“Anything other than a yes is a no,” said officer Julie Clark of the Shippensburg University Police Department.

Clark said that Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) has been on SU’s campus since 2003, the year during which officers Scott Bradnick and Michael Brennan were certified to instruct the course. The purpose of the RAD program is to empower women to defend themselves when faced with a harmful situation.

Clark received her certification in 2008, when the chief of police, Cytha Grissom, decided to expand the program on SU’s campus. She and four other instructors from the police department are currently certified to teach the basic course on SU’ campus.

The RAD basic course is offered every Monday in McLean Hall from 7 to 9 p.m. and will be offered again starting Oct. 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Presidents Hall multi-purpose room. The class is open to anyone who identifies as a female.

Two resident assistants, Stephanie Madara and Jessica Goetze, started the program in Seavers, Naugle and McLean halls this academic school year.

“The purpose of RAD is to provide self defense training for women,” Madara said. “There are so many opportunities for men to learn how to protect themselves, and also to gain their confidence in tough situations.”

Madara got involved with the program because of her love for Clark’s passion about RAD, something she wants her residents and others to see.

Although the RAD course on SU’s campus is not open to students who identify as male, the national corporation does offer a RAD course for self-defense.

In order to start a RAD session on campus, there must be a minimum of four dedicated, female students. Those students will have the opportunity to practice vocalization during the course.

“Women are often taught to be polite, well mannered and silent,” Clark stressed. “Oftentimes when they are confronted with a very serious situation, they tense up and they make no sound. However, we do a lot of work with vocalization and using your voice as a first line of defense in the course.”

Clark loves the end result of the program. She expressed that in the end she sees a positive impact in women’s confidence and the beginning of great bonding memories and support systems. She wants women to know their abilities and that they can defend themselves against anyone.

“Some women in the class have never balled up their fist and thrown a punch in their whole life, and they don’t know that they have power,” Clark said.

She enjoys teaching the course, and is willing to help anyone who identifies as a female to stand up for herself. 

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