In an effort to increase the number of safety programs available to the college community, the Department of Public Safety is planning to offer self-defense courses from the R.A.D, or Rape Aggression Defense program, starting in late October.
R.A.D. Systems of Self Defense is a company offering self-defense programs for men, women, children and seniors through a national network of trained instructors. According to the company’s website, “These offerings provide a truly holistic approach to self defense education, supporting the necessity of continuous learning in order to provide realistic options for each population as they go through life.”
Assistant Director of Public Safety Joanna Gallagher will teach the courses. Gallagher has had over ten years of experience as a R.A.D. instructor.
“This class will help educate participants on primary foundations including education, dependency of self, decision-making responsibility and self-realization of physical power by using practical techniques that can also change lives,” Gallagher said.
The course’s focus will be partially preventative, seeking to develop students’ situational awareness, methods of prevention and ability to assess potential risks. “The education piece discusses things such as traveling, walking, running and daily routine objectives creating less complacency to normal routines we all experience daily,” Gallagher said.
In addition, Gallagher will also instruct students in practical self-defense techniques for a variety of situations in accordance with the program’s objective: “To develop and enhance the options of self-defense, so they may become viable considerations to the student who is attacked.” This section of the course will involve hands-on demonstrations and practice of defense techniques.
The program has already attracted attention from the Study Abroad Office, which intends to recommend the class to students who will be spending time in other countries.
“Our director heard of this opportunity and we discussed it as a possible offering to outgoing study abroad students but there is nothing definite planned. As with other departments we try to include activities that are offered on campus to our outgoing students,” said Assistant Director for Off-Campus Study Rosa Bernard.
