Student-faculty research paper published in peer-reviewed journal

An article co-written by Roanoke College senior James Suleyman and Associate Professor of Public Affairs Daisy Ball has been published in the journal “Laws.” 

Suleyman, who is pursuing majors in criminal justice and sociology, as well as minors in Spanish and psychology, has been conducting research with Ball for most of his college career. For the “Laws” article, the pair reviewed details of the March 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, and studied them in the context of increasing anti-transgender sentiment in the United States.  

“James worked tirelessly through the peer-review process,” Ball said. “For an undergraduate student to have already published in an academic journal is a huge accomplishment."   

Three students and three staff members were killed on March 27, 2023, when a former student later identified as Aiden Hale opened fire at The Covenant School, a private Christian academy. Hale, who was assigned female at birth, identified as male and used masculine pronouns. In the wake of the shooting, a renewed wave of anti-trans rhetoric swelled across the country.  

For their project, Suleyman and Ball conducted an extensive analysis of newspaper coverage in the two weeks following the shooting, including how it was framed in media coverage. In so doing, they explored how depictions of the crime and its perpetrator may have shaped public discourse about transgender rights and fueled the anti-trans movement.  

The research by Suleyman and Ball contributes to the literature on K-12 school shootings and gender studies, particularly stigma toward members of the transgender community in the U.S.  

In March 2024, the pair will present their research at a conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Read the full paper here.