FREEPORT – Kersti Bayne will go to college in Portland next fall, and envisions walking to or from class in the dark. She used to worry about that. Not so much, anymore.

Bayne and 14 other Freeport High School students just completed the school’s inaugural women’s self-defense class, a one-semester offering that concluded last Thursday. It is taught by physical education/health instructor Deb Draper.

Bayne is quick to say that she is not much of a “fitness person,” and doesn’t much like gym class. She does, however, like the idea of protecting herself from harm.

“There’s the matter of location,” she said, “getting across the street when it’s not well-lit, or ducking behind something, if someone is watching or following you, coming from a late class.”

Draper’s 80-minute class, held every other day for seniors and juniors, had much to do with what Bayne was talking about – avoiding dangerous situations. It also involved karate, kicking, punching and escaping from beneath someone. It is about empowerment, both Draper and her students say.

“I think the girls all enjoyed being in an all-girls class, and the thought that being fit is going to help you defend yourself better,” said Draper, who has been a high school physical education teacher for 20 years.

The women’s self-defense class is not about “beating people up,” Draper said. It’s about allowing girls to take care of themselves.

“To empower girls is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced,” Draper said. “You can depend on yourself and take care of yourself.”

Societal changes, Draper said, make self-defense for females that much more important.

“Society has put more pressure on you,” she said. “Women can do as much as men can do.”

Ninety percent of the class teaches avoidance of risky situations, both in and outside the home, Draper said.

Lee Brown, also a senior, said the skills she learned in the class are fundamental. She echoed Bayne’s concerns.

“You want to know basic skills before you set out in life, and go on your own,” Brown said.

The students have put together a handout, which includes a rape and abuse hotline, a list of risks and goals related to assault, and more. They also showed the faculty some of the basics they learned regarding self-defense.

“We have learned so much of how to not get in those situations,” said Taylor Schenker, a junior. “It makes you worry less.”

Schenker, who hopes to be a student/teacher for Draper next year, added that she likes getting in a circle with other girls, “kicking and punching.”

“We’ve all become so close,” she said. “I think it’s a class all girls should take before they leave high school.”

Schenker concurred with her teacher, that women don’t depend as much on men today, “so they must take care of themselves.”

Draper said she began to develop the idea for the class two years ago, when school resource officer Mike McManus was speaking to students during a senior seminar about how not to become victims. But McManus was not licensed to teach related skills, Draper said, so she applied for a Bradley Family Grant, and became certified as a self-defense instructor.

The next year, Draper worked with the Physical Education Department to create the class.

Freeport High School seniors Lee Brown, left, and Kersti Bayne say they have learned much about taking care of themselves in the women’s self-defense class offered for the first time at the school this year.