Scholarship and Creative Arts Days (SCAD) is an annual event in which Elizabethtown College students have the opportunity to present research, participate in panels and demonstrate their creative talents. SCAD began Monday, April 20, with the 28th Annual Juried Student Art Show in Lyet Gallery of Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. The artwork of nearly two dozen Elizabethtown College students was on display and prizes were awarded for the best work in ceramics, computer art, drawing, painting, photography, print-making and sculpture.
The art show was followed by a keynote address by Dr. Donald Kraybill, distinguished college professor and senior fellow in the Sociology and Religious Studies departments. Kraybill’s lecture, titled The Riddle of Amish Culture-, described the scholarly methods he used to solve how a tradition-laden group—one that rejects television, public grid electricity, car ownership, high school and Social Security—not only survives, but thrives in high-tech, hypermodern America? His lecture was attended by students and community members alike.
The seats were filled as people listened to Kraybill unpack some smaller Amish riddles as well: Why do Amish people reject car ownership yet readily hire outsiders to provide “taxi service” for them? How do eighth-grade-educated Amish youth learn the entrepreneurial skills to create and operate multimillion dollar companies? And why do Amish teenagers, who enjoy the freedoms of Rumspringa, eventually decide to join such a restrictive, peculiar group? Using visual and audio clips, Kraybill showed how solving perplexing social conundrums requires multidisciplinary research, multiple data sources, comparative analysis and theoretical concepts. A book-signing was held following the presentation.
Student presentations began in the morning- Tuesday, April 21, and continued throughout the day. Every academic department was involved with SCAD. Presentations covered a broad range of topics. Senior corporate communications major Kelly Derbes was on three panels for SCAD, Citizen Journalists and Traditional Journalistic Norms, Social Media and Sports Reporting: A Content Analysis of Tweets during the Final Play of Super Bowl XLIX and Cultivating the Next Generation of Investors through Social Media.
“It was great to have the opportunity to present my hard work,” Derbes said. “There was a strong attendance of my peers that were really interested in the work I completed.”
One demonstration by the Department of Engineering and Physics showcased solar-powered electric cars made by 33 first-year students. The cars raced on the track infield and brought in a large pool of spectators.
“It was nice seeing all of the hard work of the semester in action,” senior Tyler Weary said. “It was interesting to see ordinary things such as CDs used as part of cars in motion.”
Following presentations, a hHors D’oeuvres Reception eavy hors d’oeuvres reception was planned for student presenters and faculty mentors in the M&M Mars Room of Leffler. Afterward, the Fine and Performing Arts Showcase Recital took place in Leffler.
SCAD concluded with the Occupational Therapy Graduate Research Symposium (OTGRS) Wednesday, April 22. OTGRS displayed collaborative faculty-student research and scholarship. The symposium began with a reception in the Masters Atrium followed by a welcome and keynote address in Gibble Auditorium. Presentations, posters and fieldwork sessions were scheduled for the evening. Fifth-year occupational therapy students presented their final projects- required for graduation.
–by Paige Neidig, SCAD publicity intern 2015