WILLIAM MOHAN
Special to The Leader
No, it is not time for the red carpet again. Instead, the Office of Student Creative Activity and Research (OSCAR) offered a chance for the Fredonia campus to showcase some of the most unique ideas and objects that have been taking shape over the course of the year. Each and every student participant was prepared with posters, displays and even items that were either assigned to students in class or had been a personal project for the year or longer.
The students’ beliefs in their hard work showed. It was an event that also highlighted some of the best, and finest, moments for Fredonia’s students.
The displays for the students’ work also covered a very unique set of topics that addressed everything from issues plaguing the world, to books made out of unique materials. There were displays about abortion, domestic violence and web design, as well as the latest computer gaming designs. And it is not an understatement that there were many who also were proud of their accomplishments.
One piece was a work that has been heavily profiled on campus. That honor belongs to animation/illustration and media management double major senior Brittany Georgalas. Her display was her recent children’s book, “Feleap the Frog and the Great Big Circus Adventure.”
“Its basically about a frog named Feleap, and he dreams of wanting to join the circus,” said Georgalas. “His friends aren’t too nice to him when he tells them what he wants to do, but he pursues his goal and dream, and, in the end, he actually does get to perform in the circus.”
Georgalas also added that the overall story aims to encourage children to believe in whatever they want to do, no matter what others say. What makes the story even more unique is that the book does not use artist-drawn images, but rather balloon characters.
“I thought it was a real[ly] unique medium,” added Georgalas, who has made balloon art a lifelong hobby. “And you don’t see it a lot in art work and illustrations.”
Georgalas said she enjoys getting the word out about her work, so she enjoyed her time at the OSCAR expo. She also hinted that a sequel to the book may be in shape after graduation. One thing is certain, however: no matter what comes next for Georgalas, her work will certainly be enjoyed by Fredonia’s graduates.
Another OSCAR participant also provided a unique perspective on what is possible with internet security. Senior computer science major Jason Davison’s display, “Hacking the Internet of Things,” was simple, despite the more complex background behind it. More specifically, Davison’s work aimed to “try to figure out a way to successfully send commands to a light bulb,” he said.
Using Bluetooth to sniff out traffic and snatch addresses from that service, he, like others, was at the OSCAR expo to let the community see what he had done during the semester. He said he will try to look for a job in computer science after graduation.
Perhaps one of the most touching displays was “Justice at the Border,” created by juniors Venessa Anania, communication and English major; Cielo Ornelas Macfarlane, visual arts and new media major; and senior Alicia Rutkowski, Spanish major. According to Anania, for their Latina Literature and Culture course, the three students had to study Margaret Anderson’s “Secrets in the Sand.”
“It’s basically poems about the violence against women by the border,” Anania said. She also said they are “trying to bring awareness to the fact that no investigations or prosecutions have been done in order to bring awareness to this.”
According to their research and resulting painting, their conclusions were that women are heavily harmed in border towns on both sides. According to Rutkowski, these include “places like La Ciudad de Juarez, which is a hotspot for violence,” as well as its US border neighbor of El Paso, Texas, where “there is a lot of violence going on.” What makes this perhaps the most emotional display was that none of the three students seemed to escape unscathed from the mental tax of their work.
“I, personally, want to write a petition to our governors asking for awareness and also to involve international forces and protecting human rights in the border area,” exclaimed Rutkowski.