Posted for our ladies; weapons related, but not (specifically) guns.
A Pennsylvania college. Maybe we are making headway.
Open door for Oleg and his photography, no?
A Pennsylvania college. Maybe we are making headway.
Open door for Oleg and his photography, no?
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2248&dept_id=451432&newsid=12080241&PAG=461&rfi=9By Lynda Hudzick, Contributor 06/24/2004
According to a study done by Ms Magazine on sexual assault and rape, one out of every four college women polled was sexually assaulted during four years at college. Dale Boyer, assistant director of campus security at Elizabethtown College, doesn't like those odds. And he's working to help change them.
Dale is one of over 3,500 certified instructors in the Rape Aggression Defense Systems program. In its brochure, RAD describes itself as a "program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques." The program is designed especially for women.
"A few years ago, I saw an ad on a campus security briefing circular offering a certification course for instructors," Dale said. "It piqued my curiosity, so I decided to check it out and see if it was something we could use here at Elizabethtown."
In 1995, with the support of Jack Longenecker, Director of Campus Security, Dale took the three-day, 30-hour instructors course. He said he was so excited about this dynamic program that he wanted to start teaching the day he returned to campus but that there are a lot of logistics involved in setting up the classes, including the purchasing of equipment.
"I think I've now taught about 50 classes here on campus, mostly to female students," Dale said. "We have had mothers of students join their daughters in the class and I did a class for faculty and staff and some of them brought their daughters. It's a really neat program that helps that mother-daughter dynamic."
The course is 12 hours long, broken up into three four-hour sessions. Dale said that the first session is basically all textbook instruction. During this part of the course, Dale reviews what is called risk reduction strategies.
"RAD research has shown that most of the time if students are taught to simply be more aware of the risk factors around them, and they can work to reduce those factors, that is the most effective course of action," he said. "After all, the best fight you're ever in is that one that you're not there for."
Although some of the instruction is geared for life on campus, much of it will be useful to his students all through their lives.
"For example, I tell them when looking for their first apartment or house, consider how high the bushes are around the windows. It's a perfect hiding place for someone to look in there...that kind of thing," Dale said.
Another important part of the textbook instruction is weapon defense. Dale said that he presents this portion to his students as a personal choice they must make, but they do discuss the pros and cons of various weapons. He said it's important to remember that a woman must be properly trained on how to use any weapon she chooses to carry.
During the second session, women are taught how to use their "personal weapons," or the parts of their body because, as Dale said, "you always have those with you."
He said that women are taught how to effectively use these against an assailant, and that there are levels of these techniques. Some of the techniques are designed to simply distract or cause minor pain to an assailant, to be used in a social situation that becomes uncomfortable. But extreme techniques are also taught, and these can potentially be lethal.
"We use punching bags and pads, and the women are encouraged to really hit, to give it all they've got," Dale said. "Some have a tough time because they've never had the chance to do that. We're empowering them, teaching them that they have the ability and the right to defend themselves. They just need to give themselves permission to do it."
The third session can be the most difficult because this is where one of the instructors acts as the "bad guy," Dale said, and simulated attacks are acted out.
"This really causes anxiety in the class, it's very difficult for some of the women. But it also encourages them once they've proven to themselves that they can escape from one of our bad guys," Dale said. "I've had survivors of attacks in my classes and they've used this portion of the class as a springboard to confront their feelings and help them get past their fears."
Dale said he is grateful for the assistance from other members of the campus community including professor Margaret Benitez, a certified RAD instructor. Linda Kennel of Campus Security is also a certified instructor, and Ryan Valentine, also of Campus Security, often assists Dale in the simulated attack portion of the class.
Dale has shared some of the simpler techniques with both his eleven-year-old daughter and his wife. He said that he really believes in the RAD program and with each class he teaches, he only feels more strongly that it is something every woman should experience.
"I like knowing that I'm making a difference, even if it's only a little bit at a time," Dale said. "I receive thank you messages from the women I've taught, telling me that they feel more confident and sure of themselves and that makes me feel great. Every woman is someone's daughter, or friend, sister or mother...for me, knowing that there could be even just one woman out there that I've helped survive an attack is what makes it all worthwhile."
For more information on the RAD program, contact Dale Boyer at 361-1439.
