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SELF-DEFENSE

By Daily Bruin Staff

Feb. 14, 1996 9:00 p.m.

SELF-DEFENSE

Students’ opinions differ about safety on campus, best methods
to protect oneself from assailants

By Lena Hicks

Daily Bruin Contributor

Shamsha Velani doesn’t carry mace, pepper spray or a knife. But
when the first-year microbiology student walks across campus alone,
she arms herself with a bag or sharp key.

"I always make sure I have something in my hand to attack
something with," Velani said.

When attending college in an urban setting, many women are
confronted with the question of whether or not to carry a personal
safety device. Stilettos, various forms of tear-inducing spray and
sound alarms are all popular among college students, but there is
still no consensus on the best way to protect oneself in the event
of an attack.

While some students said they feel safe while walking on campus,
others argued that carrying some form of protection is necessary to
ensure their safety.

"I’m not trying to kill anybody. I’m just trying to stop them
from attacking me," explained fourth-year psychobiology student
Yolandra Hancock, who carries both pepper spray and a key chain
alarm while walking alone.

Her pepper spray has been useful, Hancock said. One evening
after class, she used her spray to drive away a transient who
taunted her.

"He took off running and hid in the bushes," Hancock said. She
later ran into a friend, who took her home.

While Hancock experienced a threat firsthand, other students,
who have never been threatened, said they feel safe even
unarmed.

Gloria Leung said she has never considered carrying a weapon
because she grew up in a tranquil community.

"I never thought of actually buying a safety tool … I grew up
in a safe area, so I’m not used to using any means of protection,"
said Leung, a second-year computer science student. Leung said she
feels safe on campus, and explained that walking alone is often
faster than waiting for the evening van.

Some believed that the lack of caution among some students stems
from the belief that the campus is a safe haven, immune to any
incidence of assault.

"We assume that we live in a nice neighborhood," said
second-year psychobiology student Ann Bananal, who admitted that
she takes for granted the fact that she can safely walk across
campus alone.

Pepper spray, one of the more popular and controversial personal
safety weapons, has recently become available over the counter.
Some claimed that easing access to the spray is a step in the right
direction.

Because pepper spray is now simple to obtain, women have a new
self-defense option, students said.

"It’s a good idea, because people should have access to that
kind of protection. I don’t think that it’s any more dangerous
because people who want to harm other people find ways to harm them
(anyway)," said Anna Regalado, a graduate Spanish student.

But others believed that pepper spray’s new prominence will, in
fact, be a detriment to women’s safety. Because pepper spray is now
so readily available, assailants will be able to purchase it
themselves and turn it against their victims, students claimed.

"I don’t think (over the counter sales) should happen," said
Michelle Nguyen, a second-year communication studies student.
"People won’t use it for the purpose that it was intended."

Although women should be cautious, they should not let fears of
assault dominate their minds every time they walk across campus,
students claimed.

"I don’t think walking around paranoid is very healthy," Hancock
said.

Kathy Rose-Mockry, director of the Women’s Resource Center,
explained that the many different methods of self-protection are
equally effective.

"There isn’t any one best way to respond to an assault,"
Rose-Mockry said. She pointed out that physical self-defense
tactics can often be as effective as weapons in the event of an
attack.

For women who shiver at the prospect of inflicting injury to an
assailant, physical self-defense methods are a more viable option
than other methods of protection.

"(The) idea of spraying someone freaks me out," Velani said.

This quarter, the Women’s Resource Center is providing different
self-defense sessions free of charge for students, faculty and
staff. The sessions teach basic street fighting techniques that are
fairly easy to utilize, Rose-Mockry said.

The defense courses also "encourage women to use their own
strength," Rose-Mockry said. "The goal is to respond to a situation
and trust your instincts."

Some believed that the lack of caution among some students stems
from the belief that the campus is a safe haven, immune to any
incidence of assault.

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