Students learn self-defense and saftey tips during seminar

Cornelius Copeland
MC Contributor

Jackson State University Recreation Complex and Center for Student Engagement and Leadership hosted a self-defense and staying safe on campus seminar at the on Sept 21, 2016.

This seminar was held to promote and encourage safety for students while on and off campus. Students had a chance to learn awareness, prevention, risk reduction, knowledge of student rights and resources, as well as basic self-defense moves and tactics.

Lakesha Varnell, Title IX and interpersonal violence prevention director, Damarius Cotton, certified officer of Jackson State University Public Safety, and Jeremy Gordon, a certified crime prevention specialist shared information and safety tips to the students in attendance.

Gordon, a master’s level instructor with American Martial Arts, gave students basic skills to help protect themselves.

“I have been doing this for years and to share my knowledge with others to keep them safe means a lot to me,” said Gordon.

Many students are taking necessary safety precautions to protect themselves at all times. According to the www.neighborhoodscout.com, Jackson has a crime rate of 73 per 1000 residents, and is one of the highest crime rates in America compared to communities of the same size. Its crime index is 2, which means it is safer that 2 percent of the cities in the U.S.

Francisco Cervantes, a senior business major from Jackson, Miss., said, “I don’t even go out at night that much anymore because I do not feel safe and if I do, I always have a group of people with me.”

Cervantes attended the self-defense seminar and learned new tactics that he plans to practice so he can be ready when the time comes.

According to the World Self Defense Association, one of the biggest advantages to taking self-defense classes is the way it makes you feel afterwards. A lot of people are not confident about their abilities to protect themselves before they join a self-defense class.

Near the end of the seminar, some students were drenched in sweat from practicing and performing the different moves. A lot of punching, kicking, blocking and other techniques were involved teaching the students many ways to remain safe.

Jessica Stewart, a sophomore psychology major from Clinton, Miss. said, “I feel like I had a full body workout and have so much more confidence in myself now that I learned all these new techniques.”

Photos by Cornelius Copeland