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Westminster College Students Attend Criminology Conference

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Posted on Monday, November 28, 2016

An artist’s impression of a Jupiter-like planet orbiting close to its star (G. Bacon STSci/NASA/ESA)Dr. Kristenne Robison, professor of criminal justice, and five senior criminal justice studies students traveled to New Orleans to present their senior capstone research at The American Society of Criminology Conference.

Student posters showcased research from Maija Belmar, Gabbie Fabish, Coty Gander, Britt Mavrich, and Hayley Thewes. Topics of posters included, mental disorders and support of the death penalty, sexual violence and substance abuse, juvenile solitary confinement, gender roles, and daily stress of defense attorneys.

“The ASC Conference is primarily a faculty and graduate student conference,” said Robison. “Those who engage with our students during their poster sessions are always surprised to learn that they are undergraduate students.”

Belmar, Gander, Mavrich, Thewes, and Robison were part of a student and faculty roundtable titled, “Stepping Inside-College Students’ and their Instructors Experiences with the Inside-Out Model.” Inside-Out courses involve 12 Westminster students going inside prisons walls to take a course alongside 12 students at Trumbull Correctional Institution in Leavittsburg, OH.

Dr. Robison also presented a poster titled, “‘Did They All Come Back’: A Longitudinal Study of Recidivism at a Medium Size Probation Office,” based on research collected with Dr. Shannon Smithey over the past four years.

From Nov. 16-19, students presented their own research, attended sessions of their favorite scholars, visited the book exhibit, and explored the local area.

For more information about criminal justice studies at Westminster, contact Robison at robisokm@westminster.edu or 724-946-6033.