UC San Diego Sociology Department Hosts STARS 2024 Research Mini-Conference Featuring Students from HBCUs

Our department welcomed students in this year’s STARS (Summer Training Academy for Research Success) Program. Thanks to the outreach efforts of Professor Danielle Raudenbush and Professor Bennette Jules-Rosette, the department was able to host six wonderful students from three HBCUs this summer. They are Margaret Harris (Spelman College), Cameron Kennedy (Howard University), Aidan Patterson (Morehouse College), Angelica Pierce (Spelman College), Javonte Sellers (Morehouse College), and Melodie Watson-Davis (Howard University). Faculty mentors included Professors Harvey Goldman, Neil Gong, Kwai Ng, April Sutton, and Charles Thorpe. Sociology PhD student Jesús Ayala-Candia served as the Graduate Advocate of the six mentees. On July 24, the students presented their research in a mini-conference organized by the Department of Sociology. Their work covered a wide range of topics, including political polarization and social movements, the intersections between the military and academia, immigration and homelessness, the role of public schools in shaping the political ambitions of black girls, and legal representation in immigration court.