New class offered to women

Women interested in learning self defense now have the chance to take a course and earn credit, since the University has added HPL 155 "Self Defense and Personal Safety for Women" to its curriculum.

The course will be for a one-hour credit. The class will be offered Mondays and Tuesdays from 6 to 6:50 p.m. Registration for the course began on Monday.

Matthew Curtner-Smith, professor and department head of kinesiology, said he helped develop the course when Associate Provost Judy Bonner asked if he would develop a self-defense course for women.

Bonner said she is happy with how quickly the course was created.

"While there are many options for non-credit courses currently available, having the opportunity to study with University of Alabama police officers over a semester will enhance students' ability to master these important safety skills," she said.

Andy Liles, University of Alabama Police Department community services officer, said UAPD officers will be the instructors for the course. He said the course will outline sexual harassment and rape prevention and will be taught from a text book as well as UAPD's Safer Living Guide.

"The fact that the course is being offered allows the community to have better control of their own safety," Liles said. "It also allows the person taking the course to get something out of it with their academic field as well as personal being."

Cason Kirby, SGA vice president for Student Affairs, said he has also helped in the development of the course.

"After some of the safety issues that have come up, we tried to look at how to help students from the broadest scope," Kirby said. "Even though courses can be offered other places, it can be hard for a student to come back to school, after classes, to take a course that they aren't going to get credit for.

"We figure that if you can get one-hour credit playing tennis, you can get one hour credit learning self defense," he said.

The Student Recreation Center has hosted self-defense classes that have been put together by other organizations, such as the Women's Resource Center, said Jill Beville, associate director for UA Recreation Center programs.

The course is one of several leisure studies courses that are offered by the department of kinesiology, Curtner-Smith said. Students can also take rock-climbing, ball room dancing, soccer, tennis and other traditional and non-traditional sports.

Though the course is designed for women, Curtner-Smith said he wants to develop a self-defense course for men by the fall semester.

"With some things that unfortunately go on in society in general, there is a need for this course," Curtner-Smith said.

Kristen Stovall, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering, said she would definitely take the class. She said having a self-defense course available for credit is a good incentive to get women to learn the basics of self defense.

"You never know when you are going to need the skills you are going to learn in a self-defense class," she said. "My friends and I were just wondering if a class like this was available."