Prompt #5 Organizations

By Samantha Martinez

I have not involved myself in any criminal organizations just yet. Next year, I hope that I do become more involved because I will be wanting to explore more about my career.  Luckily, my friend Chelsea Agee is in the criminal justice field and has been involved with two important criminal justice organizations. I got to learn about her personal experience with these organizations. Chelsea is a senior and will be graduating in May. The two organizations she is involved in is the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and Alpha Phi Sigma.

The National Organization of Blacks in Criminal Justice is a non profit association with multi- ethic community leaders and C.J professionals. The NABCJ is the first chapter at Michigan State University and in the Midwest. The National Organization of Blacks in Criminal Justice mission is said to be,"to serve as a professional and social network for African- American undergraduate and graduate students in the field of Criminal Justice."  According to Chelsea, NABCJ did not meet her expectations. She said it was not well organized and did not get to network and meet with criminal justice professionals as much as she hoped to. Chelsea tried to join the e-board of the organization, but it was too stressful for her with the schedule she had. The National Organization of Blacks in Criminal Justice was not as beneficial to her as much as Alpha Phi Sigma.

Alpha Phi Sigma is a national honor society for criminal justice students. The honor society helps criminal justice students gain leadership roles and learn about the criminal justice field. The honor society also provides volunteer activities and presentations by important speakers which help you gain connections in the criminal justice field. Chelsea had a very positive journey with Alpha Phi Sigma. She stated, "Alpha Phi Sigma did more to meet my expectations, it does help you network and meet with professionals. Also, it helps to get a better idea at what you want to do in the criminal justice field. It pushed me to be better at maintaining a good goal to be a part of it."

According to Chelsea, her opinion was both organizations represent themselves very highly and professional. In her case, Alpha Phi Sigma high representation matched their performance and NABCJ did not. Every one has a different experience in joining organizations for their field, so for truth vs. representation, I believe you have to find out the truth for yourself.

http://cj.msu.edu/undergraduate-information/student-life/

Musical Subtopics

By Braden Hanks

cheat sheet

Through the past couple years, through my tremendous growing love for music, there has been one part of music that has always brought much interest to me: music theory.

Music theory is, in essence, how music works.  How it begins, ends, and everything in between.  For example, in music theory we analyze groups of notes, called chords, and how they function in the piece of music.  This involves multiple levels of analysis, and the investigation of specific functions of each individual chord.

Music theory is almost like math: there's usually a formula, except there usually isn't.  It's open ended.  You pick the melody.  You pick how the harmony goes along with that melody.  There are formulas that work around what you write, but what you write is up to you, and that's what I love about it.

Slenderman Stabbings (week 5)

Cassandra Rymas


In 2014 two 12-year-old girls lured their friend Payton (also 12 years old) into the bathroom with a plan of killing her. The three of them had previously spent the night together for Anissa's birthday party.  Anissa and Morgan are the two who attempted to kill their friend.

Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier

Anissa and Morgan became friends in school because of an obsession they both had with the creppypasta website. This website featured stories of the slenderman. They came up with this plan to become servants of Slender. To do so they had to sacrifice someone. This, someone, was Payton.

Payton Leutner (victim)

After the sleepover, they went to the park in the morning. Anissa grabbed a knife from her kitchen. once they were at the park they got Payton into this bathroom, where they proceeded to stab her 19 times. They told her they were going to get help when they actually started running for the slender castle. Payton was found and survived the attack.

The two have been in custody since, on charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. They have both pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. A judge is suspected to announce a trial date soon.


Going into this field I have a different take on this case than most. If I were the prosecutor on this case, I would not take it easy or ask for a lighter sentence because the girls were 12 at the time of the crime. Nor would I play into the mental defect plea. Although they may very well have things wrong with them mentally, they are capable of understanding the law. This means legally, they are not mentally defective. Therefore they know right and wrong and that it's a crime to kill someone. It wasn't just an act they did, they planned this out and had a reason that made them want to do it. In interviews they stated it made them excited and nervous, they were scared because they didn't want to get in trouble. Yet, they still stabbed their best friend and left her to die. It is through no fault but their own that they deserve and will be locked up for a while if not life.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2643061/what-slender-man-stabbing-case-anissa-weier-morgan-geyser/

Disabilities

By Samantha Martinez

criminaljusticecareerscenter.com

A disability might hold back someone from becoming a police officer. Sometimes police officers become disabled on duty. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed stating no one should be discriminated in employment, public services, etc.  Every police academy in each state has different requirements. If your disability does not allow you complete any of the tests, it will probably stop you from becoming a police officer.

To become a police officer, it is important to be in good physical shape. One day, you can have a criminal running from the crime scene and you'll have to chase them down. The Physical Qualification Test requires the 75 yard pursuit run, push ups, and sit ups. Vision or hearing impairment can also be a disqualification.  If an officer becomes disabled on duty, " Police Officers Death and Disability Act," protects them by the government in paying their medical bills and their families. The act also provides other benefits.

A disability should not stop someone from pursuing a career in the criminal justice field. There are about 75 career fields. Some fields are forensic science, private security, legal services and cyber security. I believe if someone really wants to do something, they should even if they face challenges.
If you cannot become a police officer, there will be another career choice in the criminal justice field.


http://work.chron.com/can-cop-physical-impairment-23164.html
 http://www.collegequest.com/how-to-become-a-police-officer.aspx
https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/the-police-physical-ability-test-would-you-meet-the-requirements
http://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-careers/
http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/7808-police-officers-death-disability-act

prompt #4

Cassandra Rymas

Prompt 4

Week 4

                For this prompt, I had to find two sources, one being a newspaper article and one being a scholarly article. The newspaper article I choose was ‘Jerry Sandusky’s Son Charged with Sexually Assaulting Children’ written by Mitch Smith, you can already tell this is going to be very different than a scholarly article. Which for that I choose ‘The Criminal Prosecution: Sporting Event or Quest for Truth’ written by William J. Brennan Jr.

The scholarly article is aimed at people who are already in the profession of law.  It starts off with the reason as to why he is writing this article, which has to do with the past 15 years of judges, teachers, and lawyers asking him to. This is a very informative, lengthy read. It’s quite boring if you’re not into the profession. Which most people are not. The article and author are both very trust worthy, it comes from a person of high standing in the field. Law is known for being an occupation of high trust, and honesty, there for we can assume it is safe to rely on the information gained throughout the article.

Jeffery Sandusky Mugshot.
Fox59 Center County Correctional Facility 

 However, the newspaper article is a lot more entertaining to read. It too is informative, but not in the same way. The target audience is every person living in society. People enjoy knowing what’s going on in the world around them, this article informs them of the crimes being committed, which many find interest in knowing. Whether you’re a sports fan or want to know of the crimes. You can stumble upon this article and enjoy the quick read. It’s about the former assistant Penn state football coach’s son. 

                                                                                      He was recently convicted of sexually assaulting young boys. I find it so disgusting that someone can sexually assault another human being, especially someone younger than you, you simply just take advantage of them. He didn’t only assault young boys, but also young girls. The prosecution mentioned that two of the girls were under 16.

What stands out the most, in this case, is that he doesn’t find it wrong. He says its “not weird” for him to have involuntary statutory intercourse with these kids. Which means he thinks it’s okay to rape kids under the age of consent. GROSS!! Also, his dad was convicted of sexual assault against 10 young boys. I guess it must run in the family.

These two articles are on focused on the same thing, law, and the criminal justice system. One is informing you on the ins and outs of the court, how lawyers do things, what they strive for, as well as judges. The other is informing you on someone who has committed a crime and now has entered the court system on the other side. Both articles are from sources of high standing and very trustworthy. 

My musical inspiration

By Braden Hanks

Everyone has their own journey.  Their own story.  Their own path.  Through Science, Mathematics, English, History, or even Music, there are always influences through the realm of discovering our passions.  For me, there are a few moments through my high school career that stand out, that had the most control over my decision to pursue Music.

First off, and the largest influence for me, was my high school band director, David Larzelere.  When I was in middle school I played trumpet, he asked me if I would like to play Euphonium for marching band the following year.  Being the innocent 8th grader I was, I gave in, and that would be the biggest impact on my career.  If I hadn't changed instruments, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Later in high school, once I got alright at my instrument, I had the pleasure of being first chair in my school's top ensemble and traveling and performing at the Michigan Music Conference, which was amazing.  This experience then propelled me to go to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and play in their top ensemble, and then later my senior year, receiving honorable mention for All State and eventually going to the Michigan Youth Arts Festival. These experiences all blossomed my love for music even more than the last, all adding up to my admission to MSU and the college of music to study my passion.

Prompt #3 - Professional Interview

By Braden Hanks

For this intriguing blog post, I was posed with the task of interviewing a professional in my field. That person is David Larzelere.  Mr. Larzelere was my high school band director, whom arguably had the largest influence on my musical journey up until today.

Q1: "What do you write and how do you write it?"

A: "I usually write worksheets and exams for AP music theory, most often with Microsoft Word.  Hah!  But seriously, I will sometimes, when I'm feeling up for it, write music.  This only happens when I'm just feeling so damn creative that I have to slap it on some paper.  These feelings of wanting to compose typically stem from emotions that I feel from teaching, or just everyday life too".

Q2:  "What are some common misconceptions in Music Education and how do you use communication (including writing) to dispel, address, or work around those stereotypes?"

A:  "When someone asks me what I do, and I tell them I'm a music educator, I'm usually applauded for my work. Very few people enter the teaching profession nowadays, so when you meet someone who does work in that field, it's inspiring to them.  If I do run into someone who looks down on my occupation, I usually respond with 'hey, someone's gotta do it, and I love doing it, so it works out'.  They usually shut up about it".

I loved the second answer because it shows how much our society is growing through stereotypes of jobs (at least this one) and that doing what you love, even though isn't pursued as much as we would like, is inspiring and uplifting.

Unanswered Questions

By Samantha Martinez

incarceration rate by race and gender

As being a minority, I personally know racism exists. The President of the United States being a racist himself is sending the messages to other people that it is okay to discriminate minorities. Even in the criminal  justice field, racism exists. The killings of many African Americans by white cops has brought the subject to light and people ask themselves, "Are all cops racist? " I strongly believe that all cops are not racist, but I cannot say it does not exist.

I found an interesting article called, "Fourteen Examples of Racism in Criminal Justice" by Bill Quigley. I learned in this article that thousands of people have been arrested or went through an unfair arrest because of racism. This article does not just mention opinions, it states statistics and facts. One important fact it stated is that blacks and Latinos are stopped and frisked more than whites. According to The statistics given by the New York Police Department, it says that 85 percent are blacks and Latinos and only 8 percent are white. This concludes that some innocent people were locked up unfairly.This negativity makes society segregated and people to not trust all cops. I learned that there are many unfair discriminating situations in the criminal justice field.

I think something needs to drastically change in the criminal justice field for it to be seen as  less racist. No matter what race, cops should respect everyone and arrest people for anything that is a crime not their skin color. This encourages me even more to be a police officer to show that all cops are not racist because I respect and acknowledge that we live in a very multicultural world.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/fourteen-examples-of-raci_b_658947.html

Stereotypes of Females in Law

Cassandra Rymas

Blog week 3

 Women in law are not equally represented. Per Current Glance Statics, for total judgeships, 27.1% are women, compared to the 73.9% that are men. Personally, I have seen this. Through my little experience, I already have, I've seen far more males in the courtroom and at the bench. Not only are women unrepresented, they’re also stereotyped. Women in law are seen to be cold and bicthy. Many see this because women are supposed to be soft and caring. That they have a lot of emotions and emotions aren’t logical. In a courtroom, you must be smart and logical.  Gender roles make females emotional, not logical, like men.  

Subscene

Legally blonde shows this great. The movie starts off with this blonde girl, who’s seen as an air head, who's only good at shopping. Another stereotype in its self. When she shows an interest in law, she’s told she won’t make it. She’s not smart enough. Which is a bunch of crap because if anyone has the will to go through all that schooling they will make it. She goes through the schooling and ends up kicking ass in the court room. Duh, females are great at arguing, so why wouldn’t they be great in the court room. If you haven’t seen it, you should watch it.

              

         
From my experience, I know guy lawyers who won’t start a debate with the female ones because they won’t win. At my internship, over lunch break, we would pick a topic and then two people would debate on it. I know this is very nerdy in a way. However, the females typically won. On one argument about character letters on twitter and why they should be limited a female won, the same female won why they shouldn’t be limited against someone else. Clearly, she’s good at arguing and debating. She is only one example that goes against the typical misconception that females make bad lawyers.

http://ms-jd.org/blog/article/media-portrayals-leading-ladies-and-law-identifying-stereotypes-film-and-tv
http://dtpr.lib.athabascau.ca/action/download.php?filename=mais/garymarshallProject.pdf

Prompt #2 Code of Ethics

By: Samantha Martinez

"As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice." ( International Association of Chiefs of Police)   


Ethics are the moral principles someone holds.I believe a professional code of ethics should be implemented into your personal life if you want to succeed in it.I never knew researching the code of ethics of my field would benefit me so much. The statement above is only a small portion of the code of ethics, but it holds a strong value to every officer now and the future ones.The code of ethics of a police officer is actions needed to be fulfilled every day on duty. It has informed me of the important values as a future police officer I will have to accomplish. The code of ethics is very straight forward and informative.Similar to the code of ethics I had in mind before researching it. In my personal code of ethics, I know I have to fulfill the duty of risking my life every day if needed so. I am pleased to become a police officer so I can do what I always wanted to do.  

  

Every police officer should know the code ethics before becoming a police officer and if they don't ,they are informed of it before taking oath.The code of ethics should become values a police officer holds. In my opinion, I think the public puts a lot of pressure on police officers. The news will usually show police officers wrong,instead of the positive things cops have done for the community. One negative action of one police officer puts a bad image on all police officers which is very unfair. Corrupt police officers exist, but good police officers exist also who do not get as much credit for their hard work.I do believe police officers follow the code of ethics because it is their responsibility and if they don't, they have to deal with the consequences. 

 Every police officer should follow the code of ethics. If police officers want the public to trust them and for crime rates to decline, they have to set a good example. I think people are well aware of the code of ethics or similarities of what a police officer job is. That is why the public is so quickly to point any mistakes the police officer has made. Police officers cannot expect the public to follow the laws or do the right thing, if they don't carry those messages out to the public by doing a good job. 





How i got interested in Law. (week 2)

By: Cassy



In 8th grade I became obsessed with crime shows and books. I read so many James Pattersons books, I watched Criminal Minds and SVSU non-stop. I couldn't get enough. Then I got to highschool and there was this program called teen court. I didn't do it freshman year because it sounded kind of bland. I mean these shows had all this action and drama, this program sounded like a bunch of kids standing around learning about court.

I talked to some people my sophomore year and they said it was a lot of fun, so I thought why not give it a try. I fell in love with it. We got to be the attorneys and the jury. We got real cases and worked side by side with attorneys on them. It's a bit nerve-racking standing in front of a judge, attorneys, a jury and all the spectators presenting a case. But that little butterfly sensation I get gives me a thrill and made me want more.

My first cross-examination was the best thing ever. I had no idea what I was doing yet. When I started, something took over me and it felt so natural. I actually ended up making the girl on the stand cry. The jury got really mad but the judge pulled me back into her chambers to tell me good job. She told me, I  was a natural and I'm going to go far. That was great, to hear that from a judge.

Through teen court, I ended up with an internship for the prosecutor of my county. we didn't do much besides follow people around or paperwork. The internship wasn't as exciting as the actual experience.  However, it gave me a lot of knowledge and connections. Through teen court, classes my high school offered and my internship, I learned I naturally think more prosecution than defense. It also gave me the motivation to make it through college studying and to continue onto law school. I know that once I graduate and get my job. I'm going to love it because that feeling I got in the courtroom was one I want forever.