Spring Break
Spring break, here we come
Be prepared for anything and everything
By: Kaitlyn Drinkwater
Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Opinion
Spring break is almost here; it's time to cut loose and live it up. Friday night festivities start Mar. 13 and will continue until Mar. 22. This week is synonymous with traveling while attempting to drown all memories of school, exams and essays in a truly absurd amount of alcohol. According to "American Demographics 2005," more than 2.5 million students just go to the beach and, while there, consume about 20 drinks a day on average. If your idea of a good time is partying with strangers, forgetting the name of your hotel and vomiting a lot, spring break is your time to shine. Be careful, though; because of the miles traveled, the stunts undertaken and the general debauchery that surrounds it, spring break is not only a festive time of year, but also a dangerous one.
Last spring break, I made the pilgrimage to the snowy peaks of Colorado with 20 friends. We were one of many groups of college students hitting the slopes for the break. Our group of mostly sophomores and freshmen, including many first-time skiers, enjoyed great skiing conditions and perfect weather our first day, but the fun ended rather abruptly around 4 p.m. when my roommate lost control and veered into a tree, earning a head injury and a helicopter ride to the Denver Intensive Care Unit.
She became one of approximately 42 serious injuries incurred while skiing or snowboarding every year, according to the National Ski Area's Association. An additional 38 people die each year from the same cause, a statistic she avoided joining by wearing a helmet.
Considering that more than 12.2 million people ski or snowboard in the U.S. every year, serious injuries and fatalities on the slopes are fairly rare. Much less rare are the 1,700 deaths, nearly 600,000 injuries and nearly 100,000 annual cases of sexual assault or rape the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports are caused by students between 18-to 24-year-olds drinking.
Drinking is a privilege that comes with age in the hopes that by 21, people will be mature enough to be responsible for not only their own safety, but that of those around them. This is not always the case, but when a person drinks, they are responsible for what happens, like it or not. Part of being an adult - maybe the hardest part - is knowing when to stop. No one in college is in a rush to grow up. These are our "best years," after all, but a lapse in maturity now could have long-lasting consequences.
Added to the dangers of alcohol poisoning, car wrecks and ski accidents, students who travel in or near Mexico need to be more wary now than ever of the threat of drug-related violence. It's a little difficult to dodge bullets when drunk. Then again, it's a little hard to dodge them at all. However irresistible those Mai Tais in Cancun might look, keeping it stateside won't ruin all your fun. In fact, it just might save your life.
Spring break should be a time for fun and relaxation, but be aware of yourself and your surroundings. Unfortunate but true, bad things do happen to good Aggies, and they could happen to you. Don't let it be a week that changes your life for all the wrong reasons.
Last spring break, I made the pilgrimage to the snowy peaks of Colorado with 20 friends. We were one of many groups of college students hitting the slopes for the break. Our group of mostly sophomores and freshmen, including many first-time skiers, enjoyed great skiing conditions and perfect weather our first day, but the fun ended rather abruptly around 4 p.m. when my roommate lost control and veered into a tree, earning a head injury and a helicopter ride to the Denver Intensive Care Unit.
She became one of approximately 42 serious injuries incurred while skiing or snowboarding every year, according to the National Ski Area's Association. An additional 38 people die each year from the same cause, a statistic she avoided joining by wearing a helmet.
Considering that more than 12.2 million people ski or snowboard in the U.S. every year, serious injuries and fatalities on the slopes are fairly rare. Much less rare are the 1,700 deaths, nearly 600,000 injuries and nearly 100,000 annual cases of sexual assault or rape the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports are caused by students between 18-to 24-year-olds drinking.
Drinking is a privilege that comes with age in the hopes that by 21, people will be mature enough to be responsible for not only their own safety, but that of those around them. This is not always the case, but when a person drinks, they are responsible for what happens, like it or not. Part of being an adult - maybe the hardest part - is knowing when to stop. No one in college is in a rush to grow up. These are our "best years," after all, but a lapse in maturity now could have long-lasting consequences.
Added to the dangers of alcohol poisoning, car wrecks and ski accidents, students who travel in or near Mexico need to be more wary now than ever of the threat of drug-related violence. It's a little difficult to dodge bullets when drunk. Then again, it's a little hard to dodge them at all. However irresistible those Mai Tais in Cancun might look, keeping it stateside won't ruin all your fun. In fact, it just might save your life.
Spring break should be a time for fun and relaxation, but be aware of yourself and your surroundings. Unfortunate but true, bad things do happen to good Aggies, and they could happen to you. Don't let it be a week that changes your life for all the wrong reasons.
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