On Nov. 15 the Buffalo State Communications Department held its annual Research and Creativity Forum.

Held every year during the fall semester, communications department students showcase their case studies to students and faculty. The students present their information however they see fit, ranging from PowerPoint presentations to fully scripted and edited videos. The subject matter can cover a wide range of topics as well, with presentations this year discussing topics such as the prevalence of activist groups in Buffalo to the racial injustice during the famous Central Park 5 case.

Held in Buckham Hall rooms B141 and B142 concurrently, the forum featured an impressive range of presentations, each reflecting the creativity and depth of the students’ research. Out of the many presenters, a few agreed to share more about their projects and the insights they gained through their work.

One of the early presentations was “Enforcers of Hockey” by Sarah Theriault. Her presentation, using the documentary “The Last Gladiators” by Alex Gibney as a basis, explored the emotional, mental, and physical challenges that NHL enforcers face.

“All of these players have unfortunately lost their lives to [CTE]”, Theriault said. “A lot of enforcers are forced to retire due to the constant concussions. Then that leads to mood swings, an inability to incorporate themselves into normal lives, and because of their brain tissue deteriorating it can lead to dementia. But a lot of times, it gets to the point where the players unfortunately end up taking their own lives.”

Following her presentation was Fletcher Gonzalez, who’s subject was Friends of Night People, an organization in Allentown that provides help to the poor, homeless, and destitute in Buffalo. His presentation focused on how he and his group worked with FONP to improve their public image, as the organization has recently received complaints from residents in the area.

“With new families moving in, there’s been a lot of complaints coming in to Friends of Night people about their clientele,” Gonzalez said. “The community surrounding them aren’t really too accepting. They don’t like having homeless people in their backyard.”

Gonzalez proceeded to explain his experience working with FONP. He explained how he spoke with the organization regularly to workshop possible ways to improve their image.

“They wanted the community to have a better understanding of their services,” he said. “They want the interaction between their clients and the community to be beneficial to their goals instead of having local residents call the cops on someone doing something they shouldn’t.”

Gonzalez and his group came to an agreed solution with FONP that they would create flyers and print then all throughout Allentown as a way to spread awareness of the organization and its mission.

After Gonzalez’s presentation was Nathan Palmer. His project was a street journalism based video documentary titled “Pulse of the City.” Within this documentary he highlighted some of the socio ecumenic issues that residents in Niagara Falls face. The documentary began with Palmer speaking with Big Fats, a member of the Niagara Falls community known for his community outreach work. When Palmer asked Big Fats what “pulse of the city” meant to him, he got this in response.

“Death. Rage. Anger. People that don’t care no more.”

Despite this answer, Big Fats still had an optimistic vision for the future and believed that it can thrive if the right decisions are made.

“Everything is a process in life, so I truly believe that something good will happen if we put our minds to it. I think if the community starts coming out more to functions and get-togethers, I think it’ll show the youth that if our peers can do it then they can do it too. That’s all it takes.”

The final presentation was by Benus Ararujo, who put a spotlight on the racial discrimination that overtook the Central Park 5 case of 1989. This case is notorious for the indictment of five teenagers for a crime that not one of them committed simply due to the fact that they were Black.

“One thing about this case that’s different from others is why they got exonerated,” Araujo said. “Usually you think ‘what went wrong with the trial’ or ‘what did they find that could have possibly tied them to the investigation.’ Unfortunately, in this case they were tied just because they were Black.”

She went on to explain how the law enforcement involved in the case influenced the boys to confess to crimes they never committed.

“The officers instead of properly investigating just saw five young men were nearby and tied them to the case,” Ararujo said. “It was 30-40 hours of interrogation without the parents or lawyers present, and eventually the officers began to coerce them into a false confession. The police really tried their best to orchestrate the entire investigation so paint these kids as the criminals.”

Ararujo also discussed the media’s role in incriminating the young men.

“The media never took any of the facts into consideration,” she said. “They didn’t care for any new evidence they just wanted to convict somebody. As time went on and the media was beginning to get a sense of ‘maybe I’m wrong,’ they still spread hateful rhetoric and ideologies in relation to the boys just because this case seemingly involved Black men and a White women.”

Each presenter was later able to answer some questions that helped share some insights into their projects and the role the Communications Department plays here at Buff State.

Q1. What inspired you to choose your topic, and what did you hope to discover or communicate through it?

Sarah Theriault: My topic was completely accidental, I had requirements for the project completing Doc Analysis for my sports communication credit, it had to be sports related which was no issue for me. I have a passion for hockey, so I started googling what documentaries were appropriate for the project, regardless I knew I wanted to kind of bring awareness to how dangerous the sport is until I came afresh “enforcers”, I read a few articles and honestly I couldn’t believe  what I was reading, it was gut-wrenching reading the repercussions of the role and I knew that’s what I wanted to go further into research.

Fletcher Gonzalez: In my Group Communication class we had different groups come in and pitch us on a project to work on. I picked Friends of Night People because they are five minutes away from my house, I’ve lived by them my whole life. Homelessness is a problem that is often times unaddressed and we place blame on those dealing with the results of a faulty society.

Nathan Palmer: What inspired me to choose my Communication Studies major is my passion for expression through fine arts (hip hop) and community engagement. Communication is an art form.

Benus Araujo: I chose to write about the Central Park Five because I hoped to discover something that would show me why they were wrongfully convicted. The truth is, I found nothing. No DNA or anything tying them to the crime besides the coerced false confessions. I wanted to show how the abuse these children endured was further amplified by racial stereotypes in the media. With sharing my findings, I hoped this case would move others to understand the media should be taken lightly, along with accusations. I hope to show the reality for many young Black men and how the media and the justice system uses their identity and racial stereotypes to portray a monster. Everyone deserves a fair trial and a fair representation in the media.

Q2. How did the professors and resources available here in the communication department help with your work?

Sarah Theriault: “The research available are actually insane. I mainly used the library database to find my articles and film reviews, being able to precisely have articles with topics that involved my search without any BS from Google helped the process and especially last minute topics I wanted to research into further and it was so easy and accessible.”

Fletcher Gonzalez: “This project was mainly completed by students within the class. Professor Liao offered her assistance to help with communicating with the partner but I decided to keep trying myself.”

Nathan Palmer: “My professors and resources here have helped me build some valuable relationships to improve the quality of my network. Resources such as internships, community engagement and opportunities to build relationships directly with professionals in the field of communication.”

Benus Araujo: “My professor, Meg Knowles, did an awesome job in helping me choose which documentary to watch based on what I had mentioned I was interested in. I received a full list of many similar documentaries with descriptions that helped me choose the final one. We also had a class at the library that showed us how to use the library to find databases and sources. With this resource, I was able to find detailed information about the case and the media.”

Q3. What advice would you give to students considering similar projects or entering the communication field?

Sarah Theriault: “When it comes to projects like these, it’s as simple as “find what you like.” It’s so easy to be stuck with a topic you have no interest in and struggle to find motivation, but if you research topics you have a passion for it makes the project so much fun and rewarding, I never had so much fun writing a 7-10 page paper and as someone who has anxiety with presentation it was so much easier to educate on a topic I found so interesting and mind blowing.”

“It’s never too late, allow yourself to be creative and express yourself. The Communication Department gives you so much freedom to express who you are whether it’s in public relations, communication, journalism, or production there’s something for everyone and in each class it really feels like I am giving a piece of myself to each paper and or project because all the professors allow such flexibility and creativity in the classes. Also make sure to communicate with the professors, they are all amazing and well educated in their field and can help with any uncertainty you have in the communication world.”

Fletcher Gonzalez: “Honestly just staying persistent was 90% of the job. Also meet in person, do not try to communicate exclusively through email.”

Nathan Palmer: “My advice to students pursuing a degree in Communications is to take advantage of the broad areas that communications functions in and find what aspect of it suits you. There are so many different art forms of communication from writing/journalism to public relations and community engagement. Take the time to find what you are most passionate about. Get involved in school organizations, internships as much as you can. At this stage of the game it’s about SHOWING your work.”

Benus Araujo: “Although it is rumored that being a communication major is easy, it can be if you are passionate and able to use your own time to better your skills. I’ve done many assignments that have pushed me out of my comfort zone and had me working for hours on end. However, it’s the best work I’ve done and I enjoyed doing it. That is because I’m passionate about understanding and changing the media. I want to be able to add my influence and being able to use different forms of media or my own words to convey my message to others. Do you?”

“Events such as this forum underscore the importance of providing students with the resources, mentorship, and platforms to explore their passions. Buffalo State students alongside prospective students should keep this in mind if they are struggling to decide their major or may want to change it altogether.”