This research examines the role of historically Black Greek-lettered fraternities and their impact on Black men's mental health. The evolution of historically Black Greek-lettered fraternities illuminates Black men's historical and contemporary struggles in America. Since 1906, African American fraternities in the “Divine Nine'' have existed. The Divine Nine is a colloquial term to refer to all nine fraternities and sororities that are a part of the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC). For over a century, these organizations have continued to create programs that support Black male success and achievement. Behavioral health also has been supported due to their organization's influence on forming Black men's identity, values, and wellness. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal how Black Greek-lettered fraternities have supported the maintenance of Black men's mental health. By examining concepts and events in the past centuries, this thesis will explore the role of Black fraternities in the Black male community. First, I will share my African-American fraternity experience to help enlighten readers on my inspiration for this research topic. Second, there will be a historical overview of the conditions that created the urgency for historically Black fraternities to exist. Third, I will explore the context of Black fraternities and sororities in American society, emphasizing the history, contributions, and impact of the specific five Black Greek-lettered fraternities in the NPHC. I will share differing perspectives on fraternity activities and rituals that point to productive ways of supporting Black men’s mental health. For example, I will emphasize the international and collegiate perspective of the historically Black fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated. I conclude the thesis with a summary of the overall contributions of Black fraternities and their impact on Black men's mental health. This thesis proposes that throughout time, Black Greek-lettered fraternities have positively impacted Black men's mental health by providing support networks, community, and a sense of belonging.

College-aged women are getting surgical and non-invasive cosmetic alterations at rates higher than ever before. Noticeably, many of these women are in sororities. No prior research has identified a definitive relationship between sorority women and cosmetic enhancements. The purpose of this research was to investigate why sorority women are increasingly getting cosmetic work done, particularly examining the influences behind those procedures. Research questions include: Is there a physical standard of beauty in sororities? If so, does this physical standard of beauty influence sorority women’s decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures? Possible benefits of this study include helping to educate people about how Greek life might play a role in influencing beauty standards among college-aged women, as well as providing insights to clinics about their marketing to college-aged women. An anonymous digital survey evaluating cosmetic procedures and physical standards of beauty was sent to every sorority at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University to share with its members. In total, 15 chapters chose to participate, resulting in multiple-choice and text responses from 74 sorority women. Additionally, several interviews with sorority women and a local psychologist took place. The results revealed a clear demand and interest for cosmetic alterations, with almost half of respondents having already undergone at least one cosmetic procedure, yet it’s not so clear whether or not Greek life is really to blame for sorority women increasingly going under the knife. The study’s results were compiled into a report and a long-form, narrative reporting journalism article.

College-aged women are getting surgical and non-invasive cosmetic alterations at rates higher than ever before. Noticeably, many of these women are in sororities. No prior research has identified a definitive relationship between sorority women and cosmetic enhancements. The purpose of this research was to investigate why sorority women are increasingly getting cosmetic work done, particularly examining the influences behind those procedures. Research questions include: Is there a physical standard of beauty in sororities? If so, does this physical standard of beauty influence sorority women’s decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures? Possible benefits of this study include helping to educate people about how Greek life might play a role in influencing beauty standards among college-aged women, as well as providing insights to clinics about their marketing to college-aged women. An anonymous digital survey evaluating cosmetic procedures and physical standards of beauty was sent to every sorority at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University to share with its members. In total, 15 chapters chose to participate, resulting in multiple-choice and text responses from 74 sorority women. Additionally, several interviews with sorority women and a local psychologist took place. The results revealed a clear demand and interest for cosmetic alterations, with almost half of respondents having already undergone at least one cosmetic procedure, yet it’s not so clear whether or not Greek life is really to blame for sorority women increasingly going under the knife. The study’s results were compiled into a report and a long-form, narrative reporting journalism article.

Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, is frequently in the national media's spotlight for negative news such as violence or failed gun laws. The city is hardly ever talked about in a positive light. This study aims to inform and educate outsiders of what the city is like through the perspective lens of Chicago residents. To grasp a general understanding of Chicago, this creative project was completed through a narrative and interview-driven podcast series and split up into different topic categories. These categories were Chicago food, Chicago neighborhoods, Chicago's Southside, and Chicago sports. These topic areas are some of the things Chicago is most known for and give an adequate representation of what the city is like. Researching and putting this creative project into a podcast form proved how podcasts can be an alternative to in-depth and long-form journalism projects. The Chicago food episode called "Harold's v. Uncle Remus" explains the delicious food culture and showed two of the popular black restaurant chains that cater to the city. These two chicken spots are always a hot topic in heated debates of what place has the best chicken. The neighborhoods episode called "Won't You Be My Neighbor" highlights some of Chicago's interesting neighborhoods that tourists may not have on their attractions lists. This episode talks about the Pill Hill, Printers Row, and Little Italy neighborhoods, which all have unique histories. "Southside With You" explores the infamous region of Chicago, tells its history, and gives a theory as to why it continues to be the area it is known for in the media. Lastly, the sports episode "Sports: A History Lesson" is a full interview with a Chicago resident who has been a Chicago sports fan since the mid-60s and who has experienced the effects of racial divisions in sports. The episodes give only a peak of what the large city is like, but they demonstrate that Chicago is not this scary place, but a place with a complicatedly fascinating history.

There are two common cognitive distortions present in risky decision-making behavior. The gambler's fallacy is the notion that a random game of chance is potentially biased by previous outcomes, and the near-miss effect is the overestimation of the probability of winning immediately after barely missing a win. This study replicated a portion of the methods of Clark et al. (2014) in an attempt to support the presence of these two fallacies in online simulated risky decision-making tasks. One hundred individuals were recruited and asked to perform one of two classic gambling tasks, either predict the outcome of a dichromatic roulette wheel or spin a simplified, two-reel slot machine. An analysis of color predictions as a function of run length revealed a classic gambler's fallacy effect in the roulette wheel task. A heightened motivation to continue playing after a win, but not a near or full miss, was seen in the slot machine task. How pleased an individual was with the results of the previous round directly affected his or her interest in continuing to play in both experiments. These findings indicate that the gambler's fallacy is present in online decision-making simulations involving risk, but that the near-miss effect is not.