Enineva Marshelle Canada July 5th McNair Program An Examination of the Dangers During Traffic Stops and How the Raw Data Collection Affects Policing Minority Populations Abstract With this quantitative study, we see that the listed theory of traffic stops being highly dangerous on the part of the Law Enforcement officer is quite the opposite of that of the minority population. Previous studies show that the data collected from these stops feed into the developing law enforcement algorithm that allows for predictive policing. What is considered high crime areas? The notion is that a high crime area is one that is in predominantly minority areas. This ununiform data is then used for sentencing in the court system. Many of these findings come from the Stanford Open Policing Project I have selected 6 articles on safety and discrimination that examine the data on what happens during traffic stops. Two of the articles are data collected on stops that have happened in ten of the United States' largest cities. The data from previous studies will be placed in SQL analysis software to see if we are able to come back with the same data findings. During my research, I have found that most of the information is inconsistent and cannot be used to form a full picture of what truly happens at a traffic stop. We want to explain why this is extremely dangerous to the future of policing and minority populations.

Theories in political science posit that higher education increases political participation, but is this true for all college students equally? On one hand, first-generation college students (FGCS) face many disparities in higher education that may negatively impact their political participation. On the other hand, FGCS can gain knowledge, skills and resources about politics that may increase their political participation. It is essential to study the relationship between FGCS status and political participation so that we can better understand it and work toward an equitable sociopolitical world. This study asks the following question: Does being a first-generation college student affect an individual’s political participation? By utilizing OLS Regression and looking at data from the Collaborative Multi-Racial Post-Election Survey 2016, FGCS are compared with individuals who did not go to college (and whose parents did not attend college) and non-first-generation college students (students whose parents went to college.) The first result indicates that FGCS have no significant relationship to political participation compared to individuals who did not attend college and whose parents did not attend college. The second result shows that FGCS decrease their political participation compared to college students whose parents went to college. This could be due to the lack of parental socialization in politics or knowledge FGCS lack because of their parents. FGCS might also have other responsibilities to worry about. I suggest that future research include interviews with FGCS to inquire about their political involvement, parents’ political affiliation, on-campus involvements, and how they feel about politics.

Unlike first-year students, transfer students are expected to have plans that prepare them for graduation from university within two years. As a result, transfer students exhibit a need for direct support that enables them to graduate on time. In this project, I conduct a content analysis of transfer student discussion posts for the time period of March 2022-June 2022 on an online forum thread of a 4-year Hispanic Serving Institution in Southern California. This time period was chosen because it coincides with the release of admission decisions as well as the admission process for those who have been accepted. Preliminary findings suggest that, in general, attitudes communicated through the online forum express worry and confusion pertaining to the process of transferring. As such, prospective and newly-incoming transfer students utilize the online forum as both a source of support and academic guidance from their peers. Furthermore, the prevalence of questions related to college advising and the advice based on personal experiences that is derived from them illuminates the existence of the online "peer mentoring" that is taking place. This project’s implications compel us to question the effectiveness of outreach in making advising available to transfer students. Moreover, this project prompts us to consider how, as we move through the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid forms of advising made readily available can ensure accuracy of information and improve accessibility.

Youth experiencing homelessness are recognized as one of the most socially vulnerable populations in the United States. From a developmental perspective, adolescence is a critical period of growth when youth learn valuable life skills that allows them to navigate the demands, challenges, and stress of everyday life. To promote the development and transfer of life skills (e.g., goal setting, teamwork), scholars and practitioners often use a positive youth development (PYD) approach. As a youth-centric approach, PYD aims to promote the health and well-being of youth. However, previous research related to youth experiencing homelessness tends to be adult- and deficit-focused, rather than focusing on the strengths of youth. The current study will explore how and where youth develop (i.e., learn) and transfer (i.e., apply) life skills throughout their lives. Grounded in social constructivism, this qualitative study will use one-on-one interviews to explore the lived experiences of 12 youth who are currently experiencing homelessness. The interview guide is grounded in the Life Skills Transfer Model, which proposes a variety of internal and external assets known to contribute to the development and transfer of life skills. Findings from this research may provide strengths-based implications for improving programs and services for youth experiencing homelessness.