Dear HKS women : time for some self-defense?
by Lakshmi Iyer, Culture Writer on December 17, 2009 in Culture
Earlier this year, The Citizen featured an article on the safety of Harvard students in and around Cambridge streets. (See “Safety Concerns Highlighted by Cutbacks,” by Carolyn McGourty, MPP ’11, October 11, 2009).
The fear of being attacked is obviously not restricted to life in Cambridge. It could happen anywhere, at any time of the day or night. Women probably think about this fear very often – while walking back alone from a party, after a late-night group assignment, or while encountering a creepy-looking person in the elevator or a lonely hallway.
Of course, there are many ways to take precautions to guard against being in such situations; however, one cannot always avoid them. Additionally, any particular threat to a woman is not usually posed by a stranger: most people reading this article have at least one friend nor acquaintance who has been subject to some sort of abuse by a boyfriend or a male friend of some kind.
In order to equip female constituents of Harvard University with the skills to fend off such attacks, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) has started self- defense classes especially for women. The course, entitled the “Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Program” is open free of charge to female students, and female faculty and staff of Harvard University. RAD empowers women to combat various types of assaults by providing them with realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. The classes focus on four basic principles: education, dependency on self, making one’s own decisions, and realization of one’s own power. Sergeant Amy DiVirgilio, from HUPD is the leading instructor for these sessions. She is supported by Patrol Officer Bill Connell and Sergeant David Burns.
Says Sergeant DiVirgilio, “I have been teaching RAD for 10 years, and it has truly been the most rewarding part of my job. Many women taking this class have not thought about what to do or how they would react in a tough situation. I feel we are giving them options and teaching many women that they can do something they never thought they could. The class is empowering in many ways.”
The first session covers various ways to prevent assault or attacks. The key here is to stay alert and remain aware of one’s surroundings. Listening to your Ipod’s blaring music while walking alone at 3 AM is not going to help you notice that creep following you. Alternatively, if you must listen to music, plug the earplug in just one ear. Another big lesson: do not be afraid to use your voice. Most women choke up or black out when attacked. This is the time to scream your lungs out. Another important tip: be aware of the 24-hour shops locations - you will know which direction to run in for help.
“My advice would be to take time to put thought into your personal safety. We all have busy lives, but take two minutes during your day to think about what you can do to prevent being a victim of any crime. Know what areas are well lit, populated at different hours, and where you could go for help. Look for the blue light,” said Sergeant DiVirgilio. The second and third sessions involve applying these techniques through practice with instructors.
The classes are typically held at 10 Akron or the Strauss common room in Harvard Yard. I urge all HKS women to look out for these emails and sign up!
Coming together for Eid
by Lakshmi Iyer, Culture Writer on September 30, 2009 in Culture
Photo taken by Taylor Chapman, MPP\'11
Organized by the Muslim Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School, the KSSG and Degree Programs, Eid was celebrated with much gusto, reverence and delicacies.
I had been looking forward to the evening ever since getting the email invitation (amongst a zillion other notes in my Inbox). The mystery and my relative ignorance about anything Islamic made me want to go there. Of course, I have Muslim friends back home. But the fact that I lived in a metropolitan city always made me celebrate every festival with equal excitement– be it Diwali, an Eid, or Christmas.
There were a lot more people than expected who attended the event – 160 instead of the 90 the Caucus ordered food for. The event was attended by members of the HKS Muslim community, members of the greater Boston Muslim community and non-Muslim HKSers and friends from around the world.
There are few things I believe that go a long way in bringing different people together – music, sports, a smile and of course food. The lip-smacking Middle-Eastern spread followed by dessert including honey-dripping dates (a typical Eid sweet) was gorged by everyone.
Kennedy School Professor Tarek Masoud opened the talk with his own epiphanies on why he celebrates Ramadan (also called Ramazan in some parts of the world), and how he was amazed at fellow Muslims, especially those in the Western world, who continued daily work at the office without even drinking a glass of water. Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. Eid marks the end of Ramadan and breaking of the fast.
The high-point of the evening followed when Abigail Balbale, an Islamic Historian and lecturer in Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University, a Harvard alumnus and the guest speaker for the evening addressed the audience. She gave a historic perspective of how Christianity, Islam and Judaism have had a shared community – where people practiced and preached aspects of both communities. “The essence of Eid is to be a part of one community, come together and learn from one another,”she added. It brings multiple communities together – and we saw that, right in front of our own eyes inside of the Malkin Penthouse.
I spoke to Ateeq Noshar, MPA/ID ‘10 from Afghanistan, who seemed really excited about celebrating Eid. The chirpiness in his voice and enthusiasm in his eyes when he wished his friends and classmates “Eid Mubarak” could not be missed.
He reminisced about home and how children would flock to the streets wearing their finest caps while on their way to the mosque and how women would dress in their best whilst shopping on the streets. After their prayers, women and men would wish each other irrespective of whether they knew each other or not; whether they were “friends or enemies.”
For Saima Bhatti, MC/MPA ‘10 who has been living in the United States since she was little, Eid signifies a time to come together, meet family and eat delicious food. She loves the fact that HKS is having this event since it highlights the cultural diversity at the school.
I found so much in common between what Tariq, Abigail, Ateeq and Saima felt - to all of them, Eid is a celebration of togetherness and bonding.
And it is at this point that I am reminded of Abigail concluding speech: “I hope that we can go forward from this moment (of celebrating Eid) and make our cultural and religious differences into a source of power; leave this institution (HKS) with enriched intellectualism gained from multicultural people around us.”
The “T” Connects More Than Stations
by Lakshmi Iyer, Culture Writer on September 16, 2009 in Culture
It was my very first day in Boston. The woman at the Harvard International Office (HIO) was trying to verify all my documents. Due to some lapse by the Immigration officer, I had to find my way from HIO in Harvard Square to the Boston Airport and back – all in a few hours. Obviously, the glitch got sorted, which is why I am here, writing this article for the Citizen. But the highlight of my seemingly frustrating travel escapade was that on that very day, I discovered I already felt totally connected with this new city. The reason for this ‘connection,’ surprisingly, was the “T” as they (well, we) call it here. I love the system and that even as a newbie, it provides me with the freedom to be independent in the city. It reminds me of my home, thousands of miles away in Mumbai, India – where I would take the local train to reach anywhere. The ease of travel through the Red, Green and the Blue makes me feel like quite a local!
Since that day, I have continued to notice the various aspects of life at HKS and in Boston that make me feel more at home. That sounds rather ironic considering the fact that I am an international student and I am supposed to feel estranged in a place where everything is new. Of course, there are things that are completely new for me – from the “big” things like the different cultures, habits, people and their names, to more mundane things like how to actually cross the street in Boston, how to place orders at different restaurants, how to prepare for the Boston weather and what the ‘right of way’ Is. I still remember how appalled I was when a speeding car stopped for me at a mall so that I could cross the street –a complete “princess-like” treatment for me compared to what I did back in Mumbai, where everyone including pedestrians and car-drivers dodge their way to get ahead!
But maybe, at some level I was looking out for those parallels so that I do feel at home. I couldn’t help but notice threads of similarity amongst all the differences.
Of course, the similarity in aspects such as the T, or the night life and malls, could purely be an effect of globalization, urbanization and the fact that I lived in a metropolitan city. It is the similarity in personalities of people and our aspirations in life that really interests me. After the zillion introductions I realized that one could always find something in common between you and the person with whom you’re speaking. It did not matter where the person lived or came from, even though that person probably came from a country which prior I had only seen on a world map, or on documentaries on the Discovery Channel.
But the connections do exist. There are people who love Indian food like I do or who are hooked on Facebook and the internet. There are people living far away from their loved ones and people who will freeze like me this winter. There are people who actually chose to go for the ‘walk’ like I did during orientation, and there are some who are still deciding whether or not math is our friend!
Anyway, I could go on with the seemingly random but I think relevant connections. The bottom line is that there are tons of visible differences, but an equal number of commonalities that run through all of us. At the end of the day, we at least have one thing in common – the intention to make a positive difference and the will to ask what each one of us can do.
