Journalism class fun etc.

One of our most engaging guests ever came to journalism class yesterday -- Amherst Police Capt. Jennifer Gundersen. Students barraged her with questions and her answers were way more informative and sometimes entertaining than I expected them to be.
"Great transparency," Julian, our Hampshire College student, commented at one point.
A Westwood, Mass. native, Gundersen said she wanted to be a police officer because she likes to be "in the know on things." She picked Amherst, because she likes interacting with people and she wanted to feel like part of a community, she said. She's been here for about 15 years, having begun when she was 24.
Gundersen is second in command of the department of 45 officers, six of whom are women, or about 10 percent which higher than the East Coast average, she said, but lower than on the West Coast. The homeless are a particular interest of hers and she's trying to get a warming station established in town. She encouraged students to lock their doors and not to drive drunk. Police receive at least one report a day of break-ins, in which the thieves just walked inside and helped themselves to laptop computers and other expensive items. About 140-150 people are arrested for operating under the influence in Amherst every year.
One of the worst experiences for Amherst police is when young people start throwing beer bottles at them when officers approach large, unruly parties, Gundersen said. "Everyone we can put our hands on will probably go to jail," she said, adding, "We do recognize that this is the minority of people who will do something like that."
A surprising thing she told us is that public urination is becoming a problem and it's not just men, anymore. D'oh! I hope this can be nipped in the bud.



Sunderland sky.


I love old-fashioned postcards like this one. I wonder if my siblings would mind if I dressed up my little nieces and nephews and tried to recreate postcards like it.


My newest niece, Alanis, of Boise, Idaho, born Monday!


Rez, the owner of Moti, a new Mideastern restaurant in town, and his dad. I'm going to be writing a review for MassLive next week. In the meantime, I highly recommend the rose-water lemonade!