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Students told to trust their intuition
for safety
The Advocate
A Dating Dilemmas workshop was interrupted by a campus evacuation Wednesday night, ultimately canceling the last half hour that was going to be discussing online dating sites as well as a some speed-dating.
Coincidentally, the evacuation went along with the earlier hour of the workshop discussion about being aware of the dangers around.
The workshop in the MHCC library was teaching how to date safely and be aware of the dangers of online dating and how to handle yourself in any dangerous situation.
Sarah Berkemeier, a WomenStrength volunteer, ran Dating Dilemmas. This program offers free training in self-defense and other workshops for anyone interested in learning what to be aware of and how to stay safe.
The message repeated throughout the workshop was to "trust your intuition and act on it," said Berkemeier. She said planning what you would do in a particular situation is good but when it happens, intuition is the only thing you can count on. Berkemeier said to trust your intuition on what to do at that moment.
Some safety concepts contributed by the WomenStrength program: Perpetrators generally don't want to be yelled at, outsmarted, hit back, or held accountable for their actions; displaying confident and decisive behavior can show a potential attacker that our personal space will not be violated easily; it helps to seem "difficult" to an attacker.
For more information on other workshops or to sign up for self-defense classes, log on to portlandonline.com (search for WomenStrength) or call (503) 832-0260.
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