Way to Go! Wantagh student published for meme research
Jennifer Rosen, a senior at Wantagh High School, was recently published online by the Journal of Student Research. Credit: Wantagh School District
A Wantagh High School student's research about memes has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Jennifer Rosen, a senior, explored how a person's digital footprint can impact their personal and professional lives by examining the surge of memes and videos on social media as a result of the movement for racial equality and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her research, titled "Karen Ever After: The Career & Legal Consequences of Being the Racist White Lady in an Internet Meme," was published online this winter in the high school edition of the Journal of Student Research.
"The research took a lot of time, but I found it very well worth it in the end," said Rosen, who tackled the project as part of her school’s Advanced Placement Research class. "It's cool to be able to say that I am a published researcher, and it shows the hard work that I put into my project."
Rosen's research, which focused on 56 incidents in which the person displayed racist behaviors, found that 27% had career consequences and 27% had legal consequences.
"This research contributes to a largely undiscussed field in academia by providing an in-depth assessment on defaming internet trends," she wrote.
Rosen also works part time at a real estate office and is a member of her school's Key Club and Business, English and Tri-M Music honor societies.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.