“I don’t know if I should be carrying this around because you have to have a firearm ID card,” Pedersen said. “I’m from Georgia where it’s completely legal if you’re over 18.”

Pedersen said she didn’t even realize mace was illegal in Massachusetts until she tried to board a plane, forgetting about the mace hanging on her keychain.

“A policeman talked to me at the airport, but I didn’t get into any trouble,” Pedersen said. “I just think it’s more important to be able to defend yourself.”

Coalition Against Sexual Assault Board Member Laura E. Openshaw ’05 said that the process of getting an FID is too difficult.

“Mace is primarily a defense weapon,” Openshaw said. “A fee and fingerprinting seem extreme.”

McNamara urged students to explore self-defense alternatives to mace and other chemical irritants.

“We sell shrill alarms for ten dollars, you could carry a whistle, or take Rape Aggression Defense classes,” McNamara said. “Travel in groups, walk in well-lit areas. The shuttle service and the walking escort services are all ways to stay safe.”

Some students feel so safe that they’ve ignored mace sent by concerned family members.

“I don’t carry around the mace my parents gave me because I haven’t even thought about it,” Tiffany T. Niver ’08 said. “I feel safe and it wouldn’t even be natural to carry around. It wouldn’t be much use in the bottom of my bag anyway, if I did get attacked.”

“My mother sent me up a new can of pepper spray, but I just haven’t carried it,” Head said.