One night on Missouri Southern’s campus, a female student walked alone to her car. A man attacked her and pulled her down into some bushes with intentions to rape her.

The student knew how to defend herself from a drill she learned in her Rape Aggression Defense class.

She kneed the man in the groin, and ran to security. When she brought the security guard back to the scene, the villain was still on the ground in pain.

This was a true story Ken Kennedy, director of the department of public safety, told his RAD students last Thursday.

RAD is an opportunity for women to learn how to defend themselves.

Kennedy has taught females from 17 to 65 years old.

“If you’re a student, it doesn’t matter your age,” he said.

Kendra Skaggs, freshman criminal justice major, comes from a small town near St. Louis. She doesn’t know anyone in Joplin, and feels uneasy away from home.

“I got an email about it, and I thought it’d be a good idea to learn how to defend myself,” she said.

Another student pursues defense knowledge to prepare herself for future plans of investigating.

“I am going to be approaching people and I’m going to have that possibility of a physical attack,” said Valerie Lewis, senior criminal justice administration major.

Some students are learning defense for the protection of their children. Angela Ackerman, freshman psychology major, is a single mother who lives south of Joplin.

“Neighbors can’t always get there,” she said.

The main reason for the course is the protection of the students. The course teaches women how to pinpoint dangerous situations and provides safety tips.

One of the class guidelines forbids male students.

“One of the reasons we don’t allow men in the class is because we could be sharing our secrets with a potential predator,” Kennedy said. “You don’t know who you can trust.”

In order to teach RAD, he attended day and night intense training for one week in Tennessee. With 22 years of Joplin Police Department experience, Kennedy is the only qualified instructor to teach this class.

“I think this is a neat thing for women’s safety,” Ackerman said. “I think it’s awesome.”