Grace Costello successfully defended her M.A. thesis entitled, “Procedural Justice and Predatory Policing? Student Opinions of Interactions with Police on the St. Petersburg State University (Russia) Campus” on November 18, 2020. Grace’s research focuses on the applicability of the concept of procedural justice to a Russian campus setting where policing is carried out by a highly centralized government bureaucracy. This was a very challenging empirical study to undertake and the project was completed due to Grace’s fluency with Russian and her extraordinary perseverance. Grace currently works as a Professional Research Assistant at the Institute for Behavioral Science (CU-Boulder). Her thesis committee is comprised of Prabha Unnithan, KuoRay Mao, and Shannon Hughes (Social Work).

Zoe Mack successfully presented her undergraduate Honors thesis, “The Detection and Identification of Human Trafficking in the United States” on November 12, 2020.  Zoe’s research examined the organizational and institutional gaps that prevent human trafficking victims from receiving the assistance they need, the sociological underpinnings of those gaps, and potential remedies to those gaps.  Her post-graduation plans include graduate school. She was recently accepted to Boston University but is waiting to hear from several other schools before she makes a final decision. Her Honors thesis committee is Tara Opsal, Prabha Unnithan, and Gina Robinson (Legal Studies).

Lauren Wilkerson successfully defended her undergraduate Honors thesis entitled, “The Underlying Principles of Rehabilitative and Punitive Justice Systems: A Philosophical Comparison” on November 18, 2020.  Lauren’s research focuses on comparing and contrasting various sentencing philosophies (deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, rehabilitation, restoration) based on their rationales and reviewing what they mean when applied to offenders. Lauren is graduating this semester and will pursue a Master’s in Forensic Psychology at University of Denver (DU). Her Honors thesis committee is Prabha Unnithan and Tara Opsal.