Female students fight for security

By SHANNON LAUBENTHAL
Reporter

TAKE note, Creighton women: There is an event coming to campus that may help save your life.

On Saturday, The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation, Panhellenic Council and Pi Beta Phi sorority will offer a self-defense class from 10 a.m. to noon in the Skutt Student Center Ballroom.

Jill Leiker, an internationally known karate professional and executive director of TAKE Defense, along with her group of instructors, will teach women about self-defense awareness. The hands-on instruction will show participants what to look for and how to avoid being a victim.

“It’s very empowering. The girls are very enthusiastic and are really there to learn. [Self-defense] is a very important element of their lifestyle, and simple lifestyle changes make a huge difference in personal safety,” Leiker said.

In addition to the combat exercises, Roger Kemp, Ali’s father, along with a probation officer, will speak to the class about past offenders.

Roger and his wife started the TAKE foundation in honor of their daughter, Ali, who was murdered on June 18, 2002, while working at a neighborhood pool in a Leawood, Kan.

The program, which has been highlighted on “America’s Most Wanted” and “20/20,” was established to help prevent another life from being taken.

Ali was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority at Kansas State University, where she had just completed her freshman year.

“The sisters of Pi Beta Phi sorority at Creighton are very excited to bring the program to campus,” said Jacqueline Miller, Business senior and Pi Beta Phi member.

Pi Beta Phi hopes to make the program an annual event.

Leiker and her team travel to more than 20 universities and communities around the country with TAKE and the self-defense program. After this weekend, the TAKE Foundation will have trained more than 6,000 young women.

“For women, self-defense is not an option; it’s an obligation and a commitment to safety and well-being,” Leiker said. “I look at self-defense like I look at someone taking CPR. It’s something a woman should do every year, re-certifying and re-acquainting herself.”

Though the subject matter is serious, Jill Leiker said that participants should “look forward to a Saturday morning full of fun.”

She said the program is committed to raising awareness and empowering young women at Creighton and across the country.

“One thing I think is true about women: we’re more independent, more empowered on a daily basis,” Leiker said. “We’re different than our previous generation in terms of taking control of our lives. That in itself may make us a little more unaware of the dangers that are really supposedly surrounding us.”

Pi Beta Phi requests a $5 donation to participate in the clinic. The money will go to the TAKE Foundation.

The invitation is out, and the opportunity waits: TAKE it or leave it.