Jordan Spiller

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology, 2nd year

CSL 100, Fall 2024, Dr. Randelle Nixon

Who was your community partner, and can you describe the project objectives?

My community partner was the Belvedere Community League, coordinated by Stella Carson. The project objectives were to devise ways to encourage people within the Belvedere community to report crime, as this was one of the major problems being experienced in the community at the time. For my part specifically, I was to look into how to bypass the bystander effect.

What was the biggest takeaway from your CSL placement?

My biggest takeaway from my placement was that it's a lot harder to implement change in the community than I previously thought. Though I haven't seen my suggestions for the community implemented yet, the biggest thing I discovered was that my community partner had already tried many different things as a way to curb crime in the area. This fact proved difficult for me to overcome and forced me to think outside the box and almost against what I've already learned as a criminology student in my previous classes. This critical thinking is my biggest takeaway from my CSL placement and allowed me to see the world in a different lens than I had previously held.

How can you apply any newly gained knowledge/skills to your future endeavours (courses/employment/volunteering)?

Since my CSL placement allowed for full creativity, I found that this skill was increased to the greatest degree. Creativity is needed in many different aspects of life, so I think I will carry this experience with creativity into my future employment opportunities specifically. On top of this, I have already mentioned that my placement changed the way I view the world, which will be especially important for me, considering the fact that I'm looking for employment in the criminological field in the near future. It's important to have this perspective such that my action in the future can be informed to a greater degree. It also helped me challenge what I learn in the classroom which is helpful when going into future courses.

Why should students consider being involved with CSL, and how does it enhance their academic learning?

CSL enhances learning by allowing for teachings to be applied outside of the classroom and it provides a fresh perspective to learning as well. You can engage with the community in a deeper way, which allows students to achieve more opportunities in terms of their future endeavours. It makes you question everything, which provides a more in-depth learning experience in my opinion.