__________________________________________________________________________________________

TCNJ students practice facing attackers in rape aggression defense program

View the Slideshow >>

(Gallery by Christina Izzo/The Times of Trenton)

By Christina Izzo/The Times of Trenton
on March 07, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated March 07, 2013 at 7:02 AM

EWING — Dressed in red protective gear, Bill Bastedo looked like a giant Michelin man, or a kung fu warrior.

He was neither. Bastedo, a retired police officer, was playing human punching bag for a group of women at The College of New Jersey. He took plenty of kicks and punches, happily: The students were learning how to protect themselves and take control of dangerous attackers, he said.

“It’s very rewarding for both the students and the instructors,” Bastedo said.

The students at the class last Sunday included college sophomore Jen Sharo, who said the prospect that she could be assaulted some day had driven her to join the the college’s rape aggression defense program.

“I wanted to know that I’ll be able to defend myself if I had to,” she said, after fighting off Bastedo during class. “I feel so much better today. He’s a big guy… It makes me feel like I can actually do it.”

One by one, the students put on protective pads and took turns facing Bastedo in three scenarios. Each time, the students used their newfound skills to escape Bastedo to cheers from their fellow classmates.

“You panic for a second,” TCNJ senior Danielle Cassidy said. “But then you remember all your training and that just because he’s bigger then me doesn’t mean he’s bigger than my spirit. That’s what I kept telling myself.”

The course has been offered at The College of New Jersey since 2009 but has been generating a buzz lately thanks to changes such as a new instructor, a new class time and some word-of-mouth marketing. TCNJ campus police officer Jim Lopez, who started teaching the 12-hour course in October, said he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the program when the position became available.

“One of the things I like to do is I like to help, I like to teach,” he said. “I see that this is something I can do on my part to help students evolve and become better people.”

The program, a basic self-defense course for women, takes place over four 3-hour Sunday classes. It is open to anyone but students get priority, Lopez said.

The class begins with Lopez showing students basic skills and then helps them improve, aiming to teach them something they never learned before, he said.

Lopez was minimally involved in the program for years, he said. When he became the teacher, he jumped in by telling everyone he saw about the course, he said.

“Part of my job as campus police officer is I constantly walk the halls like a school resource officer,” he said. “So I always bring up the course.”

Lopez has been averaging 10 students per class, he said, and was recently asked by a sorority to run a one-day class for its members.

“By word of mouth, students are starting to learn about this program more,” he said “Now they’re more interested.”

Lopez, who on Sunday was teaching the last session of the most recent class, said he sees his students gain “a lot of self-confidence” during the course.

“The students themselves tell me, when they first start this class, that they’re a little bit nervous,” he said. “They’re a little bit nervous about today’s last and final exercise. But come the final exercise, they realize that they have it in themselves to do it.”

The final class is designed to be as close to the real experience of an assault as possible, Lopez said. Students suited up with pads on Sunday and went through a series of real-life scenarios to test their new skills.

To make the experience all the more realistic, Lopez brought in Bastedo, who the students had never seen before, to play the role of assailant.

Bastedo, a recently retired West Windsor police officer, said he earned his rape aggression defense or RAD certification through his current employer, Princeton HealthCare System, which runs some programs at Princeton University.

“The hospital has me go over to the university to run simulations or teach,” he said.
“They’re trying to team up with The College of New Jersey and help out with RAD also.”

Bastedo said he puts on the “red man suit” and plays the aggressor occasionally to help students use their skills and prepare for a potential future attack.

TCNJ’s campus is relatively safe, but students may encounter a situation elsewhere where they need their new skills, at home home or while traveling in unfamiliar places, Lopez said. “It’s good to be safe wherever you are,” he said.

He said he hopes to expand the program beyond the entry-level course offered at the college, bringing in other officers and starting courses for children and senior citizens.

Lopez’s students praised his dedication to the course and the confidence he helped them develop in handling tough situations. Sophomore Vicki Yang said past experiences have shown her the importance of knowing how to defend yourself.

“I got mugged before,” she said. “Now I feel much more protected. Now I’m ready to go.”

Contact Christina Izzo at cizzo@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5688.

(To view original Times article on nj.com, click underlined title above)

Published: Monday, June 11, 2012, 8:00 AM

David Karas/The TimesA TCNJ Campus Police vehicle is parked at the station on Sunday

Nine police officers at The College of New Jersey were honored for saving lives, catching crooks and investigating crimes during a ceremony in West Long Branch on Wednesday, the campus police department said.

The awardees recognized by the New Jersey College and University Public Safety Association included Sgt. Ray Scully and officer John Turner, who revived a female student who collapsed in a bathroom in October after injecting heroin, the college said in a news release.

Sgt. Michael Bell received an award for his dedication over his career. In 2009 he saved the life of a 6-year-old who had a severe allergic reaction and stopped breathing, and he revamped the department’s crime reporting, the release said.

Detective Christopher Russomanno, officers Bobby Villa and Julia Verwers, and Ewing officer Jeffrey Caldwell were recognized for catching a man who fled to a college parking deck after severely beating his girlfriend last June, police said. Villa was injured while arresting the man.

Russomanno and Verwers and Detective Matthew Norton of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office were also honored for their investigation of a reported sexual assault in late August that was found not to have occurred.

The association honored Sgt. C. Matthew Mastrosimone and officer Michael Sedwick for arresting a man allegedly attempting to shoplift $400 in textbooks from the campus bookstore. The man had prior arrests on four other state college campuses for similar offenses.

Russomanno and Bordentown Township Detective Salvatore Guido were recognized for their efforts in identifying a former TCNJ employee who used a campus-owned computer to commit identity theft.As part of the ceremony, TCNJ Police Chief John Collins was installed as president of the association for a one-year term.

Contact David Karas at (609) 989-5731 or dkaras@njtimes.com.

The Times of Trenton

Follow the Times of Trenton on Twitter.