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Semaglutides and Obesity

What Inspired it?

Semaglutides, like Ozempic, were initially created to treat type 2 diabetes, but they have increased in popularity as a weight loss mechanism. They work by increasing insulin production and feelings of satiety, and a common side effect is rapid weight loss. Many are eager to lose weight, but what’s often overlooked are the potential social implications of having a drug that causes rapid weight loss. This topic is extra “wicked,” because it truly improves the lives of type 2 diabetics and has helped people lose weight and improve glycemic control, but social consequences like increased fatphobia and blaming overweight people are likely inevitable. We gathered statistics and public opinions and configured it into a satirical take on an Ozempic commercial.

What’s your takeaway?

It’s important to acknowledge that these drugs can offer medical benefits, particularly for individuals with diabetes. However, the normalized use of weight loss drugs like Ozempic can perpetuate fatphobia, increase body dysmorphia and contribute to the stigma around obesity. Balancing the potential societal impact with their medical value is crucial to ensuring equitable access and support for those who may benefit from them.

Coining Rome: Architectural Insights Through Numismatic Exploration

CLA 456: Coins and the Ancient Economy, Assistant Professor of Classics Anne Truetzel

What inspired it?

My journey to this research project began during a weekend trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, touring Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. At the ticket counter, a guide eagerly held up a nickel, saying, “Look at the back of this nickel. When you reach the house up the mountain, look again; the two are identical.” Five cents richer, I tested the guide’s experiment, and he was right: the reverse of the coin and the house were identical.

In my ancient coins class at �ʼһ���, I wondered: Do we have similar images of historic buildings in the college’s ancient coin collection, and could depictions of a building on coinage provide a way for classicists to reconstruct long-forgotten ancient buildings?

What’s your takeaway?

Architecture on coinage historically served as a powerful tool for states to convey political messages and establish legitimacy with the population. This illustrates that coins have a broader role beyond currency, functioning as a widespread medium for political messaging. While coinage cannot accurately reconstruct architecture, it still offers valuable insights into architectural evolution and regional differences. This project also prompts us to reconsider the depiction of figures like Jefferson on American coinage, suggesting that coin designs should evolve to reflect changing societal values, much like how Roman coinage adapted to convey shifting political messages over time.

COVID at �ʼһ��� Documentary

News Producing (COM 272) with James K. Batten Professor of English Emily Drew ’04

What inspired the project?

The student perspective of COVID on �ʼһ���’s campus was probably going to die out once seniors graduated this year.  We wanted a project that will remind people what life was like at the school during the time. Some seniors at �ʼһ��� look at the 2020/2021 school year as one with fondness but also with anger and frustration, as it was incredibly difficult to have a sense of normalcy.  

What’s your takeaway? 

I hope people can get a better idea of what life was like at �ʼһ��� during COVID. It was quite isolating for the sophomores and upperclassmen because they had experienced what �ʼһ��� had been like before the pandemic. Not being able to communicate in person with everyone was hard, especially for a school that highly values relationships. For first-years like me, it was nice to come to school and make do with whatever we could, but it was also a very difficult time. It was unifying in that we were all in it together, especially since many schools had gone fully remote. By the time the school year ended, it was gratifying because we were able to navigate the pandemic, but looking back on it, it was isolating compared to what campus is like now.