Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

Transcription

1 Southeastern Louisiana University Fall 2015 Newsletter Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Department Head s Message The academic year was a tremendous roller coaster ride for the Department. We experienced much success with the Social Justice Speaker Series, the activities of our professors and student organizations, and the continuing study abroad program, but these successes were tempered by the health issues of two of our professors, Dr. David Burley and Dr. Marc Riedel, and the untimely passing of Criminal Justice major Edward O Bryant. Everyone in the Department went above and beyond to fill in for absent colleagues and ensure the continuing success of our Department and its academic programs and I wish to take a moment to thank them all. You ll see in the following pages that we remain extremely busy due to our efforts to link classroom learning to extracurricular learning experiences via student organizations, speaker events, internship opportunities, and study abroad trips. We believe that a critical understanding of the world developed in academic settings is furthered by student activities outside of the classroom. Student demonstrations against budget cuts is an example and demonstrates that students are academically engaged and ready to take on the challenges of the world. Our classes remain in high demand and we ve successfully redesigned our academic curricula to reflect the needs of students and better prepare them for life after college. As with past newsletters we encourage you to get in touch with us and let us know how you re doing. If any of you are interested in attending speaker events, participating in study abroad opportunities, or attending events organized by student organizations, we welcome you. Specifically, we still want to link alumni/ae with current students via events like the LEaD series, which allows alumni/ae to share their experiences with interested majors. Just contact me at kbolton@selu.edu and I ll facilitate your involvement with the Departmental activity. Thanks again for taking the time to read our newsletter. As always, we encourage you to keep up with the Department on our webpage, and we wish you all the best. Meet Jessica Siebenkittel Hi everyone! I know my name is rather long and a little hard to pronounce, but I assure you I am a true Acadian gal. Originally from Gonzales, Louisiana, I have lived in Belle Chasse, Gretna, Metairie, Jefferson, and La- Place. Then finally, in 2008, I landed in Ponchatoula with my husband, Danny, and two children, Ray and Cher. We also have a Boston terrier, Cash, and a tabby cat, Mickie. Oh! Some chickens too (no names for them). I came to Southeastern in April of 2011 with 30 years of office support and managerial experience in the private industry. I am a graduate of Belle Chasse High School and Delta Business College. If a hobby is considered something you love to do in your spare time, then I would have to say my hobby is talking to people. I love talking with people any age from anywhere. You always learn something new and interesting. So, now you know why working in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department is such a good fit for me. I thoroughly enjoy working here with the faculty and students. There is never a repetitive or dull moment.hi everyone! I know my name is rather long and a little hard to pronounce, but I assure you I am a true Acadian gal. Originally from Gonzales, Louisiana, I have lived in Belle Chasse, Gretna, Metairie, Jefferson, and La- Place. Then finally, in 2008, I landed in Ponchatoula with my husband, Danny, and two children, Ray and Cher. We also have a Boston terrier, Cash, and a tabby cat, Mickie. Oh! Some chickens too (no names for them). I came to Southeastern in April of 2011 with 30 years of office support and managerial experience in the private industry. I am a graduate of Belle Chasse High School and Delta Business College. If a hobby is considered something you love to do in your spare time, then I would have to say my hobby is talking to people. I love talking with people any age from anywhere. You always learn something new and interesting. So, now you know why working in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department is such a good fit for me. I thoroughly enjoy working here with the faculty and students. There is never a repetitive or dull moment. Page 1

2 Remembering Edward O Bryant The Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice requested a posthumous bachelor s degree in Criminal Justice be awarded to Edward O Bryant, who passed away in January Mr. O Bryant enrolled at Southeastern as a Nursing major in Fall 2011, but he changed his major to Criminal Justice in Spring He progressed rapidly through the program and was on track to graduate in Spring His degree GPA was 3.104, and he appeared on Southeastern s Honor Roll twice and on the Dean s List once. A Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice was awarded during the Spring graduation ceremony and meant a lot to his friends and family. Mr. O Bryant was very friendly, inquisitive, and popular with students and professors. He worked with the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center as an intern during the Spring semester and had plans to enter the Louisiana State Police Academy after graduation and begin a career with the state police. His untimely death was a great loss to the Department. Scholarship Update During this past year the Scholarship Committee awarded scholarships to both new and recurring recipients. Robert Randall continued to receive the Fluke Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship; upon his graduation in December, the scholarship was awarded to Emily McDonald. In the Spring semester the committee also awarded the Hammond Police Officers Union, Local 345 Criminal Justice Scholarship, which is typically awarded each year to one male and one female criminal justice major who maintains at least a 2.5 GPA. This year, the recipients were Emily Dykes and Daniel Dunn. The Tom Sullenberger Endowed Scholarship was received for a second year by Kyle Keller, and the Richard Kent III scholarship went to Heidi Mayeaux. Betsy Lafont maintained her eligibility and kept the 21st Judicial District Bar Association Scholarship in Criminal Justice. Hunter Lejeune was awarded the George and Cecil Bedsole Endowed Scholarship in Criminal Justice. Lastly the Jerry Salomone Endowed Scholarship in Sociology was retained by Stephanie Lange. Faculty feel that it is a vital function of the Department to support students both academically and financially. We encourage students and their families to explore these and other scholarship opportunities at our Departmental website. University Funding Protests The Department has always taken classroom education to practical activities in the real world. An example of this effort was the recent student protest in Baton Rouge. Following is a description in the words of MSAS student and Student Government Association (SGA) President Stephanie Travis: The fight for state appropriations was one that I knew that I wanted to take on, in my tenure as the SGA President. Ever since day one, I spoke of words such as student demands and rally. However, it wasn t until Governor Jindal proposed a budget that could entail almost $400 million in cuts to higher education that she got much attention. It wasn t until February when the Council of Student Body Presidents of the State of Louisiana listened to those words of mine and decided that action was needed. They elected me to be Chair of the Ad Hoc Action Committee. I came to the Southeastern Sociology Association (SSA) and met Jarett Aucoin and Jessica Casanova, two motivated and hardworking individuals who worked alongside me. SSA played an integral part in planning, coordinating, and promoting a demonstration at the State Capitol to protest the steep budget cuts. Also throughout the months of March and April, SSA worked with SGA to host tabling events dedicated to signing petitions and letter writing campaigns. April 15, 2015, is a day that will go down in my history, says Travis. Two hundred individuals from across the state rallied together, and while that number seems small, we represented over 200,000 citizens of our state. Students, staff, faculty, allies, and state legislators spoke about the importance of higher education not only on the steps of the state capitol for the media, but in the chambers of the House. For more than four hours, the Appropriations Committee heard testimony after testimony from us. In the weeks that followed, others held rallies, hundreds of letters were written, and countless conversations occurred between us and our legislators. Months later, and not so far after the session s end, the state s public colleges and universities are deemed a winner. Higher education in Louisiana will remain near its current funding level. And just this past week, Governor Jindal announced that he will veto the limitations on TOPS. I ve never been prouder of a collection of individuals. Yet, our fight isn t over. There s always something else that needs our attention. Page 2 Protesters speaking out at the April 15 rally at the State Capitol against proposed cuts to the state budget for higher education.

3 Social Justice Speaker Series (SJSS) Last Fall we marked the 10th anniversary of our popular Social Justice Speaker Series with Dr. Angela Davis, an iconic figure of the Civil Rights era and prison abolition movement. It was standing room only in the large ballroom of the new Student Union as nearly 800 people listened to Dr. Davis give her perspective on how to build a movement. Many students wanted to know how to make a difference in the world. Dr. Davis told them not to give up, even when it seems like they are not making any progress. She told them to stay the course because there are always some people that are listening. She added that young people and especially students have always been instrumental in the struggle to work for justice and make the world better for everybody. The event, which included more personalized meetings with our students and a dinner with Department faculty, was a great inspirational jolt of energy for us all. Our Fall 2015 Social Justice Speaker to be held on November 4th will be Dr. Marc Bousquet, who is an expert on the corporatization of higher education and the effects this has on students, faculty, their families, and communities. A popular speaker on campuses across the nation, Dr. Bousquet will be discussing some of the ideas in his book entitled How the University Works: Higher Education and the Low Wage Nation. But we are working hard to make this year's offering more than just a one-day event: several other departments at Southeastern have already agreed to work with us to make sure our theme is thoroughly examined in a range of thought-provoking ways. Everyone is invited to attend. Department faculty, staff, and friends having dinner with Dr. Angela Davis at China Lotus. Clockwise from bottom left: Dr. Marc Settembrino, Dr. Claudine Vallières, Mr. Gerald Mac- Neill, Dr. John Boulahanis, Ms. Rebecca Hensley, Dr. David Burley, Dr. Davis, Mr. Chad Cooper, Dr. Lisa Olson, Mr. Moe Wolfgramm, Ms. Jacqueline Hayes, Ms. Ashly Patterson. Hughey Presentation On March 25 th, the Department hosted a presentation by sociologist Matthew Hughey of the University of Connecticut on how racism in the U.S. has affected the history, development, and operation of fraternities in America. Hughey has published five books on race since 2011, and has edited the volume Race and Ethnicity in Exclusive and Secret Orders: Blood and Shadow. After a University of Oklahoma fraternity video went viral because of its racist content in the spring of 2015, Dr. Hughey was interviewed on the topic by CNN and featured on the opinion page of the New York Times. Nearly 200 students and faculty attended the presentation in the University Center and many stayed for the question and answer period afterward. Students later called the presentation thought-provoking and compelling, and complimented his use of humor to get his point across. One student said, It s crazy to think about how fraternities and sororities are more segregated than the colleges themselves.... I guess it just goes to show that if we don t study the history of things and how they ve come to be, then history really does repeat itself. Page 3

4 LEaD Presentation The Department has organized a professional speaker series program, titled Leadership, Education and Development (LEaD). The goal of the series is to invite motivating, competent, and professional Southeastern alumni to meet with, educate, inspire, and encourage students to strive for excellence in a variety of criminal justice areas: law enforcement, corrections, courts, private security, and criminal justice support activities. Although the series is primarily intended for prospective and current criminal justice students, it is open to all Southeastern students. The program is facilitated by Frank L. Tridico, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Louisiana State Police who is now entering his 6th year as a full-time instructor at the university. Tridico stated, Students often have difficulty meeting today with tomorrow s top leaders and professionals who are actually working in the criminal justice fields in which they are thinking about entering. The criminal justice department recognized this gap and implemented the LEaD series in order to put a face on these careers and provide students with an inside glimpse into these professional areas. Southeastern students now have the opportunity to discover the leadership qualities the speakers have developed and the education required as future leaders in the criminal justice profession. Our speakers also talk about their own Southeastern educational experience and professional development, how they chose criminal justice as a profession, and how they developed their particular interests and specialties. The speakers that have participated represent many sectors essential to tackling most any criminal justice issue, including education, technology, administration, and private security. This successful program is entering its third year and is generating an average of 75 students per session. In Fall 2015 the Department will host two LEaD sessions. The scheduled dates and speakers will be announced at the start of the semester. Interested alumni are encouraged to contact the department in order to arrange a future speaking. Harold Todd, Director of University Police at Southeastern, speaks to students as part of the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department s LEaD program. Graduate Program in Applied Sociology Greetings! We have had a very productive academic year in our Masters of Science in Applied Sociology (MSAS) program. During this time period, nine students successfully defended their theses or internship reports and were awarded graduate degrees. Summer 2014 graduates included Kristen Fagot (chaired by Dr. Kellen Gilbert), Alvanisha Ford (chaired by Dr. Michael Bisciglia), and William Knight (chaired by Dr. John Boulahanis). Fall 2014 graduates included Constance Conley, Sara Dupree, Christopher Martinez (all chaired by Dr. Boulahanis) and Robert Randall (chaired by Dr. David Burley). Spring 2015 graduates included Darcee Smith (chaired by Dr. Boulahanis) and Dante Bidwell (chaired by Dr. Burley and Dr. Bisciglia). Congratulations are extended to all our graduates. Our graduate students continue to attend and present at academic and applied sociological conferences. Emily McDonald presented a poster on Religious Experience and Identity: The Case of Short-Term Mission Trips at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, which was held in New Orleans in March Lance Felps and Jennifer Rees attended the LGBT Rural Pride Summit at Southern University on January 23, Congratulations to two of our current students who have been admitted to Ph.D. programs: Emily McDonald to George Mason University and Timothy Reling to Louisiana State University. We have exciting news about our former graduate students as well. William Jade Wilson gr aduated in May 2015 fr om Souther n Univer sity Law School. Jennifer Cheek r e- ceived the Outstanding Graduate Student award from the Department of Sociology at Mississippi State University. Melinda Jackson was awarded the Eleanor Earle Memorial Scholarship from the American Association of University Women. Ms. Jackson is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University. Finally, a special congratulations is due to MSAS student Stephanie Travis, who was recognized as Southeastern s 2015 Outstanding Woman for her service in the Student Government Association and her leadership in initiatives such as Southeastern s community garden, the No More campaign, and the protests against proposed cuts to higher education funding in Spring If you are interested in our MSAS program and/or need additional information, please contact the coordinator of the program, Dr. John Boulahanis, at jboulahanis@selu.edu or at (985) Ms. Darcee Smith & Mr. Dante Bidwell, May 2015 Graduation. Page 4

5 Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Student Organization News Honor Societies Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the International Sociology Honors Society, received official recognition as a student organization from Southeastern over the summer. This was a tremendous end to an academic year that saw a large number of students become AKD members. In the Fall semester inductees included undergraduate students Sarah Basile (now a student in the MSAS pr ogr am) and Priyanka Singh and gr aduate students Timothy Bachot, Jacob Chavez, Amy Edwards, Lance Felps, Emily McDonald, and Stephanie Travis. In the Spr ing semester under gr ad Donna Shepperson and Chelsea Alexander and gr aduate students Demitrius Jones, Maretta McDonald, and Tim Reling joined AKD. Furthermore, graduate student Amanda Ballouk had been an AKD member at her previous university and is now a member of Southeastern s chapter. Graduate students Timothy Bachot and Darcee Smith became members of Alpha Phi Sigma, the National Criminal Justice Honor Society. Ms. Smith was inducted in October 2014, and Mr. Bachot in February The organization held a series of supply drives for House of Serenity, a homeless shelter in Ponchatoula. SSA managed to obtain cleaning supplies, food, and clothing, as well as $ for the shelter to use at their discretion. SSA also played an integral part in planning, coordinating, and promoting the April 15 demonstration at the state capitol against potentially catastrophic budget cuts to higher education. Lastly, SSA joined forces with the Southeastern Sustainability Society to help build the Southeastern Community Garden as a part of Southeastern s Big Event. All in all, it was an astonishingly productive year for SSA. SSA members dropping off supplies for House of Serenity. L. to R.: Jarett Aucoin, Sarah Basile, Ashley Ellis, Chelsea Alexander. Reconnect L. to R.: Graduate student Tim Bachot, undergraduate student Chelsea Alexander, faculty member Dr. Robert Martin. SSA The academic year saw the Southeastern Sociological Association (SSA) engaged in an almost unbroken stream of activity. In September SSA held a Moment of Silence for Michael Brown and the protestors in Ferguson. SSA also paid respect to other victims, such as Eric Garner and John Crawford. In October the organization held tabling events against bullying. During the same month SSA hosted Mike Stagg, an environmental activist, who spoke about the control that the oil industry exercises over Louisiana state government. Finally, SSA partnered with Southeastern s NAACP chapter to host a showing of Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, a film about African-American activist Angela Davis. SSA wrapped up its Fall semester with a food drive for local food bank Our Daily Bread. Throughout the Spring semester SSA participated in Southeastern s ongoing No More initiative. SSA held a tabling event focused on education and promoting solidarity with victims / survivors of sexual assault. Page 5 Reconnect organized a total of four successful farmers markets this past academic year. The two farmers markets held during the Spring semester were able to bring in an urban farmer from New Orleans, Supporting Urban Agriculture, and also inspire a Southeastern student, Stephanie Travis, to sell her homemade jelly for the first time at our market. At their Earth Day farmers market, Reconnect gave out seedlings for a dollar donation. The seedlings were planted in small biodegradable pots. All were easy-to-grow plants like basil, sunflower, thyme, cilantro, and lavender. In May 2015 Reconnect held a Paper Recycling Week where students could leave their old notes, handouts, printouts, and other recyclable paper. The event turned out to be very popular and received a lot of support from the students. Locally Preserved is a small, gr owing New Or leans based business that specializes in the production of syrups and jellies. Emily Vanlandingham of Locally Preserved aspires to educate people about local, seasonal food and creating the best dishes with basic ingredients. Locally Preserved's brand manager Kelle Ory joined us for our market.

6 Student Organization News, Continued StandOUT StandOUT is our campus lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allies (LGBTQA) student group. We host biweekly social events and present several educational programs throughout the year. Last October, we organized a film series to celebrate LGBTQA history month. The film series has become a tradition and we re looking forward to this year! We are currently planning several events that will take place in Fall 2015, including a Transgender Issues Workshop and an LGBTQA-inclusive dance. For more information please contact standout.slu@gmail.com No More Campaign One year later, over 300 people on campus have pledged no more. There have been events, lectures, and campaigns. A variety of departments, individuals, and organizations, such as the Office of Student Conduct, the Southeastern Sociological Association, and Sociology As part of the No More campaign, the Southeastern Sociological Association encouraged students and professors to sign a blanket by making a handprint with finger paint, in order to show solidarity with victims/survivors of sexual assault. The event filled up two blankets worth of prints. Many participants were happy to show support for such a great cause and to be a part of a fun event. The No More Campaign is a commitment to a dialog against domestic and sexual violence. With statics showing that 1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, two Southeatern students thought that this dialog should take place here at Southeastern. Applied Sociology graduate students Stephanie Travis and Tim Reling, who both hold executive positions in Southeastern s Student Government, met with numerous departments and organizations to coordinate events and awareness programs. instructor Rebecca Hensley, have partnered with the Student Government Association and continued to discuss how society blames the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse and perpetuates rape culture. Individuals who would like to become more involved in the No More Campaign can contact the Office of Student Conduct. Cuba 2015 Building off the success of last summer, we recently completed another study abroad trip to Cuba. Dr. Marc Settembrino and 13 students traveled to Cuba May 19 27, 2015, to study environmental sociology and sustainability. Dr. Settembrino writes, Our trip began in Cuba s capital city, Havana, where we learned about the history of the city and visited several community projects including the Almandares River restoration project, the Imagen 3 art community, and the Almar Oganiponico, one of Cuba s most successful organic farm collectives. We also made several excursions into the Cuban countryside. First, we visited Patio de Pelegrin, an art community and organic farm in Pinar del Rio. We spent time talking to community leader and artist, Mario Pelegrin, and learned how to make clay sculptures. Our second trip into the country side was to Playa Giron (what most Americans call the Bay of Pigs) and Cienfuegos. Along the way we made a stop at a school for visual and performing arts in the Zapata swamp. Dr. Settembrino concludes, While we can show you pictures and tell you where we went, words cannot adequately describe this trip. You have to experience it for yourself! The Department has already begun planning next year s trip to Cuba. For more information please contact Department Head Ken Bolton, or the study abroad office at studyabroad@selu.edu. Photo: (Left to Right) Row 1: Sofia Garcìa-Morel, Lauren White, Dr. Settembrino, Darlene Guillot; Row 2: Re neisha Stevenson, Martha Sibley, Cristina Berthelot, Krisopher Cleland; Row 3: Aria Silva- Espinosa, Jarett Aucoin; Row 4: Brian Guillot, Amy Edwards, Laura Thompson, Anthony Degioia. (Taken at the Institute for Friendship with the Peoples, Havana, Cuba.) Page 6

7 Honors Convocation Awards The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) held its annual honors convocation on April 29, The Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in Criminal Justice went to Emily Dykes, who graduated Summa Cum Laude with a GPA of At Fall Graduation, Ms. Dykes was awarded the President s Medal for the highest GPA in the College of AHSS. The F. Dale Parent Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in Sociology was awarded to Sarah Basile, who had graduated Magna Cum Laude with a GPA of Ms. Basile has continued to perform at an impressive level as a student in Southeastern s MSAS program, and has exhibited remarkable leadership as a member of the Southeastern Sociological Association. Emily Dykes, with Department Head Dr. Ken Bolton. Sarah Basile and Dr. Bolton. Professional Activities Michael G. Bisciglia, The Class Effect of Segregation on Rates of Hispanic and African American Homicide. Presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Mid- South Sociological Association, November 2014, Mobile, AL. Michael G. Bisciglia, Segregation and Its Impact on Hispanic Homicide: The Use of the Index of Qualitative Variation as a Measure of Internal Hispanic Segregation. Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, March 2015, New Orleans, LA. Michael G. Bisciglia and Kenneth Bolton, Fading Promise of Representative Bureaucracy? Employment of African American Law Enforcement Officers in Florida Sheriffs Offices: Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, March 2015, New Orleans, LA. John Boulahanis, A Spatial Examination of Homicide Clearance Rates. Presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Sociological Association, November 2014, Mobile, AL. John Boulahanis chaired a session entitled Homicide Studies at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Sociological Association, November 2014, Mobile, AL. John Boulahanis, Comparing Exceptionally Cleared Homicides to Open Homicide Cases: A Chicago Dataset Analysis. Presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, November 2014, San Francisco, CA. John Boulahanis s research on homicide clearance rates was cited extensively in the Los Angeles Daily News and in Governing magazine. Russell Castro, Legalization s Relationship to Normalization: Colorado Policy Examined. Presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. August 2014, San Francisco, CA. Rebecca Hensley was elected President of the Association for Humanist Sociology (2017). Tara Mann, Violence and Silence: Misogyny, #yesallwomen, and Anita Sarkeesian. Lecture for Women s History Month at Southeastern Louisiana University, March 2015, Hammond, LA. Robert R. Martin and Roger Finke. Defining and Redefining Religious Freedom: A Quantitative Assessment of Free Exercise Cases in the U.S. State Courts, In Religious Freedom in America: Constitutional Roots and Contemporary Challenges, edited by Allen D. Hertzke, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, Roger Finke and Robert R. Martin Ensuring Liberties: Understanding State Restrictions on Religious Freedoms. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 53 (4): Robert R. Martin, Religion vs. State: Free Exercise Disputes in U.S. State Appellate Courts, Presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, August 2014, San Francisco, CA. Richard Kesel, Molly McGraw, Elaine Yodis, Problems Related to Management Decisions on the Mississippi River Floodplain, Examples from Louisiana. Presented at the 2nd International Conference on the Status and Future of the World s Large Rivers, July 2014, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. H. Jesse Walker and Molly McGraw, Tapped Lakes as Sediment Traps in an Arctic Delta. Presented at the ICCE/IAHS International Symposium 2014 on Sediment Dynamics, December 2014, New Orleans, LA. Richard Kesel and Molly McGraw. Fluvial Geomorphology: Its Role in Policy and Management Decisions on the Lower Mississippi River. In Geomorphology and Management of Embanked Floodplains: North American and European Fluvial Systems in an Era of Global Environmental Change, edited by Paul Hudson and Hans Middelkoop. New York: Springer, Molly McGraw, Spatial Analysis of Arctic Delta Lakes. Presented at the 31st Annual Louisiana Remote Sensing & GIS Workshop, May 2015, Baton Rouge, LA. Gerald McNeill, The Loss of Material Culture on the Upland South Cemetery Landscape. Presented at the 46th Annual Conference of the Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts and Landscapes, October 2014, Oklahoma City, OK. Lisa Olson, Potential Juror Evaluations of Gay and Lesbian Witness Testimony. Presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 2015, Orlando, FL. Lisa Olson, Intergroup Contact and Its Effect on Levels of Sexual Prejudice. Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, March 2015, New Orleans, LA. Marc R. Settembrino, Weathering the Storm in Tents and Public Spaces: Understanding Natural Hazards Risk and Mitigation Practices Among the Homeless. Presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 2014, San Francisco, CA. Marc R. Settembrino, Constructing a Matrix of Vulnerability from Emergency Managers Perceptions of Vulnerable Populations. Presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 2014, San Francisco, CA. Marc R. Settembrino, Benefits, Challenges, and Limitations of Group Interviewing. Presented at the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Couch-Stone Symposium, February 2015, St. Petersburg, FL. Marc R. Settembrino, Sexual Orientation, Perceived Risk, and Hurricane Preparedness: An Exploratory Study. Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, March 2015, New Orleans, LA. Peter Shrock, Quantitative Analysis of OSHA Enforcement Data: Is There Anything There? Poster presentation at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, March 2015, New Orleans, LA. Claudine Vallières, Llamas in the City: The Role of Camelids at the Ancient Urban Center of Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Invited lecture for Friday Forum Speakers Series, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, January 2015, Baton Rouge, LA. Claudine Vallières. Camelid Pastoralism at Ancient Tiwanaku: Urban Provisioning in the Highlands of Bolivia. In The Archaeology of Andean Pastoralism, edited by José M. Capriles and Nicholas Tripcevich. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming. Page 7

8 Support Our Department! HELP US CONTINUE THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE If you would like to make a contribution, we would greatly appreciate it! You will be recognized in our next newsletter. To support the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Developmental Fund, which assists with dayto-day expenses and sponsored events, please make checks payable to: Southeastern Development Foundation & Sociology & Criminal Justice and mail to: Sociology and Criminal Justice; SLU 10686; Hammond, LA My/Our Gift is: $ 10 - $49 $ $ 100 and above To support the following endowed scholarships, please use the web link below to make your contribution: The Jerry Salomone Endowed Scholarship in Sociology The Tom Sullenberger Endowed Scholarship in Criminal Justice Visit: THANK YOU! We want to hear from you! Please let us know how you are doing, and if you would be interested in being nominated for an alumni award from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (see award description at: alumni_donors/alumni_assoc/recognitions/index.html) Name: Address: Phone: Year of Graduation and Major: Additional Comments: Page 8