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Built off the legacy of her mother, a daughter earns two degrees

WSU graduate wants to change the world through policy.

Jessica DoJessica Do walked away from Washington State University on Saturday with two degrees, a hefty résumé and a couple of internships under her belt. And despite the multiple tries it took to find the right majors—sociology and political science—the 21-year-old graduated a semester early.

For Do, the motivation to succeed comes from several sources: her mentors, her breathing, her mother. In fact, it was her mother’s immigration to the U.S. from Vietnam that most inspired Do to make something great of her life.

“She just wanted a better life for all her children, and I just wanted to make her proud,” Do said. “I don’t want to disregard everything that she’s worked hard for to come to America, and not contribute to society.”

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Nov. 8: Leading U.S. ethnographer to speak about race, civility

One of the nation’s leading urban ethnographers will talk about race and civility in everyday life in a free, public address, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, in the Elson Floyd Cultural Center at Washington State University.

The speaker, Elijah Anderson, will be honored by WSU with the 2017 William Julius Wilson Award for the Advancement of Social Justice in recognition his scholarly and applied work to promote racial integration and social harmony.

Anderson, who is the William K. Lanman Jr. professor of sociology at Yale University, will discuss the resilience of the “cosmopolitan canopy” — a metaphor for civil society — and how the canopy can help teach, reinforce and spread social tolerance and mutual understanding.

“A college campus can be thought of as a cosmopolitan canopy — an island of civility in a sea of segregated living, where diverse people come together and typically get along — unlike urban ghettos, suburbs and ethnic enclaves where segregation is more often the norm,” Anderson said.

He will discuss what happens under the canopy when the two predominant types of people there encounter each other, how each feels and functions, and what challenges they face and adapt to or hide from.

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WSU News

Rates of reported crime in Vancouver, county dip

The rate of reported violent and property crimes in Clark County, Wash., decreased slightly from 2015 to 2016, differing from a slight increase in violent crime nationwide, according to new data from the FBI.

Clayton Mosher
Mosher

Clayton Mosher, a professor in Washington State University Vancouver’s sociology department who focuses on criminology, said the seeming increase in violent crime nationwide is somewhat misleading.

“It’s certainly true in places like Chicago and Detroit, and a couple other places, you’re seeing significant increases in violent crime,” he said. “It’s certainly not a national phenomenon.”

However, violent crime nationwide remains well below rates from the 1980s and early 1990s.

Violent crime in 2016 was 18 percent lower than it was in 2007, and the murder rate is down 6 percent from 2007, according to the Associated Press.

Clark County’s violent crime rate for 2016 is actually about 2 percent higher than in 2006, but the rate of reports per 100,000 people has generally been between 200 and 250, with an overall trend downward.

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The Columbian

Toxic Bullies: Striking Similarities Between Trump’s Arpaio Pardon And Polluters

If you are Latino and poor, chances are excellent that pollution is your neighbor, something known as environmental injustice.

According to a Washington State University sociological research report, barrios of economically disadvantaged Latino immigrants who do not speak English are more exposed to cancer-causing air toxics than any other community in the U.S.

“Hazardous air pollutants can cause cancer or other serious reproductive and birth defects. Most originate from automobiles and industrial sources like factories, refineries and power plants,” it adds.

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HuffPost

El Semanario

WSU alumna to appear on ‘America’s Got Talent’

Lareesa Marquette-Blakely, a ’15 WSU sociology alumna, will perform on “America’s got Talent,” 8 p.m. (Pacific Time) Tuesday, Aug. 29, on NBC.

WSU alum Lareesa Marquette-Blakey to participiate in “America's got-Talent” Tuesday, Aug. 29. Coug students and alumni encouraged to vote.

Blakely is part of the 43-member gospel choir Danell Daymon & Greater Works. The choir will participate as part of the live show quarterfinals. Winners who move on to the semifinals are determined by public vote.

While at WSU, Blakey was a member of the WSU Black Student Union and Black Women’s Caucus. During her sophomore year, she became the director of God’s Harmony, a faith-based WSU registered student organization and gospel choir that still performs regularly in the Pullman community.

“My goal was to encourage others to try their best and to build an organization that would last for years after I was gone,” she said.

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WSU News