A Journal of Undergraduate Research
“There is no royal road to science, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.”
—Karl Marx, Preface to the 1872 French edition ofDas Kapital
Royal Roadfeatures the best researched arguments produced in the University of Tampa's AWR 201 - Academic Writing and Research course. Student essays are nominated by instructors and reviewed by a faculty panel; those that are selected for potential publication undergo a process of peer review and revision that reflect the standards of academic publishing. Selected essays are published in an annual journal and used as models for future sections of AWR 201.
Issues
- Volume 9 - Summer 2025
- Volume 8 - Summer 2024
- Volume 7 - Summer 2023
- Volume 6 - Summer 2022
- Volume 5 - Spring 2021
- Volume 4 - Spring 2020
- Volume 3 - Spring 2019
- Volume 2 - Spring 2018
- Volume 1 - Spring 2017
Editor's IntroductionShallow Is Sexy: How Digital Pornography and Dating Apps Hinder Healthy Relationships
Anna Miller
Coastal Synergy: Economic Growth and Environmental Policy in Coastal Tourism
Mitchell Duncan
The Cost of Motherhood: Career or Family and the Inevitable Wage Gap
Kara Hepler
Resurgence and Consequences of Child Labor in the United States
Mason Trinh
This Class Is Ableist: Creating a More Equitable Way to Gauge the Competency of Students
Logan Mueller
Royal Road 9 Editorial Staff
| Editor Steven Mollmann | Editorial Board Paul Corrigan Claire Class Daniel Dooghan Suchismita Dutta Misty Fuller Jeremy Lakoff Kyle McIntosh Nicole Schrag Josh Waggoner Daniel Wollenberg |
| Student Editors Bathshua Carrillo Alexis Damiano Sade Keyes | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue of Royal Road includes essays composed during the 2022-2023 academic year. Students completed revisions with a faculty mentor throughout 2023-2024.
Editors' Introduction
Alice DeCoteau and Anika Schmid
“More Damaging than a Scalpel”: Scientific Literacy and the Moderation of Psychological Distress from Susceptibility Genetic Testing
Lilliana Haight
The Death of the Carbon Tax: How Political Short-Termism Sabotages Climate Progress
Logan Cooper
Royal Road 8 Editorial Staff
| Editor Steven Mollmann | Editorial Board Gregory Brennen Claire Class Paul Corrigan Daniel Dooghan Kyle McIntosh Nicole Schrag Josh Waggoner Daniel Wollenberg |
| Student Editors Alice DeCoteau Anika Schmid | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2021-2022 academic year. Students completed revisions with a faculty mentor throughout 2022-2023.
Editors' Introduction
Anika Schmid, Cassie Disharoon, and Charlotte Salowe
Human Germline Genetic Engineering: The Ethical Imperative in Due Time
Emma Sheehan
Beyond Baby Blues: Systemic Failures in Maternal Care
Alice DeCoteau
Animal Companionship for Children with ASD: The Physiological, Psychological, and Socio-Emotional Benefits
Faviola N. Collazo-Vélez
“Finance Is a Gun”: Capitalism and the Gangster Film
Marin Burke
Selling Masculinity: The Perpetuation of Fragile Masculinity in Advertising
Madeleine Bolivar Ortiz
Sustainable Subterfuge: How Greenwashing Hinders the Ability of Consumers to Choose Environmentally Sustainable Companies
Ashlyn Ellison
Is Florida Taking Sea Level Rise Seriously?
Destin Rothe
Royal Road 7 Editorial Staff
| Editor Joseph Letter | Editorial Board Claire Class Paul Corrigan Daniel Dooghan Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Sucheta Kanjilal Jeremy Lakoff Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Nicole Schrag Josh Waggoner Daniel Wollenberg |
| Student Editors Anika Schmid Cassie Disharoon Charlotte Salowe | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2020-2021 academic year. Students completed revisions with a faculty mentor throughout 2021-2022.
Editors' Introduction
Taylor Landau and Megan Merola
Police Corruption and the Targeting of Central Asian Immigrants in Russia
Ekaterina D. Baricheva
Exploring Homosexuality Within Catholicism
Karolyn Merch
Managing the Medical Field: The Detrimental Impact COVID-19 has had on Healthcare Organizations and Physicians
Caitlin Reeves
The Linear Production of Plastic and the Unintended Consequences it Poses to the Flow of Nature in Tampa Bay
Amber Furce
The Benefits of Culling, Consuming, and Banning Live Imports as Methods of Controlling Lionfish Populations
Jacqueline Wilson
Cape Town Tap Runs Dry: Government's Willful Ignorance Exacerbates the Problem
Rayana Goodner
The High Price of Over-The-Counter Antiperspirants
Isabella High
Royal Road 6 Editorial Staff
| Editor Joseph Letter | Editorial Board Paul Corrigan Daniel Dooghan Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Sucheta Kanjilal Jeremy Lakoff Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Nicole Schrag Josh Waggoner Aimee Whiteside Daniel Wollenberg |
| Student Editors Megan Merola Taylor Landau | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2019-2020 academic year. Students completed revisions with a faculty mentor throughout 2020-2021.
Editors' Introduction
Celina Rodriguez Rivera and Maggie Sperry
Mickey's New Identity: How Disney's Theme Parks Successfully Arrived in China
Olivia Reeber
MAOA Genetics in the Courtroom: The Last Legacy of State v. Waldroup
Taylor Aiello
Tissue Paper Houses Just Don't Cut It: Addressing Gentrification, Housing Discrimination, and Institutionalized Racism in Portland, Oregon
Madeline McCarthy
It's (Not) Only a Joke: The Changing Face of Sexist Humor in M*A*S*H
Alise Blūma
From Paradise to Punchline: How the Media Has
Shaped Public Perception of Florida
Haley Ruggles
The Imagined National Identity of The North and South During the Civil War, as Expressed Through War Songs
Alexander S. Valentonis
Royal Road 5 Editorial Staff
| Editor Joseph Letter | Editorial Board Paul Corrigan Daniel Dooghan Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Sucheta Kanjilal Jeremy Lakoff Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Nicole Schrag Josh Waggoner Aimee Whiteside Daniel Wollenberg |
| Student Editors Celina M. Rodriguez Rivera Maggie Sperry | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2018-2019 academic year. Students completed revisions during the fall semester of 2019.
Editor's Introduction
David Reamer
Global Financial Marketplaces: The Battleground for Counterterrorism in the 21st Century
Bryce Shepherd
“Arrrr! To hell with convention!”: Unpacking the Appeal of Pirates in Tampa’s Gasparilla Festival
Krista Davis
Royal Road 4 Editorial Staff
| Editor Daniel Dooghan Joseph Letter David Reamer | Editorial Board Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Ashley Palmer Josh Waggoner Aimee Whiteside Daniel Wollenberg |
| Assistant Editor Rebecca Lazansky | |
| Faculty Advisor David Reamer |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2017-2018 academic year. Students completed revisions during the fall semester of 2018.
Editor's Introduction
Daniel Dooghan
Acoustic Assault: How Anthropogenic Noise Pollution Affects Marine Ecosystems
Emma Stange
The New S-Word: How Prison Labor Has Developed into Legalized Slavery
Taylor Brunson
Blind to the Impacts of Colorism within the Cosmetic Industry
Raylea Hagan
Beauties in an Ugly World: The Evolution of Feminism in Adaptations of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’sBeauty and the Beast
Daniela Gutierrez Andrade
Ann Lowe: America’s Overlooked Fashion Icon Finally Found
Marissa Henderson
From Swampland to Sophistication: How H. B. Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel Set the Foundation for a Thriving City
Marcella Benner
Royal Road 3 Editorial Staff
| Editor Daniel Dooghan Joseph Letter David Reamer | Editorial Board Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Ashley Palmer Josh Waggoner Aimee Whiteside Daniel Wollenberg |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2016-2017 academic year. Students completed revisions during the fall semester of 2017.
Editor's Introduction
Joseph Letter
Deeper than the Surface: Analyzing Tattoos in a Modernized World
Katy Todd
When Innovation Exceeds Technological Capacity: A Moral Evaluation of CRISPR/Cas9’s Role in Genetic Engineering Research
Brianna Yaeger
Scaling up the Sustainability of the Salmon Aquacuture Industry: Implementation of Integrated Multi-Trophic Salmon Aquaculture
Alexandra Marter
The Fate of the Florida Mangroves
Claudia Kirby
A Long Way to Equality: Women on Television News
Arden Igleheart
Stereotypes of Islamic Dress and Appearance-Based Discrimination in America
Erica Gambatese
Progressive Income Tax: The Tax Policy America Needs
Nicholas Oakes
Royal Road 2 Editorial Staff
| Editor Daniel Dooghan Joseph Letter David Reamer | Editorial Board Sarah Fryett Cari Hovanec Kyle McIntosh Steven Mollmann Ashley Palmer Josh Waggoner Aimee Whiteside Daniel Wollenberg |
This issue ofRoyal Roadincludes essays composed during the 2015-2016 academic year. Students completed revisions during the fall semester of 2016.
Editor's Introduction
Joseph Letter
"Do No Harm": An Evaluation of the Courts’ Decision-Making Policies in Overruling Children & Families’ Refusal of Treatment
Kayleigh Ross
Disillusioning the Youth: How Standardized Testing Reduces Learning Opportunity
Robert Pantano
Let Women Fight
Carla Shapira
Lustful Killings in Ciudad Juárez: A Look at “Femicide,” Machismo, and Roberto Bolaño’s “Precious”
GregoryBrowne
Hysteria in Utopias: The Condition of Women in Bellamy and Morris
Katie Stockdale
Romantic Zombies: What Their Representation in Film Means for Racism
Emily Murphy
Levels of Parental Influence and the Effects on Children: Too Much, Not Enough, and Just Right
Michelle Gefroh
Royal Road 1 Editorial Staff
| Editors Daniel Dooghan Joseph Letter David Reamer |
Selection Guidelines
Instructors will nominate the strongest research essay from each section of AWR 201 for evaluation by an editorial committee from the Academic Writing program. Those essays will be reviewed by the editorial board for possible inclusion in the annual issue ofRoyal Road: A Journal of Undergraduate Research. Section nominees may be determined either by the course instructor or by the students within a section, but only section nominees will be eligible for publication. In rare instances where more than one truly exceptional research essay is written within a single section, an instructor may nominate a second essay for selection.
Royal Road Editorial Board
Editor
Steven Mollmann
Faculty Avisor to Royal Road
David Reamer
Editorial Board
Gregory Brennen
Claire Class
Paul Corrigan
Daniel Dooghan
Suchismita Dutta
Misty Fuller
Jeremy Lakoff
Kyle McIntosh
Nicole Schrag
Josh Waggoner
Daniel Wollenberg
