Spotlight Work
Capstone- Campaigns Spring 2024
For my senior capstone project, my group and I redesigned an annual report for our client, the Topeka Zoo, who felt that their previous reports were not effectively telling the story of who they are and lacked inspiration and cohesiveness. On the left is our annual report and on the right is our campaigns plans book.
Click here to see the full annual report
Click here to see the full plans book
Writing Pieces
Ad Analysis
I. The company represented in the ad that I chose for this assignment was KIA Motors. Here is their Super Bowl ad.
Event Story Piece
The Dole Institute of Politics Mock Trial Event Two lawyers participated in a mock trial held by The Dole Institute of Politics on November 14th over a topic regarding if felons should be allowed to vote after completing their sentence. The event was hosted by The Counselors; a program through the Dole Institute that features two advocates arguing both sides of a criminal justice reform issue. The two lawyers debating this issue were Edward Duckers and Pedro Irigonegaray. Duckers is a partner at Stoel Rives LLP and head of the firm's litigation practice, and Pedro Irigonegaray is an attorney and partner at Irigonegaray, Turney, and Revenaugh. After opening speeches from both sides claiming their stance, Pedro Irigonegaray brought his first witness to the stand, Neal Votlz, a former felon fighting for felon’s rights to vote in Florida. “When a debt is paid, it is paid,” Voltz said. He talked about his own experience voting for the first time after being released from prison and how much of an emotional experience that was for him. The second witness brought to the stand was Amy Fettig, who laid out the facts for the audience. Amy stated that 48 out of the 50 states have some form of voting ban for felons. “In the 2020 midterm elections 4.6 million Americans were denied voting because of felonies,” Fettig said. On the other side of the argument, Edward Duckers brought Stephen McAllister to the stand as his first witness. McAllister stated that he is a firm believer that we as humans have a ‘social contract’ to follow, and those who break this contract should not be allowed to partake in the making of laws, or the electing of those who make or enforce the laws. Michael Smith, a professor of political science and chairman of the social sciences department at Emporia State University, is the final witness to take the stand. His main point was that not all of these felons take advantage of their renewed right to vote. “In Iowa in 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds restored voting rights for about 35-45 thousand people who had been convicted of felonies and completed their sentences, a year later fewer than five thousand registered and fewer than thirty two hundred actually voted in the next election,” Smith said. After the debate, an audience member voiced their thoughts about the mock trial. “I thought that I strongly agreed with one side of the argument, however the opposing side really made me question my original judgment,” said Kaylee, a Political Science major here at KU.
Current Event Interview Piece
23rd St construction causes traffic mess A large construction zone running down 23rd St in Lawrence has caused all kinds of traffic and delays for those who regularly use the road. The purpose of this construction, which has been ongoing since summer of 2022, is to tackle two different issues, gas lines and traffic impact. According to the City of Lawrence Construction Map, the company working on this project is Miles Excavating Inc. and the estimated timeline for this project is from June 27, 2022 to December 29, 2023. The impact that this construction has had on traffic running down 23rd St, more specifically Haskell Bridge to 600 ft east of Anderson road, has been significant and caused many drivers to become frustrated. As one side of the street is completely torn out, 23rd St is now down to a very tight two lane road. The biggest issue at hand, though, have been the stop lights. They operate by allowing only one lane to go at a time. Often, drivers are having to wait at stop lights in this construction zone for four to five minutes as cars pile up creating long lines at these lights. Because 23rd is a main road in Lawrence surrounded by businesses, there is no good alternate route to avoid this traffic mess. Drivers have no option but to sit and wait for their light to turn green, which is causing much irritation. The construction has also made it difficult to get in and out of businesses along this road, as drivers must drive directly through the construction to access them. Citizens are growing tired of the constant congestion as the project is only six months into the year and a half long project. Many local Lawrence residents have voiced their complaints to the city about this inconvenience. Michael Leos, who works for the City of Lawrence Municipal Services and Operations, stated that they have received many negative remarks about the timeline of the project as citizens are unhappy that it will not be fully completed until the end of next year. He stated that wrong information about when the project would be wrapped up was released and many citizens are displeased as they were expecting a shorter timeline. As far as resulting traffic, Leos was unsure about any major wrecks or accidents due to this construction zone. However, he did mention that this project has “definitely caused congestion.” “We have recently had to reroute trucks away from this light as turning has become an issue. We definitely have to adapt to this new situation,” Leos said. Leos is understanding of driver’s frustrations, however there is no simple solution to this problem. The project is still a long way from being finished, and delays can be expected to get longer as the winter months approach. The city plans to do as much as they can to lighten up congestion as the project presses on. With winter break just around the corner, there is hope that fewer students in Lawrence means lighter traffic. “I drive through 23rd St everytime I want to go home to my parents house and it has become a real pain to deal with. The stop lights take forever and what used to be a 30 minute drive home has now become a 40-45 minute drive,” said Caelin Henry, a psychology student here at KU. This construction affects not just Lawrence citizens but all drivers in the area. Unfortunately, there is still a long road ahead for this project and long lights might become the new 2023 norm for 23rd St drivers.