“The Sociology Club provides a community of support and leadership opportunities for sociology majors. Come network, attend workshops and discuss sociology with your peers,” according to Taryn Bates, the club’s treasurer and social media manager.

However, students from all majors are welcome to become a club member.

“We believe sociology connects to everything,” Bates said.

She said sociology can relate to criminology, engineering, chemistry and other subjects.

The club meets every first and third Monday of each month, inside the University Library in the Innovation Hub, room A-119.

They officially re-established their charter in October 2022, after shutting down during the pandemic.

“We have a long history of the club being active, but just like everything else that went down during COVID, the club didn’t survive,” said Dr. Roseann Giarrusso, the department chair of the sociology department.

It took some paperwork and the interest of students to bring the club back-to-life.

Giarrusso said they are working on an “incentive system” where students would receive “engagement credit” for attending events in-person because they are reluctant to come back to campus after the pandemic. Members can do some meetings online and still get credit if they cannot attend every event in-person.

Club President Lami Glenn said Giarrusso has been instrumental in keeping the club alive on campus and that she has been the longstanding faculty advisor to the sociology club.

 “My favorite part about the sociology club is the support you receive from faculty and staff in the sociology department,” Glenn said.

During meetings, they plan club-related events and have an “open floor” for discussion or suggestions relating to club activities, according to Glenn. They discuss upcoming sociology-related events that are both on and off campus.

This semester, they brought sociology professors in to discuss their new books such as Cal State LA lecturer Dr. Victor Corona, who held a discussion on his award-winning book titled, “Night Class: A Downtown Memoir.”

“We have professors who are collecting important data on gang member relations, the increase in mass shootings, forgiveness after loss to homicide, the trappings of nightlife, digital natives changing the way of life in America, and experiences of doulas,” Bates said.

They hold events to educate students on how to build resumes and cover letters, or how to apply to graduate school.

The club hosted their annual faculty meet-and-greet for the sociology department last March. Bates said they hope to host one for fall and spring for the upcoming 2023 to 2024 academic year.

In February, they held discussions on how to get a job with a degree in sociology and how to get scholarships, awards, and honors.

Bates said she enjoyed meeting students from other majors while working the club’s booth at Cal State LA’s annual City of the Orgs event, where student organizations connect with peers on-campus.

In addition to their club, the department of sociology relaunched the California Sociology Forum Journal. Students submit peer-reviewed work relating to sociology, such as movie and book reviews.

On Thursday, May 18., from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. the club is hosting the Sociology Honors Convocation, an awards ceremony where the club will acknowledge sociology students’ work.

On April 20, the club hosted the department’s eighth annual Social Theory conference in the San Gabriel room in the University Student Union (US-U) building and over Zoom.

If you are interested in learning more about Cal State LA’s sociology club, students, faculty and staff can contact Bates through their Instagram, @csulasocclub47.