impact any cell movement. The value for the elastic couplings decreased. This could be due to the increase in adhesion forces or the possible correlation between cell density and elastic couplings [11],[18],[19]. While the same trends appearing with both individual simulations could indicate an error in the model, the correlation between the factors makes sense, as the factors both are indicative of the effect of dehydration and generally work in tandem. The correlation being due to a modeling error is less likely because of the differences between results. While when one value was set to 0.1 or 0.9 the results were identical, they were not always. When the severity modifier was set to 0.5, both the cell crowding factor and the derivative of the cellular density had higher initial values and the rest of the factors has higher steady states than when the time constant was set to the same, as shown in Appendices C and F. This could indicate that the severity of dehydration is more important than the duration of dehydration.

The relative influence of the equation components on the change in cellular density due to dehydration can be examined by how much the factors change between fully hydrated values and when the modifiers are both set to 0.1, simulating severe dehydration. The cell crowding component and the elastic component changed by the largest factor. Both changed by a power of four, the cell crowding component becoming less negative and the elastic couplings component increasing. Mathematically, the two cancel each other out. Both the tangential diffusion and tangential velocity decreased by a power of two.

The results for the cellular density were unexpected. When the model was run with the dehydration modifiers set to fully hydrated values, the cellular density was higher than the upper end of the range found by the continuum model by approximately a power of ten [1],[2]. Whether this is due to a modeling error or a different set of initial conditions is unclear. When run to simulate dehydrated conditions, the cellular density did not change significantly between levels of dehydration. Dehydration has been determined to decrease the cellular density due to the change in circulation and diameter of blood vessels [14]. The minimal variance could be due to a modeling error.

The model relies on a series of simplifications and assumptions. Either one could have been made incorrectly or multiple assumptions could have compounded an error. The model could also have some degree of truncation errors from the computation, which prevents the decrease from being as large. The model never reaches a full steady state, VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 51

so the oscillations could hide a smaller decrease. Alternatively, no literature could be found that gives an exact range of possible human cellular densities, but it is possible that the cellular density can only change within certain parameters.

The results of the model provide some illumination on the differences between wound repair while hydrated and dehydrated. Previous work on this subject has shown the cellular density decreases and the adhesion constant increases, depending on the severity and duration of dehydration [11],[14]. In addition, dehydration can reduce circulation [4],[5], prevents enough water from being absorbed into the extracellular matrix [4], increases inflammation [5],[11], decrease blood pressure [7], decreases the volume of plasma [6],[13] and increases the heart rate [12], which creates an overall slower process for wound healing [1],[2]. This model suggests some of the ways that these factors influence and slow the rate of wound repair. By dividing the rate of wound repair into components the effect of the factors can be better observed and explained. The model shows that the severity of dehydration is more detrimental to the rate of wound repair than the duration of dehydration in some situations.

Future tests and simulations could further validate or be used to refine the model.

One way would be to run a test under the conditions modeled and compare the end states of both tests. This would likely be unfeasible. The constants could be checked and standardized using the same method that the continuum model used, as shown in Appendix G. The method uses a set of equations that could be used to optimize the constants of the equation. Where zρ and zd is summed over all points and j begins at one. The goal would be to minimize z = zp + zd [1]. If similar models could be found a comparison could be used, similarly to how the simulation could be used with experimentally gathered data.

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APPENDIX A

to 0.5. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H.

APPENDIX D

APPENDIX B

Appendix D: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the severity modifier. The tau was set to one, the beta was set to 0.9. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H.

APPENDIX E Appendix B: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the severity modifier. The tau was set to one, the beta was set to 0.1. The other parameters are the test values declared in Figure 3.

APPENDIX C

Appendix E: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the duration modifier. The beta was set to one, the tau was set to 0.1. The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H.

Appendix C: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the severity modifier. The tau was set to one, the beta was set

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APPENDIX F

Appendix F: The results of the model when run to evaluate the effects of changing the duration modifier.

The beta was set to one, the tau was set to 0.5.

The other parameters are the test values declared in Appendix H.

APPENDIX G APPENDIX I APPENDIX H

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THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICS ON DANCE COMPOSITION SOPHIE AMUNDSON Majors: Dance Class of 2022

ABOUT THE WORK It is human nature to want to understand the world around us and find an explanation for what being human means. At the beginning of civilization, it was the job of the artist to explore and explain the natural forces of the universe. As technology and scientific thinking began to develop, the arts were pushed aside to make way for the radical ideas of gravity and space. This separation has been ingrained in the minds of most. However, this disconnect is detrimental. Art and science still have the same common goal, to describe and explain the human experience. Art is made to create an emotional reaction and science can explain why this reaction occurs. So, as an artist and an academic, I decided to connect my love of dance composition to the principles of physics. The creation and composition of dance is a fascinating and complex subject that can be difficult to understand. Similarly, the principles of physics can feel out of reach to those whose minds are not wired for science and numbers. In this paper, I utilize examples of choreographic devices and completed works in conjunction with physics principles that assist and further the effectiveness of said devices. For example, through an abstracted use of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, a choreographer can create weight on a stage through the placement of dancers in space to create a narrative. A stage heavily populated with dancers on one side with an isolated dancer on the other side can affect the audience’s perception of the relationship of the dancers. Thus, a principle of physics creates a narrative element in dance composition. This paper can be used as both a guide for a choreographer to consider new ways to create and for an individual to gain a greater understanding of the connections between art and science.

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When pondering the aspects and elements of the human experience, there is often a disconnect in people’s minds between the theories and principles of science, and the practice and creation of art. This disconnect is detrimental because this is the common goal of art and science; to observe and explain life as humans experience it. Before the divergence of art and science through technology, this goal was described and explored in similar ways. For this study, the two specific areas discussed will be dance and physics.

Besides the obvious connection of the actual movements of dance being completely and totally reliant on the principles of physics, there is another tier of connection that is not usually apparent. This tier of connection relates to dance composition, the human experience of natural forces, and the perception of movement. Through the understanding of the principles of physics and the manipulation of natural forces such as time, space, and gravity, a choreographer possesses the ability to guide and shape an audience’s perception of their work and create a specific experience.

The natural forces dealt with in physics relate to dance composition both physically and metaphysically. Yes, determining the exact amount of energy and force needed to complete certain dance steps can be determined through physics, and can produce quantifiable and visual results. However, the way a choreographer manipulates the perception of time and space through movement relates to the use of physics to produce a narrative or emotional result. Space is not empty. Space can be bent and manipulated by a body with immense mass and thus affects our perception of that body.

A trampoline can be used to illustrate this concept. If you put a brick in the middle of the trampoline and a marble on the outer rim, the marble will be drawn inwards by the gravitational pull of the brick through the curved space it has created. We can see this in an abstracted way presented in dance. For example: a stage is heavily populated with dancers on the left side but with only one dancer on the right. This affects the audience’s perception of the movements done by the isolated dancer on the right. In terms of the example given, the gravitational and perceivable weight of a group of dancers creates an imbalanced stage which affects the way the dance is seen. In physics, this pull is a calculatable situation, whereas in a dance, this can be related to a narrative structure of weight. Acclaimed modern dance choreographer Merce Cunningham stated during a lecture in 1957 that “...[the] dancer can be in a particular point in space and then direct the body to any other point in the space. It is as though you are continually going from where you are, and not that you are relating to a downstage and an upstage or center stage. You are always the center, and so with each dancer if there is more than one” (Morgenroth page 380). Cunningham was one of the earliest modern dance choreographers to focus on the connections between scientific principles and dance composition. He broke away from the traditional form of a choreographic work by disconnecting the movement from the music and decentralizing the space. In most VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 57

works, the performance space is the steadfast central space with a specific and usually unchanging frontal focus. This was done to appease the paying audience. Cunningham discovered that decentralizing focus creates a forced or purposefully guided focus on elements that otherwise may not have been a focal point. Cunningham’s perspective on spatial relativity was influenced by the revolutionary work of Albert Einstein. Einstein’s general theory of relativity states that massive objects in space create a distortion in space-time which can be felt as gravity, and his special theory of relativity states that the “...laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers” (Redd, Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity). Cunningham took these theories and morphed them to fit his own ideas about the creation of dance. Through an understanding of Einstein’s theory of relativity, a choreographer can use the way a dance is composed, with regards to the different spatial positions of the dancers, to affect the way an audience sees and reacts to a dance. This relates back to the narrative ideas brought about by the elements of physics previously discussed. A stage heavily populated with dancers on only one side changes how the audience perceives the meaning of the work. The side populated with dancers could be interpreted as an oppressive group trying to crush the single dancer on the other side. Art and science are both based on pushing the limits of what people know, thus, “[the] innovative choreographer bends an audience’s experience of space through movement, and the groundbreaking physicist asks others to process the antiintuitive reality that length is not an unchanging constant. Both insist that the receiver question his or her position in relation to what is known” (Coates and Demers, Space page 136). So, an otherwise plotless work could suddenly become full of meaning just by utilizing the weight of the stage and a narrative-based understanding of Einstein’s general theory of relativity In both dance and physics the abstracted goal is to understand and unlock the secrets of what it is to be human. Physics uses formulas and theories to explain why things exist and affect humans the way they do, dance uses movement and expression to show how it feels to be human. New York based artist and educator Tobin Rothlein described this idea perfectly in an essay for Symmetry Magazine in 2008 stating: “Just as we artists continually break things down during rehearsal to reach some truth and simplicity in performance, physicists break down matter to discover simplicity and truth in the universe” (Rothlein, Physics tour inspires dance). The interconnectedness of dance and physics create a more complete understanding of human existence and understanding of how the natural forces of life interact and shape us. Since the beginning of human existence, art has been the key to how culture is embodied and a poetic description of natural forces in reaction the world. On the other side of this shared coin, “...physics probes those natural forces through theories, formulas, and diagrams. If we pull the 58 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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scientific and cultural views together, we might be able to construct a more complete picture of human existence.” (Coates and Demers, Force page 21). Physics principles tend to be less tangible and more abstract for most, dance takes these principles and puts them on show. Regarding the choreographic process, “...dance intensifies the physics, making it able to be perceived, felt, and imagined through an alternative way of knowing.” (Coates, pg. 10). If physics explains the existence and function of the world and dance explains how those things affect us and feel, then using physics principles to create dance pieces is the perfect combination.

One of the most powerful tools a choreographer has in their metaphorical tool belt when creating an artistic work, is the ability to alter the perception of movement.

This alteration can come in the form of time, expectations, gravitational orientation, etc. Altering the rate of perceived time passing during a specific movement or phrase, can achieve different results or reactions to the newly created product of the alteration.

This is because changing the amount of time something takes to occur changes how the action progresses which in turn affects how the movement is perceived on a visual and sensory level. When learning about the effect time has on movement perception, the first experiment done is usually to take a specific movement (such as a wave of the hand) and move as slowly as possible. Through this experiment the dancer learns how much time is too much time and how to drag out moments to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The dancer also learns that this can be very boring to observe and should be inter-cut with different tempos. Toying with perception of time in this way can have many different effects such as creating a dramatic build up in a work, pulling attention to a specific movement, etc. Merce Cunningham took this idea and, instead of a specific movement, applied it to the length of a dance phrase. He would begin with a group of dancers performing different phrases in the same space at the same time. Then, he would alter only some of the phrases timing in terms of general length and the length of specific movement which would either extend the phrase or shorten it. For example, if the original phrase was made to fill eight counts; he would alter it to now fill sixteen counts. Now when the dancers perform the phrases again, “[this] simple manipulation of time [changes] the movement quality, as well as the dancers’ pathways through space” (Coates and Demers, Time page 142). The next alteration discussed is the distortion of a normal or expected action. This distortion of normality causes the audience to experience said action in a new way. This usually makes an audience feel uncomfortable because it goes against a cultural and societal expectation that is ingrained within them. Sometimes, this distortion can lead to a feeling of awe and surprise. In the 1987 solo work “Caught” choreographed by David Parsons, this distortion is achieved through lighting effects. The highlight of the solo is a series of jumps during which a front light strobes on and off, only catching the dancer VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 59

at the height of their jump. While completing these jumps repeatedly, the dancer shifts side to side in the space, appearing to float across the stage. The audience gasps as each of the jumps are illuminated. The dancer performs an incredible feat of stamina and agility which for the most part remains unseen.

Changing how the audience perceives gravity can create a dream-like affect that makes normal actions seem foreign and odd action seem normal. For example, in the 2017 work “Dream Play” choreographed by Fernando Melo on the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet dance company, the dancers lay on the ground with a camera filming them from above. This video is then projected onto a screen for the audience to view in real time with the music and movement. The dancers then go through the choreography as they would in any other piece. They walk, sit in chairs, jump, and fly with ease.

The walking is off-putting at first because the dancer is laying on their side instead of standing. It gives the impression of a flip-book cartoon walking, not a living breathing human. As the piece continues, it begins to look more normal and the audience catches themselves almost forgetting the dancers are not standing up. However, the screen does not cover the dancers on stage. Thus, looking at the screen the dancer can be seen appearing to float and fly away, but looking down slightly, the dancer can be seen laying on their side on top of a small, wheeled platform being pulled by the other dancers allowing them to simply roll away. Another example of using gravity to affect the perception of movement is in “Man Walking Down the Side of a Building” (1970) choreographed by Trisha Brown. In this piece a dancer, while safely tethered, begins to walk down the side of a building. Due to the forces of gravity, the normal action of walking now looks foreign. Renowned dancer, choreographer, and author Emily Coates explains: “By reframing this daily action, Brown calls out gravity and its relationship to the human body in motion... [and] she makes visible the forces acting upon the body through off-center actions such as leaning, tipping, and falling, Brown is a roving experimental physicist” (Coates, page 10). Although this is an extreme example, gravity can be utilized in a similar fashion to add an unexpected creative twist or a feeling of suspense in an otherwise standard work. In the Royal Ballet’s interpretation of The Nutcracker choreographed by Peter Wright the Sugar Plum fairy adagio pas de deux, which is the ballet term for a slow duet, danced by the Sugar Plum fairy and her Prince contains many suspenseful moments using gravity. For example, there is a moment where the ballerina is holding her partner’s hand while standing on one leg on her toes in pointe shoes with the other leg extended in front of her. Then, she lets go of her partner and lifts her chest to the sky as she starts to fall backwards. It is her partner’s job to gracefully shift his position from her front to her side and catch her smoothly. But he must wait the perfect amount of time to do so for the audience to see the ballerina reach her highest apex before she begins to succumb to gravity, all while 60 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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making sure she doesn’t fall to the floor. The ballerina also must remain calm and trust that her partner will catch her, no matter what. Although a relatively simple partnering maneuver, it can be thrilling to observe if done properly.

The act of applying physics principles to dance composition is a standard practice that is not typically thought of as what it truly is- a science experiment. Dancers and physicists both utilize natural forces such as the perception of time, space, and gravity to further our understanding and experience of the natural world. Through this furthered understanding and experience, new ways of perceiving our environment and selves are brought forward. Our culture relies on the arts and sciences to explain and express the meaning of human life and this conjunction through dance composition is just the first step in expanding the possibilities of creation. Actively thinking about these principles of physics while choreographing a dance gives a choreographer a useful guide to create a specific reaction or experience through manipulation of different natural forces. Physicists are dancers and dancers are physicists, both on a never-ending journey to explain and describe the human experience.

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THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF FUTURE FITNESS TRAINERS: INCREASING EXERCISE ADHERENCE IN APPLIED EXERCISE SETTINGS ABDULLAH HASS ALHASASNEH Major: Communications Class of 2021

ABOUT THE WORK When I first began offering personal training services at premier apartment buildings in featuring an exclusive, quality fitness center for its residents to use, there was little doubt in me that property managers or its front desk concierge reps would deny free fitness classes? Under certain and appropriate circumstances, this made it an accessible commodity among apartment building residents who have never experienced a top-tier personal training service, especially at the convenience, and security, of their apartment fitness center.

As I came to realize later, the appraisal and re-appraisal of my offerings set created concerns in the liabilities inherent in rigorous physical training programs, potential negligent activity by myself or one of my other trainers, and the language I used to explain the training service (i.e. too high-intense), consequently, resulted in apartment property managers withholding my company’s training services at its property.

The theoretical frameworks popularized by Everett M. Rogers in his latest edition of Diffusion of Innovations (2003) and the social principles proposed by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green in its theoretical interpolations of Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (2013) augmented the scope and application of my research into the social and cultural logistics that seek to explain the nuances of peer-to-peer networks that promotes an adherence to exercise in applied settings.

Jenkins et. al. states, in explaining the appraisal process, material is shared by its adaptability to different conditions and its ability to be adjusted. Thus, the adaptability of apartment building gyms designed to promote new ways of working out, allowing occupants the opportunity to attain their health goals whilst in the home place. Mobile personal trainers adjust their workplace environment from corporate and independent gyms to fulfill a wide range of needs and motivations to support health and wellbeing of its communities.

In revision of this scholarship, in reaching to a larger audience, I began creating keywords and phrases that would appeal to the masses of residents who had a longing or nostalgia of coming to the gym regularly. I learned when interviewing resident-clients before, during, and after free personal training sessions that everybody would have different reasons when it came to why they wanted to work out but would rarely, if any, come to the gym; actually very many different reasons. This revision in scholarship explains the steady stream of material that influence the adoption and maintenance of exercise behavior and its impact in an applied exercise setting.

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I. INTRODUCTION A. BACKGROUND Today, in an era marked by chronic diseases, our physical spaces have exposed us to unhealthy behaviors and continue to influence lifestyles that contribute to diabetes, coronary vascular disease, and asthma, the leading cause of death in the United States.1 Low levels of physical activity, like many other lifestyle activities, are strongly correlated with cancers, impaired psychological status, functional bone and muscle deficiencies, and decreased life expectancy.2 Furthermore, only 26.2 % of adults engaged in activities qualified as a sufficient-level of physical activity.14 It is estimated that 50% of adults who adopt an exercise program will discontinue it well within the first six months15, making exercise adherence a critical issue.

The personal and social costs of a lack of exercise and fitness are magnified in dense urban areas. Personal fitness trainers can greatly shape the design and social constructs of cities and suburbs in ways that improve its environmental health, urban sprawl and changes in lifestyles, health, and wellbeing.10 Personal fitness trainers play a tremendous role in motivating and providing the structure, accountability, and wherewithal needed in creating and developing lifestyles that encourages health on an individual-by-individual basis. Plenty of research has suggested the qualities and competencies needed to be effective exercise leaders; however, although exercise adherence research has identified several determinants in explaining the adoption and maintenance of exercise behavior15, very few, if any, findings have sought to discover its impact in an applied exercise setting.

B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Essentially, all one has to do to become a “certified” trainer is to pay a fee, take an exam, and most fitness facilities will hire the individual regardless of the type of certification. As with most commercial industries, the quality of the product is often positively related to the cost. Thus, the lower-cost certification programs often lack the rigor and validity of the more expensive programs, such as ACSM and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) program. However, because the industry is not regulated, fitness facilities are not obligated to hire staff possessing any specific type of certification or license and will typically hire low-cost personal trainers when possible. Therefore, increasing the potential for low-quality exercise leaders practicing in fitness facilities and the subsequent potential effects on the client: lack of proper instruction, negative physical activity experience, injury, and the negative VOLUME 30 / 2020-2021 | 63

health effects associated with low exercise adherence (e.g., obesity prevalence). This requires training and keeping current with new research; otherwise, injury, ineffective programs, and client drop-out will result.

C. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH It is unknown to what degree these qualities are practiced in community fitness facilities and furthermore, very little research exists investigating the skills/qualities needed to be an effective exercise leader, particularly from the perspective of practicing and/or studying personal trainers. Therefore, this study will ask students studying and practicing to become exercise leaders what qualities and credentials they thought were important to be effective and successful personal trainers using a grounded approach on (1) physique, (2) proper knowledge and instruction, and (3) social interaction.

The following literature will seek to identify the impact future fitness trainers, from undergraduate exercise-related degree programs, have in understanding and demonstrating affective qualities and competencies necessary in increasing exercise adherence among at-risk health populations at apartment buildings featuring an onsite gym facility in Washington, D.C. II. METHODS A. APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM The approach will consist of a focus group to examine the overarching question, “What qualities/competencies are important to be a successful personal trainer?” The data presented here will represent a consensus reached via thorough discussions among participants with expertise in weight training, personal training, exercise physiology, health behavior, and qualitative research methods. Free personal training sessions (2) will be offered to the residents of an apartment building community with an on-site fitness center in Washington, D.C. Additionally, as an analysis, the residents/clients will be sent a short survey asking for feedback on their experience with their personal training session, as well as suggestions and/or any additions or omissions they would like to see in the future of personal training.

B. PARTICIPANTS Participants include 12 personal trainers (M age = 21 years old; range 19 to 23 years old). With respect to gender, 50% (n = 6) of the trainers will be women with 64 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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college education. In terms of having a certification, all of the trainers will have a firm grounding in college education that will lead to certifications from either ACSM or NSCA. With regards to the number of years the participants have been personal training, the majority will have 0-1+ years of experience.

C. PROCEDURES All participants will be recruited through invitations and postings made available through emails and advertisements calling on all Kinesiology majors at George Mason Universities Prince William Campus (PWC). Volunteers will then be mailed a packet that includes (1) a demographic information sheet, including name, address, age, occupation, education, and credentials questions; (2) an informed consent form, explaining that the participants will first, be interviewed as part of a focus group and then asked to return for a practicum; and (3) a list of questions that would be discussed prior to the meeting. Having the questions beforehand will allow the participants to reflect on the questions ahead of time, organize their thoughts, and expedite the focus group discussion. The investigation will initially screen and then conduct a focus group to examine the overarching questions, “What qualities and characteristics are important to be a successful personal trainer?” The results from the focus group interview will offer compatibility with the qualitative research paradigm, opportunity for direct contact with client subjects, and the advantages afforded to group formats8. The following investigation will be conducted at apartment building gyms in Washington, D.C. vetted through Hassle-Free Therapy – an apartment gym personal training group based in Washington, D.C. D. ROLE OF THE INVESTIGATOR The primary investigator will be a nationally certified personal fitness trainer with well over 10 years of experience. He is a Certified Exercise Physiologist (EPC) with the American Society of Exercise Physiologists, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He also develops group exercise instruction programs with a focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) techniques. He currently owns and operates a personal fitness training enterprise in Washington, D.C. called HassleFree Therapy (HFT, Est.2013), where he has cultivated, developed, and maintained close relationships with both clients and personal trainers employed as contractors under HFT and is very familiar with the issues surrounding this profession.

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E. FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS Participants who agree to participate will be given a list of these questions that would be discussed prior to the inception of focus group meetings: 1. Why did you decide to become a personal fitness trainer?

2. What attracted you to seek personal fitness training as a field of study and future career?

3. Where or how do you imagine working as a personal trainer? What would be important to you in deciding where to work?

4. What characteristics kept you from switching out of the universities undergraduate kinesiology program?

5. What qualifications, do you believe, a personal fitness trainer should have? a. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s what you perceive as qualifying to your standards. If you still do not know, how do you know that you are getting what you paid for? b. Does it matter if personal fitness trainers have certifications? c. Do you know which certifications are the most respected? d. If you knew that not all trainers had a nationally recognized certification, how would you feel about that?

6. H ave you observed or experienced any unethical behavior with a personal fitness trainer? a. If yes, what was the nature of this behavior? b. Even if you have not experienced it, what do you consider to be un-ethical?

Again, this is what you hold to be negative behavior or not appropriate to your sociocultural values or belief system.

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“Torture and Abuse in Interrogation.” B’Tselem. Accessed on October 9, 2020. https://www.btselem. org/torture.

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A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: #METOO, NARI MOVEMENTS AND THE PRICE OF NEOLIBERALIST FEMINISM by

HAILEY RASTRELLI

Banet-Weiser, S., Gill, R., & Rottenberg, C. (2019). Postfeminism, popular feminism and neoliberal feminism? Sarah Banet-Weiser, Rosalind Gill and Catherine Rottenberg in conversation. Feminist Theory, 21(1), 3-24. doi:10.1177/1464700119842555 Beam, Myrl. (2014). Compassion, Community, Capital, and Crisis: Neoliberalism and the NonProfitization of Queer Social Movements. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, http://hdl.handle.net/11299/177068.

Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 611-639. doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.611 Das, A. K. (2016). Case Study: From #destroythejoint to Far-Reaching Digital Activism— Feminist Revitalization Stemming from Social Media and Rea. Civic Media. doi:10.7551/ mitpress/9970.003.0024 Donegan, M. (2018, May 11). How #MeToo Revealed the Central Rift Within Feminism Today.

Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/11/howmetoo-revealed-the-central-rift-within-feminism-social-individualist Eisenstein, Z. (2017, January 12). Hillary Clinton’s Imperial Feminism. Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/hillary-clintons-imperial-feminism/ Fraser, N. (2016). Progressive Neoliberalism versus Reactionary Populism: A Choice that Feminists Should Refuse. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 24(4), 281-284. doi:1 0.1080/08038740.2016.1278263 Jones, C. (2019, January 30). When will MeToo become WeToo? Some say voices of black women, working class left out. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.usatoday.com/ story/money/2018/10/05/metoo-movement-lacks-diversity-blacks-working-class-sexualharassment/1443105002/ McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (1977). Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory. American Journal of Sociology, 82(6), 1212-1241.

Mohanty, C. T. (1984). Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses. Duke University Press, 12(3), on Humanism and the University I: The Discourse of Humanism., 333358.

Moitra, A., Hassan, N., Bhuiyan, M., & Ahmed, S. I. (2020, January). Understanding the Challenges for Bangladeshi Women to Participate in #MeToo Movement. Association for Computing Machinery, 4, 1-25. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1145/3375195 Ulus, E. (2018). White fantasy, white betrayals: On neoliberal ‘feminism’ in the US presidential 70 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

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MODELING THE EFFECTS OF DEHYDRATION ON CELLULAR GROWTH AND WOUND REPAIR by

EMMA DANDO

1. J. C. Arciero, Q. Mi, M. F. Branca, D. J. Hackam, D. Swigon, “Continuum Model of Collective Cell Migration in Wound Healing and Colony Expansion,” Biophys J., vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 535543, Feb. 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2010.11.083.

2. C. Ziraldo, Q. Mi, G. An, Y. Vodovotz, “Computational Modeling of Inflammation and Wound Healing,” Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle), vol. 2, no. 9, pp. 527-537, Nov. 2013, doi: 10.1089/ wound.2012.0416.

3. S.G.D. Hegarty-Cremera, M.J. Simpson, T.L. Andersen, P. R. Buenzli. “Modelling cell guidance and curvature control in evolving biological tissues.” bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.

1101/2020.07.10.197020v1 (accessed Sep 17, 2020).

4. I. Lorenzo, M. Serra-Prat, J. C. Yébenes, “The Role of Water Homeostasis in Muscle Function and Frailty: A Review,” Nutrients, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 1875, Aug. 2011, doi: 10.3390/nu11081857.

5. K. Ousey, K. F. Cutting, A. A. Rogers, M. G. Rippon, “The importance of hydration in wound healing: reinvigorating the clinical perspective,” J Wound Care, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 124-130, doi: 10.12968/jowc.2016.25.3.122.

6. D. Périard, A. H. Tammam, M. W. Thompson, “Skeletal Muscle Strength and Endurance are Maintained during Moderate Dehydration,” Int J Sports Med, vol. 33, no. 8, pp. 607-612, Apr. 2012.

7. Mayo Clinic “Dehydration.” Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086 (accessed Sep 20, 2020).

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10. M. Collier, “Understanding Wound Inflammation,” Nursing Times, vol. 99, no. 25, pp. 63.

11. N. I. Dmitrieva, M. B. Burg, “Elevated Sodium and Dehydration Stimulate Inflammatory Signaling in Endothelial Cells and Promote Atherosclerosis,” PLOS ONE, vol. 10, no. 6. doi: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0128870.

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12. H. M. Logan‐Sprenger; G. J.F. Heigenhauser; G. L. Jones, L. L. Spreit, “The effect of dehydration on muscle metabolism and time trial performance during prolonged cycling in males,” ProQuest, vol. 3, no. 8, Aug, 2015, doi: 10.14814/phy2.12483.

13. N. A. Shaheen, A. A. Alqahtani, H. Assiri, R. Alkhodair, M. A. Hussein, “Public knowledge of dehydration and fluid intake practices: variation by participants’ characteristics” BMC Public Health, Dec. 2018, https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-0186252-5 (accessed Oct, 20, 2020).

14. A. Cho, L. Mitchell, D. Koopmans, B. L. Langille, “Effects of Changes in Blood Flow Rate on Cell Death and Cell Proliferation in Carotid Arteries of Immature Rabbits,” Circulation Research, vol.

81, no. 3, pp. 328-337, Sep. 1997, doi: 10.1161/01.RES.81.3.328.

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THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICS ON DANCE COMPOSITION by

SOPHIE AMUNDSON

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. “Dream Play.” Vimeo, 2017, Dream Play.

Coates, Emily. “The Poetics of Physics in Dance.” PAJ: A Journal of Performance & Art, vol. 39, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 7–21. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1162/PAJJ_a_00360.

Coates, Emily, and Sarah Demers. “Force”, “Space”, “Time” Physics and Dance. Yale University Press, 2019. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8jnzz0. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

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MORGENROTH, JOYCE. “PHYSICS IN PERFORMANCE: THREE CHOREOGRAPHIC ADAPTATIONS.” Dance Chronicle, vol. 33, no. 3, 2010, pp. 353–387., www.jstor.org/ stable/29777210. Accessed 19 Oct. 2020.

Productions, Suspension. “Parsons Dance - Caught (Ian Spring) - Joyce, NYC - 1/23/16.” Vimeo, 23 Jan. 2016, https://vimeo.com/161029541.

Redd, Nola Taylor. “Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.” Space.com, Space, 7 Nov. 2017, www. space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html.

Rothlein, Tobin. “Tobin Rothlein: Physics Tour Inspires Dance.” Symmetry Magazine, 2008, www. symmetrymagazine.org/article/marchapril-2008/essay-tobin-rothlein.

Royal Ballet. “The Nutcracker – Sugar Plum Pas De Deux: Adagio (Nuñez, Muntagirov, The Royal Ballet).” YouTube, Royal Opera House, 26 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy6dlGpC3Ns.

THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF FUTURE FITNESS TRAINERS: INCREASING EXERCISE ADHERENCE IN APPLIED EXERCISE SETTINGS by

ABDULLAH HASS ALHASASNEH

1. Centers for Disease Control [Internet]. Physical activity and health [cited 2010 Sept 15]. Available from: <http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/pdf/execsumm.pdf>.

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4. Ratamass, N.A., Faigenbaum, A.D., Hoffman, J.R., & Kang, J. (2008). Self-selected resistance training intensity in healthy women: The influence of a personal trainer. J Strength Cond Res, 22(1): 103-111.

5. Melton, D., Dail, T.K., Katula, J.A., & Mustian, K.M. [in press]. The current state of personal training: Managers’ perspectives. J Strength Cond Res. 6. McGuire, A.M., Anderson, D.F., & Trail, G. (2009). Examination of consumer differences on the importance and satisfaction with fitness service attributes. Int J Sport Mgmt, 10(1): 102-119.

7. King, A.C., Stokols, D., Talen, E., Brassington, G.S., & Killingsworth, R. (2002). Theoretical approaches to the promotion of physical activity: Forging a transdisciplinary paradigm. Am J Prev Med, 23(Suppl 2): 15-25.

8. Vaughn, S., Schumm, J.S., & Sinagub, J. (1996). Focus group interviews in education and psychology. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

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9. Rubin, J.H. & Rubin, S.I. (2012). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. 10. Rao, M., Prasad, S., Adshead, F., and Tissera, H. (2007, 09). The Built Environment and Health.

The Lancelet, 370(9593), 1111–1113; Retrieved from DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S01406736(07)61260-4 11. Perdue, W.C., JD, Stone, L.A., JD, and Gostin, L.O., JD, LLD (Hon) (2003, 09). The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public’s Health: The Legal Framework. Am J Public Health, 93(9), 1390-1394. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447979/ 12. Rogers, E.M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations: Fifth Edition. Free Press, New York, NY 13. Centers for Disease Control [Internet]. Prevalence of physical activity, including lifestyle activities among adults [cited 2016 Oct 19]. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/mm5232a2.htm 14. Smith, C.L., and Storandt, M. (1997). Physical Activity Participation in Older Adults: A Comparison of Competitors, Noncompetitors, and Nonexercisers. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 5, 98-110. Retrieved from: https://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/ Documents/DocumentItem/1630.pdf 15. King AC, Stokols D, Talen E, Brassington GS, Killingsworth R. Theoretical approaches to the promotion of physical activity: forging a transdisciplinary paradigm. Am J Prev Med. 2002; 23(Suppl 2):15–25. [PubMed: 12133734]

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FACULTY GUIDE GMR IN THE CLASSROOM The George Mason Review (GMR) provides prime examples of undergraduate scholarship that can be used to teach students about the characteristics of good research writing, inspire them to explore new ideas, and provide a sense of personal confidence that results from publishing their work for a campus-wide audience of peers and professors.

Exposing students to the work of their counterparts can act as a mirror, reflecting undiscovered personal potential. Incorporating GMR into your classroom can take many forms: develop a lesson plan around analyzing one of our published works; utilize the concepts and ideas contained in these pages as a brainstorming tool for students unsure of what topic to explore; offer extra credit to students who submit their work for publication; or come up with your own innovative application.

MAKE GMR THE ASSIGNMENT Some professors have found success in raising student achievement by making submission to GMR a course requirement. Students who write with a wide and diverse potential audience in mind tend to put more thought into their work, leading to improved academic outcomes and higher levels of critical thinking. This is a valuable exercise in producing a paper that is accessible to those from varying backgrounds without comprising academic integrity. Knowledge that your work will be publicly available can be a powerful motivator, and publication in an academic journal is a great addition to any résumé or portfolio.

G E T T I N G S TA R T E D Mason’s INTO program, the English Department, and UNIV 100 classes have used GMR in a variety of ways. We would be happy to make a brief presentation to your class or meet with you one-on-one to create a tailored approach that complements your curriculum.

GMR is always available online: www.gmreview.gmu.edu To request physical copies, email: gmreveiw@gmu.edu

76 | THE GEORGE MASON REVIEW

FACULTY GUIDE

N OT E F R O M T H E A DV I S O R The George Mason Review (GMR) began life as “an annual collection of English 101 and undergraduate writing” in 1992, publishing under the name GMU Freshman Review. That first edition’s introduction reveals the motivations of its creators as they sought to “create a sense of community by publishing work that reflects the cultural and academic quality of GMU’s undergraduate population.” Their clear intent was to present “models of writing” that could serve as a “learning tool that crosses the curriculum” for both faculty and students: “We want this anthology to help undergraduate writers with what seems to be one of their biggest difficulties — generating ideas and just getting started… When students know their work is being taken seriously beyond the classroom, they may very well aspire to a whole new set of standards and, with purpose and focus, aim at the highest quality possible in their writing… Instructors can find in the collection a sense of what to prepare themselves for and what kind of standards they should set for themselves and their classes… We hope that the essays are useful — whether you are ‘stuck’ [on an assignment] or an instructor looking to show your students how a research paper ‘works.’”

Nearly 30 years later, our mission remains the same: seek out and publish exemplary undergraduate writing across the curriculum with the conviction that students grow as scholars by publishing their work for a campus-wide audience and faculty members gain a valuable classroom tool that can help improve academic outcomes.

Since those early days as a freshman English anthology, GMR has evolved into a modern, peer-reviewed, undergraduate research journal that accepts scholarly submissions from all years and all majors. By exploring and challenging the boundaries separating disciplines from one other — the humanities from the sciences, the academic from the creative — The George Mason Review exists as a unique platform where scholarship, creativity, and critical thought can co-exist.

Mason has experienced rapid evolution as an institution over the past several decades, but the lodestar that has guided us through each step (or leap) along the way is our shared commitment to academic excellence, meaningful innovation, and cuttingedge research. The George Mason Review embodies each of these noble pursuits while providing all Mason undergrads with opportunities and experiences that pave the way for greatness in the classroom and prepare them for successful careers in the future.

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I am extremely proud to serve the Mason community as the faculty advisor for GMR and continue the rich traditions established by that first cohort of educators who recognized the need for this type of forum and made it a reality. Participation is vital to our continued growth as an academic journal, so I strongly encourage all students to submit original work for publication and all faculty members to consider integrating GMR into their curriculum.

Please feel free to reach out directly to me (jhartsel@gmu.edu) with any questions you may have, requests for extra copies of GMR, or to share examples of how you have utilized our publication in your classroom.

Reflecting on the history and evolution of this journal has only strengthened my belief in its value and purpose; I look forward to collaborating with the outstanding students, faculty, and staff of George Mason University to share the amazing things we accomplish together with the world.

Sincerely, Jason Hartsel Faculty Advisor

LARGEST CLASSROOM on CAMPUS the

Student Media offers Mason students the opportunity to directly apply academic skills in a hands-on environment, and we believe that faculty collaboration is integral to our mission of student success.

Here are just a few of the ways faculty members can partner with Student Media: üS TUDIO RENTALS — Reserve one of our state-of-the-art radio studios for interviews or student projects (ISDN-equipped). üo nMASON.com — Utilize our free online blogging platform in the classroom for student portfolio projects or to post writing assignments for group discussion. üC LASS VISITS — Schedule a class visit so your students can learn about exciting media opportunities available to them. ü FOR-CREDIT OPTIONS — Help students earn internship credit through one of our 12 unique media groups or encourage

them to submit original work for credit. üS AMPLE CONTENT — Use content from one of our scholarly or literary journals as source material for readings or critiques. üC O-CURRICULAR COURSES — Refer s tudents to one of our five 1-credit courses offered through Mason’s Communication Department: C OMM 347 (Cable TV) C OMM 148/348 (Radio I & II) C OMM 145/345 (Newspaper I & II) ü R ECOMMEND A STUDENT ü S ERVE AS A CONTEST JUDGE

CONTACT US TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN BECOME A STUDENT MEDIA PARTNER:

703.993.9745 stumedia@gmu.edu The Hub Suite 1201, MS 2C5 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030

st ude nt m e di a .gm u .e du