ePortfolio

The Beginning
I was nervous about this class as I was about every other class I have taken in college.  However when I found out that we had to post a blog every week I didn't know if I was going to make it in this class.  I am not much of a writer.  Every time a professor asks me to write a reflection mine is always a paragraph or shorter.  Thankfully, Dr. Kyburz showed me how to write an efficient blog and she taught me a few things I didn't know.  I had no clue how people posted videos in their blogs until Dr. Kyburz showed me.  Now that I have a few tricks up my sleeve I am confident I can create a good looking blog.

The Dog Days of the Semester
The easy part of the semester was over and now the grind of the semester was in full swing.  Documentary papers, quizzes, and group work filled the middle weeks of the semester.  The documentary paper was a new learning experience.  I don't think I have written anything about a film that was solely based on facts.  There was no room for opinion on that paper because opinion isn't allowed when you are writing the facts about something.  This is a helpful stepping stone to anyone who is going to enter the field of law enforcement because those reports are based on 100% facts.  The quizzes were very simple because the material in the book was straight forward.  Normally I dread working in groups because some people in the group don't put in 100% effort.  Thankfully I had partners who got straight to the point and did the work that had to be done.

Fin
It always blows my mind how quickly the end of the semester arrives.  It seems the weeks fly by as soon as Thanksgiving break is over.  At the beginning of the semester I was nervous and now this class is the most comfortable class I had this semester.  Everyone here can share their opinion about a topic and they don't have to worry about being disrespected.  The people I met in this class were very cool and Dr. Kyburz was a fun professor.  I hope I see her some where on my TV during winter break.

Notebooks

This notebook takes my number one spot.  The biggest reason why is because it is weather proof.  You never know when you might have to take down some notes in the rain.  Also this notebook would fit perfectly in your pocket.

This notebook is my second choice.  This notebook is perfect for quick note taking and it is weather proof as well.  However this might not be big enough if you have to write lots of notes.  Also I am not a fan of the notebook rings being on top of the paper.

These types of notebooks would be my last choice.  The obvious reason is that they are too big.  These are more appropriate for note taking in school and not for law enforcement.

This video shows how tough it can be being a police officer nowadays.  There has been so much controversy surrounding the police and use of force that some officers are second guessing whether or not they should use their guns.  The suspect in the video was high on PCP and that particular drug is known for giving people super human strength at times.  You can see how the male officer was also struggling with the suspect.  The female officer had every right to shoot him but in the back of her mind she was worried about the possible consequences she would have to face.  

Donald Trump Should Stick to Politics

When a professional athlete voices their opinion about politics, many people lash back at them by saying, "STICK TO SPORTS!!!"  Many dumb people who follow sports want their favorite athletes to only perform on the field, court, race track, or wherever, and not have an opinion about politics.

Last Wednesday during a Trump rally in Florida, a woman passed out but was able to return after regaining consciousness.  Trump noticed that and decided to take a shot at the NFL and NFL players.  Trump said, "That woman was out cold and show she's coming back."  He then says, "We don't go by these new, and very much softer, NFL rules.  Concussions, 'oh,oh! Got a little ding on the head.  No, no you can't play for the rest of the season.'  "Our people are tough."

Concussions are the number threat to players lives in the NFL.  Many blows to the head and concussions can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.  CTE is a digressive disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma.  CTE can lead to depression, dementia, parkinsonism, and suicidal behavior.  Many families have dealt with the consequences of their loved ones dealing with CTE.  There have been a number of retired NFL players who have committed suicide due to CTE.  Some players even shot themselves in the chest so their brain could be used for research.  Donald Trump has no right to attack people who deal with concussions.  Donald Trump, stick to politics.
http://nesn.com/2016/10/republican-nominee-donald-trump-mocks-nfls-soft-concussion-rules/

Debate Part II

Donald Trump knows how to work an audience.  At this point, I'm watching him solely for entertainment.  Everything he says is a headline and he always gets a thunderous laugh from the audience.  However I do find it curious how Trump still has a female following after his latest "locker room talk" comments.  I am not a Clinton supporter but the way Trump talks about women is not how a presidential candidate should talk.  

Group Work Reflection

Like I stated before, I was not a big fan of group projects.  However when my group partners are reliable and hard working the work that we have to do becomes easier.  Also I hate doing presentations.  I always worry whether if I'm going to speak nervously and stutter throughout my presentation.  However for this project I practiced my presentation multiple times at home and I felt like I did pretty decent during my presentation.  These presentations will also help me get accustom to speaking in public later in my career.

Group work

Every time I look at a syllabus in the beginning of the semester I always check first to see if there is a group project.  I tend to a have a love/hate relationship with group projects.  In some of my previous classes, group projects tend to be simple and straight forward.  And sometimes the goal of the project is too complex or me and my group members might not be on the same page.
However, this group project seems to be straight forward.  My group mates Josh, Elizabeth, and Didier all have an understanding of what we need to do and we expect to get the job done. 

Police

Throughout my life I never had any problems with the police.  When I was in 6th grade I was able to experience first hand how hard the police actually work.  I was at my aunt's house watching tv and I left my bike on the patio in the backyard.  All of a sudden I see some guy run up and take my bike.  My aunt called the police and minutes later my bike was recovered.  From that moment on, my point of view on the police was they were good at their jobs.  Also in the past 3 or 4 years there were times where I should've been arrested but they showed mercy on me and my friends.  Unfortunately people across the US and the world have not had the same experience with law enforcement.

The interviews in the video show the different points of view of how people view the police.  I believe the video is a good tool for people to talk about their experiences of law enforcement.  The people who live in nice neighborhoods might have a friendly relationship with the police and those who live in rough areas of town might have a different perspective.  Also, these interviews might make people more aware of the bad cops that affect other people's lives.  Something that struck me in the video was how some police in different parts of the world are only there to serve politicians and the people in power.  To me that only creates more conflict between the people and law enforcement. The people won't feel safe in the presence of the police and that might force them to fight back when they aren't being treated fairly.  

Presidential Look

Donald Trump has said many head scratching statements before and he did it again.  Trump said Hillary Clinton doesn't have a presidential look and a person running for president should always have a presidential look.  After seeing photos of presidents of the past I have no idea what a "presidential look" is.  Many of those presidents were either bald or had grey hair.  And some were fortunate enough to had colored hair.  So if Donald Trump was implying that Clinton wasn't bald enough, then he certainly has a point.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2016/09/07/how-hillary-clinton-can-get-that-presidential-look/?utm_term=.d613f8bb14e0

This song is hilarious.  Every time I hear it on TV or a video on the internet I can't help but laugh.

Laquan McDonald

In class we discussed the murder of Laquan McDonald.  McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke.  There was massive outrage when the video was released because it was said that McDonald lunged at Officer Van Dyke with a knife and he had no choice but to shoot him.  However the video shows McDonald walking away with the knife in hand and Officer Van Dyke unloading 16 shots into McDonald.  Van Dyke clearly shot McDonald because he felt like doing it, not because he was forced.  Laquan McDonald did have prior troubles with the law and was not a perfect citizen but that doesn't justify him being murdered in cold blood.