Timothy and Jessica Nines, siblings in the Neumann Honors Program, have been selected to present papers at the Northeast Regional Honors Council (NRHC) Conference, scheduled for April 9-12 in Gettysburg, PA.

Jessica's paper is entitled "The Battle for Unborn Rights." Because of developments over the past decade, prenatal genetic testing can identify many diseases and disorders in a fetus, including mental disabilities. “This had led to a great ethical debate on whether learning this information may lead parents to abort a child out of fear or uncertainty regarding the diagnosis,” she argues. “Are healthcare professionals providing adequate teaching, education, support and referrals to aid the family when a difficult situation arises with their unborn child?”

Timothy, in "The Battle for Education in the United States," argues that technical schools, shop classes and skilled tradesmen serve a vital purpose in our society, and yet there is a strong social negative stigma surrounding blue collar work in the United States. “My presentation is about the importance of skilled technical labor and about how people who recognize its value and who do not wish to go the route of a college education are fighting for dignity against a society that does not understand them.”

Jessica, a senior who will graduate in May, is a Nursing major. Timothy is a sophomore, majoring in Computer Information Management and Business Administration. Both students will present their papers to audiences of college professors and students from NRHC institutions on Saturday, April 11.

The theme of the NRHC Conference is "Battlefields of Change." In an explanation of the theme on its website, the NRHC asks participants to consider "battlefields that have transformed the world in which we live -- be they physical battlefields like Gettysburg or other fields of battle, where ideas and ideals have come into conflict and where the outcomes have been consequential in the deepest and most genuine sense."

The NRHC is an organization of students, faculty, and administrators dedicated to the encouragement and support of undergraduate honors learning. The NRHC encompasses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Currently almost 200 different colleges and universities are members.