Hailey Stubbington
Student: Hailey Stubbington (she/her/they), Bachelor of Arts in Criminology program (2nd year)
Course: AREC 173 - The Plate, The Planet and Society with Dr. Douglas Mugabe (Fall 2023)
Who was your community partner, and can you describe the project objectives?
Food Not Bombs YEG/Food Not Bombs Edmonton: My project involved working as Program Support. I helped gather donations, cook and serve food to unhoused and vulnerable people in the Edmonton community, and create and distribute various types of marketing material, such as letters, posters, and online social media posts, to network with potential donors.
What was the biggest takeaway from your CSL placement?
The biggest takeaways for me were seeing the knowledge I learned both in AREC 173 and in my previous sociology classes in real situations and networking with people to help resolve the issues I saw within the knowledge I learned in the classroom. For example, based on the Concentric Zone Theory developed by Ernest Burgess that Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay take an ecological perspective on areas that have more movement of people moving in and out of them (especially transition zones), the more social disorganization occurs, correlating with increased crime in these transition zones, and when I got to do a community meal in downtown Edmonton with my placement I got to see and hear people’s experiences with moving in and out of downtown and the reasons why, which correlated with the ecological perspective of the Concentric Zone Theory. Furthermore, I was able to connect with other people and organizations in Edmonton who wanted to help with the current crisis by networking with them through letters, social media posts, and community fundraising.
How can you apply any newly gained knowledge/skills to your future endeavors (courses/employment/volunteering)?
By completing my placement with Food Not Bombs, I have first-hand experience working with vulnerable people in the Edmonton community, and by having this knowledge, I can bring a new perspective on how organizations impact these people in different ways (corporate or local) and propose ideas and possible solutions that help them with their needs, both for reflections in future courses I take, or when creating policies or systems in my future career.
How has receiving the Student Equity Award been a supportive avenue for you?
Last year in the winter, I was making alternative plans for staying in Edmonton due to having issues finding adequate housing and keeping up with the new tuition hikes that had been approved on top of paying for basic necessities. After finding out I received the award that I applied for during the fall term, I was able to use some of that money to help myself immediately, as well as continue my degree and start completing the CSL certificate. By having this award, students are not only given the opportunity to have some extra money to start their certificate journey or continue doing projects that can aid and enhance their degree, but it also helps students attend the University of Alberta and share the knowledge they've learned with others today. That's what the award means to me. The fact that this award is going to people who may be in the same boat as me or about to be in a precarious situation themselves means that this award makes a big difference in deciding whether to continue with education or not.