Women’s and Gender Studies Award

2025 Winners – Eli-Aslan Dunlap and Nick Lundrigan

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Pat Alexander, Mary Norton, Helen Whidden, and I (Anne MacInnis) had the pleasure of listening to two outstanding presentations of Acadia students Eli-Aslan Dunlap and Nick Lundrigan. Eli-Aslan’s project #Search the Landfill was an examination and reflection upon the loss of Indigenous women whose remains were recovered from Winnipeg-area landfills. Nick Lundrigan’s paper, “Alice is a Friend of Dorothy: Queer Allegory in Wonderland and Oz was a comparative analysis between the work of Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum.

David Duke, acting Dean of Women and Gender Studies, reported that the Adjudication Committee was impressed by all five presentations submitted but these two stood out for their impact and scholarly achievement. They found both students’ work to be compelling and mature, clear, and impactful. Therefore, they recommended that the award be split between the two students. After hearing the presentations, I could understand why the committee could not choose between these two outstanding projects. However, EliAslan and Nick did not have to split the award because an anonymous donor came forth and donated $2000 so both students could receive the full award of $2000 each! They were thrilled and so was everyone else.

This year, three members of the Adjudication Committee were present for the student presentations – Anne Quema (chair), Emily Lockhart, and Rabinda Chaulagain. Emily acted as facilitator and friends of the students were present as well. It felt like an event, and we were very pleased to be part of this event. We are grateful to David Duke for corresponding with us about the award recipients and we look forward to next year as well.