Men looking to defend themselves from robbers will now be able to learn a few tricks of self-defense from Penn.
Though Penn's Division of Public Safety limits its Rape Aggression Defense classes to women, the division is offering similar classes to men who sign up for the first time this spring.
"The big thing we stress is that it's OK for [men] to walk away," Division Community Relations Officer Stacey Livingston said, adding that some men tend to be stereotypically confrontational. "We want them to look at a bad situation and choose to remove themselves."
The classes -- which are free -- will only be held for groups of at least eight this month, but are slated to expand to regularly scheduled sessions in the fall.
Special Services Director Pat Brennan said that the division decided to offer classes to men in an effort to provide both sexes with an equal opportunity.
The program will be called Resisting Aggression with Defense to emphasize the difference between the two programs, she added.
While the men's RAD program will include self-defense techniques, it will focus more on avoiding confrontation than the women's program does, Brennan said.
"Both are designed to empower the student, but the tone behind [each program] is a little different," Livingston said. RAD for men "permits men to ... make better choices [and] not be part of a confrontation."
Like the women's program, the men's version will consist of 12 hours of classes, usually set up in either four three-hour blocks or two six-hour sessions. The last three hours -- which will include simulations with trained instructors -- are optional.
Livingston said that while the women's classes are more structured than the men's will be, instructors in the men's sessions will have more discretion in deciding the content of the course.
That could mean putting more emphasis on self-defense techniques or focusing entirely on conflict resolution depending upon the specific class, she said.
Brennan said that though about 100 people sign up for the women's RAD program each year, she has moderate expectations for the men's classes this spring.
"This is a bad time of the year," she said. "People are preparing to leave. They're not interested in taking self-defense classes. ... Hopefully, the program will pick up in the fall."
Still, some students doubt the value of such training.
Wharton freshman Caleb Smith said that while a self-defense program may interest some people, he doesn't think the courses will be very successful.
"I just don't think it's necessary, and it's a waste of time," he said.
