Living on-campus, students tend to forget that they are living in a big city where crimes occur in every neighborhood no matter how safe it may appear. That is why DePaul has taken the initiative to get students more informed on how to be safe. Since last year, IMPACT Chicago has been offering self-defense classes at the Ray Meyer Fitness Center.
IMPACT Chicago has offered classes around campuses in Chicago since 1989. Aside from teaching self-defense techniques, the 90-minute class taught by trained professionals teaches what IMPACT workshop director Leslie Eto describes as “street smarts.”
“We teach students to become more aware of their surroundings. We also teach what we call ‘ways of being’ in order to minimize an attack, such as projecting self-confidence,” said Eto.
Awareness is one of the key ways to prevent crime from happening both on and off of campus.
“When you’re not paying attention to what’s going on, that’s when bad things can happen,” said Sgt. Maureen Greene, Crime Prevention Officer at the Public Safety office at DePaul University.
Despite living in Lincoln Park, one of the nicer neighborhoods of Chicago, Greene urges students to acknowledge the fact that a crime has the potential to happen anywhere and anytime. Given Lincoln Park’s reputation, many people looking to commit a robbery or burglary may take advantage of that.
“We are in a bad economic time, and everyone knows that, so what happens is people who are going to rob other people are not going to go to poor neighborhoods,” said Greene. “They’re going to go to neighborhoods that are highly focused with a lot of bars and a lot of things where people are perceived to have a lot of money.”
According to Chicago Police Department’s CLEARMap database, there have been 1,633 thefts, 92 robberies and 14 criminal sexual assaults reported in Lincoln Park this year so far.
Where the Loop campus is located, there have been 20 criminal sexual assaults, 146 robberies, and 2,957 thefts this year so far.
Anne MacDonald, Assistant Director of Instructional Programs and Aquatics at the Ray Meyer, sought out IMPACT Chicago last year when her department was given a grant. A Rape Aggression and Defense program ran prior to IMPACT for six years, but due to lack of available instructors the program had failed.
“We talked about bringing in a company that does this on a daily basis will make it significantly easier for us to making sure we have instructors,” said MacDonald. “With our budget we supplemented paying IMPACT to come in, so they started teaching classes for us in fall of 2011.”
Offering classes throughout each quarter, students who have taken the classes have come out more informed on keeping themselves safe.
“We’ve handed out surveys for students to fill out after they’ve taken the class. They responded saying that they felt like they’ve gained a lot of knowledge,” said MacDonald.
Eto also agrees that the response from participants has been “extremely positive.”
Despite the positive reviews this program has gotten from students, the overall turn out has not been as great as MacDonald had hoped. She thinks that students may be discouraged to take the class because of the $10 admission fee. She suggests it may also be because students feel that they do not need to take the class.
“(Students) think that they don’t need it,” said MacDonald. “I think students don’t realize we’re in the city of Chicago. We do need to be cautious. Even though Lincoln Park is such a nice area, we’re definitely not in a bubble.”
Griselda Lorena, a junior at DePaul and a Chicago native, believes that she does not need to take a self-defense class to feel safe in the city.
“I grew up in the city, so I know how to keep safe. I know not to walk alone at night, keep an eye out, all that stuff,” said Lorena.
However, she does advise students who are new to the city to think about taking the class.
“I had a friend that had her phone stolen on the ‘L’ – she was new to the city. So I think for people like her, maybe they should consider it,” said Lorena.
Whether facing a robbery or a sexual assault, IMPACT Chicago classes empower students to take control of a dangerous situation and prevent themselves from becoming a victim.
“We (at Public Safety) like the classes. They keep students a little keener on what to do and how to go about getting around, where you’re on or off campus,” said Greene.
For students who are hesitant to take the class, MacDonald urges students to try it. “Don’t be intimidated and give it a shot,” said MacDonald.
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Workshops:
Personal Safety Tools Workshops — For only $10, you can learn awareness, safe distance, and verbal and physical techniques to help them better identify, predict, and prevent personal violence. All workshops are held through campus rec. http://campusrec.depaul.edu/pgmserv/instruction/pages/ safetytraining.aspx ξStudents can enroll in one of the following IMPACT Chicago Safety Training workshops by signing up at the membership desk at campus rec. or through their online enrollment system:
ξWednesday, October 3, 6-7:30 pmTuesday, October 23, 7-8:30 pmMonday, November 5, 6:30-8 pmξξ
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