By Heather McKee
By HEATHER MCKEE
Five-year-old Nathaniel Black was not sure what to think as he walked into the boisterous classroom filled with 10 other children. School was out for the summer, but Nathaniel had decided to enroll in another class, one aimed to teach him safety precautions in any situation.
RadKIDS, which stands for resisting aggression defensively, was introduced to BYU by the University Police Department, and is dedicated to teaching boys and girls ages five to 10-years-old how to be safe and knowledgeable in difficult circumstances.
The classes are offered to children of BYU students, professors and faculty members.
'The kids are learning how to recognize, avoid and escape hazardous or abusive situations,' said Susan Gunnell, secretary specialist of the University Police Department.
Similar to the rape aggression defense program for women, radKIDS expounds on sexual assault as well as other safety aspects. It goes over stranger danger, the buddy system, poison control and good, bad and uncomfortable touch.
'Kids nowadays need to be more aware of what''s going on,' Gunnell said, recognizing the world has changed since she was a child and could be gone all day without any parental supervision.
Gunnell said BYU is just like any other community and the members of this community need to be aware of precautions that can make them safe.
'Many students have the mindset that this is the Lord''s university and nothing bad can happen here,' said Randy O''Hara, crime prevention specialist at the University Police Department. 'They are wrong.'
O''Hara tries to educate students that BYU is not resistant to the evils of the world. He said he believes it''s important to teach the children of BYU''s students and faculty because he hopes they will be going to school here someday and will be more equipped to make good and safe decisions and will be prepared if a threatening situation ever occurrs.
'There is no alligator-filled mote surrounding the campus keeping the good people in and the bad people out,' O''Hara said. 'We''re trying to teach kids they have control of what happens to them.'
Julie Black, Nathaniel''s mom, said one of the greatest things radKIDS did for her typically reserved son was give him self-confidence.
'He''d tell us the three things all radKIDS know and all the different things he had learned,' Julie said.
The children are taught that they don''t have the right to hurt anyone, no one has the right to hurt them and if someone does it''s okay to tell.
'It is very empowering to them,' Gunnell said. 'They were so excited and couldn''t wait until the next class.'
The University Police Department was thrilled at the success of the first radKIDS at BYU and are looking forward to many more. The next session will begin on July 14 with the five classes spread over three weeks. There is a $30 fee per child. Anyone interested in enrolling their child in the next session of classes can contact Susan Gunnell at 422-5649.
The three principles that all radKIDS follow:
1. No one has the right to hurt you.
2. You don''t have the right to hurt anyone else, including yourself, unless someone is hurting you.
3. It''s not your fault, so it''s okay to tell.