By Lindsey Schibelhut, Staff Reporter.
Up to 7 in 10 women around the world experience physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, according to the UN’s UNiTE campaign to end violence against women at www.un.org. Whether you are on a college campus or just living your daily life, it’s important to know how to protect yourself against various forms of assault. During the fall and winter semesters, Delta offers a lifelong wellness course in women’s self-defense under LWT186.
The course is instructed by Trisha Hager, a public safety police officer.
“Women’s self-defense has been in place as an academic course since the winter of 2008,” says Hager. “It was developed here at Delta after previous administration attended training with other college and university law enforcement officers and hearing of their programs and success. It was something that I believed in and wanted to be a part of, and it was launched.”
Currently the class is done on the weekend. Saturday’s will be all day from 8 a.m. to 5:55 p.m. and Sunday is a partial day from 11 a.m. to 3:55 p.m. After completing the course students will earn one academic credit.
The course is based on R.A.D. (Rape, Aggression, Defense) systems, which is for all fitness levels. Throughout the course students will learn educational components that will help them get in the mindset for preparation and a continuous plan of action. The class will also promote self-confidence and the self-realization of one’s physical power.
“It is so important to learn self-defense – not just the physical portion of defense. 90 percent of self-defense is risk awareness,” says Hager.
Sylvia George, an office professional for student and civic engagement, took self-defense classes at Delta for personal reasons.
“I took the course because being a single woman who is sometimes out alone, I felt I needed to know how to protect myself. Also, when I was younger I experienced first-hand being assaulted by a stranger as I was walking home from a friend’s house, and I wished I knew what I had learned [in the class],” says George.
Criminal Justice student Christina Wallace explains what the course taught her, not only about herself, but the nature of those who attack others.
“I learned a ton in this class – a lot about how people pick those they will attack. I also learned so many moves and great ways to get out of terrible situations. This was a very physical and active class. I learned when put in a bad situation that you have a huge amount of fight in you,” says Wallace.
Hager said she would like to see an increase in student registration. But currently she usually has either a full class or is near capacity which is telling considering she is only teaching one fall and one winter course. Hager also says she has an interest in teaching a non-academic women’s self-defense course.
“I always have interest from the outside community,” explains Hager, “but I have never offered a non-academic course. Soon that will be an option too, through Lifelong Learning coming next spring.”
After taking and completing the self-defense course, both George and Wallace explain how this course has impacted them.
“Taking this course helped me feel better about going places alone, I had gotten to the point that I felt I was not safe going places all alone, but after taking the RAD course, it helped me be more confident,” concludes George.
Wallace says, “I feel much more confident when going to unfamiliar places.”
As for Hager, out of the many things students will learn during the course there’s just one feeling she hopes they’re left with at the end.
“I want women to walk away from this class feeling empowered!” says Hager.
