Category: School of Business

Understanding the Relationship Between Students’ Sense of Belonging in High School and College

Author(s): Dhruv Dewan

Mentor(s): Blake Silver, Sociology and Anthropology

Abstract

My project is a focus on the relationship regarding sense of belonging as someone moves to College from High School. So in other words, what affects the sense of belonging in college students and what affects the sense of belonging in high school students and is there a correlation? I focused on this topic because there was some research on college sense of belonging, less research done on high school sense of belonging, and almost no research done on correlating this information. So I began with gathering information on each survey participant and moved on to asking them questions related to their sense of belonging in college, sense of belonging in high school, and asking them to compare their sense of belonging between these 2 time periods. Creating a collection of responses based on varying factors found in the demographic questions.

Audio Transcript

[Title] Hello there, my name is Dhruv Dewan and this is a video regarding an OSCAR funded research project that I am currently in the process of concluding. A quick little introduction about me, I am a junior in the Honors college studying finance. So now that’s over let’s get into what the project is about.

[Next Slide] My project is a focus on the relationship regarding sense of belonging as someone moves to College from High School. So in other words, what affects the sense of belonging in college students and what affects the sense of belonging in high school students and is there a correlation? I focused on this topic because I realized that I had a decrease in my sense of belonging as I came to college but other people had an increase. Trying to see if there was a correlation, I realized that there was some research on college sense of belonging, less research done on high school sense of belonging, and almost no research done on correlating this information. As such, I wanted to be the first one to do such research.

[Next Slide] So I began with gathering information on each survey participant and moved on to asking them questions related to their sense of belonging in college, sense of belonging in high school, and asking them to compare their sense of belonging between these 2 time periods. Creating a collection of responses based on varying factors found in the demographic questions. Sadly because I am still concluding the survey, there is little to no analysis done at the moment.

[Next Slide] Now, what can we do with this information? Hopefully later down the line this information can be transmitted into a test for High School students that will be able to inform students what college may be best for their sense of belonging. However, of course, this is if we can find a correlation and do a lot more research. I hope that this research can be done in multiple countries and we can compare if there is a difference among borders.

[Next Slide] This research project couldn’t have been completed without some help. So thank you to Dr. Blake Silver, Dr. Karen T Lee, URSP, and finally OSCAR for funding this project. Thank you for listening!

Honors College School of Business

What to do after Roe v Wade

Author(s): Urooj Syeda, Lauren Tong

Mentor(s): Toni Farris, Honors College

Abstract

Abstract
The topic we chose to do our project on was abortion. This is a topic we are passionate about since women have constantly fought to be represented and heard, but with the new legislation being passed, we are once again having to fight for ourselves. Not only has the United States taken a step back in gender equality, but the country has become even more polarized as states are given even more freedom to decide how extreme their laws can be in regard to abortion. In hopes of contributing to the fight and advocating for those who can’t, we have created a website to inform people about what actions they can take if they need an abortion. Women should have the right to have a say in what they do with their own bodies and should also be given the opportunity to choose for themselves, whether they are ready to become a parent or not. https://communitycollege89.wixsite.com/site

Audio Transcript

hi this is what to do after rovie Wade
0:02
by say the Lauren Tong it is a conflict
0:04
analysis of the abortion issue in the
0:06
United States we will be looking at the
0:08
positions and entrance of our party’s
0:09
pro-choice and pro-life
0:11
for context Roe v Wade is a Supreme
0:14
Court decision that ruled that under the
0:16
constitutionality of the 14th Amendment
0:17
and the right to privacy it is the
0:19
woman’s right to have an abortion this
0:20
was recently overturned even before Roe
0:23
v Wade was overturned conservative
0:25
States still had restrictions on
0:26
abortions this made it very hard for
0:29
women to gain access to safe and legal
0:32
abortions
0:33
which can cause significant harm to a
0:36
lot of women across the states who are
0:37
getting unsafe in illegal abortions when
0:40
you criminalize abortions it only leads
0:42
to unsafe abortions
0:43
this has led to many court cases on the
0:46
topic and has become highly debated
0:47
issue in the U.S
0:48
let’s look at the conflict maths of
0:50
pro-life this party wants Roe v Wade to
0:52
stay overturned as abortions conflict
0:53
with a personal beliefs they have right
0:55
they have interest in the rights of The
0:56
Unborn fetus as a in their future that
0:58
would be jeopardized if abortion became
1:00
legal they value family and religion
1:04
a categorization of this party generally
1:06
consists of politically conservative and
1:07
heavily religious but not everyone who
1:09
Associates them as a pro-life member
1:11
falls into these categories the general
1:13
public typically views pro-life members
1:14
as people who disregard the mother’s
1:15
human rights this is a misconception and
1:18
Amendment many members of pro-life are
1:20
not anti-womens rights
1:22
furthermore this issue includes lots of
1:24
cognitive biases and dehumanization that
1:26
needs to be addressed let’s look at the
1:28
conflict analysis for pro-choice the
1:30
party wants Roe v Wade to be reinstated
1:32
so that women have the right to abortion
1:34
their interests are in getting
1:35
reproductive freedom and Justice and
1:37
bodily autonomy for women as well as
1:39
women’s safety they value their voices
1:42
being heard and recognized and the
1:44
safety of a mother
1:45
people in the app Group might believe
1:48
that pro-choice Believers disregard the
1:50
fetus completely again this is not true
1:53
this categorization does not fit all of
1:55
people who fall into per choice
1:58
many people also might have significant
2:00
cognitive biases against this group and
2:02
saying the the Young Generation in
2:04
immature this is again not always the
2:06
case
2:07
by belittling their beliefs that it’s
2:09
saying it is an easy way out of the
2:10
consequences of unsafe sex there is
2:13
significant dehumanization on both sides
2:15
of the issue and we seek to reduce this
2:17
for us let’s look at our conflicts map
2:19
in the significant stakeholders involved
2:21
within the issue this includes the
2:24
government
2:25
the church and religious groups and
2:28
National Organization for Women and
2:29
women’s rights groups
2:32
our advocacy plan is to reduce
2:34
humanization by creating a website
2:36
providing information about the both
2:39
sides of the issue the timeline of the
2:41
abortion legislation in the United
2:43
States as well as significant
2:45
information about what people can do if
2:47
they’re in in need of abortion clear
2:49
outlines on what the recent overturning
2:51
of Roe v Wade means this website can
2:54
help a lot of women finding resources
2:55
and a lot of people on helping to
2:58
understand the pro-life and pro-choice
2:59
sites of the debate
3:02
furthermore we made the website easy to
3:05
navigate while also being informative to
3:07
further our impacts
3:09
um one of the challenges was definitely
3:11
technical difficulties with setting up
3:13
the website another challenge we’ll be
3:15
finding unbiased information and being
3:17
as neutral as possible
3:19
it can also be difficult to get this
3:21
website out to the public and to a lot
3:23
of people
3:24
we hope that raising awareness and
3:26
providing information about both sides
3:28
of the issue would stop dehumanization
3:30
of parties
3:31
thank you for listening

OSCAR Top Presenter School of Business Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

Marketing Sustainability through Mobile Gaming

Author(s): Yasmin Jubran

Mentor(s): Professor Anne Lauer, School of Business

Abstract

Previous studies have indicated that awareness is one of the most important tools to positively influence people and their behaviors. This information has inspired my research project titled Marketing Sustainability through Mobile Gaming, which aims to study whether mobile gaming is an effective way to raise awareness. In this video, I go over my three-year research journey and the obstacles I’ve faced. I also discuss new insights I’ve learned this semester and the future steps required to finish this project.

Audio Transcript

We all have a responsibility to ensure that what we’re doing isn’t hurting the beautiful planet where we live. But what if we don’t know how to be sustainable?

Hello everyone, my name is Yasmin Jubran and I’m currently working with my mentor Professor Anne Lauer on a research project titled marketing sustainability through mobile gaming.
When I was doing the literature search for this three year-old project, I’ve found out something very concerning: students aren’t aware about on-campus sustainability initiatives. In 2021, I did an informal survey that asks students about their awareness of current sustainability programs on-campus. Out of the 83 anonymous responses only 19.3% answered ‘Yes’. This percentage was derived from people who cared enough about sustainability to answer the survey. Therefore, when the people who care about sustainability aren’t aware, then the actual reality is almost certainly far worse than what the results show.

Awareness is one of the most important tools to influence people. When students in the University of California were enrolled in a sustainability course for a research study, it was found that the increase in awareness caused positive changes in students’ sustainability behaviors.

The purpose of my research project is to study whether mobile gaming is an effective way to raise awareness.

This semester, I’ve worked on developing a mobile game prototype that has educational undertones yet is still entertaining. To do this, I needed to understand what would motivate players to play my game over other competitive substitutes. So, I talked with gamers to understand what type of games interests them.

After these discussions, I’ve come up with a general description of the game in the hopes that it will be as popular as the game Animal Crossing. The main character Honey the Bee goes through a sustainability adventure, and throughout her journey she tries to overcome a big sustainability challenge. However, I’ve learnt that creating a game with this description was much more complex than my research initially suggested.

For this project to continue, the next step would be to make a prototype. But forming a team of coders is this project’s biggest obstacle. To find some volunteers, I’ve tried reaching out to student organizations, game design students, and different professors. I even created a Game Design Volunteer posting on a website I’ve made. However, with the very competitive nature of this industry, I couldn’t find volunteers who would be willing to work on any project of this kind for free.

In the future, to answer the question whether mobile gaming is a good tool for awareness, I envision volunteers playing the prototype. They would complete two surveys, one before they play the game and one after. I would also interview them to go into greater depth about their experience and the knowledge they’ve gained. The information I will have gathered would be helpful to determine whether mobile gaming can be used to change their awareness levels and behavior. Ultimately, this information will be useful to further game development that is both fun and educational.

Honors College School of Business Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

Period Piece Screenplay

Author(s): Erin Ziccarelli

Mentor(s): Thomas Britt, Film and Video Studies

Abstract

My URSP creative project is writing a feature-length screenplay set during the Manhattan Project. I approached this project by using the traditional screenplay acts and sequences. The three screenplay acts follow the protagonist being called to a journey, going on the journey, and the results of that journey. Each act is broken down into sequences which are “mini movies,” each with a specific goal for the protagonist, and a climax that brings them closer to or farther away from achieving their overall goal. Each of these sequences carry character themes and build on previous conflict in a suspense-filled setting.
Act one of the screenplay consists of two sequences with an inciting incident (a major change in the protagonist’s life), call to action, and turning point. The goal of act one is to introduce the characters, insert a crisis, and commit the character to solving the crisis that occurs at the call to action. Act two consists of four sequences and follows the protagonist through their struggles to solve the crisis. Two sequences follow in act three, where the protagonist finally realizes how to achieve their overall goal. They have completed their full character arc and have different goals than at the beginning of the movie.
The Manhattan Project was a code name for the American effort to develop an atomic weapon during World War II. Leading physicists and chemists gathered at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico to collaborate on weapon development. The nuclear age began on the morning of July 16th, 1945. The Gadget exploded at the Trinity test site in the New Mexico desert. On August 6th, 1945 the United States dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima. The bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later. The United States accepted Japan‚Äôs surrender on August 12, 1945.

Video Transcript

The Manhattan Project was a code name for the American effort to develop an atomic weapon during World War II. The Project began as a response to concern that Nazi Germany was working on a nuclear weapon. Leading physicists and chemists gathered at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico to collaborate on weapon development. In September of 1942, General Leslie Groves selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as a site for an electromagnetic separation facility. Construction began the following February on the Y-12 plant, the electromagnetic U-235 separation plant. Two months later, Groves selected Los Alamos, New Mexico as the site for a specific research laboratory. He chose J. Robert Oppenheimer as laboratory director. In February of 1944, construction began on the first plutonium reactor in Hanford, Washington. Uranium is element 92 on the periodic table of the elements. There are two main isotopes of uranium — uranium 235 and uranium 238. The uranium atom bomb required the 235 isotope, which has a natural abundance of .72%. Scientists selected this isotope because it is a fissile material and can sustain nuclear fission chain reactions. U235 production increased drastically between November of 1944 and January of 1945 due to increasing efficiency at the Oak Ridge Production Y-12 plant in Tennessee. From November to December, there was a 125% increase in efficiency, followed by a 126.67% increase in efficiency from December to January. Improvements in technology and mass production techniques at Oak Ridge accelerated the process and resulted in sufficient material produced by July of 1945. The nuclear age began on the morning of July 16th, 1945. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the far east. We are now prepared to destroy more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have in any city. The Gadget exploded at the Trinity test site in the New Mexico desert. The explosion vaporized the steel tower and turned the surrounding asphalt to green sand. On August 6th, 1945 the United States dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima. The bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later. The United States accepted Japan‚Äôs surrender on August 12, 1945.

College of Humanities and Social Science Honors College School of Business Summer Team Impact Project

Data Usage in Bailey’s Crossroads

Author(s): Freddy Lopez, Reagan Wills, Selassie Fulgar

Mentor(s): Lisa Gring-Pemble, School of Business; Rebecca Sutter, School of Nursing; Anne Magro, School

Abstract

Located in Fairfax County, Bailey’s Crossroads is home to a racially and ethnically diverse community where many residents face barriers from unemployment and food insecurity to mental health and lack of legal status. As a result, a multitude of community-based organizations can be found in the Bailey’s Crossroads area working every day to address these issues. As part of a larger place-based initiative, our team met with various community-based organizations to discuss the barriers they face when utilizing the power of data to advance their mission and work in this region. This project examines barriers and opportunities community-based organizations in Culmore face when utilizing data and how GMU can help organizations utilize data over the next two years.

Video Transcript

00:00:01.079 –> 00:00:08.280 Selassie Fugar : hi my name is Selassie Fugar and today we’re going to be talking about data usage in Bailey’s Crossroads, with my colleagues Fredy Lopez and Reagan wills. 2 00:00:10.019 –> 00:00:15.809 Selassie Fugar : In terms of the background of Culmore and the issue at hand Bailey’s Culmore is in an area that’s located in Fairfax County Virginia. 3 00:00:16.139 –> 00:00:29.340 Selassie Fugar : Culmore is a racially and ethnically diverse community that represents people from all over the world. Bailey’s Crossroads is home to many individuals who reside in the U.S. without legal documents, and they are among the most disadvantaged communities in Northern Virginia. 4 00:00:31.350 –> 00:00:38.670 Selassie Fugar : Our team is researching on ways that different Community based organizations use data to advance their mission in terms of uplifting Bailey’s Culmore. 5 00:00:40.380 –> 00:00:50.490 Selassie Fugar : Today, the Community hasn’t really come together to share certain sources of data; there’s also been no known mapping in terms of data sources that can help people collaborate together. 6 00:00:50.910 –> 00:00:59.190 Selassie Fugar : We interviewed multiple organizations that serve different needs organizations such as faith based groups, legal and non profits, as well as health clinics. 7 00:01:01.200 –> 00:01:08.250 Selassie Fugar : In terms of perception of data and how data plays a role in organizations, they play a role through grants, launching campaigns, 8 00:01:08.550 –> 00:01:14.640 Selassie Fugar : How frequently people visit their organizations or transitioning from paper filing to using computer based systems. 9 00:01:15.120 –> 00:01:22.560 Selassie Fugar : In terms of what data is considered in their organization, they consider quantitative to be more important than qualitative. 10 00:01:23.490 –> 00:01:32.190 Selassie Fugar : Others use data for tracking purposes or purchasing decisions and some meet the demand of the population that visits their organization in terms of providing people with what they actually need. 11 00:01:32.730 –> 00:01:37.500 Selassie Fugar : In terms of looking at major trends of health and relying on data to predict their next steps. 12 00:01:38.880 –> 00:01:40.290 Freddy Lopez: To expand on what my colleague Selassie said 13 00:01:40.290 –> 00:01:45.720 Freddy Lopez: that the extent to which organizations in Bailey’s Culmore use data could be divided into three different levels. 14 00:01:46.020 –> 00:01:57.030 Freddy Lopez: organizations in the basic level, their data was very general, they purposely collected as little information as possible, and they only saw data as trackable: collected for the purpose of tracking the amount of services given 15 00:01:57.300 –> 00:02:06.840 Freddy Lopez: and clients reached. Saying this, they only used data for assessment and they did reports, maybe once or twice a year. Organizations at the intermediate level, 16 00:02:07.290 –> 00:02:16.320 Freddy Lopez: their data was still general, but they also saw data as informational, meaning that it provided insight that helped inform decisions of operations, and as reportable 17 00:02:16.860 –> 00:02:24.180 Freddy Lopez: able to demonstrate impact of services provided to donors and higher ups. They also collected data externally from outside sources. 18 00:02:24.480 –> 00:02:31.440 Freddy Lopez: And they ran reports multiple times a year, from two to three times a year, and they also used data for strategic planning. 19 00:02:31.800 –> 00:02:35.130 Freddy Lopez: Meaning that they use it to plan ahead and identify gaps and services. 20 00:02:35.490 –> 00:02:43.380 Freddy Lopez: Organizations in the advanced level their data was much more detailed. Due to the nature of services that they provided, they collected as much data as possible. 21 00:02:43.740 –> 00:02:49.950 Freddy Lopez: They also collected data very carefully with protocols in place for methods of collection and analysis. 22 00:02:50.670 –> 00:03:02.970 Freddy Lopez: They also ran assessments multiple times a year – some organizations stating that they rab reports every month – and they also used data for innovation, so the data was what drove changes in operations and services. 23 00:03:05.220 –> 00:03:08.280 Reagan Wills: So some obstacles that we saw consistently throughout our interviews. 24 00:03:09.000 –> 00:03:18.150 Reagan Wills: One of the big things was under funding and these nonprofits which they’re nonprofits so it can become difficult for data collection utilization when there’s not enough money there. 25 00:03:18.840 –> 00:03:30.960 Reagan Wills: There are grant applications but they go through cycles, it is a possibility for funding, but sometimes the amount it can’t sustain a nonprofit and a lot of times nonprofits will go out of business. 26 00:03:31.800 –> 00:03:42.660 Reagan Wills: There is a necessity for a data analyst for utilizing the data post collection, people are needed that are educated in this field, however, those people typically have jobs. 27 00:03:43.290 –> 00:03:54.120 Reagan Wills: And they can only volunteer a few hours, out of their week and a lot of times, it takes a lot to collect data in the area as it’s constantly changing people are constantly moving in and out and. 28 00:03:54.720 –> 00:04:07.410 Reagan Wills: we’re constantly seeing changes and what would be considered data. It can also be difficult to collect this data due to different issues such as illiteracy in the area, distrust with the system and cultural differences as well. 29 00:04:08.820 –> 00:04:13.260 Freddy Lopez: When we asked organizations what they would like to see to address the obstacles previously mentioned. 30 00:04:13.890 –> 00:04:16.800 Freddy Lopez: They mentioned that they would like to see some experts and consultants 31 00:04:17.250 –> 00:04:30.150 Freddy Lopez: to inform them on how to better collect data and how to better analyze data. They also would like to see some technical assistance regarding how to tap into the power of the software that they currently use or guidance on what software to use. 32 00:04:30.720 –> 00:04:37.950 Freddy Lopez: All organizations mentioned they would really love to see a centralized location of data resources. They all expressed concerns regarding 33 00:04:38.190 –> 00:04:44.100 Freddy Lopez: How it was difficult and time consuming to research data sources but having a centralized location. 34 00:04:44.370 –> 00:04:52.770 Freddy Lopez: could alleviate this issue. Regarding approaches, they really wanted proactive approaches, where they utilize data to not only figure out what was wrong in the region 35 00:04:53.100 –> 00:05:04.470 Freddy Lopez: but how to stop issues in the region before they even happen, and they wanted to have more collaborative approaches expressing that organizations in the area could do a better job of working with one another. 36 00:05:04.830 –> 00:05:13.320 Freddy Lopez: in exchanging resources in regards to data, since they all serve the same region. Lastly, they also wanted to see intersectional approaches to complex issues. 37 00:05:15.240 –> 00:05:28.950 Reagan Wills: And so, as we’ve seen and as we’ve shown having proper and thorough data collection and utilization in the area, it would better assist understanding the needs of the Community and how we can best provide those needs to the people in the Community. 38 00:05:29.640 –> 00:05:34.860 Reagan Wills: This project in this data presented it’s a part of a larger place-based initiative with Kaiser permanente. 39 00:05:35.400 –> 00:05:48.300 Reagan Wills: In order to improve the conditions and social determinants of health in the area, the findings that we presented and other findings as well, will be used to provide recommendations on how this initiative can bring the Community vision to life.

For more on this topic see:

Significance of Different Cultures in the Bailey’s Culmore Area

Food Insecurity

Historical Framework of Bailey’s Crossroad

College of Humanities and Social Science Honors College School of Business Summer Team Impact Project

Historical Framework of Bailey’s Crossroad

Author(s): , Ashanti Martin, Alejandra Rivera, Merisa Mattix, Maddie Anderson,

Mentor(s): Lisa Gring-Pemble, School of Business; Rebecca Sutter, School of Nursing; Anne Magro, School of Business; Charish Bishop, Kaulin Jennison, Graduate Assistants

Abstract

For this Summer Team Impact Project, Liberal Arts and Business Wicked Problems Boot Camp, we focused on two Global Goals in which Mason has demonstrated interest and strength: Global Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and Global Goal 10 (Reducing Inequalities). Our central question is: How do approaches to social change result in meaningful advancement of community organization goals with people, planet, and prosperity in mind? For the historical framework group project, we conducted an assessment of the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore community by comparing and contrasting the resources and community aspects of the area over time, utilizing both census and other published data paired with the information gained from interviews of community partners and leaders. For the final product, we created a comprehensive view of how the community has developed over time ethnically, economically, and communally. We also attempted to understand some of the root causes of the gaps of care the community faces and how these could be better addressed. Through a series of both census and other published data, we collected information about the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore community. Additionally, we collected information from interviews with community partners and leaders. We compiled this information into a presentation broken down by the history of several different important components of the area. These included surrounding areas, schools and recreation, places of faith, and community hubs. The Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore districts have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips. Hopefully, as the KP project continues and with the research we have compiled, gaps in these resources can be addressed, partners can better coordinate efforts, and the area can be championed.

Video Transcript

Intro – Alejandra: Hello, and thank you for watching our video. We are a part of the Summer Impact Team Project, the Wicked Bootcamp where our work included the development of community-led strategies and programming, the creation of a virtual community of practice, and the establishment of a community coalition. Today we will be summarizing the work we have done throughout the summer and what we have learned. If you are interested in learning more about our topics, please visit our Prezi Presentation through the link in the description. Now we will get started with introductions. Historical Framework Team: – Madeline: Hi, my name is Maddie Anderson, and I am a rising senior majoring in French and Global Affairs. My concentration for this project is on green spaces. – Ashanti: Hi, my name is Ashanti Martin, and I am a sophomore majoring in Business. My concentration for this project is on food insecurity. – Merisa: My name is Merisa Mattix and I am a Junior this year majoring in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and my concentration was on human trafficking. – Alejandra: My name is Alejandra Rivera, I am a senior majoring in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. My concentration for this project is higher education awareness and college readiness amongst minority communities. Timeline Overview: – Merisa: First we’ll go over a timeline we created, starting with Hachaliah Bailey buying land in 1837, which is what gave the county its name throughout the civil war. Then the wave of immigration as the Community has grown. History Told Through the Asset Map: – Merisa: Now we will move on to see the area through different components of the asset map. Surrounding Areas Compared – Maddie: Bailey’s Crossroads, as a disadvantaged area, is surrounded by one similarly presenting area and two contrasting areas of wealth. While all 4 areas developed during the mid-1900’s, (after World War 2), Lake Barcroft and Tysons Corner continued to grow. Lake Barcroft and Tysons Corner have both become wealthy areas as an upscale residential area and a massive commercial hub respectively. Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners both experienced growth in the 1950’s, but they have left behind as there are increasing numbers of underserved populations. To learn more about each area we explored, please view the other sections on this slide in the link below. Schools and Education – Alejandra: The rapid influx of immigrants from all over the world has challenged Fairfax County Public Schools, or FCPS. Tensions have risen not only concerning schools, but over zoning issues and apartment overcrowding. Bailey’s Elementary school has experienced overcrowding of students and addressed this issue through creating “Bailey’s Upper Elementary School” which educates only 3rd to 5th grade. FCPS has struggled with how to provide the best education for English Language Learners. With overcrowding in the apartments we can assume there are issues with food security. At Bailey’s, we see a yearly exponential increase of students receiving free and reduced lunch, with 77% of the student population being eligible for this program. – Justice High School actively works to meet the needs of their students through adapting their curriculum to meet a student’s individual need and ensuring they graduate with their high school diploma. – Justice Park is currently the main greenspace open for recreational use that is currently at risk of being removed. The removal of Justice Park may lead to a plethora of repercussions that negatively affect the lives of community members, especially the youth. – Culmore community members have been fortunate enough to have active community partners that seek to provide them resources, such as Second Story and Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, better known as HACAN. Who are dedicated to meeting the needs of the community, providing parental education classes, and developing out-of-school activities that serve and support youth. Places of Faith – Ashanti: Faith groups have had a strong presence in providing assistance for Bailey Crossroads residents. With nearly 15+ faith groups in the area, the groups have been able to provide services, some including food pantries, ESL classes, case management, and youth outreach programs. To visualize the historical framework of the faith groups, we have created an establishment timeline – The timeline also includes active work efforts the faith groups participate in. Faith groups have established strong connections within the community and see themselves as future hubs for community members. – The next portion I will talk about is First Christian’s future project in the area. Fairfax County approached faith communities to see if anyone was interested in using the land owned to help with the priority to end homelessness. That discussion evolved and based on First Christan and community feedback, they reached the decision to build an affordable senior apartment building on the east portion of their property. The building would include space designated for medical use with the goal of having the Culmore Clinic as the organization which houses the space. Community Hubs – Merisa: Bailey’s Crossroads, and Culmore specifically, is a tight-knit community. Because of this, there are several spaces where the community gathers and holds significance. These include already mentioned institutions like schools, green spaces, and places of faith. The Shopping Center acts as the center, the community center holds many important events, and the library is a hub for resources as well as education outside of school. Conclusions – Merisa: As we tie our research together, we have found that the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore districts have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips. Hopefully, as the KP project continues and with the research we have compiled, gaps in these resources can be addressed, partners can better coordinate efforts, and the area can be championed. This area is special, and as we have heard, has the huge advantage of connectedness. We hope that the area, combined with our research, can be leveraged to pull ourselves into better circumstances

For more on this topic see:

Significance of Different Cultures in the Bailey’s Culmore Area

Data Usage in Bailey’s Crossroads

Food Insecurity

School of Business Summer Team Impact Project

Food Insecurity

Author(s): Ashanti Martin, Selassie Fugar

Mentor(s): Lisa Gring-Pemble, School of Business; Rebecca Sutter, School of Nursing; Anne Magro, School of Business; Charish Bishop, Kaulin Jennison, Graduate Assistants

Abstract

While keeping the social determinants of health in mind, this project specializes in examining barriers in the area of Bailey’s Crossroad. When diving deeper, the focus is on food insecurity in that area as well as ways to connect the locals so that they can receive an easier access to free food. In this project there is an emphasis on prioritizing community individuals and what they would like to eat and what they use in their culture, instead of just providing pre-made food for anyone. Community organizations play a huge role in holding events that provide free food and refer individuals to healthy alternatives in nearby community gardens that are tended by schools and faith-based organizations. Food is an important part of a human’s life and to be restricted or cut off from that privilege is disheartening. Solutions to having individuals in the community feel comfortable with receiving free foods from organizations include reaching out to others that have connections in the neighborhood to spread the word of the types of resources there are in the community.

Video Transcript

ashanti martin 0:03 Hello everyone, my name is Ashanti. Unknown Speaker 0:06 Hi, my name is Selassie. And this summer we were able to research the area of Bailey’s crossroads in Falls Church, Virginia, where we analyze social determinants of health in the community. Our project specifically highlights food insecurity and how Baliey’s crossroad community members can get connected with healthy foods as well as foods they will prefer to eat. Before we begin, we will give a brief introduction of ourselves and talk about the first aspect of our presentation. Selassie Fugar 0:32 Hello my name is Selassie Fugar, and I’m a sophomore at George Mason University. My major is business analytics. ashanti martin 0:40 My name is Ashanti Martin, and I’m also a rising sophomore here at Mason majoring in Business with a concentration in marketing. The first aspect of our presentation, we’re going to describe what food insecurity is. The US Department of Agriculture, also known as the USDA defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active healthy life. Food insecurity can been seen as food deserts and/or food swamps. Food deserts are areas where people have limited access to a variety of healthy and affordable food, Food swamps are environments saturated with unhealthy foods because of large number of corner stores and fast food outlets. Now that we were able to give a foundation of what food insecurity is, we can provide some statistics to show the effects of food insecurity Selassie Fugar 1:29 According to the Fairfax County Community Health Improvement Plan 2019 to 2023 Fairfax County despite its high per capita income has the highest number of individuals who are food insecure compared to any jurisdiction in Virginia. In the county nearly 1/3 of elementary school students received free or reduced price lunch, and in some areas of Fairfax County they experienced higher rates of insecurity. ashanti martin 1:54 Now we can take a deeper dive into Bailey’s Crossroad. 71% of community members reported they did not earn enough to cover basic needs. 46% skipped a meal or had reduced food portions. 88% of respondents do not have a valid driver’s license. 49% reported chronic health issues. And over the past 18 months, community based organizations have seen massive increases of food insecure community members. Now that we’ve been able to talk about the statistical portion, we can go into the organizations providing assistance for Bailey’s crossroads. Selassie Fugar 2:31 During our research, we discovered and interviewed a number of community based organizations and resources providing assistance for the community members in the area. Today we’ll be highlighting the organization into four topics and the first organizations of FFO or food for others. Food for others was established since 1995, and it constructs of these three distribution programs. It also provides recipe cards that are sourced from the capital area Food Bank. ashanti martin 3:01 The next organization is Grow a Row. Grow a Row is a community based organization dedicated to grow fresh produce. The organization supply seeds and a soil test kit to community members in the partnership is divided into different sections listed below. Selassie Fugar 3:24 The next portion will go into the school systems. Bailey’s elementary has created and raised garden beds that students and staff members manage. In addition, Bailey’s is a food for others care mobile site location. Justice High school has an ecology club that has donated excess food from their gardens to Grow a Row, and the food from the gardens are also shared with custodial staff members as well as the members of ecology club. ashanti martin 3:58 Finally, we’ll be talking about the faith groups in the area. The first faith group is Columbia Baptists, Columbia Baptists first pantry existed, has existed for 40 years. Their pantry serves over 200 families every Saturday and for donation efforts. The pantry has created Amazon and Target list as well as established partnerships with grocery stores and restaurants. The second is First Christian. First Christian has allowed food uniting neighbors also known as funds to establish gardens on the church campus. In addition, they also partner with Fall Church community center also known as FCS. Lastly, their program Safe Haven has provided grow, grabbed and grow lunches every Thursday. And lastly, we have the Islamic Center Dar al Hijrah. The Islamic Center has facilitated crowdfunding campaigns for food banks in eviction Prevention’s. In addition, they the USDA agricultural programs have donated free food to their center and they are also partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank Selassie Fugar 5:07 Conclusion food insecurity is a complex issue. And with the right steps, it can be prevented. Connections with different organizations do matter and the problem is how to connect people who are food insecure to these organizations conversations with the community members. And this analysis suggests us sharing data and the information. This analysis suggests sharing data and information to an easy accessible process to receiving free food that individuals want and need. These might be some ideas to consider in the future. ashanti martin 5:37 Thank you and that concludes our presentation.

For more on this topic see:

Significance of Different Cultures in the Bailey’s Culmore Area

Data Usage in Bailey’s Crossroads

Historical Framework of Bailey’s Crossroad