Racial Injustice, Protests & Reflexivity: Student’s Perspectives During COVID-19 Class Journaling Activity
Shanell Sanchez Catherine Venegas-Garcia Kelly Szott Larry Gibbs a Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon, USAb Undergraduate Student of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon, USAc Associate Professor of Sociology/Human Services, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon, USAd Associate Professor of Sociology & Health Administration Program Chair, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon, USAShanell Sanchez is a sociologist teaching a wide range of classes. In 2016, Shanell Sanchez joined the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department after teaching at Colorado Mesa University for three years. Dr. Sanchez earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research and teaching focus on social inequality, social change, justice, qualitative methods, comparative crime and justice, and the intersection of race and crime.Catherine Venegas-Garcia is an undergraduate student enrolled at Southern Oregon University. Currently, she is working on getting a Baccalaureate of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Philosophy. After completing her degree from Southern Oregon University, Catherine is pursuing a Ph.D. program. She hopes to get her Ph.D. in Sociology, with an academic interest in studying the negative effects arising from the marginalization of minority groups, such as police brutality. She plans to pursue research regarding discriminatory behaviors from rehired, or “wandering,” police officers in graduate school.Kelly Szott is a medical sociologist who uses qualitative methods to study drug use and addiction. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Syracuse University along with a Certificate in Advanced Studies in Women’s and Gender Studies. During her doctoral studies, she completed a National Institute on Drug Abuse doctoral fellowship program. Her research examines how public health programs, such as needle exchange, and health care practitioners conceptualize the health of people who inject drugs. Her current project focuses on heroin use and harm reduction responses in rural contexts. Her work comes out of concern for the ways drug users are treated by institutions entrusted to care for them.Larry Gibbs received his PhD in Sociology (specializing in Demography) from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Before joining SOU, he completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has taught several foundational and substantive sociology courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Social Research, Sociology of Health and Health Care Professions, and Families and Society. Dr. Gibbs’s teaching goals are for students to develop critical thinking skills, comprehensive knowledge of sociology, and the ability to apply this knowledge to their lives.