the
bridge
MAY 2017
VOL 47/ISSUE 08 Student Trustee Spotlight:
Meet Whitney Weeks, re-elected for her second term as L&C Student Trustee.
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Springfest 2017
Summer Movies
You Just Can’t Miss Photos from this Action, adventure, year’s fun, games and other activities. and comedy, whatever you have a Page 04-05 taste for this season. Page 07
JUSTICE FOR ALL for the students, by the students
of Lewis and Clark Community College | www.thelcbridge.com
Photo provided by: L&C Flickr
JACOB WATTERS jawatters@lc.edu
Professor Jen Cline explain the title of the individual members of the panel, why some had the title Dr. And why some that did not.
Photo by: Krista Davenport
Professor Wesley Bell addressing the audience and panel about the civil injustice done to people in St. Louis and around the country.
Photo by: Krista Davenport
Students and members of the Lewis and Clark community gathered in Hatheway Hall April 12 to observe and participate in a panel discussion on the topic of race in America’s criminal justice system, entitled “Justice for All? Panel on Race in the Criminal Justice System.” Hosted jointly by the L&C Diversity Council and Professor Jen Cline’s Race and Ethnic Relations students, the panel brought together a unique collection of individuals from the Riverbend area to field questions prepared by the students and offer their points of view on the matter of the criminal justice system and how it treats minorities and the poor. The panel was comprised of five unique individuals. Wesley Bell, professor of Criminal Justice at St. Louis Community College and a member of the Ferguson City Council was in attendance, as well as, Larry Golden, Director of the Illinois Innocence Project and an Emeritus professor of Political Studies and Legal Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Mario Love, L&C adjunct professor of Political Science and History, and Joe Splittorff, a detective with the City of Alton, helped round out the various professional insights that the panel offered. The final member, who also brought his own unique point of view to the discussion, was Charles Palmer. Palmer was exonerated and freed from prison the day before Thanksgiving of 2016, after spending 18 years in prison due to being convicted of a crime he did not commit, with the assistance of the Illinois Innocence Project. During the course of the event, the panel touched on many different topics that revolved around the centerpoint of the
discussion, the position of race within the criminal justice system and what could be done to address the issues inherent in the system. “We need to go away from the talking points, away from the blurbs that sound good,” Bell said at one point, following up a line of thought where he had discussed how the $10 million budget cuts to the Missouri Public Defender’s office would affect all of the cases that they are currently involved in. This line of thought also included an indepth discussion about the unreasonable workload that public defenders are put under, with Bell estimating that some of them are managing upwards of 300 cases at once, which can severely affect their ability to meet with, and ultimately defend, their client. Detective Splittorff expressed a sentiment for law enforcement officers to work with members of low-income and minority communities and build a rapport with them. Splittorff urged that for any real change to be enacted, law enforcement will need the cooperation of these communities and will need to work with them to break down the “no snitching policy” that appears to be all too common. “I tell my students, it only benefits one group of people...criminals,” Bell said of this self-enforced code of silence. The panel addressed many questions, and raised many more, but most importantly, it allowed the L&C community a chance to start a dialogue over this important topic. “I think the takeaway is that all of the problems that we’re talking about on this panel, everything with race and the criminal justice system is complicated and nuanced. So, if you want to approach a new problem, you have to think about it from many different angles. And that is what happened today,” Cline said.
Hate Has No Home at L&C’s Springfest DONALD BECKER dobecker@lc.edu
‘Hate Has No Home Here’ was this year’s Lewis and Clark Community College Springfest theme. The students and faculty of L&C really showed up this year with the decorated booths and energy felt by everyone in attendance.
Adrienne Reed-Oliver, L&C Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion said, “The Springfest was exciting, invigorating, the food was awesome, and the atmosphere was great! There were a variety of activities for everyone whether they were young or old. I really enjoyed it.” The live DJ spinned music from 11 p.m - 3 p.m. on April 12 in the Riverbend Arena. Fun
was had by all whether students participated in the many activities there were to choose from, or not. Food was served and door prizes were handed out. L&C student Harley Webster said, “I had a blast, very fun and entertaining, I can’t wait until Fall Fest.” There was balloon making, face painting, blow up activates, a cartoonist, and a photo
booth. Along with the various clubs and groups within L&C all with the same frame of mind and goal. To ensure everyone knows that here at L&C, “Hate has no Home Here.” For more information on Springfest and the activities contact Jared Hennings at jhennings@lc.edu. For more photos from Springfest see pgs 4A & 5A.
Photo by: Donnie Becker