Justice Studies? students participate in three concentrations, Justice Systems, International Justice and Paralegal Studies. As a Justice Studies major you have had the opportunity to study issues of justice in the classroom and in the field and through an interdisciplinary perspective: sociological, criminological, and legal. You have learned from the academic environment that the distribution of justice in our society is not always fair and inequalities and disparities exist in relation to race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexual orientation. These issues are inherent at a structural level in the major institutions of our society: the workforce, educational system, criminal justice system, legal system, religious institutions and family system, and filter down to affect outcomes for individuals. Inequalities block individual from equal opportunities.
Do not confuse a social injustice with a social problem. A social problem is a condition that exists in society and is in need of a remedy. Family violence, child abuse and addiction are social problems that exist in society. These problems are not generated by unequal treatment from social institutions but from the behavior of an individual. Remedies occur in the form of legislation to protect victims and social programs that offer treatment to victims.
Drawing from your coursework and prior research answer the following question:
What major social injustice that exists today within the United States would you like to see addressed in your lifetime?
Include in your discussion:
? the nature of the injustice and the institution responsible for the perpetuation of this inequality in society
? the significance of race, ethnicity, class and gender regarding opportunities and outcomes for certain segments of our society as it relates to the issue identified
? a discussion of how disparate policies or practices affect individual outcomes
? the sociological, psychological and legal costs of this injustice to society, the family and individual
? sociological, criminological, legal and political solutions or alternatives to the problem of injustice that you have identified

Students will be required to submit a 5-6 page essay on their selected topic. They must use at least 3 scholarly sources. Please cite all your sources in text and provide a separate bibliography using the APA Manual of Style. You may not count information from the internet as a scholarly source. You may download scholarly sources from the internet and cite them using the APA Manual of Style. If you use information from the website you must cite that information even though it is not considered a scholarly source. All written work is to be typed using a 12 font and double spacing and utilizing grammar and spell check. Your course instructor will assign a date for submission of an outline and bibliography and a date for submission of your completed essay. No late papers will be accepted. Your Capstone Essay is worth 50 points.
Students are permitted to draw upon research papers that they have submitted in previous classwork. Prior work can be used as a foundation to build their new research project and must address the issues noted above.