Daniel Gerlach, Jake Miller, Sera Tyrell & Ben Womack

What You See Is Not Always What You Get: The Expanding Impact of Visual Media in Today’s Culture

Technology is becoming more and more accessible in our culture. We are capable of allowing it to help or hinder our growth. In this panel, students will explore some of the ways technology challenges human development, relationships, and fulfillment. Sera Tyrell argues that pornography is harmful, and, from a Biblical perspective, we were made for so much more relationally and sexually than what the porn industry portrays. Jake Miller argues that the Internet needs to be made safe, but no matter how safe it gets, it will always be a temptation for young minds. Daniel Gerlach explores how video games fulfill certain human needs, yet, as gaming and simulation technology advance, video games are going to become even more engaging and addicting; we need to set a balance and limit future virtual reality systems from providing alternate realities or there will be a missing generation of people; the film Ready Player One is becoming more attainable each year. Finally, Ben Womack looks at how military based virtual reality therapy can help to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans.

WR 123, English Composition 2

Vanessa Farfan

P103

2 – 3 PM

Return to schedule

Maddie Thompson & Aria Weigand

How We Can Help Haitians and the Injustices on Coffee Plantations

We live in a country where we have a multitude of choices, but we’re not always aware of how our choices can impact other countries. The students on this panel will explore some international issues and how Americans can better understand these issues and how they might be able to help to alleviate them. Maddie Thompson explores Haiti’s current crisis after the 2010 and 2018 earthquakes and recognizes that there are many ways to approach the poverty in Haiti, including building up the governmental infrastructure and investing in non-governmental organizations. She argues that there must be a balance of both methods in order to help Haiti grow. Aria Wiegand examines how coffee is produced from the bean to the cup, arguing that we need to be aware of how our daily cup of coffee affects coffee workers on plantations and developing countries’ economies.

WR 123, English Composition 2

Vanessa Farfan

P103

3 – 3:30 PM

Return to schedule