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?