Scholar Profiles
Meredith Barrios
2004-2005 University Scholar
Mentor: James Button
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
"I applied to the USP because, despite a growing Hispanic population in Florida, there is extremely limited research regarding Hispanic political representation. I hope to learn how the integration of culture, values and political reality impacts FloridaŽs Hispanic community."
Meredith is a senior majoring in both public relations and political science. She has been on the President’s Honor Roll and her academic interests include political communication, political theory, and Hispanic culture. She is treasurer of Journalism and Communication Ambassadors and volunteers for CHAMPS, Collegiates Helping as Mentors in Public Schools. In her spare time, Meredith enjoys intramural sports, playing the piano and travel.
Research Description:
Hispanic Representation
Recently, Hispanics were declared the largest minority in the United States and have since had a growing presence in the state of Florida. Although this group has the potential to be a political powerhouse, Hispanic representation in the state legislature is still disproportionately small. With my research I hope to explore the area of Hispanic representation to determine the ideologies of Hispanic legislators and their constituents, the degree to which Hispanic legislators work with other cultural groups and with other Hispanics, and the effectiveness of Hispanic representation as a whole. I plan to explore this area by developing and sending a survey to all Hispanic legislators that have served in the Florida since 1990. In addition to the survey, I will conduct personal interviews with a representative sample of this group. With this research, I hope to help increase awareness and understanding about the importance of Hispanic representation.
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