Presidential Address

President: Sarah Epplen, Minnesota State, Mankato

Theme: Friends and Enemies: What a Global Pandemic Taught me about Society

Distinguished Service to Sociologists of Minnesota Awardee

Sadie Pendaz-Foster, Inver Hills Community College

Student Paper Competition Awards

Presented by Audrey Devine Eller (she/her/hers), College of St. Scholastica

Option A: Paper Session: Youth and Social Institutions

Mason Jones, Teresa Swartz, and Douglas Hartman, “How Kids Understand and Experience Meritocracy in American Youth Sports,” University of Minnesota
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Aaron Hoy, Jori Nkwenti, and Sachita Pokhrel, “Who’s Afraid of Divorce? Sexual Minority Young Adults and Their Willingness to Divorce,” Minnesota State, Mankato
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Audrey Devine Eller (she/her/hers), “Giving Advice One Minute at a Time: Constraints on Teachers’ Role in Post-Secondary Planning,” College of St. Scholastica
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Aimzhan Iztayeva, “‘Does the Fatherhood Bonus Apply to Single Fathers? Evidence from a Survey Experiment,” University of Minnesota

Presider: Timothy J. Loney (he/him/his), Vermilion Community College

Option B: Sociology Clubs During COVID

Presider: Saiful Islam, Minnesota State, Mankato

Panel: Engaging our Sociological Imaginations at Different Career-Points

Vicky Knickerbocker (she/hers), (Retired from) Inver Hills Community College
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Silvia Espinoza (she/hers), Bank of the West
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Aaron Hoy (he/him), Minnesota State, Mankato
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Sana Illahe - South Dakota State University

Presider: Sadie Pendaz-Foster, Inver Hills Community College

Option A: Panel: Online Activism

Milena Bates (she/her), MN LEND Fellow and MN Autistic Alliance Co-Founder
Jules Edwards (she/her), Indigenous Disability Advocate, Writer Autistic, Typing, Co-Founder MN Autistic Alliance
Tiffany Tully (she/they) Disability Advocate and Writer, Quirky.Stimmy.Cool
Paul Kaefer (he/him/his) Senior Analytics Engineer, Carrot Health

Presider: Elizabeth Scheel-Keita (she/her/hers), St. Cloud State University

Option B: Paper Session: Health, Society, and Public Policy

Jacob Huang, “The Imact of Social Determiniants on Perceptions of COVID-19 for Elderly: A Conceptual Framework,” St. Cloud State University
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Steve Buechler, “How Cancer Prepared Me for a COVID-19 World,” Minnesota State, Mankato
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Fio Haire, ““What I Used to Feel:” Relating Apostasy and Mental Health”, Minnesota State University Mankato

Presider: Saiful Islam, Minnesota State, Mankato

Film and Discussion: Driving While Black: Race, Space, and Mobility in America

This compelling documentary explores the role of the automobile in experiences of freedom, and racism, and violence in Black people’s lives. Using interviews and striking historical images, the film challenges viewers to recognize the historical basis for current social realities. It is a reminder that racial violence was present far before we were able to record it on phones. The emphasis on lived experience reminds us of the importance of listening to voices that have been ignored in the past. Inspired by the work of Gretchen Sorin, the documentary brings scholarly research to life and encourages us to see the background and relevance of “Driving While Black.”

Discussant: Sadie Pendaz-Foster, Inver Hills Community College
Discussant question developer: Jennifer Kraipowich, Anoka Ramsey Community College

Sociologists’ Social

Stick around and get to know other attendees. Meet new colleagues, build social networks, and have an informal chat with fellow sociologists. Family, friends, and pets are all welcome!

Co-host: Jacob Huang, St. Cloud State
Co-host: Lisa Waldner, St. Thomas University

Panel: Learning to Teach in COVID Times

Nabil Mohamed, Recent M.A., Graduate of Minnesota State, Mankato
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Emily Gunderson Recent M.A., Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Jori Nkwenti, Graduate Student, Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Brooke Weinmann, Graduate Student, Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Charles Hassigner, Graduate Student Minnesota State University, Mankato

Presider: Sarah Epplen, Minnesota State, Mankato

Keynote: “All It Takes Is One Block: The Legacy of Redlining in Lethally Surveilled Neighborhoods”

Dr. Alyasah A. Sewell, Emory University

Lunch Break

Option A: Panel: SCSU Alums Share Their Wisdom

Courtney Schmidt (she/her/hers), Family Advocate, Headstart
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Madilyne Wegener (she/her), Community Engagement Specialist, Disability Hub, MN
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Ellen So (she/they), Physical Therapy Graduate Student, Creighton University

Presider: Bridget Conlon Mayfield, St. Cloud State University

Option B: Film: Jim Crow of the North

Discussant: Audrey Devine Eller, College of St. Scholastica

Special Session! Don’t Miss Our Award Winners!
The Future of Sociologists of Minnesota
Caroline Rose Student Paper Competition – Undergraduate

Inge Pham-Swann, “Constructing the ‘New Normal’: An Analysis of Student Interaction with COVID-19 Policies on the North Star College’s Campus, Macalester College
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Kathryne Richards, “Rat in a Cage: Addiction Recovery, Social Connection, and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Metro State
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Sophia Kaufmann, “Dual Advocacy: The Garifuna’s Fight for Indigenous and Afro-Descendants’ Rights,” Macalester College
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Josh Groven, “Native Futures, Complex Pasts: South Africa’s Griqua at the Boundaries of Colonialism and Indigeneity,” Macalester College

Presider: Audrey Devine Eller (she/her/hers), College of St. Scholastica

Business Meeting followed by Board Meeting