The Center for Research of Race and Ethnicity in Society put on its monthly event, Coffee with Affiliates, Friday morning.
For two hours, about 30 students and faculty networked in Room 100 of the Schuessler Institute for Social Research.
Associate Director of the CRRES and Associate Professor of Anthropology Marvin Sterling said the meetings are important to create an environment where students and instructors may collaborate outside the classroom.
He said Coffee with Affiliates is a nice way for sociologists of different disciplines to connect and share ideas.
It creates an “intellectual community” that fosters an environment where people can come together, Sterling said.
He said he most values all the diverse opinions and observations he encounters during events such as Coffee with Affiliates.
Sterling said he has come across people from the United States and beyond with interesting viewpoints and topics of discussion.
“Oftentimes grad students don’t have many communities to tap into outside of their department,” fourth year Ph.D. candidate Mai Thai said.
She said she likes the CRRES coffee meetings because it has given her the opportunity to meet others in the same field of research.
Elizabeth Ferrufino and Aminta Moses, graduate students of sociology who became friends through the Law School, discussed resume-building techniques and exchanged feelings of stress about where they are going to publish their research.
Ferrufino has been attending events with the CRRES since the center was created.
She said she keeps coming back because of the advantages from both an academic and social perspective.
“I don’t know if you’ve taken a look around the room,” Ferrufino said. “But we’re a pretty diverse group of people.”
She said she values the connections she has made through the CRRES and enjoys hearing the different perspectives of everyone who attends. Ferrufino feels the professional relationships made outside of the classroom are important.
Holly Schreiber, CRRES Graduate Research Assistant, said Coffee with Affiliates is a great way to establish a central location and time where scholars on campus can come together and broaden their views and research methods.
During the event Friday, she invited attendees to fill out notecards with “sound bites” about CRRES to post on their website.
Schreiber said the CRRES is currently working on updating their website to be “more user-friendly and inviting.” In the past the website has been focused on being informative, so they are trying to make it more interactive, she said.
She hopes to expand the community within CRRES as the center grows older.
Three years ago the CRRES had just officially established a name for itself on campus. The purpose has been to provide a common ground for training and research in topics of race and ethnicity in the U.S.
The CRRES today is still a place where those who are interested can exchange ideas and seek out feedback on research within the sociology department.
The center now holds events such as Coffee with Affiliates on the first Friday of every month, where the community and expansion of knowledge for those who are studying topics of race and ethnicity can be built.
The center presents speakers of all different topics within sociology throughout each semester.
Sterling said he hopes this will change a bit by next year.
He said it is a good thing to have many different perspectives being presented, but he would like to establish a theme for each semester and have the speakers be cohesive with the chosen theme.
Sterling said the CRRES is still fairly young, but he is happy with the way the community is coming together so far.
