9th Annual International Graduate Research Conference

November 16, 2017

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The Graduate College at Texas State University hosted a conference for graduate student to showcase their research on Nov. 7-8. SJMC graduate students shared their research about Hurricane Harvey media coverage, relief efforts, immigration, the 2016 election and political interactions on social media by college students.Mass Communication student Janel Lee presented her research on “If Hair is Relaxed, are Folks Truly Relaxed? A Study of Modern Audience's Perceptions of Natural Hair in the Media.” She shared that audiences tend to have an overall positive viewpoint of natural hair while believing that natural hair in the media is portrayed in a more negative light. "I greatly enjoyed listening to the research of my fellow Mass Communication students ,” said Janel. “I also appreciated the opportunity to look at other schools' research through the poster session.” Another Mass Communication student Ryan Leach presented his research on "Visual Framing of Immigrants During the 2016 US Presidential Election." He examined whether the New York Times employed xenophobic visual frames in the month leading up to the 2016 Presidential Election and found that the New York Times did not employ negative visual frames of immigrants.  "It was an overall pleasant experience," said Ryan. "It was nice seeing some of the people in my online class in person."We are very of proud that many of our SJMC graduate students made a significant contribution to the conference. We would like to recognize and thank those who contributed to the success of the 9th Annual International Graduate Research Conference!