A coalition of university agencies and student organizations plan to offer Rape Aggression Defense System classes to the Georgetown community this fall.

The program is being organized by a partnership that includes the Department of Public Safety, University Human Resources, the Georgetown University Student Association, the Student Safety Advisory Board and the Georgetown University Women’s Center. GUSA President Calen Angert confirmed that funding for the classes were provided in last year’s GUSA budget.

The RAD classes will begin in mid-October, according to DPS Crimes Prevention Coordinator Joseph Smith. Intended for both students and employees, the program would combine lectures and demonstrations to teach self-defense skills to women.

“These inaugural classes will give people the skills to deal with situations where they’re being assaulted. It won’t prevent an incident, but it gives people tools to use,” Smith said.

The coalition hopes to offer the program to every interested individual, but it will be constrained by the number of instructors and available equipment.

“We will try to accommodate everyone, but if demand exceeds our ability to supply the training, we will have to waitlist people,” Smith said. “We will do our best to get everyone trained who requests it, however.”

The RAD course is set to start small but grow with demand in future years. The program’s current focus is on the women in the university community, but according to Smith, the program may eventually be offered to men, women and children in the entire Georgetown neighborhood.”