Street-Fighting Training Could Help Combat Crime

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Last week, The Crimson reported five violent attacks on Cambridge-area women. We are all left wondering how to repond. On a political level, Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson perceptively saw the murder of Mary Frug as a "symptom of the disintegration of society" (Crimson, April 6). We are called to spend a little more time fighting for humane rules and egalitarian institutions, and perhaps a little less time securing our own prestigious places in the nation's steep hierarchy of privilege and reward.

In the long winter before that work is finished, however, we may search for ways to protect our bodies and our destinies. The non-profit organization called Model Mugging of Boston offers what may be the best answer: serious street-fighting training for women. By practicing delivering fullforce blows to a heavily padded "model mugger," the women in the program learn how to fend off misogynist terrorists of all types. According to a recent article about Model Mugging, "of the 28 graduates who were attacked" after taking the course, "two chose not to fight because their assailant carried a weapon, six disabled their attacker long enough to escape, and 20 knocked out their assailant in less than five seconds."

Many Harvard-Radcliffe students are familiar with Model Mugging thanks to the demonstration sessions the group has held on campus. A number of these students--joined by administrators like Quincy Co-Master Rosa Shinagel--are pushing to make the full 25-hour course available to all University women free of charge. (There would also be a course for male students who feel at risk; many gay students, in particular, have been victims of attack in Cambridge.)

Thus far, the world's wealthiest university has been unwilling to allocate the necessary funds, although one suspects that a 10 percent cut in the Business School's gardening budget would more than pay for the entire program. Those wishing to see this empowering training offered at Harvard are encouraged to write to the new Harvard president, Neil L. Rudenstine, at Holyoke Center, and to call Model Mugging at (617) 232-7900. Such training may help us survive long enough to build a less violent America. Brian Palmer   Resident Tutor, Quincy House