Personal Safety First

This Mother’s Day, I called my folks at the annual brunch after I finished a women’s self-defense course. The Assistant Dean’s Office and the Polity Council jointly funded the five-hour IMPACT course. IMPACT is a worldwide organization that focuses on self-defense with an important training element: the aggressor instructor wears a full body suit and helmet so that students strike with full force every time. I was one of about fifteen women, as no men had expressed interest; I was also one of four seniors. I was surprised and pleased with the course’s structure: we spent equal time on learning a physical drill for a frontal attack and practising verbal skills to defuse a situation before it escalated to a physical level. I am not a confrontational person, but it is satisfying to know that I have a better idea of how to take care of myself in a number of uncomfortable situations. We also discussed the boundaries and subtleties of abuse in all environments (i.e. platonic/romantic, work, family). This is the first time any course of this kind has been offered here, and I hope things work out so that more people can take the course next semester. It would be great to do a co-ed course in the future, and I will be sure to investigate their twenty-hour extended course when I am back in Santa Fe.

Check It Out: The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

The worst returns to laughter

This weekend we put up King Lear for the annual Shakespeare play. I only worked on costumes---normally I would involve myself much more in a production, but I wrote my senior essay on this play and didn’t want my interpretation to clash with the director or my enjoyment of the show. It was staged outside for the first two nights and indoors for the matinee. I was very pleased with the show, especially with the amount of effects we managed to put in. Our theatre group is entirely student-run, and we have a very small budget, no particular performance space and few resources. Nonetheless, they did an excellent job at portraying the violence that is at the heart of this tragedy. We even had goat eyes for the eye-gouging scene! That was a pleasant surprise. Our King Lear was a tutor, as no one our age could do justice to this role. It was an excellent production to finish my time with the theatre group, and I am very proud of everyone who participated.

Check It Out: Will in the World, Stephen Greenblatt