FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  Date: January 18, 2002

      Contact: Mary Ellen Newman, 206-7173

Rape Aggression Defense System training program scheduled at UIS

SPRINGFIELD - A free women’s self-defense training program, Rape Aggression Defense System for Women (RAD), will be held on Wednesday evenings in February on campus at the University of Illinois at Springfield.  The four three-hour sessions will begin at 5:30 p.m. on February 6, 13, 20, and 27 for a total of 12 hours of training.

            Developed to include the physical abilities of all women, the RAD program provides self-defense education that focuses on awareness, prevention, risk reduction, and risk avoidance, while providing instruction in hands-on self-defense training.  It is not a martial arts program.

            UIS police officers and certified RAD instructors Sgt. William Nissen and Sgt. Mike Stuart will conduct the program.

            Call the UIS Women’s Center at (217) 206-7173 to enroll in the February program.  The RAD program is jointly sponsored by the UIS Women’s Center and the UIS Police Department.