Student Work
People at CSUS
professional activities
Posted the week of March 15, 2004
Students
Chris Cook , graduate student, presented "Criminological Theory and Al Queda-Based Terrorism: Is There a Good Explanatory Fit?" at the Western Society of Criminology Conference in Long Beach, Feb. 19-22.
Luis De La Torre
McNair Scholar - CSUS 2003-2004
Title: Exploring the Death Penalty: An Analysis of the Disparity Hypothesis
Abstract: Over the past decade, there has been some debate about equity in the criminal justice system. In an attempt to reenergize the dialogue about how African-Americans and whites are sentenced, this research analyzes data published by the National Institute of Justice to explore the sentencing disparity hypothesis as it relates to the imposition of the death penalty between whites and African-Americans from 1999-2002. The purpose of this research effort is to discern whether a sentence of death is imposed disproportionately for African-Americans in comparison to their white counterparts. Additionally, this research uses statistics from the 2000 Report of the Census and the number of capital crimes, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, to assess how African-Americans are punished in the United States by looking at variables such as income and educational attainment. Using the most widely accepted scholarly resources to guide this venture, the main goal of this examination is to resurrect the debate regarding the prevalence (or lack thereof) of the death penalty sentencing disparity hypothesis. The majority of studies reviewed herein overwhelmingly reveal that African-Americans who kill whites are more likely to be punished by death than are whites who kills an African-American. If this finding is true, it is important for scholars of criminal justice to disseminate this information so that policymakers and public officials can be made aware of this disparity, and develop interventions to prevent further indiscretions in the realm of sentencing disparity. If this finding is untrue, then a more thorough examination of the scholarship in this area deserves serious reconsideration as to its validity.
Edith Garcia
McNair Scholar 2000-2001
Title: Reducing School Violence in a Northern California School District Impact of the School Resource Officer Program
Abstract: America's schools are having difficulty in completing their mission of education. Violence has plagued the school environment making it difficult to maintain safe learning institutions. The occurrence of school violence has resulted in the development of the School Resource Officer program (SRO). The SRO program places uniformed police officers on school grounds to help school administrators with school violence, and as a deterrent for inappropriate behavior. This study was designed to determine if SROs in a Northern California school district are effectively reducing school violence and disciplinary problems at the high school level. A total of 6 SROs were surveyed from the school district. Each SRO represents a single high school, as there is only one SRO assigned for each high school. Using a questionnaire to measure the SRO's perceptions of the program, and high school data on crime, this study seeks to determine if certain goals and objectives are being met through comparative analysis.
