By Travis Pokorney

On Wednesday, the Forensic Science class took part in another one of its crime scene labs, where the students work together to solve a murder using the techniques they learn in class. They lifted two fingerprints in order to solve the case.

Senior Lianna Meador said that the best part of the labs is revealing the true sequence of events just by a few weak strands of evidence.

“We do these labs kind of often as sort of a hands-on approach to what we learn in class,” Meador said. “I guess my favorite part of these labs would be the results of all our hard detective work.”

Forensics teacher Allia Shelby said that the labs are so much more beneficial to the students than bookwork or sitting through PowerPoint presentations.

“If I show them a PowerPoint on how to lift a fingerprint, or if I demo it for them, that’s all great and dandy,” Shelby said. “But until they actually do it they’re not prepared to go on what they’ve learned to a crime scene.”

Senior Jonathan Gibson said that their labs, which happen often, are vital to the success of the class.

“Trying to understand forensic science without some sort of visualization is like solving a never-ending Rubik’s cube,” Gibson said. “Being able to lift a fingerprint or take hair samples for DNA looks easy on TV, but you have no idea until you do it yourself.”