Critical and creative thinking

This is a final essay from BIS 336 History of Mass Incarceration in the United States in which the class was asked by Dr. Dan Berger to "reflect on the history of mass incarceration based on what we learned in the quarter while also identifying factors "that help us understand the rise of, maintenance of, or opposition to mass incarceration."

I wrote on criminalization and how criminalizing is a problem because the law is inherently racist.

This video was created for an assignment appointed by Dr. Stuart Streichler for BIS 338 A Au 18: Political Institutions And Processes. The assignment ask was to create a persuasive campaign ad. The class was shown various types of campaign ads and was told to create their own in their angle.

Preparing us for this assignment, as a class, Dr. Streichler showed us Nixon campaigns and Lyndon B. Johnson's "Daisy Girl" campaign advertisement. These advertisements were displayed to remind us how far, and how persuasive actual campaign ads can go. My campaign ad was less geared to a two-party system, but rather to join people together to go against the capitalistic systems in place. I wanted to make the effort to state that Democrats are in the same boat as republicans. Neo-Liberalism has created much more damage than it is held liable for.

This is a discussion post from BIS 279 A Au 20: Introduction To Law & Society assigned by Dr. Maryam Griffin. The students were asked to discuss how the law is a tool in the context of U.S. colonialism.

This is a reflection paper assigned for B CORE 107 H Fall 2015: Race and Racism in Higher Education, taught by Dr. Mira Shimabukuro and Dr. Wayne Au. One of the reflection questions asked by the professors was how the students' understanding of race evolved from the beginning of the quarter. They also asked how they would define race now and how will their comprehension of race further expand.

In this reflection, I noted that "I learned the meaning of racialization and racial projects, which has helped me gain language to explain racial issues." For many Black people, there is a defining moment where they come to realize the truths about the justice system. My mother remembers the mark that the beating of Rodney King left. For my generation, the Trayvon Martin case began a lot of Black children's journey to discovery. I also talked about the internalized Blackness Africans project and how that works in tangent with racialization. One aspect that could have been stronger was my formatting. Looking back, I now realize that I should have created another page for my works cited. Even though I got some marks off for format, Prof. Au noted that I was a strong writer. As I read my reflection now, I hope to go back and write down each scholar and the theory so I could have a list of the learning I have gathered throughout the years.

This PowerPoint is from training from BIS 494 Sp 21: Bothell Youth Court Task Force.

My group consisting of Shadia Ahmed, Heber Guerrero, Momina Nadeem, and I hoped to put together training for the high schoolers that would simplify abolition and the origins of policing. I was in charge of presenting the origins of policing.

This essay is from a midterm from BIS 310 WI 20: Women, Culture, And Development, with Dr. Johanna Bissat. The students were given specific questions in regards to the assigned text and asked to write briefs that critique the presented conditions. The relevant text to be analyzed was the “No Sex for Fish” development program. The ask was to critique the program according to the standards of the authors presenting throughout the quarter.

This essay is from a midterm assignment from BIS 310 WI 2020: Women, Culture, And Development, with Dr. Johanna Bissat. The students were given specific questions in regards to the assigned text and asked to write briefs that critique the presented conditions. The relevant text to be critiqued was Caren Grown and Gita Sen's 1987 book Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions. The book argues that non-Western binary women bear the brunt of four crises based on class, binary gender, and race while failing to include sexuality and gender in their analysis. The students were asked to use their understanding of Chandra Talpade Mohanty's Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism and Lind & Share's chapter on "Queering Development" and explain how queer and transwomen in non-Western countries are more heavily impacted by food, debt, militarization, and culture crisis.

This discussion post is from a film discussion in BIS 327 A Wi 19 History Of U.S. Labor Institutions taught by Dr. Daniel Jacoby. The discussion ask was to watch a documentary on The Chinese Exclusion Act and to describe how we understand its impact. Professor Jacoby states "We have already read, spoken about, or watched experiences of a number of different factions of the labor force (African American, the Irish, Women). How singular is the experience of Chinese immigrants into the United States, and how do you understand its impact. "

This document was a part of a portfolio created for B CORE 107 H Fall 2015: Race and Racism in Higher Education, taught by Dr. Mira Shimabukuro and Dr. Wayne Au. The students were asked to answer course objectives concerning the course material.

This document was important to include in my last portfolio because it encapsulates and begins the start of my journey into understanding various theories. Although I understood and experienced many social occurrences, I did not have the words to name and describe them. For example, I wrote about how I came into the class understanding that race was a social construct, but this class provided me the assurance and theory to back it up. I was also able to bring these theories into a conversation and create deeper dialogues. During this quarter, I brought up the word "Hush Harbors" in a BSU meeting because I now had a word that encapsulated what I wanted to ask. This class was an amazing opening to my higher education journey. I remember being excited that I could now dig deeper into the topics that I cared about. An example of the few terms that I took from this class was, "onlyness", a deeper understanding of microaggressions, and institutional/structural barriers. Having a critical understanding of issues is a reoccurring theme that has been a part of my higher education journey.

This journal reflection was assigned by Dr. Gavin Doyle in the BCORE 115 D: The Legal Case: Making Evidence Persuasive. This class was designed to be about both public speaking and introduction to law. Journal reflections were assigned weekly for the students to engage with the class and materials. Journal Reflection #10: (Self-Evaluation) was the students' last reflection submission and served as a self-evaluation of their work within the course.

In my reflection, I write "I just felt disconnected from the whole thing after." about a mistake I made at the mock trial. I remember I had already felt uncomfortable as we had to dress up in professional wear and set the trial in the North Creek Events Center. Although the audience was just the rest of our class, I felt negatively outside of my comfort zone. Now as I look back and see where my path is going, I appreciate being able to experience law in action. Many times, you have to encounter it to know if it is for you or not. As I was pursuing a degree in Law, Economics, and Public Policy, I felt lost for part of my journey. Even though it was a mock trial, I felt myself distancing away from Law as a path.