South Lyon East Student Council hosted a self defense class open to all council members on Thursday March 22, 2018. The class taught students some important tips on staying safe in their everyday lives.

All current freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior members of Student Council were invited to this event.

The students who attended the event learned a lot about staying safe and being aware in a world full of dangerous situations. Jillian Berry, senior class president, recalls what she learned about abnormal situations that could be a sign of danger,“Something that stuck with me is that when you are alone it is not weird to look around at what is normal and what is not.”

Seth Martin, instructor of the course and a previous law enforcement officer for eleven years, taught the group some helpful sayings that the students can remember in order to stay safe.

“Mr. Martin was breaking it down into a perpetrator’s 3 motives. 1. Property 2. Body 3. Life. Keeping these 3 things in mind really allows me as an individual to be aware of what a ‘bad guy’ may want from me. The better you know the perpetrator’s motives, the better you can react and handle the situation appropriately,” recounted Kaitlin Pyles, freshman class adviser, about the class.

With many students traveling out of Michigan for spring break, Anastasia Gulkewicz, the Student Council Executive Advisor, said hosting the class was really important for all students, “I believe it was necessary[to have the class] because when my students leave school, either on vacation or graduate to other ventures in life, they are out in the world and away from the protection of their friends, teachers, and familiar territory. The skills he talked about yesterday are important life skills, particularly in this day an age of technology taking up most of our awareness.”

It may be a common misconception that the class included learning how to do head locks, karate kicks, and punches, but in actuality the class was more about not getting in those situations in the first place.

Ms. Gulkewicz recalled,“I think at first students were disappointed that it wasn’t going to be more physical, but as Mr. Martin started describing the awareness, it hit home to a lot of students the danger that they put themselves in; then they [the students] started paying attention.”

Many of the council members were in attendance. According to Ms. Pyles, the event brought a sense of community to the council,“Whenever the council is altogether, it is great bonding experience. I think it creates a culture of community among members which helps untie freshman and seniors who maybe wouldn’t normally interact.”

Overall, the class was an educational opportunity for all the members of student council. Berry exclaimed, “ The class was fun, interactive, and educational. Everyone should attend a class like this in the future. I believe that there should be more classes like this offered for not just Student Council, but the the whole school.”