Campus Recreational and Intramural Services will host women’s self-defense classes on Sept. 23 and Sept 24. from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Like all CRIS activities, admission is free for full-time students.
Curtissa Deener, a 24-year-old senior, is a commuter student at the University of Memphis. She doesn’t feel safe when walking on campus, day or night.
“You always have to check your surroundings,” Deener said. “Self defense classes are necessary to give women the education they need to protect themselves.”
Campus safety is important for all students, but more so for women. Women are often given plenty of advice for staying safe, such as “walking with purpose” from place to place and being aware of who is behind them when driving. Criminals typically search for women who are alone and in dimly lit places. If possible, women should try walking in groups through well-lit areas.
CRIS’s Fitness and Wellness coordinator, Katie Gerstemeier, believes that is important to educate women on self-defense tactics.
“I want women to feel safer while walking to their cars, home, or even to the store,” Gerstemeier said. “We want to teach them how to get away from people.”
The self-defense classes will teach women physical techniques to protect themselves against criminals if ever they feel endangered.
This is the first time the CRIS center has hosted these self-defense classes. Depending on the turnout, according to Gerstemeier, they hope to have another session of classes in the spring.
Gerstemeier emphasized the importance of self-defense education for women.
“Women are usually easier targets because they are easier to overpower,” Gerstemeier said. “Logically, we are smaller than men.”
At least four acts of crime have been committed on campus this semester—some of them involving armed assailants. Victimization, however, knows no gender bias, and both men and women have been threatened.
Gerstemeier believes that what students learn in the class will help prevent them from becoming victims.
“If we educate women and give them the opportunities to learn how to take care of themselves, then they are less likely to be a victim,” Gerstemeier said.
