Fredonia student wins Best Undergraduate Paper honor at NYSSA annual conference

Mikayla Fuller, a senior Sociology major, had her research work, “How Latinos Experience Racism in Western New York,” chosen as the Best Undergraduate Paper at the 2018 conference of the New York State Sociological Association.

The objective of the study by Ms. Fuller, of Ashville, N.Y., was to understand the lived experiences of Latinos residing in Jamestown, by exploring different challenges they face as a racial minority. Study participants answered open-ended interview questions about how their lives have been impacted by their ethnicity, how they cope with challenges and how they battle various stigmas.

Using the Likert rating scale, respondents also expressed the degree of acceptance they feel in the community and amount of pride they feel about their nationality.

“Knowledge, Power & the People” was the theme of the 66th annual conference, held Oct. 12 and 13 at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.

The works of more than 70 authors, including over 20 students, addressed a wide range of topics that highlighted the role of power and the sociological perspective in understanding contemporary social issues.