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Four Top Students to Present at Alpha Chi Convention

Four of Belmont University's top students have been selected to make presentations at the Alpha Chi Region III Convention, April 1-3, 2004, in Nashville.

Students and faculty sponsors from 35 colleges and universities in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and Mississippi, will gather in Nashville at the Alpha Chi National Honor Scholarship Society’s Region III Convention at the Embassy Suites Hotel.

The Alpha Chi Region III Convention is known for being an outstanding student-centered conference that provides valuable experience and showcases undergraduate research, says Dr. Jonathan L. Thorndike, associate pofessor in the Belmont University Honors Program and assistant director of the Belmont University Teaching Center. Belmont's chapter of Alpha Chi has selected four student speakers to make presentations at the convention:

Amy McMinn will present Bird of Ill Omen: The Raven Image and Poe's Poem. The essay examines the biology and history of the raven in culture and literature and discusses Poe's classic poem in light of extra-literary research.

Rachel Stutts will present Domestic Violence Policy. The essay will provide an intensive look at the mandatory arrest policies of American police departments and the policy's impact on victims, perpetrators, and the Criminal Justice System.

Jenny Holtslander will present The McDonaldization of Religion. The essay applies George Ritzer's (University of Maryland) sociological research on The McDonaldization of Society to an unlikely institution: the American Christian church. The essay explores the growing emphasis on efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman technology, and control over uncertainty as threatening to overtake relational and spiritual values.

Trisha Stephens will present Archetypes in The Sun Also Rises. The essay explains how Hemingway's novel parallels European mythology of the Grail quest and how the novel's protagonist, Jake Barnes, resembles the Fisher King archetype.

Alpha Chi membership is the highest academic honor awarded by Belmont University. Its requirements are to be in the top 10 percent academically of all students, and to be of junior or senior class rank. Alpha Chi members are nominated by the faculty and must have "outstanding moral character" and display leadership, integrity, and service. Alpha Chi seeks to find ways to assist student in "making scholarship effective for good."

Posted by the Office of University Marketing & Communications, March 2, 2004

    Belmont University's fast-growing community of about 4,000 students comes from nearly every state and more than 25 countries. Belmont is committed to premier teaching with a focus on success in the real world. Our purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world's needs. With more than 50 areas of study, eight master's degrees and two doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual's horizon.

    Office of Marketing and Communications
    615.460.6645 Greg Pillon
    615.460.6646 Bill Hobbs

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