Homeless System

Happy new year and welcome to the spring 2025 semester. I hope that each of you are settling into your schedules, starting to get engaged in your new set of courses, and working towards your goals and ambitions for your degree and future. 

This semester, I’m excited to report that we will be having monthly student events in the HSS building on Wednesdays from 3-4:30 pm. I write to invite you to our first such event: Welcome Back CJS students on Wednesday, February 12 at 3pm in HSS 204. Please see the attached flyer. I hope you’ll mark your calendars and come! 

This first event will be an opportunity for us to come together, break bread (there will be food provided), find out how to get involved in the Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) and learn more about the department, including the minors we offer. We will send information about the subsequent events scheduled for 3/12 and 4/16 in future communications.

At the event, I will also discuss further these helpful advising tips for getting through your degree:

• Many of you will reach the end of your requirements before you meet the 120 units for a degree. I encourage you to minor in one of our minors—Juvenile Justice or Prison Reentry Studies—or on of the many minors on campus. This will help you to use the extra units you’ll need to take towards furthering your eventual career.
• If you have questions about career advising or your time at SF State, please reach out to me or one of our many advisors. We all love working with students, and our advising hours can be found on our website.
• It’s always great to further your education with experiential learning—please check out our internship page and stay attuned to communications from the CJS office for opportunities.
• If you have any questions about the curriculum or your degree progress through the major, including questions about potential course substitutions, issues with your degree progress report, or a need to file a petition, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at eabrown@sfsu.edu. I can likely answer your questions and if not, I can help you find the answer. Please reach out to me—I love working with students and it is the best part of my job. 

I hope you all have an amazing semester, and I look forward to seeing you at a future department event, hopefully this coming Wednesday, 2/12 at 3pm in HSS 204. Remember, food will be provided, and you’ll get a chance to meet other CJS students and faculty. See you there!

Kindly,

Liz

----

Elizabeth Brown (she/they)

Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice Studies 

Associate Professor of Journalism Ana Lourdes Cárdenas, Assistant Professor of Journalism Josh Davis, Criminal Justice Studies Professor Carina Gallo and Associate Professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Shabnam Piryaei recently published the latest episode of their bilingual podcast, “Manos Arriba.” The episode, “I ain’t going to cry,” discusses the harmful — and often violent — ways that masculinity shows up in the U.S. carceral system, and offers possible outcomes for breaking destructive patterns.  This interdisciplinary collaboration was published in El Tecolote, the longest running bilingual newspaper that is printed in both English and Spanish in California. It is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Carina Gallo, Professor in Criminal Justice Studies, has co-authored the article “The Practice of the Commons and the Ethics of Sharing—Aspiring Toward Abolitionist Pedagogy Through Faculty Collaboration,” with Valerie Francisco-Menchavez , Aiko Yoshino, Autumn Thoyre, and Paige Viren

The aim of this essay is to show the importance of faculty collaboration in combating structural educational inequities and how it can help to radically reimagine pedagogy and higher education in the pandemic and beyond. Abolitionist teaching and pedagogy can begin with peer exchange--a teaching commons--that can support faculty before they even step into their classrooms.

Welcome to the Fall 2024 semester! I hope you all had a fabulous summer, made progress on your career and life goals, and had an opportunity to reflect and relax. There are many important events that demand our attention and energy these days, and I hope you are able to enter the new semester ready for all that the semester will bring. 

I wanted to provide you with a few nuggets of information as well as invite you all to an upcoming event. 

• First off, we are all excited to see you, meet newcomers and generally support you on your road to success. To that end, please consult our contact information, and office hours, for all our faculty and get in touch. We can't wait to hear from you!  

• Many of you may have noticed that we have changed our CJ 330GW course (4 units) to two courses: CJ 330GW (3 units) and CJ 330 (1 unit). For those who have not taken CJ 330GW yet, you must enroll in both the 3 unit and 1 unit section to complete this area of the major (and to successfully enroll, as the system will not allow it if you don't have both in your shopping cart). Importantly, if you have already passed the 4-unit version of CJ 330GW (anyone who took it in Summer 2024 or before), then you do not need to take anything further. We have heard that some students who have already passed the class were advised to enroll in the one-unit course, but that information is incorrect. As always, if you have any questions about this—or anything else related to your degree progress—then please, don't hesitate to reach out to me at eabrown@sfsu.edu.​

• The Citizens' Academy offered by the University Police Department is now accepting applications. If you are planning to apply, and want to earn units for your participation, you can enroll in CJ 699 and write a reflective paper on your experience. If you are interested in this, please email me at eabrown@sfsu.edu prior to Friday, September 13 for a 699 add code. 

• Finally, please save the date for our upcoming "Welcome Criminal Justice Studies Students" event happening on Thursday, September 26 from 4-5pm in LIB 121. We will be talking about upcoming department events, how you can get more involved in the major through things like the Criminal Justice Student Association and our student-run journal, ARCJS, meeting and getting to know one another, as well as breaking bread together, or in this case, pizza! Please plan to attend and we will be sending out more information about this event in the coming weeks.

I hope you all are having a great second week of the semester, and that you are setting yourself up for a strong showing this semester. One thing that I try to do to make that happen for myself is prioritize getting out into nature with my dog, and the attached photo is one example of how I did that this summer on a break from work. As Sammy, my dog, is doing in this photo, I hope you are all able to find time to lay in the sun next to a lake, or at least the metaphorical version of that, at some point this semester.

Kindly,

Liz

----

Elizabeth Brown (she/they)

Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice Studies 

Hi CJS students!

Welcome to the Fall 2023 semester! I hope this message finds you well, excited about this semester's courses, and surviving the abnormally muggy heat that has descended upon the bay.

I'm Professor Liz Brown, chair of the Criminal Justice Studies department and I'm writing to let you know about a few upcoming events and to give you a heads-up about some events and dates to watch. I am hoping to do this every couple of weeks, so be sure to check your inboxes periodically to find out what is happening in the CJS department. And if you have any questions, concerns, or just want a department touch base—please reach out and get in touch with me: eabrown@sfsu.edu. And if you have anything to share with your student colleagues, please also let me know so I can include it in upcoming editions of this newsletter. 

Upcoming events

First off, I wanted to let you all know about some upcoming events that we'd love for you to be at, both in the department and at the university more broadly (we plan to have more this semester, so please stay tuned!). 

• New student welcome: Tuesday, September 12, 4-5:30pm—LIB 121; If you are new to the department, come meet some of the departmental faculty, have some refreshments and learn about the major and how to get involved. 
• Student-faculty mixer: Wednesday, October 18, 5-7pm—LIB 121; Ever wonder what your professors are like outside of the classroom? If so, come to an informal student-faculty mixer, have some pizza and drinks, find out how to get more involved in the major, and get to know your professors and how they got into the work they do. 
• Upcoming events, TBD: 

• Department movie night—come watch films and discuss with your colleagues in the department
• FBI speaker series: do you want work with the FBI? The department is creating a speaker series with agents from the FBI so you can learn more about their work and how you can gain employment there after you graduate. 
• Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA): We are looking to relaunch CJSA, so be on the lookout for notice of the first meeting. Professor George Barganier will serve as faculty advisor, so if you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to him at gbarg@sfsu.edu. 

In addition to departmental events, there are also some upcoming events at the university that you may be interested in: 

• Legal Resource Center Open House: Monday, August 28th, from 12 - 1 PM. LRC will be providing information about the services/resources the LRC offers along with pizza. This is an ASI event.  

We'll be sending out additional reminders about these events as they get closer, so please stay tuned to your sfsu email. 

New minors

Second, I wanted to let you all know about two new minors that we have in our department. As many of you have found out, the CJS major is a lower-unit major, and thus, we frequently recommend that you pick up a minor. You can now do so right here in our department! We have two new minors that begin this fall and that will be relevant to your CJS education:

• Minor in Prison Reentry Studies: This minor is sponsored by Project Rebound on campus and focuses on the transition out of incarceration and provides students with knowledge about this issue as well as opportunities to work in this area of the field. This minor is perfect for any students wanting to work with people who have been incarcerated or in this policy area. 
• Minor in Juvenile Justice: This minor is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on understanding youth behavior, the juvenile justice system, and places a special emphasis on understanding the myriad reforms in the system. This minor is perfect for any students who want to work with youth who may experience system involvement. 

To declare either of these minors, you can do so through your student center by following the instructions at the registrar. 

New Student Journal

Third, under the guidance of faculty mentor Professor Albert de la Tierra (Professor Lobo), students were able to launch their first issue of a new student journal last semester, The Annual Review of Criminal Justice Studies. Grace Ann Cowherd, Serena Raquel Gomez, and Claudia Lomeli-Rodriguez led the editorial board for this first (and absolutely stupendous!) issue, which featured articles from thirteen of your colleagues here at SFSU: Ximena Nieves, Lucien Tomlinson, Gabrial A. Camacho, Eszter Winkelmayer, Maria Gonzalez, Paola Saavedra Ramirez, Mario Alvarez Chavez, Estafany Romero, Isaac Hoffman, Grace A. Cowherd, Claudia Lomeli-Rodriguez, Heighly A. Hernandez, and Eduardo Hernandez. All of these students edited and revised papers that were first developed in their courses, so if you have a project that you are excited about, consider trying to get it published in the review. We will be uploading the first issue to our website shortly and will send out a notification when we do so. Until then, please check it out!

This year, we welcome the first editor-in-chief of the journal—Claudia Lomeli-Rodriguez. Under Lomeli-Rodriguez's guidance, we will be seeking your submissions over the course of the year. If you have any questions or want to get further involved, please don't hesitate to reach out at arcjs@sfsu.edu. 

Advising

Fourth, you may have heard that there have been some changes to advising at the university. Students no longer need to visit faculty advisors for course planning in the major, and now, you can visit the Undergraduate Advising Center for assistance with all your course planning needs. Faculty advisors are still available for help with course substitutions, career planning, and other needs related to the major, but if you just want to know what you need to graduate, what courses you should take, or how you are doing with your requirements, you can visit the UAC which has drop in hours, appointments, and both virtual and in-person options. Of course, I still love hearing from you all, so if you have any questions whatsoever, or any difficulty getting in touch with the UAC advisors, please don't hesitate to reach out to me (Prof. Liz Brown) at eabrown@sfsu.edu. 

In addition to the new advising structure, I wanted to provide some helpful hints to the CJS major: 

• CJ 200 and CJ 230 are required for most majors; if it is not required for the bulletin year you are on (pre Fall 2021), you can take these courses and they will count as electives. They provide necessary content and skill building for 300 and 330, so if you can, it's a great idea for all students to have these courses. 
• CJ 330 GW cannot be taken in the same semester as CJ 680, so be sure to plan ahead and take 330 at least one semester before your graduating semester
• CJ 680 is meant to be taken in your senior year, as one of your last courses. It helps tremendously (and is required to be taken after 90 units) to wait until your second to last or last semester to take this course as you will have the entirety of your major knowledge and expertise to draw upon
• Are you looking for additional units in non-traditional courses? CJ 685 and 699 allow students to earn up to 4 units each, which can count towards the 120 unit requirement to graduate. CJ 685 allows students to serve as teaching assistants for instructors; if you did well in a course (normally an "A" grade), please contact your instructor if you are interested in this option. CJ 699 is independent study and allows students to pursue a project on a topic of their choice related to Criminal Justice. If you are interested in signing up for this course, please contact me, Prof. Liz Brown, at eabrown@sfsu.edu. 
• Many courses have "notes" that indicate what days/times the course meets if it's hybrid or if there are any other specialized meeting patterns (such as the 680 "ARR" in the class schedule). Be sure to click on the class in the class schedule and read the "class notes" section for all your courses

Internship and employment opportunities

Finally, here are some employment and internship opportunities that have been sent our way. We send these out as they come available, so you may have already seen some of these:

• East Bay Regional Parks District is looking for Police Student Aids; this is a paid position, so if you are interested in working with the park system in a law enforcement capacity, I encourage you to check this out.
• EVOLVE California is looking for interns to focus on their upcoming campaigns related to increasing education funding and ending corporate property tax breaks.
• Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) is looking for student interns. FLY works with youth ages 14-18 in the juvenile justice system and those at risk of entering the system. FLY’s unique programs include legal education, leadership training, and one-on-one mentoring. Opportunities include the Law Program Volunteer Facilitator who serve as positive adult role models and mentors that help youth learn about the law and their rights.

Thanks in advance for all who are still reading! I am looking forward to meeting many of you at our upcoming events, and hope that you will all stop by my office, HSS 356, to say hello if you are on campus. I think this is the start of a great year and look forward to working with all of you to make sure that the department is supporting your success. Working with students is the absolute best part of my job, so if there is any way I can support you, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Kindly,

Liz

Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice Studies 

San Francisco State University 

Professor Yarbrough's Research is Featured in a New Report about San Francisco's Homeless System Revolving Door

In collaboration with Bay Area colleagues and the Our City Our Home Coalition, SFSU faculty members Dilara Yarbrough (Criminal Justice Studies) and Chris Hanssmann (Gender and Women’s Studies) released a new research report with comprehensive recommendations to transform San Francisco’s homeless service system. Based on interviews with over 600 people experiencing homelessness, the report details how unhoused people cycle through the city’s shelters, drug treatment and mental health care services and back onto the streets. The study finds that unhoused people seeking shelter and care often encounter barriers to access. The absence of long-term housing options means that most people who use the city’s services end up cycling between streets and temporary shelters. The report findings will help prepare local officials for the release of funds from a local tax on large corporations doing business in San Francisco to fund housing and services (currently tied up in court). 

Prof. Hanssmann and Prof. Yarbrough worked with local organizations led by transgender women of color to co-direct a segment of the study focused on how criminalization contributes to the poverty and vulnerability of transgender people, and how San Francisco’s homeless service system must change in order to provide safe and gender-affirming housing and care. As federal laws and policies of the Trump Administration and Ben Carson’s Department of Housing and Urban Development endanger transgender and immigrant communities in particular, this report details evidence-based recommendations for local policy to ensure human rights for these marginalized groups. 

Here's a link to a KQED story featuring Professors Hanssmann and Yarbrough's findings.

The report has been covered by a variety of local media outlets and is available electronically here. The press conference and presentation of report findings may be viewed here.