According to a U.S. Department of Justice survey, every two and a half minutes someone is sexually assaulted. Roughly three-fourths of all college-aged women will experience at least one form of sexual assault. The majority of these victims are vastly unprepared to defend themselves.

   John Sanders, Public Safety officer and president of the Criminal Justice Association, is taking steps to lower these statistics.

   “I personally feel it's good for someone to have a basic knowledge of self defense.” Sanders said.

   Following this rationale, Public Safety and the CJA will offer a month-long self-defense course in April. The course will focus on mental and physical preparedness as well as methods of neutralizing attackers. If successful, the course could become a regular occurrence at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

    “I think a self-defense course is an excellent idea on a college campus,” Criminal Justice professor Tammy Garland said. “Freshmen women are more likely to be victimized than any other group. They will more often put themselves in dangerous situations.”