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The Kentucky State University Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences hosted a day-long workshop about domestic terrorism Friday, March 30.

The workshop, titled “Domestic Terrorism from Idea to Action,” was held in the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Meeting Room. The event was open to students, staff, faculty and the public.

Workshop presenters addressed factors that influence people to engage in domestic terrorism.

Courtney Schnitzler, Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, discussed the concepts of terrorism and domestic terrorism and described the various ways in which the Kentucky Office of Homeland addresses this threat.

Mariah Bailey, U.S. Army National Guard and Kentucky State University BGS IC CAE Scholar, discussed how terrorist groups exploit social media sites such as Facebook and others to manipulate users and gain support for their organizations.

Captain Louis Hill, U.S. Army ROTC at Kentucky State University, discussed the importance of tomorrow’s leaders and their impact on themselves and the soldiers they lead when it comes to domestic terrorism.

Dr. Johnathon Sharp, assistant professor of Psychology at Kentucky State University, discussed several school shooters/shootings and touched on aspects of ideology, social identity, prejudice/discrimination and factors that led to these events.

Dr. Mara Merlino, associate professor of psychology and sociology and coordinator at Kentucky State University, discussed a variety of sources of cognitive bias and how these factors impact the use of information in reaching decisions about the meaning of intelligence.

The workshop activity, in which participants worked in teams to evaluate and debate information about possible domestic terrorist organizations, was moderated by Dr. Wilfred Reilly, assistant professor of political science at Kentucky State University.