Student Organizations in the
Criminology Program

Halloween, 2008, and CJSociety members collecting food for Ozarks Food Harvest.

The Criminology program at Missouri State is fortunate to have two student organizations. The CJSociety is a very active student organization. Its officers, contact emails and a description of what members of the CJSociety are described below.

Alpha Phi Sigma (APS) is our national student honorary society. It is also described below.

The CJSociety

Membership in the CJSociety is only $10 per semester, which helps pay for some of the social programming and other expenses incurred each semester. Please include a check for $10 made payable to "The Criminal Justice Society" with the Membership Application Form and give them to one of the secretaries at the front desk in the SOC/ANT/CRM department in Strong Hall 458. Or, you could attend a CJSociety program and give the check and completed form to one of the CJSociety officers. 

Officers and Contact Information  Constitution, By-Laws and Officer Position Descriptions  Ride-Along Release and Waiver of Liability Form  See pictures from our most recent events.  Membership Form

"Without doubt, the $10 per semester dues to belong to the CJSociety will be the best investment any Criminology student will make in terms of establishing contacts with criminal justice professionals, touring prisons, riding with police and all the other activities the CJSociety sponsors - including some fun social events." (Dr. Carlie, the CJSociety faculty co-sponsor)

The Criminal Justice Society is a student activity organization. Membership is open to any Missouri State student - no matter what their major or minor - who is interested in criminal justice issues. Joining the organization offers a chance to both get to know other students in the CRM program, as well as experience things not available in the typical classroom context.

The membership is only $10 per semester, which helps pay for some of the social programming and other expenses incurred each year. Among the social events are pizza parties - mostly lots of talk and lots of pizza and the organization does this at least twice a year. The educational events have included:

Ride-Alongs with various police departments. In the past, this has included the police departments in St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, and Little Rock.    Prison and jail tours.    Guest speakers which, in the past, have included special investigators, an ex-prosecutor who talked about murder and murderers, a K-9 officer and his dog, faculty debates on whether "soft drugs" should be legalized or remain criminalized, and too many more to mention here.     A variety of public service activities are also offered which help those in need and further enhanced the already excellent reputation of the CJSociety in the community and in the university. There have been drives to collect canned food for Ozark Food Harvest, preparation of Christmas cards to send to the troops serving in Iraq and participation in the Day of Caring program helping clean up neighborhoods in the Springfield area. And that's only a short list of the activities in which the CJSociety is involved.    Information on careers in the field of criminal justice.

Each year seems to be an outstanding one for the students in the CJSociety due to the quality of the students who lead the organization. You'll find their names and their positions in the CJSociety below along with their email addresses.

In late April the CJSociety elects new officers. Once again we have an excellent group of students who will be guiding the activities of the CJSociety. They have an established record of being leaders and for developing an exciting agenda for CJSociety activities. We are happy to announce that the officers for academic year 2007-2008 and their email addresses are:

Officers and Contact Information:

The faculty of the Criminology program say "Thank you!" to the 2008-2009 CJSociety officers for the wonderful work they did over the past year as officers of this vibrant organization.

The officers for 2010-2011 and their emails are:

President: Jeremy Girens

 

Vice President / Treasurer: Brenna Skelley

 

Secretary: Jordan Gottman

 

Social Chair: Liz Michenfelder
 

Faculty Sponsors:

Dr. Mike Carlie (MichaelCarlie@MissouriState.edu) and
Mrs. Diane Leamy (DianeLeamy@MissouriState.edu)

If you are interested in joining the CJSociety, please print out and complete the Membership Application Form, include a check for $10 made out to "The Criminal Justice Society" and hand it to one of the secretaries at the front desk of the SOC/ANT/CRM department (Strong Hall 458). One of the officers will pick up your application and will get in touch with you. Be sure to include your email address so we can communicate with you more efficiently.

 

Alpha Phi Sigma (APS)
The National Criminal Justice Student Honorary Society

The American Criminal Justice Association - Lambda Alpha Epsilon (ACJA - LAE) is an Association devoted to the furtherance of professionalism in all areas of criminal justice. It strives to encourage greater cooperation among criminal justice agencies and to promote greater understanding between the community and the profession. Under the aegis of membership it fosters more responsive training and education to fulfill the needs of the profession through sponsorship of seminars, technical materials and personal contacts. The Association serves as a unified national voice on key issues of the profession.

ACJA - LAE is structured on a regional basis nationwide. Each Region is coordinated by a Regional President. The Regional President oversees the chapter activities, coordinates with National headquarters, and provides special attention, i.e., resolves problems, etc.

Membership is composed of persons who are formally committed to the field of criminal justice either through their education or their employment. Chapters are organized as professional, collegiate, or a combination of both depending upon eligible members in the community. Memberships are drawn from the total criminal justice spectrum - law enforcement, prosecution, defense, courts and corrections.

The emblem of the American Criminal Justice Association - Lambda Alpha Epsilon consists of a hexagon upon which is inscribed three Greek letters, Lambda, alpha and Epsilon, a web, a star and a pair of scales. The words "American Criminal Justice Association" appear on the outer edge of the insignia. Each of these figures has a particular significance for us in the field of criminal justice.

The Greek letter "Lambda" is the first letter of the Greek work "Lambano" which means "to detect and apprehend." "Alpha" is the first letter of the Greek word "Anakrinen" meaning "to adjudicate." "Epsilon" is the first letter of the Greek word "Exorthoun" which translated means "to rehabilitate." The three letters taken together are representative of the primary functions of criminal justice systems everywhere; to detect, to adjudicate, to rehabilitate.

The star is representative of the light of knowledge. The truth of the adage "Knowledge is Power" becomes more apparent each day. Now, more than ever, those of us who are committed to the criminal justice system appreciate that only by acquisition and dissemination of knowledge can we hope to perform an adequate service to our communities. In our oath we have obligated ourselves to be both a teacher and a student of the art and science of criminal justice. Let this star constantly remind us of our dedication to the pursuit of knowledge.

Traditionally, scales are emblematic of justice. As criminal justice agents, we are committed to deal with our respective tasks honestly, truthfully, and without prejudice. The evidence of our skill is the ability to consummate our tasks with the highest degree of professional integrity possible.

The web symbolizes that great complexity of criminal activity. The edges of this web are anchored to our national boundaries from state to state and city to city. The web has a second significance for criminal justice agents. It accentuates the multitude of agencies dedicated to cope with this massive dilemma. Each act of agency cooperation helps eliminate a strand in the web of crime making it progressively easier to deal with this enormous social problem.

The Association publishes the LAE Journal, which presents professional articles in the field of criminal justice. A newsletter reports the activities of the Association.

Regions conduct conferences and seminars at various locations in the region. The Association holds a national conference annually which sponsors seminars, workshops and competitive activities pertaining to the area of criminal justice.

On the local level, each chapter, whether collegiate or professional, holds meetings on a regular basis. These meetings provide members with the opportunity to exchange ideas and information about their respective jobs through the sponsorship of special programs of interest to the general membership.

The Association is dedicated to the furtherance of professional standards of criminal justice; the fostering of assistance and understanding between members; and the promotion of greater public understanding of the problems and objectives of those agencies devoted to the administration of criminal justice.

Contact Mrs. Diane Leamy, Faculty Sponsor

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