Every year, our First-Year Student Showcase is a highly anticipated event because it features the justice-focused research of our newest John Jay students. The variety of topics covered is wide, the methodology is intriguing, and in many cases, the outcomes are surprising and inspiring. Guided by faculty and staff mentors, along with the unwavering support of Associate Director of First Year Programs, Nancy Yang, this year’s first-year scholars did not disappoint with their recent research presentations. We connected with some of the presenters and dived a little deeper into their theories, their methodologies, and their findings.

Melissa Hollands ’25, a Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology major from Los Angeles County, California, has always dreamt of becoming an FBI agent. “It’s my ultimate goal to become an FBI agent. Thinking about how criminal minds work just intrigues me,” says Hollands. “My dad is actually a police officer and growing up he’s been an inspiration to me. When I was younger, we would watch investigation shows together. When I was five, I would see criminals on television and say, ‘Wow, I want to meet those criminals and talk to them.’ I even asked my dad if he would take me to jail. He was like, ‘No, you’re insane.’ But that desire to understand their thought processes never changed in me.” In light of her curiosity about the criminal mind, Hollands focused her research project specifically on the possibility of criminality on the subway and on the street.

Her Research
Hollands’s multipart research was culled together in an e-portfolio project. One part covered observations in the subway and the other incidents of catcalling on the streets. “My ethnography paper involved me paying attention to the surroundings on the subway,” says Hollands. “When I was doing my research on the subway, I realized that nearly everyone on the subway failed to pay attention to their surroundings. Everyone was looking down at their phone. No one was watching what could happen to them—someone could steal the contents of an open purse or grab a child while their parent wasn’t watching.” As Hollands observed subway riders mindlessly looking at their phones—even when street performers were dancing inches from their bodies—her mind kept calculating all of the possible crimes that could happen to them.

For Hollands’s catcalling project she interviewed multiple women, some as young as 12 years old, who experienced catcalling. “I wanted to study catcalling because I genuinely don’t understand why men do it. Also, I feel like men don’t fully understand what a woman goes through when it happens to them. In many instances, I think they believe it’s funny,” says Hollands. When she interviewed the women for her research project, she found some women who shared her belief that catcalling was immature on the part of the catcaller and demeaning for the woman experiencing it, but she was also surprised to find that some women didn’t feel that way. “Most of the women felt degraded, but a few women actually said that they liked the attention. One woman, who was 30 years old, said that she liked it when strange men yelled out a compliment on the street because she felt like she rarely got attention. It was surprising for me to hear that. I would never think of it as complimenting me, but she did.”

Her Conclusions
When it came to her catcalling project, Hollands felt the dichotomy of both freedom of speech and a woman’s right to feel safe. “You can’t really create a law saying that a man can’t yell out to a woman like that anymore—I’m not even sure that they would listen or if it could be enforced—but it’s also not okay that a 12-year-old feels unsafe because a man yells out a comment at her,” says Hollands. “The truth of the matter is that not all men do that and we have to find a way to educate the men that do. We have to help them realize that what they’re doing is not okay. Yes, people can technically say whatever they want, but when a child gets harassed by a man that’s double her age, I think there should be some consequences.” Hollands wondered if these men knew how the women felt, if they would alter their behavior.

As for her subway research project, Hollands believes the solution lies in rider awareness. “If you’re not paying attention to your surroundings someone could touch you where you don’t want to be touched. Someone could mug you. You could easily become a victim of a crime,” she says. “There’s crime on the subway, just think of that poor woman who was pushed and died [Michelle Go]. We shouldn’t have to constantly be aware of our surroundings on the subway, but the reality is we have to for our own safety. If that means keeping an eye on your purse, do it. If that means looking at your phone later, do it. If that means standing far away from the platform edge, do it. There are always going to be criminals and anything we can do to prevent becoming a victim we should do.”

Her Future
In her quest to become an FBI agent, Hollands is taking the necessary steps to join the National Guard. “I took my ASVAB test [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery] and qualified for all these different jobs. Once I pass the medical examination, I’ll sign my contract,” she says. “I want to serve my country while I’m a student at John Jay and the National Guard is the perfect answer to both those goals. Also, adding it to my resume might help me when I apply to the FBI. My recruiter told me that military experience stands out to the agency.” Currently, Hollands is taking 18 credits at John Jay while also working 20 to 40 hours a week as a nanny. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of hours juggling school and my job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m also really glad I did this research project. It made me stretch out of my comfort zone, meet new people, and broaden my perspective. You never know what you can do until you try.”