Courage in a class

Students in the criminal justice class at Blue Mountain Community College are studying more than just criminals and justice.

They're also learning how crimes affect victims.

And thanks to two women who possess a surplus of generosity as well as courage, the BMCC students don't have to extract their information from the impersonal pages of a textbook.

The women, both victims of horrific crimes, volunteered to speak to the 17 students during a recent forum entitled "A Victim's Perspective."

Debra Parlin told how her husband beat her.

Sami Tugman explained to students how her life was radically, and permanently, changed when her father murdered her mother.

In telling their terrible tales, Debra and Sami granted the BMCC students a perspective that some of them might not have had even years into a career in law enforcement.

We don't mean to imply that police officers lack compassion, or that they would work harder to solve crimes if they first listened to the victims' sobs.

The greater value for students, in hearing Debra's and Sami's stories, is that it shows them, in starkest way possible, how important the work is which they have chosen.