







































CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY FORUM 

 

Student Journal 

 

CONTENTS  VOLUME V  SPRING 2023 

 

Letter from the Editors…………………………………………vi 

 

About the Editors……………………………………………..viii 

 

Recognition of the 2023 Graduating Class at Cal State LA…..xiv 

 

Articles 

 

First Generation Students in Higher Education  

Olivia Sanchez………………………………………..15 

 

Elite Course Taking and Racial Disparities in STEM 

Eglys Rodriguez……………………………………...35  

 

Introspection: An Expository Analysis of Police 

Brutality Against Unarmed Black Men 

Lami J. Glenn………………………………………...59 

 

Difference in Receipt of Gratitude: A Comparative 

Analysis of the Experiences of Vietnam and Operation 

Desert Storm Veterans 

Marie Rivera…………………………………………72 

 

Creative Works 

 

Art 

“Now What?”: Drowning in the American Dream Mural 

Darron Cunanan……………………………………88 

 

Poetry 

Social Constructs Creatively Deconstructed:  

A Collection of Six Poems 

Taryn Bates………………………………………….91



 

 

Op-eds 

How the Devil Influenced Rock and Metal 

Sammy Garcia III……………………………………98 

 

My Postpartum Depression Consumed Self 

Marie Rivera………………………………………..109 

 

Book Reviews  

  

Divide & Conquer: Race, Gangs, Identity, and Conflict 

(Studies in Transgression) by Robert D. Weide 

Taryn Bates and Lami J. Glenn……………………116 

 

Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political 

Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change by Eitan 

Hersh 

Darron Cunanan……………………………………120 

 

Film Reviews  

 

Women Talking by Sarah Polley 

Taryn Bates…………………………………………122 

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once by Daniel Kwan and 

Daniel Scheinert 

Taryn Bates and Darron Cunanan………………...12 


