NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.

Cal State San Bernardino faculty were included in news coverage of the Manchester, England, bombing, an art exhibition to raise funds in support of Cal State San Bernardino DREAMer students, and a CSU program that assists former convicts reintegrate into society.

Reporters covering the tragic bombing in Manchester, England, at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 sought out CSUSB political science and criminal justice faculty for their analysis. The attack killed 22, many under the age of 16, and injured scores of others.

The BBC twice interviewed Antony Field, assistant professor of political science whose research and teaching focuses on intelligence and counterterrorism, and a former intelligence analyst for the UK police, on May 25, 2017. The “5 Live Breakfast” show’s Rachel Burden spoke with Field early in the day, and Ed Nestor of “Drivetime with Eddie Nestor” interviewed him in the afternoon, London time. Both will remain online until June 23, 2017.

The interview with Burden, which included discussion of information leaked by U.S. intelligence sources to The New York Times of information related to the bombing investigation and the subsequent fallout, can be found about 7 minutes into the program.

The interview with Nestor can be found about 20 minutes into that program. That segment also included discussion of the fallout of the intelligence leaks by U.S. authorities of the parts of the British investigation to the news media. “It’s still very early,” Field said. “We don’t know who passed this information on to the media, and we don’t know their motives.” He later added: “This information should not have been shared outside of the intelligence community, and outside of the counterterrorism community. … It endangers ongoing operations, and it was a huge mistake.”

Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, was interviewed by various news media about the bombing.

In USA Today, he said that it’s crucial not to panic, or exaggerate risks or despair that nothing can be done to prevent such murderous attacks at concerts and other mass assemblies. “Relax, we have over 30,000 people killed every year (in the USA) in vehicular accidents, so you’re at far greater risk driving on your way to a venue,” says Levin, a former New York City police officer who’s preparing to take his teen son to a concert next month. “People tend to misjudge their fears and risks in part based on their exposure vicariously to attacks through TV” coverage.

The irony, Levin and other experts said, is that past terrorist attacks, including in Brussels and in Paris, suggest that suicide bombers may be choosing different tactics because of better security.

“The problem (now) involves perimeters and chokepoints, egress and ingress,” says Levin. The article was published May 24, 2017, and may be read at “Safety focus changes.”

Security at these venues was also the subject of an article in SFGate.com, the online new site for the San Francisco Chronicle.  “Areas outside the perimeter remain a concern,” Levin said. “There are going to be structural, physical and intelligence vulnerabilities in any place the public congregates.”

Venues have made some changes to protect the public, including lighting up pedestrian areas outside the venue and an approach called Crime Protection Through Environmental Design, or CPTED, a multi-disciplinary strategy which aims at deterring criminal behavior by physical design. In other words: Limit places where bad guys can do bad things. In the meantime, Levin says there are a few things people can do to better protect themselves during a concert or an event: “Don’t panic, have a designated meeting place, know where all the exits are and be aware of someone who looks out of place.”

The article was published May 23, and may be read at “Manchester terror attack exposes concert venues’ ‘achilles heel.’”

Also on the topic of venue security was a May 22, 2017, Los Angeles Times article, “Manchester attack points to vulnerabilities even at venues with high security, counter-terrorism experts say.” Levin said the British have some of the most sophisticated security practices of anywhere. But the incident in Manchester, he said, shows that whenever thousands of people gather at one place, it create targets that are difficult to protect. 'Even if you harden the perimeters, they will hit at whatever choke points exist,” he said. “So there is always somewhere to hit.'

And Fox 11 Los Angeles brought Levin into the studio to discuss the incident on May 23, 2017. The online video may be views at “Extremism expert discusses deadly bombing in Manchester.”

The Fox 13 Tampa station spoke to Levin on a separate topic: the online activities of Brandon Russell, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, who, according to the FBI, participated in online chatrooms where he threatened to kill people and wage bombings.

'What makes tracking hate more challenging now is we are not looking at group chapters but at hits and retweets,' he said. Levin tracks hate groups and said they no longer organize by geography, but rather by which ideas they can push into the mainstream and normalize.

'Bigoted or violent individuals, can dine from a hateful buffet,' said Levin. If they can inspire violence, they're not criminally liable for it,' said Levin. 'But if they orchaestrate or direct something, they are.'

In this case, the violence was pointed at one another. Ironically, an ex-Nazi killed two other Nazis for not being accepting. Violence amongst those of a hateful group might even be more common than violence directed outwardly, said Levin. 'They're sociopathic not only with respect to their bigotry, but with respect to the relationships between family members, spouses and friends,' he said. 'These are people who incubate within a society of violence generally.'

The article was published May 22, 2017, and can be read at “Professor: followers of hate groups often hurt one another.”

White supremacists who adhere to an ancient pagan Nordic religion called “Odinism” was the topic the news site RevealNews.org disucced with Levin on May 25, 2017. “Odinism is undergoing a renaissance,” said Levin. “Now is a great time for Odinism because it fits into this historical narrative about European cultural greatness and a connection between whiteness and nationality.”

The article may be read at “An ancient Nordic religion is inspiring white supremacist jihad.”

The “Art of Dreaming,” now on exhibit at San Bernarardino’s Garcia Center for the Arts through June, features the work of professors Juan Delgado (English) and Liliana Gallegos (communication studies) in its collection, which also showcases music, spoken word, poetry readings. Several campus organizations such as the TransCultural Commons Collective and Mass Productions will be helping coordinate the exhibit and auction.

The money raised at the auction will be disbursed into an emergency scholarship fund for the university’s undocumented students that are in dire need of financial assistance, Rodriguez explained.

The article appeared in IECN.com, the website for Inland Empire Community Newspapers, on May 21, 2017, under the headline “‘Art of Dreaming’ exhibit to raise money for CSUSB Dreamers.”

Project Rebound at Cal State San Bernardino was mentioned in a KPCC report that the project, which operates at seven California State University campuses, will graduate its first class this spring. Project Rebound is a re-integration program that could serve as a model as California prison reforms reduce the population of prison inmates. Officials founded seven programs last summer at the CSU campuses in San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Pomona, Bakersfield, and Fresno. Those programs were modeled on a program founded in 1967 at San Francisco State University.

Once graduates earn their degrees they’re likely to face less supportive environments as they meet people and apply for jobs. Program administrators say more employers are letting convicted felons reach the interview stage rather than throw away an application that lists a conviction.

“Some employers are willing to hire people who have these backgrounds because they might feel like these individuals will work harder because they’ve gotten that second chance,” said Annika Anderson, director of Project Rebound at CSUSB and an assistant professor of sociology. The article was published May 19, 2017, and can be read at “First college graduates from new prisoner reintegration program.”