Student association offers opportunities for engagement

Attending university provides the opportunity to meet new people, to enjoy extracurricular activities and to give back by volunteering. The challenge for most students is fitting all these possibilities into the demanding schedule of student life.


The Criminology Student Association (CSA) helps to solve this problem by providing students with a chance for increased university engagement beyond attending classes and staying up late studying.

The CSA exists to represent all criminology students at SFU. Every student currently enrolled in one or more criminology courses is 

automatically a member of the organization. 

Members are invited to participate in weekly meetings and to attend special events. An executive committee of volunteers helps to organize and coordinate activities, and provides representation on university committees to assert the interests of students.

“We always like to meet new students at our meetings because we don’t get to meet all the criminology students from just going to class. The meetings provide an opportunity for students to share any concerns they have about their university experience,” says CSA president Chelsey Lee, a fourth year criminology student.

CSA meetings are held every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Saywell Hall, Room 10218.

In addition to representing student interests to the faculty, the CSA organizes a variety of social and academic activities.

“The easiest way to get involved with the organization is to attend one of our events. We have one event each semester that provides an opportunity for students to relax and socialize,” says Lee.

The group recently held a “Murder Mystery Event” based on the popular board game Clue. For the event, participants were split into small groups and had to travel around campus searching for clues. Similar to the board game, participants needed to determine the culprit, the weapon, and the location of the fictional murder. Volunteers located around campus provided the clues – and not volunteers told the truth.

“We held the Murder Mystery Event to provide an entertaining evening for students to take a break from school. It was an enjoyable event for us to organize and the participants had fun,” says Lee.

In addition to organizing social activities, the CSA also holds a Career Fair every spring to provide students with the opportunity to make connections with organizations linked to criminology.

This year’s Career Fair takes place on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Saywell Atrium.

Representatives from a variety of agencies, including policing, law and community groups, will meet with students to answer questions. Information on co-op and volunteer opportunities will also be available.

A panel discussion on women in criminal justice, held in conjunction with the Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies Student Union and the SFU Women’s Centre, will take place after the Career Fair from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Saywell Atrium.

The CSA’s events are open to all students to attend. Most events have free admission.

Students interested in participating in events or attending meetings are encouraged to contact the CSA with any questions. The organization is actively seeking new volunteers.

“The executive committee is happy talk to students about what we do and how they can personally get involved. Also, if they want to get involved but don’t have much free time, we can work with them,” says Lee.

For more information on the CSA and its upcoming events, please visit Student Association (CSA) - School of Criminology - Simon Fraser University (sfu.ca)