True Crime Club Revitalized

Students who attended Maryville College before the pandemic might recall that there used to be a true crime club. The new president of the club, Eden Hensley, is working alongside other students to revamp it this year. The club leadership met for the first time on October 10. 

As part of the reconstruction, the name for the club has changed from “Maryville College’s True Crime” to “MC Crime Talk.” Hensley said, “After Regina Benedict’s passing, we want to treat it as a tribute, honor and closing of that chapter as part of a remembrance.”

Dr. Regina Benedict was the advisor for the true crime club before her passing. She was also Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the Criminal Justice major at Maryville College. After her passing, her position was not able to be fulfilled until recently. 

One of the reasons for the pause in the club was due to the fact that students didn’t know what the Criminal Justice program was going to look like at MC. The idea of revamping came up in a course on criminal law and procedure. 

The new Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the Criminal Justice department, Dr. Rachel Ponder, asked about the interest in the club, and the process of reinventing the club went underway. Ponder was then appointed as the advisor. The leadership for this club is made up of personnel that have at least a major or minor in Criminal Justice. 

Hensley’s vision for the club this year is to provide a safe space for students to talk about any and all social justice issues. “Crime is very impactful in general,” she said. 

MC Crime Talk’s main goal for this semester is to create impactful events. Some of the activities Hensley said she hopes to hold range from academic or writing conferences, debates and even field trips. They want to focus on cold cases and court hearings that are available for the public’s viewing. 

The club’s goal is to hold its first general meeting the week of homecoming. Hensley hopes to at least hold two big events on campus as a club. She’s hoping local law enforcement will be willing to offer self-defense training. 

In the following days, students can expect to see detailed information about MC Crime Talk club meetings on the MC Crime Talk’s new Instagram account (@MCCrimeTalk). The leadership board hopes to recruit members from all majors and minors to create a fun, friendly and safe environment for social justice topics. 

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