With a Jab, Class Teaches Defense

Students ambling through Harvard Yard on a quiet evening last April were bewildered by powerful screams floating out of Grays Hall.

“No, no, no, no, no!”

Thirty women clad in athletic gear stood in the dorm’s common room, talking, laughing and eating chips and dip as they learned the art of using their bodies—and voices—as defensive weapons.

As Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) Patrol Officer Kristin L. Metivier explains how to break someone’s nose with a quick clean jab, the women pantomime the motion—chips in hand.

Although this scene may appear strange to onlookers, it is nothing new to Harvard.

Since 1995, HUPD officers have offered Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes designed to teach women in the community how to defend themselves in the event of a violent attack.

Over 1,600 Harvard women—from students to proctors to administrators—have taken RAD classes to learn verbal and physical tactics that HUPD officials say can reduce the risk of sexual or physical assault.

Playing the Odds

Both students and administrators say RAD is an essential aspect of promoting campus safety.

Tatianna C. Bartch ’06 grew up on a military base where she was used to a safe and trusting community. But she says living in Cambridge changed her perspective.

“My natural behavior is to talk with strangers and make eye contact with everyone,” she says. “Safety wasn’t a factor in any of my decisions and that began to worry me when I came to college.”

After Bartch left the Freshman Formal last year, a car filled with men followed her and attempted to pull her into the car.

“It was really scary,” she says. “I was feeling really naive. [RAD] helped me because it opened my eyes and changed my attitude. I’m taking all the preventative measures they taught me.”

According to a December 2000 report by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 27.7 women are raped for every 1,000 female students in a given University population. By that figure, the Coalition Against Sexual Violence estimates that approximately 83 rapes occur at Harvard each year.

And a University Health Services survey last year reported that about 0.9 percent of undergraduates had experienced sexual penetration against their will.

Office for Human Resources Project Manager Deanna M. Dement-Myers, 37, says she enrolled in the April class because she felt it was important to be prepared for any situation.

“You’re never too old or never too ugly,” she says. “There’s no stereotype of person to be attacked in any stage in life. I have daughters, and I would do anything to protect them. It’s so empowering to think if you ever did get attacked, this might be a deterrent.”

RAD classes originated eight years ago when an HUPD officer saw an advertisement from the program’s sponsor through the National Crime Information Center. He thought the class would be an asset to all Harvard women—regardless of age or ability.

“He made it so a 70-year-old grandma could take it,” Metivier says.

Cooper adds that the program began without much approval from the University, but when supportive letters started flooding HUPD Chief Francis D. “Bud” Riley’s office, administrators’ heads turned.

“It started slow without support,” he says. “But they got it going and it took off in a year or two. After that, Harvard made a huge commitment. Dean [of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley] Nathans even came to a few classes.”

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

Over four nights, RAD classes teach about common circumstances of sexual assault, practical tips on how to avoid conflict and verbal tactics to deter an attacker.

Then they get physical.

After teaching the class how to throw and block punches against large foam pads, RAD instructors introduce simulations in which an instructor acts as an attacker.

“It’s about how to use personal weapons to fend off attacks,” Cooper says. “We know we can’t create the fear of a real life situation. We suggest they try to imagine this is real. It’s nowhere near the tension if you’re fighting for your life. You fight differently under fear.”

By the end of the course, participants find themselves fighting from start to finish. In a final scenario, students fend off a surprise attack from one of the instructors—from behind, thrown to the ground or otherwise.

Some students say they are surprised by their own strength.

“We film fighting and they get to watch their scenarios,” Cooper says. “They never believe what they did.”

Consulting Analyst for Information Management Services in Human Resources Kirsten J. Carter took the class when she was eight months pregnant.

“I’m so fascinated by it,” she says. “I think it’s very important to teach women—especially young women—how to protect themselves. It’s so intense.”

HUPD Sergeant Wilmon D. Chipman, another instructor, told the class not to be intimidated by an attacker.

“Don’t think of it as overpowering someone who weighs 100 pounds more,” he says. “Think of it as getting oxygen so you can fight. Turn your fear into anger and just go absolutely berserk.”

He pauses and grins.

“We don’t say we’re teaching you to kick ass and win,” he says. “But we are.”

The women make approving sounds as Metivier demonstrates how to break Chipman’s kneecap.

“Seven pounds of force will do it,” she says to the class.

Then the women step up for their turn with the instructor to practice their newly-learned skill. As they approach the pad-wielding instructor, smiles fall off their faces, jokes of “kicking ass” fade away, and they focus on the task at hand.

RAD on the Road

The benefits of a RAD class go beyond personal empowerment, Metivier says, pointing to a case where HUPD offered a special class for Let’s Go guide authors.

According to Metivier, a writer who went hiking in the mountains of Tunisia was followed by a man and then attacked in her tent. She used what she learned in RAD to defend herself and then fled two miles.

“She told her instructors, ‘It happened just like you said,’” Metivier says. “[And] she was not the victim of sexual assault that night.”

The class also attempts to address situations that are more commonplace for undergraduates—including those involving alcohol and so-called date-rape drugs.

“A lot of [assaults] happen at parties, or when you go to final clubs,” Metivier says. “If you’ve been drinking and something happens, it doesn’t mean it’s your fault.”

Cooper says the program is sensitive to the realities of its audience.

“We don’t encourage underage drinking,” Cooper says. “But we’re realistic to know we can’t stop it. It’s a balancing act. We don’t say everything’s cool, go and drink, but if you drink make sure you plan in advance.”

Cooper says RAD is fundamentally a class about fun fighting and important knowledge.

“We all realize it’s a sensitive and serious course,” Cooper says “We have humor and try to make it a good time without making light of a serious topic.”

—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.