Prose

Prose

poetry

Any form of intense exercise requires some sort of recovery. It is expected that the athletic market grows by 8.5% annually. It is becoming increasingly important that athletes know which forms of recovery are effective. Recovery is important to prevent burnout, reduce risk of injury, and giving athletes an overall sense of “readiness” for their next training session. Examples of recovery include sleep, stretching, diet, and a variety of therapeutic interventions. There are many forms of massage therapy such as foam rolling. Foam rollers can be seen in a variety of settings such as weight rooms, physical therapy clinics, and team locker rooms. The purpose of this synthesis is to review the literature on the effects of massage therapy on athletic recovery. After a thorough search through Brockport’s Drake Memorial Library and the EBSCO database, it was concluded that foam rolling can be an effective form of recovery through decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and a variety of other related factors.

Expanding understanding of species ecology across different spatial scales, geographic ranges, and behaviors aids in implementing management actions to support populations. The Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) is a species of conservation concern in New York. Breeding Whip-poor-will research often focuses on auditory occupancy modeling at regional scales, leaving knowledge gaps in aspects like home range structure and selection, non-vocal behaviors, nesting ecology, and smaller-scale resource selection. I investigated Whip-poor-will home range, landcover, and fine-scale resource selection, nest site selection, and daily nest survival within the alvar barren regions of Jefferson County, NY by monitoring individuals with ground-based telemetry during the 2023 and 2024 breeding seasons. Home ranges averaged 19.0 ha. Whip-poor-wills selected home ranges with increased forest edge density and intermediate proportions of upland forest, with peak selection at 49.3% forest. In study properties with more grassland/agriculture, Whip-poor-wills selected home ranges with more shrublands/open barrens. During the day and at night, Whip-poor-wills selected for shrublands and dense forests and avoided developed areas, with little preference for forest type or fine-scale structural characteristics. I also found many Whip-poor-will nests (n = 38) in shrublands and forests, which were always < 2.8 m from a tree stem. Whip-poor-wills in this region selected for nest sites in mixed forest patches with increased basal area and more shrub cover. However, Whip-poor-wills also selected for increased visibility immediately around their nests. All nest patches had deciduous tree cover, but Whip-poor-wills selected more coniferous tree cover up to 47.5%. Whip-poor-wills also selected nest sites with more leaf and needle ground cover, not solely on leaf cover as past accounts suggest. Daily nest survival was good (0.979) but decreased with closer proximity to trees and more leaf and needle ground cover. These results indicate that managing for patchy mosaics of upland forest and shrublands will be beneficial for breeding Whip-poor-will populations by supporting their diurnal, nocturnal, and overall home range activities. Additionally, maintaining mixed forest patches, retaining residual trees in shrublands, and partial shrub removal in possible breeding areas will be beneficial for providing more quality Whip-poor-will nesting habitat.

Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica [Houttuyn] Ranse-Decraene) is one of the most aggressive invasive plant species. It shades out and displaces native plants by forming thick, fast-growing thickets and may also affect invertebrate communities. By impacting invertebrate communities, knotweed can disrupt animals across the food web, causing declines in bird and frog populations. The goal of this study was to determine how Japanese knotweed impacts invertebrate communities, and if the degree and severity of knotweed impacts are seasonal. To try to capture as many types of invertebrates as possible, we used pitfall traps as well as designed a cost-effective window trap alternative using a painted plastic bottle. We placed fifteen pairs of pitfall and bottle insect traps in three seasons in invaded areas and nearby control areas across seven parks in western New York. Twenty-six different orders of invertebrate were collected. While some invertebrates, such as spiders and weevils, were negatively affected by knotweed across all seasons, for others the impacts of knotweed were seasonal. However, some invertebrates, such as springtails, were positively affected by knotweed in one or more seasons. We also found that Japanese knotweed consistently had strong negative effects on flying invertebrates, and very few effects on ground-dwelling ones. Our research demonstrates that it is important to consider both taxa and season when investigating the effects of an invasive species on an ecosystem.

This essay seeks to explore the complex historical relationship between conservative women and feminism, examining the religious influences that shape the worldview of trad wives, and synthesizing recent research to elucidate the motivations behind the rise of traditional wives and the feminist discourse surrounding this phenomenon. By delving into these intricacies, I aim to foster a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of gender politics and cultural ideologies in contemporary society.

This essay provides an opportunity to dismantle masculinity and power structures by applying a vegan lens. Part manifesto and part critical analysis of media representations of what it means to be a man, I am exploring this topic using historical, nutritional, and health data. Men are navigating a complex web of cultural norms, stereotypes, and peer perceptions that push a mainstream dietary preference that reinforces traditional notions of strength, virility, and dominance, and that subjugate the idea of veganism. This topic is important because it sheds light on the imbalance of power that exist against amongst various groups of people, highlighting the marginalization of women and animals. I hope readers will see that performative acts of masculinity, often in the form of the consumption of animal products, only further divide the people and animals of the world. There is a better way to navigate a relationship with one another and our Mother Earth. The deep overlap between feminism and veganism must challenge traditional notions of masculinity.

We raise our voices, our fists in resistance. We insist that all individuals should have the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive healthcare. Our goal is to push back against society norms around gender expectations, and we realize the deep connection between veganism and feminism. We, as feminists, advocate for the rights, mental health, and well-being of transgender individuals. We lay bare our frustration and fight through our wearied eyes and souls as we grapple for empathy and equality for all. We recognize intersectionality and use that to combat injustice. Table of Contents: Bek Orr: Note from the Editor…1; Women and Gender Studies Senior Seminar Class of 2024: Our Voices…3; Bella Markarian: Women’s Lives in the Middle East and their Relationship to the Hijab…5; Elisabeth Marryshow: When Colonization is not History: The Continued Exploitation of Palestine, Haiti, and African Nations…12; Jesse Hall: Masculinity Reimagined Through a Vegan Lens: A Manifesto…21; Josie Westmiller: The Overturn of Roe: Influencing Maternal Mortality…35; Keegan J. Beamish: Age of Empowerment: A Feminist Discourse Supporting Traditional Wives…43.

Women in sports leadership positions is a growing social issue, with increasing attention focused on advancing gender diversity in this male-dominated field. As more organizations recognize the benefits of diverse leadership, gender initiatives have been encouraged targeting women in leadership roles in sports. The purpose of the study is to review the literature on the effects of strategies for promoting gender diversity on women in leadership positions in sports. Additionally, the study highlights the challenges that gender initiatives face. The findings suggest that while gender diversity initiatives have made progress in more inclusive environments, there are still significant barriers that remain.