Keeping women safe on campus Self-defense classes for women inspire empowerment, hope By Birgit Moran moranb@mscd.edu

Photo by Jenn LeBlanc jkerriga@mscd.edu

       Female students at Auraria can dramatically improve their chances of avoiding or surviving a sexual assault, according to campus experts.
   After the sexual assault of a female student on campus March 1, safety and health experts urge women to stay alert of their surroundings and how they carry themselves.
   Awareness is critical to personal safety, according to Auraria police, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program and Auraria’s Healthy Moves program.
   “ Even the way you walk can make a difference,” said Linda Wilkins Pierce, Healthy Moves program coordinator. Shoulders back and head up, look ahead and not down, these are subtle, but important messages perpetrators notice.
   Perpetrators choose victims based on vulnerability, a RAAP handout states.
   “ The two most basic and important personal safety tips are being aware of what’s going on around you and trusting your instincts,” said Crystal Middlestadt, community educator at RAAP.
   Beyond these basics, Auraria offers an evening transportation service to campus parking lots and self-defense classes, both free.
   Auraria’s “Nightrider” program offers rides to cars from several points on campus and is available through the parking department or by calling 303-556-2200. Nightrider runs until 10:00 p.m. Pickup locations, or loading zones, are shown on the campus-parking map, available from the parking office.
   The Healthy Moves program sponsored by the Health Center at Auraria is offering an additional one-day self-defense course from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on April 22. The class was added in response to the March 1 sexual assault. Self-defense level one and level two classes are free and offered each semester.
   “ Self-defense classes offer students a way to feel less vulnerable and (more) empowered,” Pierce said. Her goal is for all women to take the course, either on-site or with RAAP at other metro area locations.
   “ It gives them a level of awareness they didn’t have before,” she said.
   “ This class is a must for all women,” one self-defense student said on a comment card.
The introduction of student housing for Auraria students has required changes in procedures.
   Last semester’s “Safe Campus Night” recommended changes to landscaping, signage and emergency phone availability. Approval for emergency phones inside campus buildings and additional exterior lighting is currently under review by the Auraria Board, said Auraria police chief Heather Coogan.
   For students living on-campus at the Inn At Auraria, slated to open this fall, an interagency sexual assault protocol procedure will be enacted. The protocol involves a formalized process to address counseling, assistance and a campus judicial process separate from, and in addition to, the criminal justice system.
   Denver police patrol campus housing because the land is not owned by Auraria. Should an assault happen at the student housing, the Denver police and the Auraria judicial process would work together, Coogan said.
   The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that requires all public and private colleges and universities to report all crimes and provide campus security reports to anyone interested. The law is named after Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University student, who was brutally murdered in her dorm room in 1986.
   " Our daughter died because of what she didn't know," said Connie and Howard Clery on the Website www.securityoncampus.org.