If you want to check out what other students in your major have been doing, this years Apeiron is the place to do it.

Registration begins at 10:20 a.m. Friday April, 22 in Mabee Library. The presentations will be at various places around campus with Art presentations in the Mulvayne Art Museum starting at 11 a.m.   Oral presentations will be in Henderson at 1 p.m. and poster presentations in the Mabee library from 3:40-5 p.m.  At 3 p.m in the Mabee library there will be a special guest speaker Howard Faulkner, Professor Emeritus of English.

Students of all majors and ages have been preparing various presentations, anywhere from posters, to writing plays and performing them, for the Spring semester, and in some cases, even longer.  Apeiron is a chance for students to shine, get recognition and research or pursue something they can’t do in class. Some even take in-class projects and revise them and expand on them, then present those for Aperion. Each student must have a professor mentor them throughout the process, to help them with their work, support them and will get credit as well.

Professor Bassima Schbley from the Department of Social Work at Washburn is a mentor for different students every year.  She explained that many students think they have to present in depth research to participate in Apeiron, but that is not the case.

“A lot of students assume it is a major research project and it can be, but it is really not,” said Schbley. “There is room for creativity.”

This year Schbley mentored Washburn Student Staci Pershall who wrote an essay called “Harm Reduction: A Pragmatic Approach to Substance Abuse Treatment” which studies the history of harm reduction in the United States, ethical principles associated with harm reduction and the implications of harm reduction practices for social work.  Pershall decided to have two mentors, Schbley and Dr. Nan Palmer.  Throughout her research she even was able to find research done by a local medical doctor here in Topeka. If it weren’t for Apieron Pershall never would have had the opportunity to work with her mentors in the way she did.

“I was lucky enough to have two sponsors from the social work department… they were both instrumental in my research journey,” said Pershall. “I particularly have enjoyed hearing their stories regarding their research experiences. It’s been very meaningful, and I thank them both for their kindness and generosity in sharing their time.”

Another student, mentored by Penelope Weiner who is co-chair of the Fine Arts and Performance Committee for this year’s Apeiron, wrote his own play. Neil Thompson will be presenting “Women in College” at 11:20 a.m. in the Mulvane Art Museum, about 3 women who experience love in different ways. Thompson wanted to explore writing women’s roles because as a man, he found it easier to write male roles. He used Apeiron to challenge himself and better his play writing abilities, and also as a way to get his work out there and to be noticed.

“It really not as hard or complicated as [most students] think it is,” said Thompson.”  Washburn is a small community, and it is a nice venue, it’s a nice way to get people to see your work.”

Most can agree Apeiron is a great way to get your work out there, but it is also an awesome way to check out what your peers have been working on.

For a full list of presentation information, registration information and a detailed schedule of events check out the web page http://www.washburn.edu/admin/vpaa/apeiron/index.html, you can also access this same page from My Washburn under the Students tab in the middle column.