College Matters. Alma Matters. · Venkat Raman

NCUR 2024 Undergraduate Research Stories Part 1: Education, Voting, and Changing Neighborhoods.

·27 min·2 clips

Lucas Walk saw segregation firsthand between two high schools only five miles apart in Pennsylvania.

Host Venkat Raman interviews three undergraduate researchers from the 2024 National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Lucas Walk, Sriman Thangarajan, and Willem Flogger each present projects examining societal inequities. Lucas Walk is a 31-year-old senior historical studies and education major from Moravian University. He wrote a 112-page honors thesis linking systemic racism to educational funding inequities in Pennsylvania's Lehigh County. His research focused on how reliance on local property taxes creates a cycle of poverty, tracing this to historical practices like redlining. Walk found that the 1954 Brown v. Board decision lacked lasting enforcement mechanisms, which he argues detrimentally affected student success. His paper led to a job offer from the advocacy group Education Voters of Pennsylvania. Sriman Thangarajan is a senior political science student at American University studying cumulative voting as a tool for minority representation. He analyzed cases from Illinois, Texas, and New York where this system allows voters multiple votes to allocate among candidates. His research indicated cumulative voting improved minority representation when combined with majority-minority districts. Thangarajan concluded successful implementation requires a solid, sustained coalition-building foundation to ensure the system functions as intended. Willem Flogger, a fifth-year music education major from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, photographed gentrification and segregation in Milwaukee's Harambee and River West neighborhoods. His project aimed to personify census data by combining photography with community interviews. Residents discussed the mixed impacts of developments like the "Department Alley" apartment project, citing both support for local businesses and increased community disconnect. Flogger plans to compile his work into a book and continue documenting these neighborhoods annually. A surprising insight is that a 31-year-old former music teacher found his professional niche through researching educational inequities. Thangarajan's work suggests alternative voting systems can foster political coalitions that last beyond a single election cycle. Flogger's approach revealed that raw census data can sometimes paint an inaccurate picture of a community compared to direct human stories. Walk's experience demonstrates undergraduate research can directly lead to advocacy employment, bypassing a traditional teaching career. Thangarajan emphasizes the importance of presenting complex policy research in a digestible manner for public audiences. Flogger discovered that street photography requires specific interpersonal skills to approach strangers and transform everyday scenes into compelling art. The episode maintains an educational and conversational tone, structured around direct interviewer questions. It highlights personal student journeys and the practical applications of academic research. Listeners interested in education policy, political reform, or community-based art would find this episode engaging. Those seeking highly produced audio or deeply technical academic debate might find the on-location recording less polished.

As heard by us

Three undergraduate researchers turn a live NCUR conversation into a clear, grounded look at inequity.

College Matters, Alma Matters opens on NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California, and keeps its focus where it should be: on three undergraduate researchers and the questions behind their work.

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Three student researchers turn inequity-focused projects into clear, practical stories.

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