Sign up now for new free rape-defense classes at MTSU beginning Feb. 1

MTSU’s popular Rape Aggression Defense classes will continue this spring with a new five-week session for safety-conscious women on and around the MTSU campus beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1.

A Rape Aggression Defense Systems instructor, wearing red protective gear, tangles with a student during a RAD course after she knocks another instructor to the ground. The MTSU University Police Department has set a new five-week RAD course beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1. (Photo courtesy of R.A.D. Systems)

The MTSU Police Department’s newest session of free RAD classes will run Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. through March 1. It’s open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, along with the general public.

Organizers say that participants must attend all five Wednesday sessions to ensure that their training is complete. Class size is very limited for this new course series because of increasing community interest, so the department is encouraging participants to enroll as soon as possible.

The Rape Aggression Defense System is a comprehensive program of realistic defense tactics and techniques for women that emphasizes awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training.

MTSU’s nationally certified RAD instructors have recently been certified to teach RAD System Aerosol Defense Options, which means class participants also will learn about carrying pepper spray and other aerosol self-defense variants, what to look for when purchasing a self-defense spray and how to use it for protection.

The Rape Aggression Defense program is designed for women age 13 and older with no previous experience or background in physical skills training. Instructors also can accommodate any participant’s physical impairments.

Participants should email their names and contact information to rad@mtsu.edu. Instructors will call or email participants with more details about enrollment and the class location.

For more information about MTSU’s RAD classes, email rad@mtsu.edu.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)