Schedule of Events

This study investigates Co-Ethnic Solidarity that is present within Peer Education Support in a Pan-Asian Ethnic Church. The church provides a community where members feel welcomed to practice their ethnicity and lean on others for support. The research is based on data collected during a semester-long participate study on members within the church. The findings reveal that the church acts as space for co-ethnics to gain support and solidarity among their ethnic groups to better integrate into society. This study adds and contradicts existing studies from Min Zhou and Susan Kim that have been previously conducted to understand how co-ethnic bonds work to help a community. Results from this study can be used to assist others in better understanding the lives of immigrants. Being aware of Asian American experiences can broaden their understanding on the immigrant experience.

This research was conducted with the hope that it will lend support to an improved understanding of the current state of police-community relations. The goal of this research is to determine if respondents’ race or political affiliation affects their attitudes toward police abuse. This information was gathered in order to add to the knowledge regarding attitudes toward police abuse in the United States, and to gain a better understanding of how to improve police-community relations. The data in this study was obtained from a survey administered by university students to a convenience sample of 412 respondents in Ventura County, California. Respondents were asked 10 demographic questions and 31 closed-ended opinion questions. The demographic questions included open-ended questions about ethnicity and political affiliation, and the opinion questions included two Yes/No questions intended to measure respondents’ attitudes toward police abuse. The data was coded, entered into SPSS, recoded, and then analyzed with frequency tables and cross-tabulations. Black respondents were more likely than white respondents to view the police as using too much force when apprehending criminals and were less likely to feel safe in calling the police for assistance. Republican respondents were more likely than Democrat respondents to feel safe in calling the police for assistance, and were less likely to view the police as using too much force when apprehending criminals. Findings support the hypothesis that respondents’ race or political affiliation affects their attitudes toward police abuse.

Immigration has been a recurring topic in the media for some time and policies have been created regarding the state of immigrants.  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) does not provide lawful status but allows eligible immigrant minors a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and provides a work permit to those individuals.  As of September 5, 2017, this policy has been rescinded.  The fate of DACA and the future of thousands of young immigrants is now in a state of limbo and at the hands of Congress who must decide whether to reinstate DACA through official legislation or leave it as is.  Drawing on original survey data, I examined two questions in the context of sex and ethnicity: Do you support the DACA (Dream Act) which allows persons who were illegally brought to this country as children be allowed to stay in the US? and Do you think undocumented workers take jobs away from legal residents?  I hypothesized that sex and ethnicity impact attitudes toward immigration.  The data show that the majority of the respondents in this survey support DACA and that they do not think that undocumented workers take jobs away from legal residents.  Overall, the results in this survey indicated that there is a positive attitude towards illegal immigrants and those attitudes are not impacted by either their sex or ethnicity.

This study investigates the gendered structure and ideology of a fraternal organization called the Lodge, whose purpose is to give back to their community through volunteer work and donations. The research is based on data collected during a semester-long participate study of members within the Lodge, and how gender shapes this community. The findings reveal that from the moment one becomes a member of the Lodge, their gender determines their role in the organization. This study expands previous literature because this study focuses strictly on a volunteer based organization while previous literature focuses on gender within the workplace. Although this focuses on volunteer work, there are similarities between the gendered structure of volunteering and the workplace. This study helps to understand how institutions construct the notion of gender by creating differences between men and women. The consequence of institutional sexism is that women are seen as lesser than men. Results from this study can be used to assist women and men in society by making them aware of institutional gender inequality.