Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
Of my block presentation I am most proud of eventually getting comfortable enough to talk for so long in front of the class. Why? In past presentations I did on my own I didn't do very well, but eventually for this one I was able to present sucessfully. With my senior project I am most proud of being able to catch up, even when late, assignments.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

P

What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AP

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What worked was the research. Despite many of us complaining about research count, it helped me drastically keep important info at hand.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
Having told myself to work on everything on time instead of focusing on other unimportant things.
(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?
I want to still continue on my chemistry career, but I still hope to begin on forensic sciences, and I believe studying criminology gave me a lot of background. It has also helped me learn how to speak to people I need to speak to, whether I want to or not.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Content:
Literal

•   Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog: DONE

• Contact Name and Mentorship Place
• Lisa Caballero
• Law Office of Antonio J. Bestard 

Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• Being able to experience the force of the law firsthand. Sometimes things you see in movies and shows seem to be surreal and even sometimes unbelievable, but when personally being able to see these cases actually happen it puts it under a whole different perspective. It has made me open my eyes that these events actually happen

Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

• Drugs are ever occurring in our society, so of course they continue to happen in the courts of law. Being able to get the opinion of a professional who sees these drug cases first hand gave me a perspective I would have never of gotten alone. They have experienced many things affected by drugs whether it was murder, rape, or theft they knew that regardless, drugs has had an effect on our society which helped me keep an unbiased view between legalization and an increasing of penalties.

Blog 20 Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

•  How best can society reduce the levels of drug-related crime
• Legalization/Decriminalization 
• Increasing penalties
• Creating Local Projects 
• BEST ANSWER: Legalization

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

•  Through multiple pieces of research I have been given many valid arguable points I arrived that it would be the answer that would bring our society more positive outcomes. Also local projects can be included in legalization.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

•  When beginning this research I was presented with a lot more reasons to why legalization was better so it was hard to try to keep my biases aside to look for more reasons to not legalize drugs.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do," by Peter McWilliams 
• The Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization in the U.S." by Palash Ghosh

Be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response.  It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content: 

LITERAL
(a) Statement: I, Arianna Castellanos, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) Cite your source: Antonio Bestard Law Office, FBI website
(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet: k
(d) Researched files and cases to compare if the penalties set on these drug crimes were truly justified.
INTERPRETIVE
When starting this component I really had no idea what to do, so I decided to try what I did for the last component, but instead setting my focus on just drug crimes. In my first component I looked into multiple cases, whatever caught my eye. Thinking back on it, I knew that not centralizing myself took away from me actually learning something to help me answer my eq. So again, to show evidence I'm turning in a folder tomorrow morning.(okay Monday morning, I forgot my folder in the office and yeah ._.)
APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? My question addresses how to lower drug crime in our society, and in order to understand why people would get prosecuted for these crimes, I wanted to understand how affected these people were by the drugs, and if the whole legal process was giving them a harder time at recuperating.

Grading Criteria
Log on a digital spreadsheet
Evidence of 30 hours of work
LIA submitted to blog

March wooo

This month I am sad to say I wasn’t able to go to the office at all.

The office got flooded and I haven’t been able to come in since then.

I told her to call me once it was good to go, but I haven’t gotten a call yet.

Later this week I plan to call in and see how things are going and if I’ll be able to come in.

All I know is that the office wasn’t doing so hot financially recently, so I’m guessing the flooding hasn’t helped keeping the money up.

I still think I have to think of a better independent component 2.

I’m not doing so swell with my getting more research content either.

Everything I look up seems to be giving me information I already know about.

and yeah.

I guess that’s it for this month.

Blog 18: third answer

• EQ:How best can society reduce the levels of drug-related crime
• Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)* A way that society can reduce the drug related crime in our communities is by investing in local projects to offer help for the people that seek it.
• 3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example): 
• People often times don't have the initiative to seek help due to law enforcement and money. 
• Investing money in projects to get the information to the people can possibly lower the drug use, thus lowering the crime. 
• In the book, "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do," a model was murdered due to drugs because she struggled financially and the drug business was the only place she found help. If other means of help had been to her disposal she could have made a better decision.
• The research source (s) to support your details and answer
• McWilliams, Peter. Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do. Los Angeles: Prelude, 1993. Print.
• Hollersen, Wiebke. "Evaluating Drug Decriminalization in Portugal 12 Years Later." SPIEGEL ONLINE. N.p., 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.
• Mass Criminalization." Consequences of Drug Conviction. Drug Policy Alliance, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
• Jamie Frater. "Top 10 Drugs and Their Effects." Listverse. N.p., 27 Sept. 2007. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
• Concluding Sentence
• Allowing people to be able to seek help more freely, than to be in fear, can help push people to take the steps needed, thus keeping more and more people drug free and out of the violence and crime that comes with it.

blog 17 interview 4

Lisa what how and why
1. What ways can society implement more laws to reduce drug related crime.
2. Would implementing these type of laws hurt or help the society?
3. What type of laws, if put in place,should be made against drugs?
4. What drugs should society be concerned about? (hard/soft drugs?)
5. Besides implenting laws, what other ways can drug related crime be reduced?
6. If programs were to be created, what could they be focused on?
7. What different ways were drugs presented to you when you were young to how they are presented now?
8. In what ways are drugs presented that you believe is wrong?
9. In what ways do you think they are presented the right way?
10. When should the line be drawn when a person wishes to do drugs?
11. You've said before the drug problem is politically rooted, how so?
12. If you were a politician how would you attempt to reduce drug related crime?
13. In what ways would legalizing be better than raising penalties?
14. In what ways would raising penalties be better than legalizing?
15. What kind of penalties can have a positive effect instead of a negative effect that they usually have?
16. What kind of local projects can be created to decrease drug crime?
17. What ways can being incarcerated be worse than doing drugs?
18. How has the above the influence campaign helped society, or similar campaigns?
19. Legalization, increasing penalties, or local projects. Why?
20. What could a community change to accept drug addicts for them to be able to change?

February post

Anyways in the month of february, in the days I went to the office I helped make copies and move things out of a small room they had been using as their own.

Turns out they were going to start giving that room out for a rent again so Lisa’s daughter and I put everything together and attempted to clean things up.

Other than that I didn’t do much that month.

I feel like my research was starting to become tediously the same thing over and over again.

but yeah.

Personal problems are becoming an obstacle in my senior project so i've been really laggy about everything, but I’ll continue to try.

woooo!

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and the objectives for Purther's textbook work for answer 2 post:

EQ

Answer #2 Increasing the criminalization of drug use would in turn reduce the levels of drug related crime.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

• Drugs like methamphetamine can have drastic effects on people and if drugs were to be legalized, it would be widely accepted and available to the public like shown in the person my mentor once knew
• Found marijuana can produce psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, and occasionally schizophrenia leading to harder narcotics to bigger crimes.
• Crack cocaine and other hard drugs has led people to commit bigger crimes and forget former lives (refer to back story in Top 10 drugs and their effects about the mother who forgot former life to smoke)

The research source (s) to support your details and answer

• Interview 3
• Uruguay's Likely Cannabis Law by Jonathan Watts
• Top 10 drugs and their effects by Jamie Frater

Concluding Sentence

Hard and soft drugs carry many differences in the effects they hold on people, but in either case can lead to bigger consequences.

Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For 30 hours I was planning to take polls and surveys of opinions (either just orally asking questions, or typing out surveys, whatever the senior team thinks works best) of people in a multitude of places pertaining to consensual laws and things to that nature. I want to take note of the location, racial percentage, age range, etc.  For the first 5 hours I want to begin in West Covina Mall early in the day. The next 5 hours I will then do it in the same location but at a much later time. Then I want to proceed on to downtown Pomona earlier in the day, then another day in the same location but a later time. The last location I would like to try out is at the Ontario Mills Mall, and do 5 hours early in the day and 5 hours later another day.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

To show the 30 hours of evidence, assuming I'm in the clear, I can show pictures of proof (get consent of survey takers of course) and the surveys themselves.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

It will help me explore more in depth the different views. It can help me compare and contrast if locations, race, age, and etc make a difference in opinion.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your mentorship log and call it the independent component 2 log.

done?

Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
  (a) “I, Arianna Castellanos, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) Antonio and Lisa at the law office helped. As too the Los Angeles Times Article (trustworthy cause they quoted Antonio wooo)
  (c) here is the log too
• (d) I completed a brief look into a specific file, as well as looking into newer files, learning the ins and out of the red book. 
• INTERPRETIVE 
  I began this component concentrated on just researching one file alone, learning the insides and outs of it. I soon learned however that a law office and criminals don't revolve around one single scenario or chain of events. When I had begun to look at other files other than a specific one known as the Mejia case, I learned that researching one single scenario teaches you nothing. Other than the fact that Antonio and Lisa, my mentors, having the want to help every single one of them, you can't give all your time to just one. So that's what i began to do. I killed two birds with one stone, I began to look into other cases, while at the same time taking out old files to be scanned. As for evidence, there's not much to show but my knowledge and this picture, but I'll personally turn in a folder to you Purther because it'll probably be a bad idea to post some of this information online.
  

• APPLIED
  One of the fundamental things I learned from this component was that crime in our society happens everyday not because of one sole reason. I began this component back when my horizons had been expanded not just on how drugs can hurt or help our society, but how all consensual crimes can do that. I had been looking for cases that would demonstrate how these "crimes" are either a good or bad thing. I now understand that as much as I want to keep my opinion biased and closed, that drugs can in fact be a problem. The Mejia case that I had so long focused on showed how the drug game left a 3 week old baby dead, only because of a mere debt the street seller had (how in tun had no affiliation with said baby. It was a case of being in the wrong plasce at the wrong time.)

Grading Criteria 

• Log on a digital spreadsheet (si)
• Evidence of 30 hours of work (si)
• LIA submitted to blog (si)

January Blog Post (ayyyyyyyy)

I'm not sure myself what I've updated on to be honest.

But hey!

Independent component 1 is almost due and I still need like 15 hours.

I do have to factor in my independent time worked on it.

But I wish I had incorporated more work into it because it doesn't seem like a legit component.

ANYWAYS

what else?

(Sorry Purther I know you told me to make these as good as Posada's, but I can't live up to that)

Okay so mentorship?

I've decided I'm going to take Lisa's offer and stay longer because there are nights they stay in the office til 11 and I can really use those hours.

They're always so busy.

For example yesterday they were finishing some tax paper stuff, and she advised for me not to be an accountant cause it sucked and she kept groaning. 

It kept me entertained, but it did seem to really suck.

ummmm

Cases not kept in tip top shape are sometimes hard to find their info in too.

I have to find name, date of birth, booking number, case number, and the charge.

I've gotten the hang of finding the info, but it still remains to be a little difficult.

I've noticed that I've memorized some of the charges and now it makes sense to why Antonio and Lisa know so much by memory since they come across this stuff everyday.

For example H&S11377 is the penal code for health and safety, which is usually the charge for drug users and dealers and other things to that nature.

I don't know if you knew that, but I sure didn't.

In other news I'm almost done with a section of the cases and it's almost time for me to learn scanning. I keep thinking I'll get to it this month, but it's been a long process getting these files written down.

But I guess that's it, in not-so exciting news.

(again sorry purther)

It doesn't seem like much, but I enjoy going in, Lisa is really rad and Antonio too in the few times I see him.

OH, I almost forgot, in one of the few times I did see him, I was filing stuff, and suddenly he asks if I can transfer some audio and images and that he needs to go to the courts and he left me alone. I freaked out for a second because I didn't want to mess up and it had been so quick buuuuut I was able to do it despite it being not too difficult anyways. 

Lisa did warn me he might need some stuff and I would need to be ready to find it when she wasn't around so i guess.

But yeah.

that wasn't exciting either, but I tried.

ok bye! 

c:

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I'm most proud of my powerpoint. It held more of a professional look than my last one, not to mention I used much less words on the slides.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

Because (despite my countless times of practice) I didn't make time. Also at one point in the presentation I forgot some essential facts simply because something made me laugh. I should of probably kept my professional facade (also despite my efforts, to leave my bias behind)


3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

The notecards helped me remember some things, but it did distract me a bit more than the first lesson.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

Probably practice a lot more and add more info on the con side of legalizing instead of only vaguely going over that.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

Increasing the penalties on drugs

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

I wanted to make sure if it was ay-oh-kay for me to interview Lisa the secretary. In my time at the office I have learned a lot from her. Her views and knowledge intrigue me and I wanted to know if it was okay for me to ask her the following questions.

1. What is the most important outcome for governments which have decriminalized drug use?'
2. Would legalizing drug use be a better choice over decriminalizing drug use?
3. Portugal has been one of the first countries to decriminalize drug use, do you think this is valid evidence to move towards decriminalizing it in the states.
4. If the U.S. were to move forward in decriminalizing drugs, would you expect to see more violence in the streets involving drugs but not directly in the cases at the office.
5. What would be ideal regulations if drugs were decriminalized?
6. In some studies, mostly Portugal studies, it was shown that people more voluntarily went to seek professional drug help after the decriminalization. Where would the numbers be affected in the U.S.?
7. Would decriminalizing bring in revenue for the government or hurt the economy?
8. Do you think the police enforcement on drugs will become more lenient as it has been seen in Portugal? (you can't smoke it out in the open, yet it's seen in cafe shops to be more than often smoked)
9. How does drugs play it's role in our society? Does it hurt it at all as others claim it does?
10. Have you heard this debate on decriminalizing it before often? Or is it something that hasn't really been set on the table and discussed by others?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours check

Content:

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship? At the law offices of Antonio J. Bestard.
2.   Who is your contact? Antonio J. Bestard/ Lisa (I'm sorry I don't recall her last name!)
3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)? 21:30

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did. I have probably gone through the lives and problems of people by simply going through their files in an attempt to organize them all. I've learned terms, (like what certain penal codes mean, you would be surprised the amount of people that get arrested for minor drug offenses). Despite the tedious task, I'm still entertained by the stories Lisa has to share with me.
5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it. done

ps. I'm sorry this is late Purther!

Blog 10: Senior Project, The Holiday

1. I honestly did not do anything for my senior project. I did try going to my mentorship on the 24th of December, but Lisa told me to go home since it was Christmas eve. She said to rest and not to come back after break.
2. I think what I learned that day, was that everyone, even someone as hard working as Antonio and Lisa need a break. I know I don't work as hard as them, but they and I are people that need rest. 
3. I would want to talk to someone who is actively involved in politics since marijuana use is very much debated.