Senior History majors present at annual History honor society conference

Seven History seniors were invited to present April 12 at the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference held at Bowie State University. 

The annual conference is open to students from colleges and universities in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. McDaniel's Omega Upsilon chapter of Phi Alpha Theta was awarded special recognition as the “Most Enthusiastic Chapter” at the conference. 

Senior History major Emily Liszewski of Sicklerville, New Jersey, received second prize in the world history division for the paper titled "The Anatomy of Atrocity: Dissecting the Legacy of Unit 731," which exposes the little-known history of Japan’s Unit 731 during World War II. Liszewski also presented the paper during McDaniel College's May 5 Academic Symposium. 

Other students who presented at the conference:             

• Lindsay Clearwater, senior History major from Brick, New Jersey, presented “A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out: The Disconnect between the Policies of the Appalachian Regional Commission and the People of the Appalachian Region." Clearwater also presented during McDaniel College's May 5 Academic Symposium.

• Charles Ebling, senior History major from Liverpool, Pennsylvania, presented “Debates around the Indian Removal Bill.”

• Dan Johnson, senior History major from Gaithersburg, Maryland, presented "Wait, What’s a Wrecker? The Historical Memory of Wrecking in the Florida Keys."

• Franklin Kelly, senior History major from Marriottsville, Maryland, presented “Preoccupation Leads to Misinterpretation: Explaining the Surprise Rise of ISIS." 

• Eli Romero Cruz, senior History major from Beltsville, Maryland, presented “Intertwined in Solidarity: Strategic and Rhetorical Connections between Black and Queer Organizations during the 1960s and 1970s.”

• Kyle Swann, senior Art and History major from White Plains, Maryland, presented “The Language of Defining Americans: An Analysis of Framer Documents.”

McDaniel’s chapter advisor Jakub Zejmis, senior lecturer of History, along with Jillian Bjerke, lecturer in History, and Qin Fang, associate professor of History, accompanied the students to the conference. Attendance for the students at the conference was supported by a gift from a McDaniel alum.