CNU graduate writes award-winning research paper

News Release - November 3, 2005
contact:
Karen L. Gill
karen.gill@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428

(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — A Christopher Newport University graduate’s scholarly paper has been named the outstanding undergraduate paper by the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender.

The paper by Madelin “Rosie” Russo, a 2004 CNU graduate, details the limited role of women in the sports world and won the Outstanding Undergraduate Paper or Creative Project Award, the top award for undergraduate papers.

“I feel flattered about winning the award; perhaps even a little undeserving,” Russo wrote in an e-mail. “I feel that it is a true reflection, not of my achievements, but those of my communication professors and all the hard work they put in to making sure that their students receive a great education. Particularly, I feel that Dr. Linda Baughman and Dr. Mary Rose Williams deserve all the credit for making this happen.”

Her paper, “Women take the Sack in the Hegemonistic World of Sports” uses the minimal amount of air time women’s sports receive and the lack of women commentators to support the argument that women are “sidelined” in athletics. Russo analyzed Super Bowl XXXVIII, as well as Janet Jackson’s half-time performance, and concluded that “sport is a social confirmation of masculinity, which is presented by and catered to, an elite male audience.”

A reviewer of Russo’s paper wrote that her “… approach to materialism, feminism, and other complex ideas are remarkable for an undergraduate paper.”

Russo is currently a graduate student in the the Department of Communication, University of Colorado at Denver.

Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.

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