by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo Columnist
A rape allegation has made its way into the newspaper again. So now everyone gets to spend the next couple of weeks talking about campus safety - at least when we're not busy with finals.
The usual list of suggestions goes something like this: Hire more campus police, put up more blue lights. Now add to that: Report crime more in the Daily Lobo.
Blue lights won't hurt anything. And certainly the Daily Lobo should report on rape and other varieties of assault, when it's possible. But does anyone really believe that's going to make this a safe campus?
Even if there were blue light phones covering every inch of campus and the surrounding neighborhood, you'd still have to take time out from being attacked to pick up the phone, and then wait for the police to show. But I'm sure your attacker would be perfectly willing to wait around for you to make a call.
Or let's say we hire more campus police. Is it remotely feasible to think we can get enough police to ensure that an officer will always just happen to be nearby when somebody happens to be attacked? And do you really want the campus to have so many blue suits running around that it looks like we're in a war zone?
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Besides, neither of those options are going to help anyone in an acquaintance rape situation.
And what about reporting in the Daily Lobo? As I said, I expect the Lobo staff to do everything in its power to cover violent crimes. On the other hand, from what I've seen, it seems they are doing that.
And, regardless of what does or doesn't appear in the Lobo, you should know that violent crimes are happening. You shouldn't have to wait until you hear about somebody getting attacked to know you need to watch your back.
I don't know about you, but when someone tries to attack me, be it in a dorm room or on the street, I'm not going to pause to look for the nearest blue light or hope a police officer just happens to show up. When it has happened in the past, most of the sort of people that would attack a lone, average and unimposing-looking woman took flight as soon as they saw I was willing to fight. On the one occasion when I was actually required to put up a fight, I did. And if it happens again, I'll do the same.
Granted, there will be situations that surpass one's ability to defend oneself. But you'll have a much better chance of coming out of an attack safe and sound if you're ready and willing to act on your own behalf, and you know how to do it. No matter what happens, you are your own first line of defense.
During the ASUNM elections, one of the slates offered the idea of having one-day self-defense training twice a semester. That's a start, but it doesn't go quite far enough. One day's worth of training won't give you enough skill, nor will it overcome a lifetime of learned passivity.
A better idea might be to offer free or sliding scale self-defense training on a more regular basis. Until someone finds a way to make that feasible, other options are available. UNM's Physical Education Department offers a few martial arts classes, which are a reasonably low-cost option for everyone, and a free option for full-time students taking less than 18 credits. There are also a variety of other self-defense and martial arts programs offered around town, probably at higher cost.
That's something you can do for yourself. But what can we do as a community? I can't come up with any quick fixes on that level, but I've got an idea that might work for the longer term.
Imagine this: Not only are you trained to defend yourself, so is just about everyone else. If you're attacked, anyone who happens to be passing by is equipped to help you out of your predicament.
Imagine a community in which the passengers of Flight 93 aren't anomalous heroes, but ordinary people doing what everyone else is trained and ready to do.
In other words, what might our community look like if self-defense were a part of basic education?
Maybe I'm thinking on too grand a scale. All I'm really trying to say is this: Ask not what your University administration can do for you, but what you can do for yourself and your community.
E-mail ideas so crazy they have to work to Sari Krosinsky at michal_kro@hotmail.com.
