A self-defense program known as R.A.D. will be offered for women at Sacred Heart this November.

The program is available free of charge to all female members of the Sacred Heart community including students, faculty and staff, and their family members.

R.A.D. stands for Rape, Aggression, and Defense. Public Safety officer Lisa Brown will be teaching this nine-hour course in three, three-hour sessions on November 7th, 10th and 11th.

"You really must take all three classes in order to get the depth of what I am trying to teach," said Brown.

The lessons consist of a one-hour lecture about self-defense, rape, and aggression, followed by two hours of instruction and practice of defensive skills.

For the latter portion of the lesson, Brown will be assisted by brothers of Lambda Sigma Phi.

Lambda has been assisting the R.A.D. program since is started three years ago. Brown said they usually play the role of the aggressors on whom the women practice their new skills.

A self-defense program is a good way to gain important knowledge about protecting oneself.

"Most importantly on a University campus where we have a 2 to 1 male to female ratio," said Brown, "females are sometimes a bit more vulnerable to incidents of aggression."

The Department of Public Safety has always maintained the goal of protecting the campus and its community. The R.A.D. program was an idea that started three years ago and has continued due to its popularity.

"Over 150 people have gone through the program since it started," said Brown.

At the end of each program, Brown does an analysis of each participant to see what they have learned and how they have improved.

"When I ask them if they feel their self confidence has become greater, the answer is always 'definitely'," said Brown.

Brown is very enthusiastic about the R.A.D. program. She is very thankful to the Director of Public Safety, Jack Fernandez for always supporting such programs.

"Human nature sometimes calls for confrontation," said Brown, "so it's important to have certain skills."

Those certain skills can be learned through R.A.D. Brown said the goal is to teach women that it's okay to be assertive, to broaden their horizons and heighten awareness about aggression.

In addition to helping protect the Sacred Heart community, Public Safety has decided to branch out and begin supporting other programs as well.

This year, Public Safety will join hands with the Upward Bound program, which is aimed toward high school students who are about to enter college.

Upward Bound provides a sort of college prep for high school students. They offer workshops on life skills and academics, and this year, a workshop by Public Safety.

"We will use facets of the R.A.D. program to make a more specialized workshop for high school students," said Brown. This workshop will be held on October 8th and is available to the local high schools.

In this case, the goal is to heighten awareness about aggression before a student even sets foot onto a college campus.

The popularity of the R.A.D. program and the decision to participate in the Upward Bound program are signs of just how concerned Public Safety is with the well being of the students and the community.

If you think their job consists only of handing out parking tickets and patrolling the dorm halls at night, you're wrong.