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Unlocking Engagement: A Comprehensive Assessment of Student Involvement in High-Impact Practices
No full textThe National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) project team was pivotal in creating a framework and gathering data on high-impact practices (HIPs) to enhance student engagement in learning nationwide. Student engagement in HIPs is a vital institutional performance metric closely linked to strategic objectives and state-level funding. To maximize NSSE results, we investigated our students\u27 HIP engagement practices in-depth. We adapted NSSE items to enable department/college-level comparisons with the university-level NSSE report and intra-institution comparisons across units. A mixed methods approach included qualitative analysis to identify barriers to student HIP engagement. To obtain a representative sample, we employed diverse recruitment channels, such as the Dean of Students Office, Academic Engagement, and Student Affairs. Institutional comparisons revealed that the engagement of internships and capstone experiences aligned with NSSE findings. However, other HIP types deviated from NSSE expectations. Within-institution comparisons unveiled varying engagement patterns among college units, providing opportunities to recognize exemplary HIP engagement. Student-centric analyses identified four distinct classes of HIP engagement patterns, showcasing a diversity of approaches. Qualitative data analysis uncovered prominent obstacles to student involvement in HIPs, including time constraints, work-related conflicts, and limited awareness
Letter from the Editors
Get PDFThis is a letter from the editors of the California Sociology Forum Student Journal of Sociology Volume 7 Spring 2025
Music Review: Analysis of Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy Performance
Get PDFKendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy performance medley of his songs “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” – akin to a protest march and laden with powerful and moving imagery – is coming from a place of exhaustion. It speaks volumes regarding the plight of Black Americans and is a stark representation of the entrenched violence perpetrated against them by the United States government, allowing regular White folks to rape, murder, and pillage Black bodies without repercussions (Anderson 2016)
Solitary Confinement: Perpetuation of a Carceral Society
No full textThe correctional tool of solitary confinement has been brought back into popular use in the recent decades, bringing into question the reason for why this tool is continuing to be used despite its controversial nature. While previous studies have brought into focus the dangers of this disciplinary measure, there has always been a strong focus on mental impacts caused by the prolonged periods of social isolation. Reexamination of all impacts brought upon by the punishment method can help to solidify why this tool should be eliminated from the criminal justice system entirely. While there are significantly more mental impacts caused by solitary confinement, studies have also found there to be an appearance of physical changes brought by the punishment ranging from weight fluctuation to worsening of preexisting conditions. Additionally, the pressures brought on through the intense sensory deprivation can lead to worsening anxiety, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, and cognitive deterioration. One case that best exemplifies this intense mental degradation is the Reykjavik Confessions, an Icelandic case where suspects were placed in solitary confinement for extremely long periods of time to get a confession, leading to the falsification of memories, exemplified through one of the suspects journals. The use of solitary confinement as a correctional tool can lead to negative experience as the guidelines for use of the punishment are not fully detailed, allowing for use of it to be misused and abused. Currently, there are no benefits that should justify the use of solitary confinement in modern times. The deterioration of physical health, the exacerbation of mental health, and the loose guidelines that allow for abuse of power places solitary confinement in a position where the correctional measure should no longer continue to function in modern day society
How Does the Privatization of Prison Affect the Carceral State?
No full textThis research paper examines the relationship between corporations who rely upon the use of low-cost prison labor, the way prison labor is generated and used by these corporations, and the rise in the privatization of prisons as a means of unmasking the true benefactors of the current system of American mass incarceration: capitalist interests. By firstly taking an overview of the historical background and contemporary context of the current systems in place within the U.S. carceral state, specifically those systems which enable the corporate mining of prison labor, this paper provides the necessary lens from which the questions raised within its pages. Research findings are then presented, including illustrative figures, commentary regarding the conclusions reached by other researchers, and a few diagrams depicting the sheer scale of incarceration of Americans within private prison facilities.
Above all other goals, this paper means to investigate the effects that the privatization of prisons has had on the lives of the U.S. prison population, as they are the ones who must live with these consequences every day. What is achieved by this paper is a thorough, unblinking examination of the way prison labor is at once forced upon the prison population and mined by corporations to inflate their bottom line, ultimately making a powerful comment on the nature of the relationship between corporations and the U.S. prison population; that is, a relationship which amounts to nothing more than modern day slavery. 
Presumed Innocent, Punished Anyway: How Bail, Pretrial Detention, and Plea Deals Perpetuate Injustice
No full textThe United States cash bail is embedded with systemic inequalities, allowing for race and economic class to influence pretrial detention outcomes. The current bail process disproportionately impacts marginalized groups, with Black and Latinx individuals facing significantly higher bail amounts and harsher pretrial conditions due to judicial bias and systemic economic disparities. This paper underscores the consequences of a system that equates wealth over freedom while exploring the interconnected issues of pretrial detention, plea bargaining, and the financial exploitation inherent in the commercial bail system. Case studies from jurisdictions like Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Kentucky demonstrate the efficacy of reformed models of a bail system. By envisioning a system that prioritizes equity, public safety, and constitutional rights over profit, this paper highlights the need for a reformed bail system that dismantles discrimination and upholds the values of justice
Analyzing Children\u27s Picture Books for Themes of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)
Get PDFThis work represents research conducted by undergraduate students in a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) 2024 project at Cal State University led by Dr. Aura Pérez-González
