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Fostering a Culture of Awareness and Empowerment
June 2018
As Officer Dixon looks on a student practices R.A.D. techniques on Officer Rogowski.
Ms. Plant takes down her aggressor.
Professor Jerry Williams tries working with the Fatal Vision Goggles as Gateway student Tyler Martinelli looks on
Look around Quinsigamond Community College’s campus and on most days you’ll most likely find QCC’s Community Outreach Officer Catherine Dixon teaching a course, discussing safety issues or engaging with the entire QCC community in a hands-on activity.
Recently Officer Dixon held morning sessions for a group of Gateway students, which dealt with Sexual Assault Awareness, Domestic Violence Awareness, Risk Reduction, and Alcohol and Drug Awareness. Safety plans and available resources were also part of the discussions.
“We talked about the actual definitions and perceptions of Assault and Domestic Violence. We talked about the differences. We talked about fondling, touching, cat calls, slang words and consent,” Officer Dixon said. “Liz Woods (Dean of Compliance) did a presentation on Title IX and Tina Wells (Social Worker/Mental Health Counselor) did a presentation on resources and confidentiality. We talked about being a bystander and how to be a good bystander.”
The students discussed judgment and resources during the segment on Alcohol and Drug Awareness.
The students did an activity on mindfulness and judgment using chocolate as the example.
“We talked about how once you get a small regulated amount it becomes all you can think of, want and it overwhelms you. We walked through a day in a life of an addict and a day in the life of a family member and how it affects them and branches out to others and the community they live and work in,” Officer Dixon continued.
To demonstrate what its like to be impaired, students and those walking by were given the chance to try Fatal Vision goggles, a simulation tool used to show the impairment at six distinct BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) levels.
Students and faculty tried walking a line, pouring a drink, throwing a ball into a basket and catching a ball wearing the goggles. The goggles simulated the effect of alcohol impairment. Participants wearing the goggles showed impaired targeting skills, slower judgment, diminished focus, delayed reactions, reduced peripheral vision and a loss of balance and equilibrium.
“The googles deliver a memorable experience about the misuse and abuse of alcohol,” Officer Dixon added.
In addition to the morning sessions, five female students participated in a Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) class that was held in the afternoons. Officer Dixon taught the R.A.D. course with the aid of Becker Police Department Officer Cory Rogowski and Lt. Joe Bonczek. R.A.D. Systems of Self-Defense is a program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques. This is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk education and avoidance, while progressing on to basics of hands-on defense training. The program is taught by R.A.D. certified instructors and is offered at college campuses and universities across the country.
Officer Dixon will be offering another Rape Aggression Defense Class in September. This is a 12-hour class that is broken up into four, three-hour days (Sept. 18, Sept. 20, Sept. 25 and Sept. 27 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.). The class is held at QCC’s Athletic Center basketball court and is free to the QCC community. To register email Officer Dixon at cdixon [at] qcc.mass.edu or call 508.854.4221.
