Bard college students will have the opportunity to attend a trio of Self-Defense and Physical Empowerment classes, to be held in the Stevenson Athletic Center, with the first class on Wednesday, March 30, from 1-3pm. The events are open to all current Bard students.

The classes will be taught by Corinna Caracci, an instructor with more than 30 years of experience, and are co-sponsored by the Department of Athletics and Recreation, the Office of Title IX and Nondiscrimination, Office of the Dean of Inclusive Excellence, and BRAVE. The course begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, then progresses to the basics of hands-on self-defense training. Students will learn awareness and empowerment techniques, defense against the most modern strikes, and methods to disable an attacker.

The classes will be held in Instruction Classroom 1 in the Stevenson Athletic Center, but could move to the gymnasium, depending on the number of students. The classes will be held:

• Wednesday, Mar. 30, from 1-3 p.m.
• Monday, Apr. 18, from 7-9 p.m.
• Sunday, May 15, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Caracci is a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Certified Instructor, a member of the RAD Hall of Fame, and the New York State Regional Director for RAD. She has taught more than 10,000 students in the past 30 years, and has trained more than 500 instructors. She is certified in advanced techniques, weapons, key chain and aerosol defense.