Eastern Student Harrison Brooks of Stratford Gives Oral Presentation at CREATE Conference

2016 May 5

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Harrison Brooks '17 of Stratford, who majors in Political Science and Economics, gave an oral presentation at the event. His oral presentation was titled "The Determinants of Candidate Vote Share in the 2014 United States Senate Elections."

"This study analyzes the determinants of candidate vote share using the results from the 2014 United States Senate elections across the states," said Brooks. "Existing literature suggests that vote share is largely a function of candidate experience, spending, district partisanship and candidate type. In addition to these variables, I hypothesize that President Barack Obama's low approval rating put Democrats at an inherent disadvantage during the 2014 midterm election. Through the use of univariate and bivariate analyses on 70 candidates, evidence confirms conventional understanding that partisanship, campaign expenditures, candidate type and candidate quality are among the most decisive factors in electoral outcomes. Moreover, the low midterm performance of President Obama negatively impacted Democratic candidates and put the Republicans in a position to take control of the Senate."

Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, "CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord."

Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, "It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it's important for other students to see this output." Praising the faculty, she added, "It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research."

During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.