Spring break is next week, which often means travel and celebration for students. Although it’s a time for relaxation and fun, students need to be careful and stay safe during their week off.
Whether students are traveling or staying in the area, local officials have recommended certain precautions for students.
Melissa Orgill from the Idaho State University Wellness Center had safety tips for students planning road trips.
“If your vacation plans include driving long distances, ensure adequate rest before travel,” said Orgill via email. “If possible, invite a travel companion to keep you company, make small talk, assist with tasks such as music selection, navigation and noticing if you are feeling drowsy. Trade off driving responsibilities.”
Planning any travel in advance is recommended by Orgill. She said to research spring break crime rates in the area before traveling and plan to go with a responsible group of friends.
Pocatello Police Lieutenant Paul Manning said students should “go with friends and leave with friends” in any new area. When going to ATMs, especially out of the country, Manning recommends going in a group because those areas attract criminals who prey on unaware spring breakers.
When drinking, students need to have a designated driver and a “designated watcher” according to Manning. He said that a person should watch their friends for over-intoxication, keep an eye on friends’ drinks to ensure no drugs are slipped in and prevent friends from leaving with strangers.
“We want everyone to have fun, whatever you do,” said Manning. However, he said even when students have the best of intentions, other people in the area may not.
Manning advised women to be especially careful. If a stranger offers to buy a drink, go to the bar with that person and get it straight from the bartender so there is no opportunity for date rape drugs to be sneaked into the drink.
Some indications of the ingestion predatory drugs include “extreme wooziness, confusion, difficulty standing and slurring speech,” according to Public Safety’s Carol Prescott. “If you see these signs in a friend, do your friend duty and take them back to the hotel, or to a hospital if symptoms are severe.”
Manning and ISU Public Safety recommend requesting hotel rooms higher than the first floor but below the sixth.
“First floor rooms are easier to break into, and rooms above the sixth floor are sometimes too high for fire ladders to reach,” wrote Prescott.
In addition to travel and alcohol safety, Prescott recommends students don’t forget basic self-care practices.
“Don’t be a lobster. Use sunscreen of at least SPF 15 and reapply often. Pay extra special attention to ears, nose, face and shoulders. Fair skinned friends should wear sunglasses and even a hat,” said Prescott.
Orgill had similar advice, saying, “Nothing will ruin spring break faster than sunburn.”