Rebecca Watts wanted to go to France. So, last spring, she marched into the office of Dr. Chad Stebbins, the director of the Institute of International Studies and insisted he send her along with two Chart reporters making the trip. Stebbins didn't know Rebecca and had no writing samples of hers to evaluate.
"Keep your head down and follow through." That's what my dad always told me. I come from an athletic family. My mom played for Missouri Southern's tennis team and my dad and brother played golf here as well. After a year of playing softball at a junior college, I transferred here to focus on my grades.
I hate to be the one to do this, but I'm tired of seeing all these half-hearted efforts fail miserably without a peep being said about them. I'm talking about these 'campus fund raisers' for people halfway around the world that don't amount to more than a couple hundred dollars sent to some pop-up corporation claiming to help the latest victims of yet another inconceivable tragedy.
We at Missouri Southern are truly saddened by the tragic event that occurred at Virginia Tech University on Monday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families affected by the senseless killings that have brought sorrow to the hearts of everyone. Since this atrocity, many in the media and others have expressed their concern about what would happen if "someone tried that here.
It is interesting just how much the field has changed in the last 20 years. Criminal justice practitioners, by and large, were male and mostly interested in being police officers. The pay, hours and working conditions often left much to be desired. But those individuals who chose policing as a career were well aware of what they were walking into and more often than not when you talk to aging officers now they are happy with their decision and are proud of choosing a life of civil service over a life of more wealth.