SIUE Students Talk Ferguson with Sociology Panel
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Much conversation was directed at how to improve attitudes and conditions in light of last year’s Ferguson controversy during a panel discussion Tuesday at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
About 30 people, including SIUE student groups, gathered for the “#LetsTalkFerguson: Understanding What is Happening” panel discussion led by Dr. Alyson Spurgas and Dr. Sandra Weissinger, both assistant professors in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies.
The event was sponsored by the Sociology Club and the ABle Class. Coordinating the event were students Zach Lowe, Tia Ewing, Elizabeth Benoodt, Christina Scott and Abbie Hall.
“We wanted to talk about what sociology had to do with Ferguson and how the event intersected with race, class and gender,” said Benoodt, graduate assistant to Dr. Marv Finkelstein, professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies.
“People talked a lot today about what we can personally do to make these kinds of things stop and to make things better,” said Hall, a member of the Sociology Club and the ABle Class.
Weissinger told the group that they should make the Ferguson and related issues personal by using education and making people aware of the complex issues.
Photos:
Speaking on the “#LetsTalkFerguson: Understanding What is Happening” panel were Dr. Alyson Spurgas, left; and Dr. Sandra Weissinger, right; both assistant professors in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies.
Dr. Alyson Spurgas makes a point to the group.