WSU Urban Studies Blog

 This December, Urban Studies Associate Professor Dr. Adam Saltsman congratulated three of our majors on completing their rigorous capstone research and writing work with a traditional lunch at the Boynton. Left to right: Skylar Adcock, Melody Byrne, Morgan Mercadante, Adam Saltsman Here are their titles and abstracts: Skylar Adcock Mental Health Resources for Transition-Aged Unhoused Youth: A Case Study of Worcester County, MA Access to mental health resources is a significant factor in supporting transition age homeless youth, a population which is affected by mental health concerns and challenges. There are potential barriers such as financial and language barriers, which may be difficult to get access to these resources. I will be researching what social barriers transition age homeless youth face in seeking and receiving mental health service. Interviews and surveys were conducted with professionals in the field in Worcester County and research from databases. The study reveal...

On November 12, the Urban Action Institute and the Urban Studies Department held our annual Empty Bowls fundraiser to raise awareness of food insecurity on our campus and in the broader Worcester community. The fundraiser is the culminating experience for students enrolled in the Urban Studies SNAP practicum, also known as the Hunger Outreach Team.  Our students worked so hard this year! They chose the theme: "Celebration of Fall", cooked desserts, chose playlists, and solicited prizes from businesses all over the greater Worcester area to raffle off at our event. Chartwells--the dining service provider at WSU--supplied delicious soups and Panera donated heaps of bread.  We raised over $1,100 from this year's fundraiser! And thanks to funds from the Student Government Association to help cover the costs of the event, we were able to donate the whole amount. Embodying the students' focus on the interconnections between hunger on our campus and hunger in the broader co...

Students in Dr. Conroy's  Worcester: A City & Its People class ( UR 312)  took to the city for a second time this semester to do some fieldwork. The first trip was to North Main Street --  this one was to Coes Pond and Webster Square. Here they are on the eastern edge of the pond along the boardwalk.  The student field packets contained old maps and images of city buildings and spaces at various historical points. For example, the packets contained plates from the 1896 and 1911 Worcester Real Estate Atlases as well as pictures of the "old" Webster Square Cinema when it was in operation, the "old" Stop'n Shop that's not the Asian Market, the Coes Wrench Factory, and the Roller Skating Arena that is now called Arena Plaza (where a Little Caesars is located). Students located the sites along the way and compared the old images and maps to what remains of them today. Then they were encouraged to speculate about the changes before they dug into source mat...

During his sabbatical last spring, Urban Studies Associate Professor Dr. Timothy Murphy, built a user-friendly website to help students develop their qualitative research skills. The site is called "Wonderful Ethnography" , because it emphasizes the importance of wondering when conducting ethnographic research. The site's three main sections - Wondering, Observing, and Asking - teach students how to stay open and curious about whatever arises during the research process and being slow to jump to conclusions, how to conduct observations, and how to engage people in interviews. The site's two additional sections - Examples and Resources - provide images, videos, field notes, and links to give students some real examples of what ethnographic research can look like as well as additional resources for students who want to learn more. Check it out!

The Urban Studies faculty is proud to present the department's 2024 Academic Achievement Award winners and newest inductees into Upsilon Sigma, the Urban Studies Honor Society.  UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS   The Jake Powers Award -- Skylar Adcock Urban Studies student who is an innovative, original thinker, whose time in the department has emboldened them to pursue personal and professional opportunities they may not have previously considered, and to achieve them with determination, grit, and courage. The Maureen Power Service Award -- Lamar Brown-Noguera Presented to students with an impressive track record of service and who can best articulate why service is significant to them and their academic/professional careers, and how it advances the mission of the department. Department Academic Award (Top GPA) -- Elizabeth Stone Given to the highest-ranking senior in Urban Studies who best represents the mission of the Foundation. Standard Bearer for Undergraduate Commencement -- ...

  As the warm breeze of spring ushers in a new season, the time to roll up our sleeves and lend a hand to nurture our environment has come. On Monday, April 22, 2024, Earth Day, from 1 pm to 3 pm, we gathered at the Worcester State University (WSU) Teaching Garden for a community event like no other. This Earth Day, volunteers from Bet Shalom, alongside students and faculty came to the garden and assisted in clearing away debris to prepare the soil for planting. The day did not end with just cleaning and clearing. As a special treat for the volunteers, succulent plants are given away, a small token of appreciation from the garden manager, Isabel Bartlett. Succulents, known for their resilience and beauty, are the perfect addition to any garden. Not only do they add aesthetic appeal, but they also symbolize the strength and endurance of our community as we come together to create positive change. More than just a gardening event, this is an opportunity for connection and collaborati...

front, l-r: Elizabeth Stone, Abigail Holden back, l-r: Dr. Conroy, Kael Briesacher, Dr. Briesacher WSU students Elizabeth Stone '24 (Urban Studies/Environmental Science) and Abigail Holden '24 (Sociology) presented their recent research at the Eastern Sociological Society national conference in Washington DC. Their qualitative project is a deeper look beyond an earlier  quantitative report  on Advanced Placement Exam participation and performance at Worcester Public Schools that showed since AY 2007, and amid a 300% increase in AP test taking, WPS students fail more than half of their AP Exams. On average over that period, 62.2% of students outright failed their exams (scored a 1-2) with some years reaching 68%. Furthermore, another 20.6% of test takers earned scores of 3, which are also not worth college credit at a growing list of the nation's higher education institutions. Supported in part by a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from the WSU Foundation, Liz, Abby, and ...

The Urban Action Institute is taking proactive steps to address the pressing issue of housing insecurity in Massachusetts by organizing its first Housing Justice Summit on March 12. This half-day event, open to the public, aims to bring together various community organizations, housing experts, and city officials to shed light on the housing crisis in Worcester and beyond. Through panel discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities, the summit seeks to foster collaboration and action to tackle issues such as high housing costs, a severe shortage of affordable housing, and increasing demand for emergency shelter. With support from key sponsors like the Urban Studies Department,Th e Binienda Center for Civic Engagement,  Quinsigamond Community College, UniBank and many others. You can read more about the event on the article written by Deborah  Alvarez O'Neil at:  https://news.worcester.edu/worcester-state-university-announces-housing-justice-summit-open-to-the-c...

  The latest CityLab Infographic, entitled WPS Discipline Data Update --2024 , was released in January 2024.  CityLab researchers have been following discipline statistics in WPS since 2013 when Worcester was identified as one of the nation's highest suspension schools for Latino students. At the time, CityLab researchers found a disconcerting disparity in the frequency at which Latino students were disciplined relative to their share of WPS enrollment and a corollary disparity among White students who were disciplined far below their percentage of the student body.   The Latino student disparity has decreased over time, but this is due less to a decrease in the rate at which Latino students are disciplined -- it was 53.8% in AY 2013 and 56.7% in AY 2023 -- than it has to do with Latinos comprising more of the school population. In other words, as the Latino population grows, it is catching up to that group's historically high percentage of disciplinary actions. Furt...