Historically, rural western Massachusetts has not received large numbers of non-European migrants. However, in recent years, an increasing number of migrants have begun settling in the area. Sociologist Phi Su will explore how advocates help new immigrants resettle in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. She will conduct participant observation and interviews for her study.
In 2023, the Supreme Court banned the use of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. However, colleges and universities are permitted to consider discussions of how race has impacted an applicant’s life in their college essay. Sociologist Sarah Iverson will examine how college applicants write about race in their college admissions essays and how college preparatory programs advise students to write about race.
Southeast Asian immigrants are four times more likely to be deported for previous criminal convictions than any other immigrant group. Yet, their experiences are rendered invisible in conversations on criminal justice, immigration, and race. Sociologist Jennifer Huynh will explore the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong refugees awaiting deportation. She will conduct interviews and community-based participatory research for her study.
New York City is presently facing an immigrant crisis unlike any that the city has ever seen. Since 2022, more than 200,000 asylum-seeking migrants were routed to New York City and as of May 30, 2024, over 65,000 migrants are under the care of the city. Sociologist Edwin Grimsley will investigate the challenges migrants face in New York City, focusing on the effectiveness of service providers to address their needs.
Inadequate nutrition can harm children’s health and development, including academic outcomes. A promising way to boost child nutrition is through home meal programs. Psychologists Rebecca Ryan, Ariel Kalil, and Anna Gassman-Pines, sociologist Pamela Herd, political scientist and public policy scholar Carolyn Barnes, and public policy scholar and behavioral scientist Elizabeth Linos will evaluate the effects of a home meal program on student academic outcomes in a low-income community. They will conduct a field experiment for their study.
One common form of criminal punishment involves monetary sanctions, or legal financial obligations (LFOs). LFOs impact millions of people experiencing economic instability. Some evidence suggests that eliminating or reducing financial barriers can improve reintegration, but few studies have identified policies that can lessen the disparate impacts of LFOs. Sociologist Brittany Martin will investigate the effects of recent LFO policy reform in Rhode Island, which aims to alleviate court-related debt.
Critical historical events leave a lasting impact on individuals’ developmental trajectories and there is reason to expect that young adults were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sociologists Megan Iantosca, Shelley Kimelberg, and Kristen Schultz Lee will examine how young adults, age 18 to 24, navigated the challenges of school and work during the COVID-19 pandemic and how their experiences impacted their understandings of career paths and social mobility.