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Item Open Access Navigating Language and Belonging: The Experience of Adult English Learners in Burlington(2026-04-28)As of 2022, it has been estimated that around 2,000 refugees have been resettled in Vermont—primarily from Congo, Burma, and Bhutan (Catania, 2022). Burlington, as the most populated city in Vermont, has received most of these newcomers, requiring an adaptation of resources to provide essential services for refugees. This is particularly important for language training, which plays a crucial role in refugee resettlement and has been linked to increased employment opportunities, community connections, and feelings of belongingness (Mathews-Ayindli, 2008). Within Burlington, adult English language learners (ELL) can gain English proficiency through community organizations such as Parent University, Mercy Connections, and Vermont Adult Learning, which provide a variety of English classes for newcomers. Alternatively, adults can participate in the Vermont Adult Diploma Program, which allows adults to attend public high school as full-time students with no upper age cap. As a result, there are many adult learners of similar ages accessing English through different educational models.This research provides a case study on how three English Language (EL) organizations in Burlington; Parent University, Mercy Connections, and Burlington High School (BHS) provide English services to adult refugee students. This study investigates how students select their type of formal English instruction and compares how the difference in the organization providing EL classes contributes to a difference in experience for ELLs, particularly focusing on English classes’ link to community belonging. It ultimately finds that EL services exist in a wide network of language service providers, students have a high level of agency in selecting their program based on their educational goals, and English services create welcoming and belonging spaces that assist EL students in their transition to living in Burlington.Item Open Access The Effects of Western Diet and Binge Drinking on the Mouse Brain(2026-04-16)The Western diet pattern has spread worldwide due to the increasing availability of cheap and ultra-processed foods. Simultaneously, drinking patterns have changed with binge drinking becoming the most popular form of alcohol intake. Both Western diet and binge drinking have been linked to inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, but the impacts of their combination on the brain are not known. This is of concern as poor diet and heavy drinking often go hand-in-hand and their combination has potential to cause more rapid or severe neurodegeneration. This research seeks to investigate this gap using a mouse model consuming a translatable Western diet and binge drinking protocol over 12 weeks. Mouse food and alcohol consumption were measured along with final body and brain weight. Serum levels of glucose and thyroxine were measured. Biochemical assays assessing lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status were used along with qPCR of brain inflammatory targets. Findings suggest the Western diet seems to be the most prominent driver of disease, with binge drinking having a minimal effect on its own or as an additive. Western diet increases alcohol consumption and increases feeding behavior, and is likely not due to hypothalamic inflammation. Although no changes in molecular markers were detected in the hypothalamus, alterations to anti- and pro-oxidant measures were detected in whole brain tissue with Western diet increasing lipid peroxidation. There are also clear sex differences seen throughout these results regarding consumption patterns, weight gain, and inflammatory markers requiring further investigation.Item Open Access A role for PACAPergic lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBn) afferents in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in anxiety-like responding(2026-04-13)Understanding the underlying neural circuits important for anxiety behaviors is crucial for potential therapeutics and awareness of risk factors. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has long been researched as a critical region for anxiety-like responding. And pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) within the BNST has been shown crucial for mediating anxiety-like responses, both chronic and acute, in mice. A major source of PACAP in the BNST comes from the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBn), which is a brain region previously researched for its role as a general alarm response center. Here, we demonstrate that activation of LPBn → BNST PACAP afferents results in increased anxiety-like behaviors. However, antagonism of PAC1 receptors in the BNST prior to circuit activation resulted in decreased anxiety-like behaviors, producing an anxiolytic effect. Together, these findings highlight the PACAP dependent LPBn → BNST circuit in mediating stress and anxiety-like behaviors.Item Open Access Between Protection and Censorship: Examining the Constitutionality of University Speech Codes and Their Influence on Free Expression(2026-04-27)The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, which protects free speech and expression, is not often considered in academic settings. This is an issue as the First Amendment explicitly protects hate speech as long as it is not defamatory, obscene, threatening, or inciting violence. This surprisingly leads to a significant amount of speech that is constitutionally protected despite its hateful nature. Therefore, a lot of speech that universities seek to prohibit in their speech codes is actually constitutionally protected by the First Amendment. This creates an issue when colleges and universities are attempting to create a safe environment for their students where they are not subjected to hate speech. The university's intention is to create an environment where all identities and people feel welcomed, which cannot be achieved on a campus that is rampant with hate speech. This creates tension with the foundational issue that these speech codes, which are meant to promote safety and inclusivity, are extremely difficult to write without being unconstitutional. There has been some scholarship on the implications of university speech codes and the role of the First Amendment in American society. This scholarship has not explored the foundational principles of these issues and examined them through case law. I will examine the important issue of the tensions between the speech codes and their risk of unconstitutionality. It will also highlight the way in which courts resolve these issues and how they attempt to reconcile the goal of these speech codes with their problematic language. My research will use previous scholarship and case law to examine these notable controversies and their recent developments to better understand the complexities of this tension.Item Embargo Self-Management Habit Strength in Teens with Type 1 Diabetes: Relation to Diabetes-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life(2026-04-23)Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder in which the body is unable to regulate blood glucose. Managing T1D as a teen is challenging, and self-management behaviors (e.g., glucose checking, carbohydrate counting) must be performed daily to prevent immediate risk for mortality and long-term health consequences. However, self-management behaviors often conflict with teens’ desires for autonomy and normalcy. Teens who struggle to maintain high engagement in diabetes self-management behaviors report greater diabetes-related stress and lower diabetes-specific health-related quality of life (D-HRQOL). Psychosocial interventions to increase diabetes self-management by increasing goal setting and other coping skills have limited benefits. Since health behaviors performed as habits are often perceived as less burdensome, interventions to increase diabetes self-management behavior habits in teens might be a novel approach to promote treatment engagement and improve D-HRQOL. This study evaluated this underlying premise by examining whether there is a cross-sectional relationship between increased diabetes self-management habit strength and improved D-HRQOL. Habit strength and overall D-HRQOL were found to have a strong, positive correlation, which is consistent with previous literature. Conversely, there was no significant relationship found between habit strength and D-HRQOL specific to peer relationships, nor between habit strength and D-HRQOL specific to daily emotions and activities. The results of this study suggest interventions focusing on strengthening habit formation, such as those used in occupational therapy, might be useful. Future studies should focus on diversifying the sample population and exploring causal relationships in other subscales of D-HRQOL.
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