“I go to a crazy competitive HS and I hate it”: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis of High School Competitive Suffering Using Reddit

“Competitive suffering” describes a situation in which one student shares their suffering with a peer and instead of being met with compassion, advice, or just listening, that peer decides to one-up their peer’s suffering by claiming that they suffer more. Though talked about extensively on social media, in blogs, and conversationally, competitive suffering has not been defined or studied scientifically. The goal of this thesis was to conduct exploratory research on competitive suffering using a qualitative approach. To get a broad spectrum of participants, I collected data through the Reddit forum “r/highschool” and used reflexive thematic analysis to analyze the text of 32 posts. Through this, suffering in a high school context was operationalized and four themes were identified and discussed: Quantifiable Reason for Suffering, Helplessness, Attribution, and Motivation for Posting. From there, a theoretical model for competitive suffering was created. Implications include working towards providing school counselors and teachers a greater understanding of competition culture, a deeper understanding of the suffering of high school students, communication to students that mistakes are recoverable, high school students opting for compassion, not competition, between each other, and conducting further research on competitive suffering

Minimal Generating Set of an Integer Cone

Given any two nonnegative integer points in the real plane, we consider all the integer points in their conical hull. We then find the unique minimal generating set of these points under coordinate-wise addition. In the process, we use negative continued fractions the approximate the slopes of the lines through the origin and these two points

Ophelia: A Prism (2023) Image 05

Ophelia: A PrismFebruary 2-5, 2023 Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College By Mieko Gavia \u2711Directed by H. Harvey \u2711https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_ophelia/1004/thumbnail.jp

Stonewallin\u27 (2023) Image 02

Stonewallin\u27April 13-16, 2023Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College Written and directed by Kari Barclayhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_stonewallin/1001/thumbnail.jp

Stonewallin\u27 (2023) Image 16

Stonewallin\u27April 13-16, 2023Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College Written and directed by Kari Barclayhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_stonewallin/1015/thumbnail.jp

Structure Theorems for Distributions and Tempered Distributions

In this paper, we prove the structure theorems for the space of compactly supported distributions (E′(R)), distributions (D′(R)), and tempered distributions (S′(R)). We introduce a notion of antiderivative defined on the distribution class D′(R), and use the Riesz representation theorem to show that each element of space E′(R) can be written as a derivative of a distribution generated by a continuous function. Then, we show that the result for E′(R) may be extended to the spaces D′(R) and S′(R) with some modifications. For D′(R), we extend our conclusion about E′(R) via a partition of unity. For S′(R), we modify the definition of the distributional antiderivative, based on which we prove that each element of the space S′(R) can be written as a derivative of a tempered distribution generated by a polynomially bounded continuous function

Birdcage: A Story of Generational Trauma and Trying to Be Better

Birdcage is a play that dives into how every member of the Guerrero Family deals with generational trauma and the pressures that come from it. The play takes place over several years and shows a spectrum of responses from those unwilling to change their perspective to those who are very open to change. The thesis paper goes into detail about the writing process as well as the set design if a formal production of this piece were ever done

The Standing History of Afro-Diasporic Traditions In Trinidad & Tobago

Through Afrocentrism and Creolization, this project examines redefinitions of the narratives of Caribbean people. As a pannist of Trinidadian descent, I bridge gaps between practitioners, scholars, and intellectuals outside of the academy and explore Caribbean narratives through a more nuanced perspective. In the African Diaspora, many forms of music and physical expression embody liberation, emancipation, and resistance. In Trinidad, these forms manifest in rich traditions such as carnival, spiritual shouter practices, stick fighting, and the creation of steel pans. These forms make it possible to see the effects and consequences of Afro-Trinidadians negotiating communal and private space under British colonial rule. Analyzing African Diasporic traditions enables the understanding of effects of power, privilege, and oppression in the continuum of slavery and settler colonialism. My research uses textual, musicological, and ethnographic analysis of the development of African Diasporic traditions in Trinidad & Tobago. Investigating the roots of the mentioned traditions from enslavement onwards allows for a detailed mapping of anti-colonial and revolutionary efforts in Trinidad & Tobago in a way that uplifts and respects the intellectualism of diverse populations and forms of expression

Multi-abled Community in a Precarious World: Living, Funding, and Caring in Camphill Village

Camphill is a multi-abled intentional community located in upstate New York. I lived and worked there for eight months during the pandemic, and I returned in October of 2022 to conduct interviews with Camphill residents about their experiences in the community. Grounded in these interviews as well as precarity, care, and disability studies scholarship, my thesis uplifts Camphill\u27s multi-abled practices of living that render binaries between disability and ability largely irrelevant to life at Camphill. I uplift these practices of living and being in their wholeness, while also revealing how Camphill contends with the imminent threat of the re-inscription of these binaries in the form of state-mandated documentation and bureaucracy. This thesis argues that new systems of funding–ones that let communities self-determine how they care for, talk about, and live with each other–are necessary to create spaces like Camphill where people of all dis/abilities are able to, as Judith Butler says, “live and live well” (“Bodies Matter” 52:57)

Why Does Propaganda Succeed? Using Cognitive Linguistics to Analyze White Supremacist Propaganda and its Features in American Politics

This presentation seeks to analyze the use of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the Strict Father framework in alt-right propaganda. First, I will detail definitions of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the Strict Father Framework, as proposed by George Lakoff and Mark Turner. The Strict Father framework comes out of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, which posits that metaphors become ingrained as conceptual once they are conventionalized in our daily speech. Because metaphors become ingrained in the mind, when they are taken up by bad actors they can be used to persuade someone towards a particular position, often without them knowing. Using an alt-right propaganda novel as a case study, I will examine the use of the Strict Father framework in political messaging. By taking a historical approach to provide context and situate the novel in the contemporary political moment, I found that Strict Father frameworks were readily apparent, contributing to the novel\u27s persuasive success. The novel’s use of metaphor frameworks has resulted in tangible, real-world effects, from the Oklahoma City bombing to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Future research should focus on how to harness conceptual metaphor frameworks in order to increase the efficacy of progressive messaging