Story by Sophie Brock, April 21, 2021

A self-defense class may seem like a fun event hosted by the University for Greek Life’s Panhellenic Spirit Week, but for women it’s one of the many precautions that’s taken to be safe. 

The goal of this self-defense class, hosted during Greek Life’s Panhellenic Spirit week, was to bring awareness to student safety on campus.

Cpl. Allen Porter is a University of Arkansas Police Department officer who led the event April 7. This was one of the first in-person events put on by the University in nearly a year.

Dozens of women piled into the Union Ballroom to listen to Porter tell his story of  why he teaches self-defense classes. Throughout the hour and half event, the audience were given several tips on how to physically defend themselves against an attacker.

“There are so many things a person can do to lower the risk for a crime of opportunity,” Porter said. “I have always been an advocate for people and my best advice right now is to pay attention to your environment and call your community resources.”  

Growing up, Porter dealt with a neighborhood bully who was the reason he became interested in self-defense, he said. After picking up Taekwondo and using it to defend himself against the bully, Porter felt safer and had higher self esteem, he said.

“For me, martial arts was both an escape as well as an esteem building activity,” Porter said. “It may not work this way for everyone, but with the right instructions and attitude and time, I definitely think taking any kind of self-defense class would be beneficial to everyone.”

Porter’s self-defense class took place two months after an email that was sent out that left many students with mixed opinions.

The email was sent out to discuss a few instances of on-campus sexual assault attacks and to inform the community to take precautions.

Many students felt as though the University should have addressed the subject matter in an alternative way; one of those students is sophomore Kaylen Aldridge, who attended the self-defense class.

“I took the self-defense class because it has always been something I’ve been interested in,” Aldridge said. 

Like many women, Aldridge has found herself in more than one unsafe situation.

“There are so many situations where women feel unsafe or uncomfortable in their everyday lives,” Aldridge said. “Unfortunately, I have been in situations where I’ve felt unsafe. That’s just the reality of being a woman at this time, though. Any time I have to walk alone at night, I’m on edge. Any time I have to walk to my car in a parking lot by myself, I have to make sure I’m aware.”

The University has focused on making campus safer. When asked, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz assures students that safety and security has always been a top priority.

“I believe our campus is safe,” Steinmetz said. “Our UAPD does a great job patrolling our community and also providing resources and training.”

Steinmetz also encourages students to take part in classes that would help them feel more safe. 

“Some might feel that it’s empowering to learn verbal and physical self-defense techniques, and one might feel taking CPR and first aid will equip them better,” Steinmetz said. “There are a number of crime prevention courses and topics offered through UAPD and other campus departments and encourage students to explore them.”

Nonetheless, the email echoes in the minds of students.

“I was really disappointed in the email the University sent out a few months ago,”Aldridge said. “I think it would’ve been better for the University to address the topic from the other perspective where instead of blaming the victim, we blame the attacker in more of a ‘hey, don’t attack people’ type of way.”

Sophomore Emily Patterson, who also attended the event, said feeling unsafe is what led her to come to the class. 

“I thought it would be really fun to learn some self-defense moves, but I also wanted to make sure that I have tools I can use if I ever feel like I need to defend myself,” Patterson said. 

Similar to Aldridge, she also believes the University’s email was in bad taste, she said. 

“I generally feel safe (on campus), but I think the University has a bad track record with sexual assault,” Patterson said. “I was disgusted by the email; it was a blatant example of victim blaming, which is completely unacceptable. There is a fine line between encouraging safety, and blaming women for the actions of their abusers, and the University crossed it.”

Every year, the University is required to publish their campus crime report. As seen in the reports execpt for the exceptions of rape, the number of on-campus crimes are dwindling.

As for taking measures in regards to practicing safety, Patterson has several things she does to be precautious. 

“I always peek in the windows of my car before I get in it to make sure nobody snuck in. I always keep my door locked, and I always try to FaceTime somebody when I am walking alone so that if anything happens, someone will see it,” she said.

Another safety precaution that the University offers is RAVE Guardian. This app has a multitude of features including setting safety timers, being able to contact your emergency contacts or UAPD and creates a safety profile for the user.

For more resources, individuals can visit the UA’s website.