Over 50 CJUS students met with agencies represented by the Monroe County Department of Child Services, IU Maurer School of Law, Indiana State Police, IU Criminal Justice Graduate Students, IU Police Department, Monroe County Probation, IU Peace Corps Office, Target Security Corporation, HOPE Mentoring, Bloomington Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Middle Way House. If your organization is interested in participating in future Networking Nights, please contact Andy Bloomgarden.

The presenters included:

• Tatum Boswell³, Solitary Confinement & Impacts on Mental Health of Prisoners
• Laurie Frederickson¹, Connecting Essential Elements of Law and Causes of Crime
• Danny Nabil Ghalayini², Terrorism & Democratic Policing
• Ronan Sterling Hancock², Militarization of Police in Response to Terrorism
• Cathy Hu⁴, Examining Multi-Country Research on Domestic Violence
• Hemang Sanjay Kirtania², Indiana Judicial Collegium System
• Giorgia Pasquinelli³, Food Weaponization in Prison Systems
• Simran², Criminalization of Nomads: Surveillance, Social Exclusion, & Marginalization
• Donya Zandi³, Prison-Industrial Complex & Impacts on US Economy

Faculty Supervisors: ¹Dr. Jonathan Brauer, ²Dr. Arvind Verma, ³Dr. Bonnie Ernst, ⁴Dr. Jennifer O’Neill.

Co-Sponsored Criminologist Dr. Charis Kubrin Lecture

On April 15, 2024, American Criminologist Dr. Charis Kubrin delivered a Jacobs School of Music Distinguished Lecture Series talk titled “Art or Confession? Rap Music as Evidence in Criminal Trials.” This lecture was co-sponsored by the Departments of Criminal Justice and Sociology. Dr. Kubrin discussed elements of rap music that make it vulnerable to judicial abuse, presented experimental research that examines how rap lyrics impact decision-making in the courtroom, and reviewed key points from her co-authored Rap on Trial Legal Guide, a resource for attorneys. She also discussed recent legislation that mitigates this practice and identifed additional next steps, both in research and in practice, needed to challenge rap on trial.