Center for the Study of Los Angeles

2012 Sacramento Seminar participants observe Occupy Sacramento protests and demonstrations

The Sacramento Legislative Seminar[2] is a longstanding program in Loyola Marymount University's Political Science Department. The program is offered, but not limited, to students enrolled in the Politics of California course held during the spring semester. The purpose of the Sacramento Seminar is to provide undergraduate students from various California institutions with hands-on exposure to California's political system. During the seminar, students participate in panel discussions which are held in the California State Capitol, where they engage in political discourse with prominent government officials, legislators, lobbyists, fellows, and scholars from across the state. The panel discussions give students the opportunity to ask these distinguished guests questions pertaining to a variety of topics. Throughout the seminar, students are encouraged to introduce themselves and meet with public officials and staff to seek personal career advice. The Center plays a significant role in organizing and coordinating the Sacramento Seminar for both the students and professors who attend annually.

StudyLA undergraduate student researchers participate in the 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium at LMU

The Undergraduate Research Symposium[3] invites undergraduate students formally to present displays of faculty-mentored research and other creative activity in all academic areas. The Center's undergraduate student researchers are encouraged to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium and receive extensive faculty mentorship and staff support with their project and presentation. Recent projects have featured research pertaining to Los Angeles redistricting and CSLA's Los Angeles Riots Anniversary surveys and exit polls.

For over a decade, the Center for the Study of Los Angeles has planned, coordinated and moderated the Urban Lecture Series and more recently the Fall Lecture Series.[4] The Lecture Series engage top government officials and community leaders in discussion and debate. The conversations are held at Loyola Marymount University on selected Tuesdays throughout the spring and fall semesters. Both series are televised and broadcast on public access television.[5]

Following the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections, discrepancies in exit poll results were proven to be the product of poor sampling techniques and inaccurate results. To mitigate the controversies surrounding exit poll methodology, the Center assembled a team of researchers who implemented a sampling technique known as the "racially stratified homogenous precinct approach" to accurately sample voters in the city of Los Angeles. Research conducted at the Center has shown that the city of Los Angeles is racially segregated, thus voters are more likely voting in racially homogenous precincts. The key component to the stratified approach is the selection of racially and ethnically homogenous precincts throughout the city of Los Angeles.[6][7][8]

The Center has conducted exit polls for the 2005 mayoral election,[9] 2008 presidential election,[10] and 2010 gubernatorial election.

In observance of the Los Angeles riots and disturbances of 1992, CSLA sponsors cross-sectional phone surveys of Los Angeles residents to study their overall perceived attitudes and concerns towards the city of Los Angeles. The CSLA Riots Anniversary Survey is conducted every 5th anniversary marking the L.A. riots and disturbances of 1992. The Riots Anniversary Survey provides data on LA residents' perceptions of race/ethnic relations, the Los Angeles Police Department, local government and neighborhood relations, the likelihood for future riots to occur, the overall direction of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles resident quality of life.[11]