Communication

This qualitative study analyzes how college Resident Assistants communicate with their residents, based on whether the residents are underclassmen or upperclassmen. The study specifically considers how RAs balance leadership responsibilities and peer egalitarian relationships with those residents. To answer this question, I held two focus groups with a total of five RAs at a small, Christian liberal arts university. Through coding, I discovered five common themes RAs mentioned: Getting to know people and building relationships, setting boundaries, the resident’s independence, adaptability, and respect. The findings highlight how RAs can approach these five themes, based upon both individual resident need and whether they are an RA for under or upper-classmen.

Key Words: Qualitative, Resident Assistant, Leadership, Peers, Building Relationships

Although many individuals have to navigate life with dietary restrictions in mind, this population still goes unseen in many spaces. This research utilizes the Communication Theory of Identity to answer the question, “How do dietary restrictions affect individuals’ abilities to connect with others in a Christian college setting?” To answer this question, students in focus groups shared how their dietary restrictions affect their personal identity, as well as their enacted, relational, and communal identities. The results showed that participants’ personal identities often feel affected negatively through drawing unwanted attention to themselves or feeling like a burden in interactions. Externally, participants utilize humor and topic avoidance in social settings to minimize awkwardness or frustration. 

This research project examines how our religious and political beliefs affect the way we perceive faith and politically based media. According to Reader Response Theory, we all filter media through our own beliefs, values, and biases to form our own unique understanding. So how do our religious beliefs and political perspectives shape how we consume media? Using the advertisement titled “The Rebel” from the He Gets Us campaign, this study demonstrates, through quantitative survey results, that individuals with more liberal beliefs and a lower faith importance tend to have higher opinions of faith and politically based media like the He Gets Us advertisements. However, those with higher faith importance are more willing to share the advertisements with nonbelievers. Keywords: Reader Response Theory, media, religious beliefs, political beliefs, consumers, He Gets Us