Established in 2020, the Social & Political Change Lab is committed to understanding and affecting social change through the study of public and social policy, voting, discourse, social movements, policing, and drugs. This work brings together topics in sociology, public administration, political science, criminal justice, city planning, and law, among others.
We are now accepting applications for Research Assistants. You can fill out an application here: RA Application.
Current Students
Madison Ruffin (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2025)
Madison is currently working on her thesis, which investigates the impacts of fandom on perceptions of celebrities after criminal allegations.
Lauren Koenig (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2025)
Lauren is currently working on her thesis, which investigates variation in bail decisions, and judges' framing as "public safety."
Former Students
Aby Sosa (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2024)
Aby, a recent MCJC graduate who completed a capstone project, was a research assistant and will be applying to law schools in Fall 2024.
Moriah Gaynor (Masters of Public Administration, 2023)
Moriah completed her Master's of Public Administration in 2023. Her thesis investigates how state-level restrictions in abortion policy affect maternal mortality.
Sheridamae (Sheri) Gudez (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2023)
Sheri completed her Master's of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (MCJC) in 2023. Her thesis investigated how social disorganization affects policing in and around communities of color in San Diego. In Fall 2023, Sheri will begin her PhD in Criminology at Penn State.
Noah Cohen (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2022)
Noah was a research assistant for the lab. He completed his Master's of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (MCJC) in 2022. His thesis is a comparative analysis of international human rights organizations' effectiveness in bringing about justice for human rights abuses in Darfur. Noah is currently earning his PhD in Criminal Justice at John Jay.
Penelope Oseguera (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2021)
Penelope completed her Master's of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (MCJC) in 2021. Her thesis investigated the evolution of discourse around "Defund the Police." This project incorporated a variety of data (twitter, crime, news reports), and drew on various literatures in criminal justice, sociology, and communications, to make a case for when, why, and how changes occur in discourse around contentious issues.
Nicole DeFelicis (MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2021)
Nicole, a former research assistant, completed her Master's of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (MCJC) in 2021. She is currently working as a legal processing specialist for Orange County Department of Human Resources.