FicHearth & Netring: By Fans, for Fans, of Fans

Fandom is a popular outlet for people, many young and some old, to escape to a world of fiction, and to find community centered around the things they love. However, centralized platforms like X and Reddit lack robust tagging systems, while old fandom hubs like Tumblr and Livejournal historically have run overzealous purges of harmful and/or adult content that caught works of fiction in the crossfire. Even decentralized applications like Mastodon and Pleroma are too complex and difficult for smaller communities to adopt, and have their own share of problems. To address this, I created FicHearth and Netring, a platform and protocol inspired by ActivityPub and its platforms, but designed for small communities. FicHearth is lightweight, easy to deploy, and highly customizable, putting power back into the hands of fans to create social spaces that suit their wants and needs which mainstream platforms fail to meet.

Caitlin Anderson graduated through the Greenwood Christian School Home Educators Association in 2019. She took dual enrollment classes at Lander University as a senior in high school, before continuing to become a full-time student there for a degree in Computer Information Systems with a software development emphasis. She held the vice president role of the Lander Technology Club for a year, and has been in the Honors College since enrollment.

An Advancement into Academics: A Comprehensive Study on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

The application of Artificial Intelligence within higher education has been an abundant question on the minds of various scholars and academic researchers. As such, many question the ethics of applying AI in higher education, leading various scholars to question if it could be beneficial or disadvantageous. This study seeks to determine if AI could be beneficial within a higher education environment. In order to derive a result, forty-four college students, ranging from Freshman to Senior, were questioned on their position regarding AI in higher education through an open ended survey with questions regarding AI. We found that AI can provide benefits within a university environment, but the most significant applications regarding it was accessibility. As such, this study is significant in that, not only does it prove that AI has capabilities within higher education, but that university students are accepting of such a controversial tool. 

Zachary Gossett is a graduate from Woodmont High School of Piedmont, South Carolina and is a senior majoring in Criminology with a minor in Forensic Science. His achievements include working with the Greenwood County Police Department, being an honorary member of the Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society, and conducting extensive research on juvenile delinquents and their behavior. He seeks to get his Master's in Criminology in order to work for various state or federal agencies in order to conduct in-depth research on Criminal and Sociological Studies to improve modern research efforts. 

Protecting Kidfluencers: The Urgent Need for Laws to Safeguard Child Social Media Influencers' Rights, Earnings, and Well-being

The rise of kidfluencing—where children generate income through social media content creation—has exposed significant legal and ethical gaps, leaving young influencers vulnerable to financial exploitation, privacy violations, and various forms of abuse. Unlike child actors, kidfluencers currently have no legal rights over their earnings, allowing parents and managers to control and potentially misappropriate their income. Additionally, these children face severe risks, including mental and physical exploitation, online predation, and the loss of personal identity due to constant commercialization. As awareness grows, parents, lawmakers, and advocacy groups are pushing for legislation tailored to protect child influencers. Many look to existing child labor laws, such as The Coogan Law, as a foundation for crafting policies that ensure financial security, privacy rights, and overall well-being. This study examines the legal and ethical implications of kidfluencing, analyzing current literature, case studies, and child labor laws in digital environments. The findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive regulations to safeguard these young content creators from exploitation and harm, prioritizing their rights, safety, and long-term well-being over profit-driven trends.

Hannah Owens is a graduating senior at Lander University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Graphic Design and Marketing, complemented by a minor in Spanish. A distinguished Honors graduate and member of Spanish Honors, she has gained hands-on experience through a Graphic Design and Marketing internship with Lander University’s Honors College and by studying abroad at TANDEM International School in Madrid, Spain. Following her graduation in May 2025, she will intern at Lima One Capital in Greenville, SC, and plans to continue her education by pursuing a master’s degree in Market Research.

The Presence of Artificial Intelligence in a Classroom Setting: A Lander University Student’s Perspective

Generative Artificial Intelligence is a newer form of technology that has a growing presence in various levels of academia, workforces, and etc. It is important to consider how the usage of this technology could influence the way in which individuals deem appropriate and inappropriate uses of Generative AI as a tool. This presentation takes into consideration a sample population of Lander University Students and their perceptions on Generative AI in their personal and academic lives. As part of a research course in the Sociology department of Lander, students were tasked with interviewing other Lander students for the data. To understand how Lander Students perceive AI, we analyzed trends or patterns between demographics represented in this student population. In a world where technology is continuously advancing, we can attempt to harness Generative AI in the classroom by identifying how students realistically utilize this genre of technology. 

Sophia Reyes is a Sophomore Criminology and Political Science double major and minor in Homeland Security. She is from Greenwood, South Carolina and plans to pursue a graduate degree program in Homeland Security when she graduates. 

Artificial Intelligence and Its Influence on Power

Mia Wilson critiques the development of artificial intelligence, examining the ethical concerns of its development with an emphasis on its skewed developmental direction. The paper argues that AI’s development began with the purpose of scientific development and has now become a capitalist instrument driven by greed and power. Drawing from Elizabeth Weil’s “You Are Not a Parrot” and the document “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots, " Wilson establishes the intersection of academia and capitalism and AI’s role within these concentrates. The paper argues that the primary motivator behind AI’s development is greed, with the wealthy and powerful controlling its growth for political gain. Questioning the long-term implications of AI, the paper breaches the idea that AI will reconstruct the existing societal structure, mimicking Weil’s argument concerning destroyed societal norms. Wilson argues that as AI is developed, traditional human control will be restructured into a never-before-seen type of society, alongside unforeseen consequences. Ultimately, the paper critically reflects on AI's role in shaping future societal dynamics, suggesting that unchecked technological advancement may lead to a world where artificial intelligence increasingly dictates human autonomy.

Mia Wilson graduated from Greenwood High School and is now a Psychology Major and Criminal Justice Minor at Lander. She is a hardworking and ambitious student, a Lander Honors College member, on the Dean's list, and a new Peer Leader for the university.