**I will read the entries and comment on them.  Afterwards I will return them to you; however, I will not mark in my grade book whether you have done them or not.  For the credit, at the end of the semester (15th week) , you must turn in all the journals that I have read and commented upon.  Any unmarked or unread journals will not be accepted.

This assignment is actually fairly broad.  You can use any subject matter that you wish as long as it relates to self-defense, rape in general, and rape prevention in specific.  You may write about your reactions to…

• topics covered in the text
• topics discussed in class
• issues brought up by guest speakers
• topics that you hear in the media
• your feelings about the physical drills exercised in class

Other writing challenges may include such things that you become aware of as a result of readings and discussions in this class.  They may include…

• how you are changing your behaviors to become more safe
• how you responded to a specific threatening or potentially threatening context
• how you advised a friend or helped a friend through a sexual-assault crisis
• how you witnessed or became aware of someone else’s unsafe behaviors

You may write your journal entries by hand…

• Legibly written or printed
• Name, Date, and Entry # at the top right hand
• On loose leaf notebook paper
• Approximately 1 page long

You may compose them on the computer…

• Written with 12pt. Times Roman or Courier double spaced.
• Name, Date, and Entry # at the top right hand
• Approximately a half a page long

The Rape Analysis Paper
As a firm believer in the capacity of the human beings to most effectively learn by drawing connections between what we are exposed to in a formal educational setting and drawing parallels with what happens out in the world around use, this assignment gets at that principle.  This assignment is due on the eleventh week of class.

Follow an event in a newspaper or magazine article/s and analyze it by comparing and contrasting the information covered in the course with what you found in the article.  You may select your own article, or you may take an article from a packet kept on reserve in the library.

Think in terms of the three broad variables associated with the crime (offender, victim, and context) and describe the details of those variables where applicable.  Besides explaining which of the variables are associated with a component, give me a logical explanation, based upon the readings and class discussion, for why you think so.

Depth of though is important here! Much of your analysis of specific characteristic of the event will be based upon interrelated facts.  For example does the victim’s age indicate anything about the offender’s motive?  Or, does the amount of violence used by the perpetrator indicate anything about his motive?  Some assessments of the event that you should make are as follows:

For the offender:

• Demographics (education, race, marital status, age, employment status, income)
• Strategy (blitz, stalking, surprise, confidence)
• Motive (anger, power, sadism)
• Extent of Violence (instrumental or expressive)
• Crime Personality (selfish or pseudo unselfish)
• Planning (premeditated, impulsive, opportunistic)

For the Victim:

• Age
• Chemical balance (drug use or alcohol consumption or not)
• Assumed comfort level (based upon the context, do you think the victim was relaxed or not?)
• Level of physical fitness or ability vs disability
• Lifestyle (profession, student, laborer)
• Marital status (single, divorced, widowed, separated, cohabiting, dating)

For the Context:

• When (day of week, time of day, month or season)
• Location (where did it occur)
• Activity (party, bar, date, etc)
• External factors (possibility of interference)

The paper should meet the following format expectations:

• Typed with 12pt. Times Roman or Courier double-spaced.
• Name and Date at the top right hand
• Title of the paper or story at the center
• Approximately  one and a half a pages long
• Include the newspaper or magazine articles, which were your source.

Session at Crisis Intervention Service
I believe that we often learn a great deal about a subject when we have an opportunity to listen to the stories of others or when we purposefully and systematically observe a phenomenon.  This assignment will require you to listen to or observe the experiences of those professionals who work with victims of violence.  Later you can either write a short paper 2-4 pages about your experience at CIS.  This assignment is due by the second week after the last meeting time with Jessica.
You will do this assignment after Jessica Tierney, our contact at Crisis Intervention, sets a time for meetings with her.  She will do a presentation and discussion session.   Be prepared to ask questions about during and after the presentation.  Because Crisis Intervention is an active facility, be respectful of any needs or requests your host may make of you.

When you write the paper, I am primarily looking for your reactions to what you learned or observed at the session.  Tell how you intend to utilize the information or how that information has changed your point of view, if it has.  Let me know of your impressions of Crisis Intervention as a public institution that aids people; let me know what were your impressions of the people with whom you interacted.

The paper that you write for me should meet the following format expectations:

• Typed with 12pt. Times Roman or Courier double-spaced.
• Name and Date at the top right hand
• Approximately two to four  pages long