Journalism / Spring Break Safety: The Perceptive '08 Guide

Finished your midterm paper? Check.
Carrying enough money and the proper ID cards? Check.
Have plane ticket in pocket? Clean underwear for trip? Hope so, check and check.
Knowing proper safety measures? Of course, silly! Nothin’ bad will happen to me. Wrong!

If you’re a parent, then you’ve heard that stale line before. If you’re a student, then you love giving this “macho” line for the 450th time. You exchange final good-byes and board the plane: A week later, you become the “MTV” (Most Talked about Victim) on prime-time news.
Folks, it’s real simple: We’re living in turbulent times. And this isn’t grandpa’s world anymore. Spring Break is meant to be fun, and it should be. Nevertheless, it only takes one mishap to turn a fun week into a life-or-death situation.
Below, I’ve listed a safety guide (some from personal experience and others from common sense), which parents and students alike should checkout before heading out on Spring Break.

Don’t be another MTV
Stateside Safety Tips

1. Contacts Dear: Always leave your contact information with as many family members and friends as you can. Also, drop them a dime or a line. Call or e-mail them before you leave and when you arrive at your destination.

2. Lifelines: Always carry a list of emergency numbers. Home, work, and cell phone numbers of family and friends are helpful to have, even if you’re just walking the dog around the block. Moreover, have your local bank or credit card company number too.

3. Boo-Boo Kit: Always carry a small safety kit filled with proper medications, bandages, and condoms.

4. The Moo-la: You need it; you love it, and the person behind you does too. Don’t be a show-off! Carry a mixture of bills, from smallest to largest. Keep a small amount of money in one of your front pockets while the rest stays in your wallet in the other front pocket. If you need to, carry a fake wallet in your back pocket and fill it with paper money.

Bar Safety Tips

1. Tag Team: Always hang out with a trusted friend or a group of them. Use the strength-in-numbers (aka Buddy System). Keep a close eye on your friends and never break away from the pack. If one goes, you all go.

2. 5 ‘o clock somewhere: If you’re not legal age, just don’t drink. If you’re legal age, stick to one alcohol drink, i.e. Beer. Don’t drink on an empty stomach, and limit your alcohol intake to three per day.

3. The Pick-up Artist: Never give out personal information or take a stranger back to your hotel room. If you have to, give a fake name and tell the joker that your police officer father wouldn’t like an extra person in his room. Furthermore, always accept drinks (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) from your server. Never accept drinks open or not from strangers. And, of course, read up on the PD’s.
PD’s (Predator Drugs) are Rohypnol (Roofies), Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB), and Ketamine (Special K). Often these drugs are colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and they cause amnesia or dissociation, which can last for days.

4. The Lost Puppy: Never give off the deer-in-the-headlight appearance. Explore the city during daylight hours only. If you can’t find that place during business hours, then look for it the next day or give up on it altogether.

Abroad Tips

1. Follow The Yellow Brick Road: If you follow the tips above and use common sense, then you’ve covered a great deal already. However, you should be aware of basic laws both at home and abroad. Also, check the US State Department for travel warnings, and have some acceptable medical insurance that covers foreign travel.

There you have it! Nine common sense tips that parents and students should know before heading out this year. Parents share these tips with your love ones, and students share these with your peers. Spring Break only comes once a year, so please have fun and be safe.

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