Dear Faculty and Staff of Penn Criminology,
We are writing as alumni and current students of both the Master’s and undergraduate programs
to voice our concerns regarding the Penn Criminology curriculum. With heightened demands to
overhaul the U.S. criminal justice system, many of us have taken the time to reflect on our
experiences within the world of criminology. We have found ourselves disappointed in the
education we received. Penn is a leader in the field of criminology and produces individuals who
will contribute to and assume leadership positions within various influential criminal justice
organizations and institutions nationwide. Despite this far reach, the Penn Criminology
department fails to address the significance of race and ethnicity in a meaningful and productive
way, particularly with regard to the criminalization of and disregard for Black lives. We
respectfully demand that the Department give race its rightful role in the curriculum – the center
– in order to give students a more comprehensive understanding of the omnipresent injustices
within the criminal “justice” system.
In the classroom, race is rarely a central topic. When it is briefly touched upon, there is little
mention of the deep roots that the carceral and policing systems have in slavery. There is rarely a
space to discuss solutions to avoid discriminating against minority communities – all of the
reform strategies we learned are viewed through the lens of criminological theory (early
interventions, greening vacant lots, increasing street lighting, etc.), with little to no consideration
of the frequent and brutal racial injustice that plagues the United States. We are not taught
alternatives to policing or prisons. We rarely discuss the inherent bias of data. And finally, we do
not discuss the inherent racism built into all past and present criminology theories and criminal
policies. While we understand that the history and evolution of criminology is important, it is
vital to preface these discussions by acknowledging the rampant racism in the theories.
In many of our experiences, students have had to take on the responsibility of challenging our
professors to correct inherent biases. Students have to directly confront professors regarding their
language in front of their peers – a task which is often left to the few students of color in the
cohort. Students, and particularly students of color, should not have to challenge professors to
acknowledge racism in criminology classes. Instead, the language used by professors when
addressing race must be altered to make students of all backgrounds feel comfortable in the
learning environment.
Further, there is a shocking lack of diversity in the students and staff. Criminology and Criminal
Justice encompass systems that, by design, disproportionately target Black Americans. Yet in
Penn Criminology, students are rarely exposed to perspectives or writings originating from the
Black community, thus perpetuating a cycle of disadvantage and prejudice that creates long-term
consequences within our society. Penn Criminology is designed to create the future leaders of
criminology and advocates for systemic change – this cannot happen without these voices
present in the classroom.
In order to combat these realities, we urge you to consider taking the following actions:
•

Create a mandatory class within the criminology department which focuses on the role of
race within the carceral system.

 •
•

•

•
•

In the existing classes, professors should force students to reckon with the harsh realities
of the current criminal justice system. Professors must add evidence-based studies
highlighting these injustices to the workload.
Consider integrating and/or encouraging students to take classes focused on Africana
studies and classes relating to Sociology, Urban Studies, and Race, perhaps making at
least one credit mandatory. For example, recommend the following classes:
o Undergraduate
▪ SOCI 399: Demographics of Race
▪ SOCI/URBS 420: Perspectives on Urban Poverty
▪ SOCI/AFRC 235: Law & Social Change
▪ AFRC 001: Intro to Africana Studies
▪ AFRC 042: Homelessness & Urban Inequality
▪ AFRC 437/638: Race & Criminal Justice
▪ URBS 210: The City
o Graduate
▪ AFRC 524/PSCI 535: Inequality & Race Policy
▪ AFRC 437/638: Race & Criminal Justice
▪ EDUC/AFRC 575: Psychoeducational Interactions with Black Males
Make an effort to diversify the Master’s cohort. This can be achieved in part by making
the program more accessible to students of all backgrounds through scholarships, work
study programs, and other measures to offset the tuition and living costs associated with
this program. A diverse cohort should be the norm, not the exception.
Hire a more diverse staff that can effectively educate students on the profound effects of
racism within criminology, and the criminal justice system as a whole. Based on the
faculty listed on the website today, there is not a single Black professor.
Ensure that guest lecturers brought in for symposiums are originating from a diverse
range of perspectives and backgrounds.

The study of criminology is vital to understanding how modern society can reduce and eliminate
crime. It should teach us about the needed reforms, but also about the efficacy of alternative and
non-carceral methods of crime prevention. However, the study of criminology is also the study
of historical racism – and this aspect should be heavily emphasized throughout the curriculum.
We cannot in good conscience ignore these deficiencies and allow them to continue through
future cohorts. We urge you to implement reforms within this department in order to produce
race conscious criminologists – these students may become the change makers our country so
desperately needs.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, we look forward to seeing these crucial
reforms take effect within the Criminology Department at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Nicole Rubin, BA’19 MS’19
Siara Sitar, MS’19
Emma Nolan, MS'19
Sarah Shor, MS'19
Jazmine Smith, BA’18 MS’19

 Cyrena Gonzalez, BA’19
Jillian Reeves, BA’19
Natalie Breuel, BA’19 MS’19
Madeline Freeman, BA’19 MS’19
Sienna Chapman, MS’19
Montell D. Brown, BA'19
Kaitlyn Ham, BA ‘20
Abbey Robbins, MS'19
David Victoria, BA ‘20
Cinthia Ibarra, BA’20
LaKeisha Henley, BA'20
Danielle Viterbi, BA'19
Keren Stearns, BA’21 MS’21