Dunbar Seniors Attend Rape Self-Defense Class
Seniors in Dunbar Hall participated in an optional Rape Aggression Defence [R.A.D] program offered by Campus Safety this past weekend. Currently spread by word-of-mouth, information and news regarding the course has not yet become common knowledge, and consequently, only Dunbar is presently involved with the program. The course attendance, however, was low this past weekend; every senior in Dunbar was invited to attend, but many were not available because of the lack of formal planning due to the fact that the course has not yet been integrated into the Academy’s curriculum.
Former Director of Campus Safety Jeff Nelson initially offered the program to faculty and staff over five years ago and again three years ago. At the time, the program aimed to educate the Academy’s employees on prevention of sexual assault through physical protection. Physical education instructor and the Academy’s Be-Well coordinator Melissa Pacific was of the first faculty to attend the course, along with Assistant Dean of Faculty Kate Heidt and campus safety officer Lauri Winter.
“Sexual assault defense course should be brought to all dorms on campus.”
Pacific, who was originally astounded by the program, understood the importance of the material and the impact it could make on campus. “I was so overcome by what transpired in the 12 hours of taking the class,” she said. “I knew I wanted to bring this, with additional information, to our students.” Pacific later received a grant from the Academy to complete her R.A.D. certification and create a nine-week course syllabus in hope that she could offer the course to seniors in the future.
This year, however, the program came to fruition. Though it is still not formally offered to Academy students, Dunbar Hall seniors recently participated in the program but the informality of the operation made it hard for some of them to find the time to attend.
“Last week, we only had three of us there, some were out sick, but many just couldn’t find the time,” senior Teffanie Goh said.
However, for the ones that did attend, they felt that the program offered them insight into how to deal with possible situations that they might be involved in at a collegiate environment. “I think it was great that seniors went because these types of situations are real and could happen to us in following years,” Goh said.
Dean of Health and Wellness Gordon Coole agreed with Goh and explained that the program is intended to inform students of some aspects of collegiate life that are not seen here on Exeter’s campus.
“The R.A.D. training concept is widely used at colleges where aggressive behavior usually driven by alcohol use is problematic,” he said. “Without alcohol as a contributing factor there is a very low incidence of these [types of] cases on high school campuses.” However, he continued, the course has the opportunity to be beneficial for seniors who could soon find themselves in these described situations.
Winter has been teaching defensive tactics on and off for over 30 years and described the course as “by far the best, most informative and true to life course” she has ever taught. She, along with Pacific and Heidt, became certified three years ago with the intent of teaching a class.
“I am excited to teach the men’s class [Resisting Aggression Defense] as well,” Winter said.
Some members of the Exeter community believe that the information discussed in the men’s course is equally or arguably more important than the class currently oriented towards girls, but overall, they believe campus-wide education on self-defense is paramount.
“Sexual assault defense course should be brought to all dorms on campus,” senior Evan Thomas said.
“Obviously, men are far more statistically unlikely of being sexually assaulted, but putting guys dorms on campus through the training process will force them to confront sexual assault in an active way,” he continued. “Though the protection itself might not be applicable in their lives, it is important for sexual assault to be continually discussed on campus.”
According to Heidt, the main benefits of the course are self-defense against abduction and assault for women and skills in conflict avoidance for men. She explained how the skills learned are immediately useful for students in their day-to-day activities but will be more useful in a collegiate environment.
While the courses haven’t been integrated into the school’s curriculum, the group hopes to bring it to campus next fall. Their goal is to start with male and female seniors and then move down to lower grades. As they are only available to offer the class during free time, they are looking into teaching dorm groups or offering the class as a club.
“The following year we hope to offer the class as a senior elective, then hopefully as a regular curricular offering,” said Heidt. “I am looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned with the PEA community.”