By Hadley Montgomery
Executive Staff
On November 2 at 8 p.m., the Sewanee Police Department hosted a self-defense class at Fowler Center. Designed to measure interest from women in learning self-defense, the class, led by Policewoman Hailey Dockins, will hopefully continue full-time in the future.
Dockins has worked in the Sewanee Police Force since July 1, 2015, and became a Rape Aggression Defense Class instructor last year. This training taught her how to show women the basics of defending themselves on a college campus and in life. “You’re learning how to kick, punch, and if you do get grabbed a certain way, then you can get yourself out of it. It’s not just for a party scene, but it’s for everywhere you go.” Although the class on November 2 lasted only one hour, classes in the future will last between a total of nine and twelve hours.
According to Dockins, the classes will happen regularly, as soon as a timeline can be set. However, the Police Department is still working to get everything ready. “Classes will be a maximum of 20 women, so there is more one on one time with them and we can actually teach them the step by step they need to know to perform self-defense” says Dockins. She believes that no matter how big or little you are, you can still do something to make sure you are safe. Page Forrest (C’17) attended the first mini class in Fowler and said, “Learning how to properly knee someone in the groin gave me a better sense of confidence in my day-to-day life.”
As of now, the self-defense classes are only open for women.
In the future, Dockins “would like to have a male class and female class at some point.” However, the classes cannot be mixed, male and female together, and Dockins woul need to go through a different form of training to teach the male class.
but it would require a different form of training for her to teach the male class. The self-defense classes could benefit both sexes immensely on campus. The classes are free to anyone who would like to attend, but, it is encouraged that participants donate money for the class. Dockins hopes to send the money collected in the class to a different charity organization each time.