eportfolio

My eportfolio is targeting all future Lewis students who decide to take Dr. Kyburz's class.

(This is a picture of her to the right. I googled her, she's almost as popular as Kanye!)


Although I was quiet most of the time in class. I never had the chance to express my gratitude towards Dr. Kyburz. She is such a sweet, patient, understanding professor. I have never had a writing professor like her throughout all my years in school. Especially because this is college level writing, she made it feel easy all while challenging us along the way. It wasn't stressful, she took it class by class to where she could see where we needed more time and where we needed more guidance. She made my least favorite subject less fearful and slowly helped me gain confidence within my own writing.

Some of the things I learned in her class not just in Writing in the Disciplines class, but also College Writing was knowing who my target was and how I should use different styles of writing to get my point across without using any biased opinions. She helped keep me in check with sticking to one perspective, such as writing my entire paper in first person or third person because I used to incorporate both... a lot!
One of the projects that helped me focus on these two techniques was the documentary project. It was a fun assignment having to watch a film from a list of choices she gave us and then just learning how to properly share the summary of the film to an audience without showing any bias, and expanding on details of what happen.

Another helpful assignment was the mock trial we did in class. It let us work in groups (that's how I met new people) and come up with our own interrogation and interview questions. It gave us a chance to let our creative sides come out. Take advantage, since most classes in college are lectures and can be very boring. My group was great to work with, and we ended up getting a confession from the person we interrogated which shocked us all! Our class was a quiet group but this project in particular is what helped us come out of our shells and forced us to speak and make new friends.

We read Report Writing for Law Enforcement, and it was pretty valuable information. I learned different types of reports which was a more in depth explanation than the second project we did on the types of police report presentations. The exercises she gave us were refreshers of things I had forgotten about that I learned in high school along with helpful tips on what we should expect to see and do for those of us going into law enforcement. There was a lot of little things that I didn't know and surprisingly, some of it was common sense. Go figure. Dr. Kyburz did a great job explaining and giving examples so we can engrave it in our heads for the near future especially the importance of the Oxford comma!

Reading the textbook helped my group incorporate all the new skills we learned with writing our final project, writing a police report. She let us be creative once again, but except this time, we knew she expected our narratives to be clear, concise, and full of details because that's what we have been talking about almost all semester.

Taking Writing in the Disciplines with Dr. Kyburz was a great experience. I felt comfortable enough to ask her questions as well as confident in myself to be able to complete her assignments. Other professors give me anxiety when I have to do their assignments.

Thank you Dr. Kyburz for all your wonderful stories and advise. As my final semester approaches I am glad I was able to take you twice during my journey here at Lewis. Your class is one of my favorites and I did learn a couple of things here and there that I hope will help me along my journey after Lewis. I think the fact that you are passionate about writing and teaching is why your students are able to focus and have fun while learning. That is a fantastic quality to have!

Ellie Nesler

Recently, on December 26, 2008, Ellie Nesler passed away from breast cancer. She is well known for killing the child molester who sexually abused her son, William Nesler which was 7 at the time. The man’s name was Daniel Driver a 35 year old a Christian camp counselor. As Nesler was walking towards the witness stand she took out a handgun and shot Driver 5 times in the back of the head and neck. This incident happened in a Northern California courtroom in the Tuolumne County community of Jamestown on April 2, 1993.

            After she shot Driver she didn’t resist arrest, she waited to be escorted out. She was calm and had no reaction. Many people were supporting Nesler’s act, while others were shocked and against it. She had people putting up bumper stickers saying, “good shooting, Ellie.” She tried to plea reason of insanity but instead was convicted of manslaughter instead of the original charge, being murder. She went to prison for 3 years out of the 10 she was sentenced to for good behavior. Shortly after she got out of prison she went back in July 2002 for trying to buy pseudoephedrine tablets from an undercover cop.

            Friends and family say Nesler is known to have a past with drugs. When she killed Driver she was on Meth. Nesler had a hard childhood. She had an alcoholic father who beat her mother as well as Ellie and her sisters. She was molested at the age of three and sexually abused by three other men. As a child, she had thoughts of suicide and after the shooting doctors revealed she had brief reactive psychosis and PTSD. It’s no coincidence that knowing her son was molested was enough to trigger her psychologically. Although she has a troubled childhood, it still wasn’t enough to consider her mentally ill. Her crime was premediated. She made sure there were no children in the courtroom as well as do some research about a police officer she had befriended to make sure he wouldn’t get in trouble for her bringing in the gun. The witnesses this day were not searched for weapons this day. Ellie also waited to see if Driver was going to plea guilty which he did not, and as he walked into the courtroom he smirked at the family which caused even more reason to kill him according to Nesler.

I can understand why Ellie killed Driver for two reasons, the first because she is a mom and I would think any mother would be furious and hurt to the point where they would want revenge on the molester. Second, Ellie’s past must have triggered her to kill Driver even knowing the consequences she was going to have to go through. William Nesler is now serving 25 years to life in prison for the murder of David Davis over an altercation of tools on the Nesler property. I feel like having to be exploited about being molested as a kid and then knowing a lot of people knew about Ellie, it took a toll on William. The absence of his mom probably made him turn onto the path of crime. I think Ellie did what she felt he should have done but at the same time instances like this cannot be allowed because that’s why we have laws set in place. As corrupt and unfair as it may be, this is why people can’t take the law into their own hands.

Police Report Reflection

I enjoyed watching videos and having to write police reports as if we were the officers at the scene. It gave me practice as to what to expect and what I should and shouldn’t do while writing a report. It was a little overwhelming to make sure I wrote down every single little detail about the scene and that’s with me being able to stop, pause and rewind the vide. In real life, I think that’s a skill I’m going to need to work hard to possess. Remembering what the victims and suspects say is key and I need to be able to memorize or come up with some type of tactic in order to write that information in my police report. I also need to memorize the different types of police reports. What information goes in each. Overall, I think this project helped me realize the main focus points I should be paying attention to.

James Bulger

James Bulger was a 2 year old at the time he was kidnapped, beat, tortured, sexually assaulted and killed. His killers are said to be the youngest killers of the century throughout 250 years. These young killers were 10 year olds, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. The killing took place in England.

The two boys went to the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside on February 12, 1993. As soon as James’ mother, Denise Fergus was distracted as she did some shopping at a butchers shop, James was taken away and led by the two boys away from the centre for approximately 2 1/2 miles.

Many people noticed James being accompanied by Jon and Robert but when questioning them they answered that James was a little brother they also answered that they were taking him to a local police station because he was lost. Once they got to their final destination, a railway line they began to beat torture and sexually assault James. They poured blue modeling paint into his eyes, they stoned and clubbed him with bricks before leaving him to get hit by a train.

James was found dead 2 days later. The boys were viewed as naughty boys around the neighborhood. When it finally clicked to a neighbor that she remembered seeing the kids with blue paint on their shirts, the police questioned and brought them in for an interrogation. They confessed to the crime and had to do be tried in adult court because of the outrage by many people. They ended up having to serve 8 years in prison. There is not much about the trial due to the fact that these kids were minors.

In June 2011, the boys were released with new identities but it wasn’t long until Venables had to return back to jail for getting caught with child pornography. He admitted to having a sickness. He had to get a second identity. As far as for Thompson, he is living somewhere in England with his partner (who Robert was forced to tell about the James case). Today, Robert has shown that he is gay. Due to having new identities it is unknown who Robert and Jon are today.

Sadly I wasn’t able to find out why the boys did what they did even though I’m not sure if the crime itself explained the likes of the boys, the reason they are who they are. To further explain, I’m not sure if because they got caught and sent to prison missing out their childhood made them become gay (robert) and or become interested in child pornography (Jon). Or if they already had these factors before committing the crime. I think what they did was horrible. I was against giving them second identities. People have a right to know and be angry and they had it coming. I guess I’m being harsh because they were only kids when they did this but I am 100% sure they had morals and they knew what they were doing was wrong. I’m in favor of them being tried in an adult court. It’s a sad story and it’s hard to not let your emotions take over while trying to figure out the best consequence for these KIDS. For example, are the parents to blame? I’m not sure if this could have been avoided, because even with Jon, while he was in prison officials had no idea if his interest in child pornography. I think that’s crazy!

Another kid dead, parents to blame.

I feel like anyone who is not financially or mentally stable should have a child.

Another child is dead and the people who killed them were his own parents.

How is that okay? How is that happening?

It really upsets me when I hear stories like this because I feel hopeless. It's like when will this end?

Kids safety is usually always 100% on the parents. Growing up I learned that no one will ever protect you, no one will ever love you more than your parents. It's sad, that these poor kids that have been killed by their parents didn't get to experience what life is about, they didn't get a second chance, they didn't deserve the neglect and abuse. They didn't deserve to die especially by their own parents!

What upsets me the most is that it happens to kids under the age of 10, kids who are vulnerable and weak and may not be able to defend themselves.

Stories like this is the reason I study criminal justice. I have a thirst to put these ignorant, selfish people in prison. I can't stand people who have kids that aren't fit to be parents. I know not everyone is raised the same way and what may right for some is wrong for others but there are boundaries and limits to everything including parenting.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/father-allegedly-killed-year-son-hit-repeatedly-put/story?id=54359674

Society's safety Rant

As we read and hear about recent school shootings, does it scare you? Does it make you think of your surroundings? About Lewis? I feel like things have gotten out of control. Places we used to go and feel safe are no longer comforting. Our guards must be put up at all times, we have learned to distrust and instead we fear everyone who looks suspicious, or even if they just dress differently. We seek to blame others and we demand justice after the damage has been done. But is there really someone whose to blame? In these times, who do we blame directly for the actions and mistakes of others? There would be so many issues because we have people like police officers, security guards, teachers, parents, the government, the president himself, the kid who was bullied, the kid who’s mental illness was never given a second opinion, or the women/men who never got the help they needed because society shut them down. There are so many people living in this society and as much as we want peace no one is 100% down to make a change. I think that’s always going to be a problem as humans, we won’t speak up, we won’t help and we won’t take action unless it affects us personally in any way. So now, when we have school shootings, or shootings at the mall and or theatre, who do we blame? The shooter? The parents/guardians, friends, family, teachers, the doctors? It’s a sad cycle and I really do hope we come to a solution after so many innocent lives have been lost already. Society praises safety but they put restrictions, limitations and rules that prevent a change. Or even better, my favorite excuse of them all, they do nothing.

It’s fair to say that I don’t feel safe anywhere else except my home.

When I was little, I felt safer than I do now. In the future, my kid’s safety will be one more thing I have to worry about and living in fear sucks.

Rant over.

Trump's Border wall

He wants to built a wall to stop aliens from entering the country and he wants Mexico’s government to pay for it. Being Hispanic myself, I laugh at that because I know they’re not going to want to pay for it. Have you ever heard someone’s name and cringe at the thought of the person? That’s how I feel about Trump. Our criminal justice system isn’t perfect as it is and now having someone like Trump as president, is scary.