In hopes of making the campus safer for women, Alpha Kappa Alpha hosted a self-defense night for students.
Organized by Tiffani Reed, a senior toxicology major, the two-hour event was spent teaching basic self-defense.
“We came up with the idea as a chapter and found someone to teach the class on campus,” Reed said.
After discussing concerns related to break-ins on campus, as well as a few assaults that took place over recent years, Alpha Kappa Alpha decided to attempt to educate the young men and women of ULM.
“I know a few years back there was a break-in of a girl’s apartment on campus. What if she had been in there?” Reed said.
While owning both a Taser and mace, Reed admits that she doesn’t always keep the items on hand. Now that she has learned basic self-defense she feels better about her ability to protect herself.
“If something were to happen to me I know how to protect myself. I don’t have to depend on them and worry about what to do if my mace is in my car,” Reed said.
The class focused on three main ideas: maintaining a base, facing your attacker and attacking. These three goals were demonstrated with different ways of achieving them.
“If I am attacked I feel like I can do something about it. My favorite move was learning how to drop to my knees and throw an attacker on their back,” Reed said.
Shayla Cockerm, president of ULM’s Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter, sometimes feels unsafe walking around at night on campus. In the past, she has informed relatives of her location.
“Even though we’re on campus and there are a lot of people around there is always that one person that may come up to you,” Cockerm said.
Cockerm advised students to just take everything in and understand that they can defend themselves.
Djante Curry, a junior pre-pharmacy major, attended the event hoping to learn the basics of defense. Having never attended a self-defense class before, she was pleased with the results. She feels better and more prepared now.
“I think this is a good thing because if I’m in public and caught off guard I know what steps to take to defend myself,” Curry said.
