A student who escaped a recent abduction attempt attributed her get away to a self-defense class she had taken at Ohio State – proof that the techniques taught in the free classes are an effective deterrent and should be stressed as a means to help reduce campus crime.
Every quarter at OSU a number of self-defense classes are offered to students – most of them women – with little or no background in fighting off possible attackers. Self-defense classes are a great way to ensure that students who have go out on and around campus also protect themselves from possibly dangerous situations.
Crime is always an issue for students at OSU. For a campus and university of OSU’s size, crime per capita is relatively low. The rash of robberies during the summer and early autumn quarter, the disappearance of Julie Popovich from a campus-area bar and the recent kidnapping of a student from Northwood Avenue, however, causes unease throughout the OSU community. Students cannot always look to their administration and local law enforcement to protect them. They must be prepared and ready to identify suspicious situations and people, and self-defenses classes are an ideal place to learn.
