Club Feature – Criminal Justice Club

Green River College offers a variety of clubs to its students, although not all of them get the same amount of attention.

In fact, one club in particular tends to remain in the background, despite high involvement with students and the college community. This is the Criminal Justice Club headed by club president Amanda Bentz, a GRC student in the criminal justice program. Mary Jane Sherwood, a teacher in the same program, advises the club.

The club was reformed during winter quarter by a few students involved in the criminal justice program in response to a teacher’s suggestion, according to Bentz. Although the club is not very large, it has five executive members and three to five additional members. Bentz said the club allows members “to bond and network, sharing connections within [their] communities.”

“I’ve met a lot of police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants, and that can really help you in this field,” Bentz said.

Bentz also went on to state that another primary goal of the criminal justice club is to “inform students of their civil rights, and what they are legally allowed to do.” In other words, the club intends to promote civil action on campus by raising students’ awareness of their rights.

For instance, the strike of GRC’s faculty has been a main topic during club meetings. The club uses public records and relevant laws to put their education to the test in determining what are practices legal or illegal on campus.

The club is also very flexible as it allows those who cannot attend meetings, due to work or school schedules, to stay connected through email updates and event notifications.

Despite the valuable nature of the club, it faces challenges both internally and externally. Bentz said the club has been “flaky” in the past, being strong one year then gradually decline the next, in attendance and involvement on campus.

To combat this gradual decrease in membership, Bentz has restructured the club’s contract and goals and provided a list of contacts for making it easier to start the club up next year. Although Bentz isn’t looking to be president of the club next year, she plans “to be active in the club next year,” which will provide the club with an experienced member.

Yet the club also faces a lot of challenges in terms of technicalities and a lack of publicity.

Many do not even know the club exists as it is not included in the list of clubs on the college’s Facebook page. In addition, there are no signs or advertising for the club, nor are there likely to be any in the near future.

In fact, Bentz said the college “won’t approve any of their signs to hang up, even though they were printed by the school print shop and were already approved.” As well, Bentz said paperwork that has been submitted is oftentimes lost, club events are cancelled for no clear reason, and technicalities are used to prevent the club from reaching its full potential.

To Bentz, who is a major participant in the strike, a vocal attendee of the Board of Trustees meetings, and a major opponent of budget cuts, these actions from the college seem personal.

“We got word that programs were getting cut back at the end of March, and [the criminal justice club] started telling everyone about it, Bentz said. “And as soon as we started talking about the PPP and attending the BOT meetings, … they completely shut us down.”

 For a club whose purpose it is to appraise the legality of actions on campus and keep students informed of their civil rights, it seems counter-intuitive that the president of the club would be barred from student senate meetings. The reality, however, is that Bentz is not permitted into the meetings, as she has been informed that she does not “sit well with the senate.”

Although Bentz said it is permissible for students to be removed from meetings in the case of disruptive outbursts, she said she has not been disruptive, and her exclusion has been preemptive.

Despite the challenges it faces, the criminal justice club intends to stay intact. Bentz said, “(the) school isn’t willing to work with (the club),” and although that is not ideal for them, the club intends to fight the system the best they can with the support of its members.