The 78th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) was held in Philadelphia this year, with Professor Jamie Fader as the program's co-chair. The theme for this year's meeting was "Seeking Justice: Reconciling with our Past, Reimagining the Future", highlighting important changes both currently underway and still necessary in the field of criminal justice. Temple's Criminal Justice department was very well represented at this year's edition of ASC's annual meeting with 21 of our graduate students and 14 of our faculty members presenting their research. 

Established in 1941, the ASC is a professional organization dedicated to the study and advancement of criminology. ASC members come from diverse backgrounds, including sociology, psychology, law, and criminal justice, contributing to a multidisciplinary approach in addressing issues related to crime and its control. The society provides a platform for networking, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas through conferences, publications, and various initiatives. 

At the conference, PhD student Adrienne Brookstein gave a presentation titled "From the Balcony to the Barricades: Election Denialism Memes as Collective Action Frames." In it, she discussed the modern-day power of the internet meme as a means of spreading disinformation and fostering radicalization. Brookstein had this to say about the experience: 

"This was my first year at ASC, and I had the opportunity to present my research on election denialism memes as collective action frames. In the 2020 U.S. election, there was a significant rise in misinformation and disinformation, and my research team and I have been studying how this form of propaganda harms the integrity of the U.S. electoral infrastructure and democracy. Overall, ASC was a great experience, and I felt very supported by the Temple CJ Department. I also want to give a special shoutout to the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) for funding this research and especially to Dr. Steven Windisch for providing me with this fantastic opportunity!"

Mariel Delacruz, another Temple PhD student, presented "CoLab: The Philadelphia District Attorney's Transparency Analytics Lab Approach to Data Informed Community Engagement." Joined by Chantay Love, co-founder of the EMIR Healing Center, the presentation covered the CoLab initiative's commitment to data collection that centers the needs and voices of the communities it serves. Delacruz spoke highly of her time at the conference: 

It is a pleasure to co-present with one of our community partners at ASC this year. I am very grateful that I got to witness our grassroots community partners throughout Philly in this space. It was a very special ASC for me personally because, one, it was in Philly, and two, in my experience attending the conference, it was the first ASC that was well attended by community partners and by those with actual lived experiences.

• Check out our photo gallery below featuring shots from the conference and presentations from Temple students and faculty!