The Criminology Club was introduced this semester and enables students to analyze worldwide issues and give them firsthand experience with guest speakers from multiple fields.
One of the greatest opportunities of a college experience, aside from getting to pursue our goals is getting involved in clubs, forums and being a part of a larger community with people who share similar interests and goals.
New to the SUNY New Paltz campus this semester is the Criminology Club, “a club created with intentions to provide a space to discuss important issues and what we can do to address those issues,” according to Criminology Club President Kate Sears.
The Criminology Club is open to all students interested in fields of sociology, psychology, or criminal science, not just sociology majors or students with a concentration in criminology.
According to sociology Professor Tyrell Connor, the club was created as an opportunity for students to share ideas, make connections and learn more about criminology and how it is intertwined with the everyday lives of students.
The club also gives students the opportunity to speak out against injustices that occur everyday. Previously the sociology and criminology community did not have a forum connecting students together, according to Sears.
Thanks to the advising of Connor, this year’s club plans to run events such as having speakers come in on a multitude of topics, potential trips to prisons or facilities to get hands-on experience and a workshop in the spring to provide students with information of what careers are available to them when studying criminology and related fields.
The workshop plans to host lawyers, psychologists, police officers, and specialists in related fields to give interested students an idea of their options.
“Students get to ask questions and they get to talk about their experiences,” Connor said. “It’s mainly used for students to figure out what they want to do, and be a resource.”
The club hopes that students to contribute to the overall community by putting in work to make the club serious about facing, analyzing and contributing to make a change on issues facing us all in our society now.
Connor spoke about potentially creating discussion forums on various ideas and topics between students, enabling students to share ideas, learn new things, and see things from an outside perspective they may not have previously thought of before.
The club plans on expanding its social media influence and getting students interested by enabling the club to have a presence for themselves on campus.
Increased involvement leads to more potential for connections with professionals in the sociology, psychology and criminal justics fields.
“One thing that I have realized being at New Paltz is how socially active and thoughtful each person is,” Sears said. “With the ability to work collaboratively and put our minds together I think great things can be accomplished. The New Paltz community offers many opportunities for all walks of life to try new things and pursue a plethora of differing interests and paths.”
The Criminology Club hosts meetings on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in Humanities 312.