Police are working to host free self-defense classes for the local and campus community.
The class will be at 7 p.m. May 1 in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center and will be open to students only.
Lt. Michael Kavenius said the department is planning a second separate self-defense class for faculty and staff in June.
“We wanted to get better participation for both the students and faculty and staff,” he said. “We want as many as possible to attend.”
Randy Gipson-Black, political science/religion junior and Student Government Association president, said the idea for the class stemmed from #OCUTOO, a March 28 sexual assault prevention workshop. The self-defense class will be an important addition to the workshop, he said.
Mindy Windholz, director of university counseling, also will host a suicide prevention training workshop for students. Windholz is certified to teach the training and has experience helping victims of sexual assault and violence. The date is not yet determined for the training, but it will be sometime in April, Gipson-Black said.
Gipson-Black said he brought up the idea of the self-defense class to university officials in January and contacted campus police for it. Police Chief Jennifer Rodgers thought it was a great idea and said OCUPD would handle it, he said.
Kavenius said OCUPD officers don’t have the certification to teach self-defense, so the class will be taught by Oklahoma City Police Officer Chris Lambert, head of Talon Training Services, a self-defense instructional organization.
Their goal is “to provide safe, effective and up to date defensive skills for a contemporary environment,” according to their Facebook page “Talon Training Services, LLC.”
“They’re just going to teach some basic self-defense methods that students can use,” Kavenius said.
Gipson-Black said the need for the class increased after two attempted student abductions March 7 outside Oklahoma United Methodist Hall and in Cokesbury Court Apartments’ parking lot.
“After that happened, we really wanted to push the time up,” he said.
Officials were unable to change the date, he said.
Gipson-Black said the class is important for students to attend so they feel comfortable defending themselves.
“We didn’t want to just tell students, ‘here’s what sexual misconduct is, here’s what bystander intervention is and here’s what OCU does in terms of investigating sexual misconduct.’ We also wanted to equip students with the knowledge to defend themselves in case that ever happens,” he said.
Arianna Muennich, dance freshman, said the self-defense class will help students feel safer on campus.
“It’s important to be able to defend yourself if you need to,” Muennich said.
The class will be free for students and won’t cost the university anything because OCUPD is financing the class. Gipson-Black encourages students to attend the class.
“It will be a really beneficial and educational thing that SGA hopefully will continue to do each semester,” he said.
Muennich said she is glad the class is free and accessible to students, and she plans to attend.
“Just knowing basic self-defense skills in any situation can help you,” she said.
Officials recommend students wear comfortable, athletic-type clothing and shoes to the class.
Students must RSVP by emailing studentaffairs@okcu.edu by April 15 to secure their spot in the class.
Maggie Bond, music/economics senior, is planning a separate event for students to take classes with Tim Fancher, self-defense expert and founder of American Street Edge Martial Arts School in Springfield, Missouri. Bond took a class with Fancher on March 12 and said it was beneficial.
“It’s one of the best levels of education you can get. He taught me three self-defense moves I can take with me for the rest of my life and be safe,” she said. “He not only teaches you how to identify an uncomfortable situation, but also solutions, like how to avoid those situations and get out of them.”
Bond said, after the class, she discussed with Fancher the idea of bringing a class to OCU.
“He wanted to discuss with me starting a seminar through my university, so I put out some information on the OCU public Facebook page, and I had about 75 people interested,” she said.
Bond said she is working to set up a date and location for the class, and she is considering a Monday evening in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Fancher’s course is normally priced at about $100 per class, but he is offering students a discount price of $10-$15, Bond said.
“This class is going to go really in-depth,” Bond said. “If you want to be safe for the rest of your life, this is the seminar to go to.”
Bond said she planned the event before she knew about the class with OCUPD and encourages students to attend both.
Debbie Craycraft, senior administrative assistant to the vice president for academic affairs, advocated for OCUPD’s class on the OCU Facebook page but said she supports Bond’s class as well.
“I think it’s great,” Craycraft said. “The more opportunities to learn self-defense, the better.”
For more information on Fancher’s class, students may contact Bond through Facebook.
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