By Joslyn DelSignore / The Jambar
For 12 consecutive years, students have been sharing their personal research at Youngstown State University in a peer-reviewed competitive conference. The Conference on the Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or LAHSS-Con, is set to take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 9-11 at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
Amy Fluker, associate professor of humanities and social sciences at YSU, is one of the main staff members working to prepare for the conference.
“It’s supposed to provide a place for students to showcase their original research,” Fluker said. “Things that they’ve been doing in their classrooms, a chance to highlight things that they’re interested in and what’s really beneficial to students is that it’s competitive, so it looks good on resumes.”
Day one of the conference features student presentations. Students must prepare a proposal abstract of less than 250 words, which must be submitted for review before Jan. 31.
Once accepted, students prepare presentations of their research that span five to eight minutes. Students are encouraged to dress casually and freely discuss their research.
“This is supposed to be just a casual and fun thing for students to do, so we don’t want it to be a ton of work for students beyond, you know, the work they’ve already done developing their research,” Fluker said.
Fluker said this is an opportunity for students to go above and beyond in their studies, share their interests with new groups of people and receive feedback from professionals.
“It’s so helpful to share your work to an outside audience who are looking at it with fresh eyes,” Fluker said.
The second day of the conference features more presentations from students, along with a keynote address by Paul Finkleman, nationally renowned legal and constitutional historian from noon to 2 p.m.
“We definitely encourage any students who are interested in the law, come down and listen to Dr. Finkleman and ask him questions,” Fluker said.
The final day of the conference consists of virtual presentations, where students who chose not to present in-person have the opportunity to receive further recognition and feedback.
Following the event, cash prizes of $100 will be awarded to the best paper and poster from undergraduates, and $150 will be awarded to the best graduate paper.
The conference is free for presenters and spectators. Fluker said it also welcomes people outside of the YSU community to attend.
“It’s open to all YSU students and it’s open to students from other universities too, which is something that makes our conference special,” Fluker said.