Shute

Heather met Jason in the stacks in the campus library. She was looking for information on Poe for a paper she was doing for her Great American Writers class -- so was he. Wow, something in common and he's cute too.

Heather and Jason studied in the library together a few times and they even went out for pizza with some of Heather's friends.

Jason passed the friend test.

So Heather was looking forward to their first real date. She had been thinking about it all day. What should she wear? What would they say? She was excited.

Jason arrived on time and they headed out for their date. On the way Jason said he had forgotten his wallet. He had to have his wallet, so Jason made a detour to his apartment.

Jason invited her up saying it would only take a second. Heather went with him. She really was curious about his place and how he lived.

Inside the apartment Jason began to show her around -- the wallet forgotten.

He clearly had something else on his mind. Heather became a little nervous, anxious perhaps. Jason wasn't acting like the Jason she knew. She decided to leave.

Jason grabbed her and before she knew it, he had her on the couch. He was strong. And he was heavy on top of her. And he definitely had one thing on his mind and he was going to get it.

Suddenly Jason grabbed his eyes and rolled to the floor giving her a chance for escape. She took it...

What happened?

Well, Heather was smart; she was prepared. Sure, Jason seemed like a nice guy, he was cute, and he had even passed the friend test. But Heather's mom had taught her well and given her the tools that she needed including a beautiful onyx ring which she religiously wore on her right index finger. Heather's mom raised her to be confident, strong, and certainly no one's victim.

And that's what happened. Young confident Heather wearing her beautiful onyx ring went out on a date -- hopeful, but not blind -- with Jason who seemed like such a nice guy.

Jason thought he could do what he wanted; he had before.

But Heather was different. She listened to her mother and she wore her ring.

With her beautiful onyx ring, Heather stopped Jason with a blast of temporary pepper spray pain right in his face.

While Heather and Jason aren't real people and this isn't a real story -- it could easily be. Date rape is a fact of life especially in college life. Heather could be any college girl -- she could be you, your friend, your daughter. And Jason? He could be any college boy...really. What does a date rapist look like? Do you know one?

Date rape, sometimes called acquaintance rape, goes unreported most of the time because the girl feels ashamed, embarrassed, or perhaps that she somehow "asked for it." But even in the unlikely event that a date rape is reported, too many college police departments don't take it seriously simply because the girl knew her attacker.

So what can be done?

Be like Heather's mom. Talk to your friends, sisters, and daughters. Help them to be prepared, not paranoid -- just prepared. And give them the self defense tools that they need like a pepper spray ring.

And be like Heather...Stand up for yourself -- Refuse to be a victim.

Amy Herndon is an authority on self defense. She has two web sites that have more information, as well as, tools that you can use to protect yourself. www.azhselfdefense.com and www.azhsurveillance.com