A Cheap Alternative, Road Trips

From coast to coast there is one thing that college students all seem to agree on, Spring Break costs money. This year more than ever students are being faced with the reality of what they can and cannot afford, and have been resorting to cheaper ways of vacationing, one in particular being road trips.

This year, college students from several states and backgrounds drove to the Gulf of Mexico beaches in Florida.

Oklahoma University student, Chase Westmoreland, and his friends decided to go to Destin, FL last minute when they realized how much money they could save by driving themselves. “We all realized we needed to cut back on spending this year, Destin was in a good price range so that all of our friends could be in one place,” explained Westmoreland.

The best part about Destin for Westmoreland and his friends was not having to buy $300 plane tickets. “We drove 12 hours through the night and got to the beach the next afternoon. It was a good way to get to know my friends on a deeper level after being cramped in a tight space for that long,” said Westmoreland.

For Eastern Carolina University student, Darcy Thomason, the drive to Florida was not as pleasant. “My four girlfriends and I drove my car, and half way there we got a flat tire. We were in the middle of nowhere, but thankfully my friend had her AAA card. None of us knew how to change a tire, so we had to call in reinforcements,” said Thomason.
For college students, Spring Break road trips are quite possibly their first experience traveling without parental guidance. Some do not think to prepare for the worst, and unfortunately in the event of a flat tire a spare can not usually exceed speeds of 45 mph.

University of Arkansas student Keegan Walhood said even though gas prices are going up, splitting the cost is not only cheaper, but easier than the price of a plane ticket for one. “The time it would have taken me to fly from Fayetteville, then to Dallas, then to Panama City Airport, and finally drive the thirty minutes to our house would have almost equalled the 13 hour drive,” said Walhood.

Though gas money was a big deal for some, the biggest concern for Texas Christian University student Michael Berndt was the miles he put on his 2005 Denali. “I am a pledge in my fraternity and was volunteered to drive some of my fraternity brothers. I didn’t mind driving except my truck is five years old and could’ve done without the road trip,” said Berndt.

A group of University of Oklahoma students decided to bypass the miles on their own cars by renting a vehicle from El Monte RV rental. Their final destination was Key West, but decided to “stop by nearly every spring break hotspot on the gulf coast on the way,” said Daniel Jones.

The eight young men decided this $450 a piece all inclusive vacation was the best way to fully experience their Spring Break.

Underage Drinking in South Padre Island

Each year over 100,000 college Spring Breakers flock to South Padre Island, Texas for sand, booze and a good time with friends. Although the majority of their trips are simply about fun, some show concern for the large percentage of these students who are under the legal drinking age.

Some come out in “spring break mode” ready to party and not have a care in the world. The thought of bong-guzzling, keg-standing and shot-gunning are exciting adjectives to these students. Means of getting drunk faster, such as those previously stated, are their prime goal.

Demonstration of one of the ways Spring Breakers binge brink.

Kimberly Martin, a 19-year-old student from University of Southern Florida, admits that she loves to party and consume alcohol however she can get it.

“If someone offers me to take a beer bong, of course I’ll take on the challenge. Drinking helps me meet new people and make new friends; it’s great,” Martin said.

Zachary Pace, a 23-year-old senior at Texas State University, sees underage drinking as a normal and easy-to-understand concept. In his mind, there should be no repercussions for engaging in this sort of activity.

“Not only do the underage drinkers get tickets, but also the person ‘supplying’ them can get one too. I hosted a party one time at my house and I ended up going to jail because there were people drinking underage,” Pace said.

Although many Spring Breakers are fine with those who are drinking under the age of 21, some feel it is a problem that should be looked at more closely.

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) Police Officer Mathew Harris tries to prevent college students from engaging in illegal activities. Their health is one of his main concerns. He has been patrolling the beaches of South Texas for the last 15 years.

“Binge drinking is one of the biggest problems we see as [TABC] officers, especially in students under the age of 21. The majority of kids that we see being sent to the hospital due to this are in the age group of 17 to 20 year olds,” Harris said. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States is by ages 12 to 20 years old. Binge drinking constitutes 90 percent of this alcohol consumption.

Vicky Gonzalez, a 21 year old from the University of Southern Florida, tries to find ways to help prevent this statistic. She knows that binge drinking occurs, but believes that there could be some helpful ways to handle this.

“Coca-Cola is the sponsor for the entire beach almost the entire month of March. However, I didn’t once see a product of theirs being passed out. If they did this, I think it would increase the beach-goers intake of non-alcoholic drinks, which would benefit everyone greatly,” Gonzalez said.

Ultimately, the decision to drink or not is a personal one. Underage drinking has been popular for Spring Breakers in South Padre Island for many years. While laws and limitations regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages exist for the health and safety of those who partake, eliminating underage drinking is not likely to happen. Unless alcohol is banned altogether on the beach, this situation will most likely continue to exist.

Coca-Cola Beach.

Why Did Spring Break Come Early This Year?

Many Bobcats at Texas State University are unhappy about the decision to have Spring Break a week earlier than the surrounding universities this year, and wonder what the reason was behind it all.

SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) scheduled visit to the Texas State campus had determined when students would leave for Spring Break. The SACS accreditation team was on Texas State’s campus from March 23^rd to the 25^th this past week for the reaffirmation of the universities accreditation. Every 10 years SACS visits the university to evaluate its academic programs and policies.

Texas State had decided two years ago that it would be best if the students were already in session when SACS arrived. “The president and the cabinet felt it was important for students, faculty and staff to be on campus the week prior and the week of their visit,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing Dr. Michael R. Heintze. “Therefore, the decision was made in the summer of 2008 to change the spring break dates, and the 2010 academic calendar was immediately modified.”

In 2008 the university appointed certain staff members of Texas State to the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) Theme Development Team to examine the universities QEP and propose new ideas and themes for the plan. “Over the past 24 months, faculty and staff have worked to prepare our accreditation self-study report,” said Heintze.

Part of this report contains information about PACE Personalized (Academic and Career Exploration, pace.txstate.edu). This web site will help incoming freshmen choose a major and establish their career goals. PACE calls their web site “a one-stop location for personalized freshman advising, career planning and mentoring.”

The report also contains other plans that will improve Texas State’s academic programs such as: “academic and career planning assignments in the University Seminar, academic and career planning activities in the colleges, and personalized portfolio technology that tracks learning experience.” The final stage in the accreditation process involves a site visit by the SACS team.

Of course, the only part of the process the students had a problem with was the site visit that interfered with the timing of Spring Break. “We don’t all have our friends here at Texas State,” said George Maturino, a radiation therapy major. “They’re everywhere else and spring break is a good time to meet up with them.”

Some of the students were also frustrated about not seeing much of their family over Spring Break as well. “My mom and dad were at work, and my sister was still in Dallas going to school while I stayed home,” said Nisha Dhagat, a CLS major. “I would’ve liked to have spent more time with them over the break.”

Overall, even though the students were disappointed about the scheduling of Spring Break this year, they understood the value of this important process. “It is important that we don’t lose our accreditation, so that we are able to get jobs with our degrees after graduation,” said Tanya Silva, an art history major at Texas State. “So, as long as we don’t lose our accreditation, I’m fine with having spring break a week earlier.”

http://www.avpie.txstate.edu/SACS/

http://www.sacs-qep.txstate.edu/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWZST8nRJ3g

Bikini, check. Sunscreen, check. Condoms, check.

Spring Break is a rite of passage and national holiday for most Texas State University students, involving hot sandy beaches, crash dieting, binge drinking, and of course sex.

The key though is to be safe and smart. Unprotected sex can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that there is a strong relationship between heavy drinking and unprotected sex.

It's not uncommon to see people either highly intoxicated or passed out on the beach. This level of intoxication leads to bad decisions and impaired judgement.

Angela Hoffman, a 21-year old Austin Community College student, is going to South Padre Island for Spring Break. Hoffman says she plans to keep an eye on her friends while at the beach.

“Alcohol and hormones make for a bad situation, people don’t use logic when deciding to get together,” Hoffman said.

Miranda Jones, 23-year-old Texas State student, says that it’s best to think ahead when planning a Spring Break trip. Jones thinks having a plan helps people stay safe.

“If you know you are going to have sex, carry a condom on you,” says Jones. “You can’t rely on a guy to have one, because most of the time they don’t. It’s up to both people to be prepared, and that means you should be fully prepared in case the other person isn’t.

According to the CDC, condoms are 99% effective at preventing pregnancy and prevent most forms of STDs when used correctly. Most condoms are fairly cheap too, costing less than $10 a pack.

Brittany Clevenger, a 23-year-old Texas State student, has been to South Padre the past three years, and knows the cost of unprotected sex.

“I had a friend that got pregnant last year, and she decided to keep it,” Clevenger said. “Luckily it was her and her boyfriends, and I know that’s normally not the case during spring break. But it ended up ruining their relationship, and they broke up.”

Other students like Stacey Crawford, 22, decide to go for more relaxing destinations. Crawford says that even though its much calmer than South Padre, Port Aransas still has the same issues when it comes to sexual health.

“There are some bad stories out there,” Crawford said. “I try to avoid the party destinations. Although anywhere you go, people view Spring Break the same. It’s a time to relax, have fun and celebrate not being in school. Drinking and sex just happen to fall into that category. People just need to remember to be smart.”

Texas State Students Travel to Cancun for Spring Break

Recently, Texas State University students from San Marcos, Texas traveled to Cancun, Mexico for their Spring Break fun. Many students leave with excitement and anticipation with the dangers of Mexico in the back of their mind.

Every year about 100,000 Spring Breakers travel to Mexico to enjoy beautiful scenery and Spring Break festivities. They pay a large price for a week of fun mostly consisting of drinking, partying, tanning, meeting new people and enjoying the week away from school, but with many worried parents back at home.

When students go on Spring Break parents typically have the same concerns, but when traveling to Mexico the worries seem to be endless. Everywhere you look there are stories about drug trafficking, human trafficking, kidnapping, rape, robberies, murders and violence. "Know Before You Go" With warnings everywhere, students still insist to travel out of the country.

You can imagine the thoughts that go through a parents head when their son or daughter comes to go them asking to go to Mexico for Spring Break. “I think everyone’s parents have reservations about them going to Mexico especially when you’re a girl because of how the media portrays the dangers like Sex Trafficking, kidnapping and drug wars. They knew I’d be drinking and that made them very concerned,” said Texas State junior Sierra Lassetter. This isn’t always just the case for girls; male students face the same risks. “My mom was so worried about me going to Mexico, she made me check in everyday, have a “code text” if something was wrong, lectured me on staying in groups and watching my drink at all times. At first, I was a little bit annoyed with the extensive lecture, but I knew it was just because she was nervous,” said Texas State sophomore Kevin McGehee.

Some students were disappointed by that fact that they weren’t allowed to go on Spring Break in Mexico. “After I took off work and paid for half of my trip myself, my mom freaked out and wouldn’t let me go, but even though I was mad I understood,” said junior Skye Zinn. When you see or read the horror stories, as a parent the main thought is you don’t want that to be your son or daughter on the news. “My mom thought it was just too dangerous, I went anyways with only my dad knowing and looking back I can see why she was so against it, I should’ve told her where I was just in case something happened to me and my dad couldn’t be reached,” said Texas State sophomore Susanna Patterson.

While traveling anywhere for Spring Break, there are different risks with the different places you go. “My mom was worried, but that’s basically wherever I travel, but she knows that I’ll be smart about my actions and decisions. One of her main worries for Mexico was that if something happened to me I wouldn’t receive proper healthcare,” said senior Samantha Fajardo.

Graduating seniors celebrate Spring Break: The last hurrah

By: Megan Moede

Spring break is a time for partying and relaxing for most college students, but seniors experience their last spring break of their academic career.

Some students plan their Spring Breaks out to make sure they get a lot done, but some like the freedom to be less organized. “I planned most of my events for certain nights but not much for the day time,” said Jenna Price, a senior at A&M University. “I didn’t like to be too scheduled, though. The only thing I had to do was make breakfast for my family.”

Jenna Price's family dinner picture (courtesy of Jenna Price)

Some students do not have the choice of having an open schedule. “I wish I had gotten to have more fun with my friends,” said Aimee Villalobos, a senior at Texas State University. “I had to work a whole bunch. I worked Tuesday through Friday of Spring Break week. Receiving my paycheck was the highlight of my break.”

Seniors have the opportunity to advance their further education during the break. “I accepted the admission decision and financial assistance from USF College of Marine Science,” said William Abbott, a senior at University of West Florida. “I’ve been applying to and visiting schools all spring break. Usually during previous Spring Breaks I wouldn’t plan my Spring Break around future schooling at all.”
Photo of author Megan Moede and William Abbott, courtesy of Adam Wiencken


Spring Break is also useful for seniors to narrow down career choices. “I finally have a job lined up for after I graduate,” said Chris Hogan, a senior at Texas A&M University. “I was offered an amazing job for after graduation. It is great news, but the rest of the break was disappointing compared to other Spring Breaks when I got to do things not related to work.”

Some seniors might regret not spending their last Spring Break the way they had hoped. “I always wished I could have gotten to travel more. I love seeing new things and wouldn’t have complained if I traveled more,” said Chris Collette, senior at University of Massachusetts. “I am happy I got to relax on my last break. Though I’m sad I didn’t get to travel in any of my Spring Breaks, I’m taking a very heavy course load this semester so relaxation was my top priority.”

University staff might shy away from letting a break distract seniors trying to stay on track to graduation. “There are students who see this as a moment in their life that deserves a celebration, but I would also assume that there are more people who look at it as just another excuse to have a party,” said Texas State math lecturer Jarred Knittel.

Not all teachers shy away from the idea of a weeklong break. “I think that Spring Break is great. It is at a time when the weather is changing and students start to get antsy,” said Javier Garcia, an undergraduate admissions counselor at Texas State University. “I think that there is an adjustment period when students come back to school but it is a quick one because finals are right around the corner.”

Because it is the graduating senior’s last break before they graduate, there might be a tendency to treat it differently than any other Spring Break they’ve had. “I told myself I could let go and spend a bit more money, but I think I ended up spending less than any other year,” said James Kerwin, a senior at Indiana University. “The only thing I sacrificed was some sleep, cash, and some skin-cancer-free years of my life with all the sun I got.” James Kerwin getting some sun at the game

Local coffee shop hosts bimonthly night of music and dance

Tantra Coffeehouse celebrates Tribal Night, a gathering of local musicians and performers, on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of every month.

Tribal Night brings many different art forms together and culminates as a celebration of tribal music and dance. Local musicians are encouraged to bring all types of instruments to a relaxed jam session and other acts such as belly dancing and fire spinning are performed to rhythm of the music. Food and drink are provided to spectators inside the coffee house while the performance goes on in the partially covered backyard area.

“We designed the backyard as a comfortable outdoor venue. We have all sorts of different music almost every day of the week and Tribal Night is a branch of that,” says Tantra employee and local fire spinner Cassandra Lien. Cassandra has worked for Tantra for over three years and enjoys performing at Tribal Night because of the exciting atmosphere and artistic appreciation.

“Expect a lot of gypsy-like people who are enthusiastic about the arts,” says Lien. “It’s a nice way to express yourself and also be inspired by others.”

Tantra employee Cassandra Lien dances in front of Tribal Night spectators.

While the most prominent musical aspect of the night is the drum circle, musicians of all types are encouraged to take part in the event and practically no instrument is off limits to the jam session. Local musician and Texas State senior Mary Duffey said that the relaxed feel of the performance is great for networking with other musicians.

“You get to meet a wide range of musicians. You can make your own connections,” Duffey said regarding the performance.

One of the most memorable aspects of Tribal Night is fire spinning. Performers light various props including chains, torches and hula hoops and perform stunts and dance maneuvers in front of the crowd. Lien began fire spinning shortly after Tribal Night started and now performs at nearly every event. She feels that fire spinning is an extension of dance and she began out of sheer curiosity.

“When Tribal Night started I was in to belly dancing. From there, another performer handed me a lit set and the smell and sounds of the fire made me want to try and spin.” Hannah Jordan, a Texas State graduate, feels that fire spinning has become her favorite staple of the event.

“I love tribal night because it’s great to see strong women do amazing things with fire,” Jordan said.

Tantra has become a popular hangout in San Marcos and some consider it a community center with a wild side. Sophomore Erin Cooper first discovered the shop during an event her freshman year and enjoyed many things about her experiences at Tantra.

“The people there look absolutely crazy, in a good way,” said Cooper. “The coffee is cheap and good and the people are really friendly.”

“Tantra is very open. We accept people from all walks of life. It’s also a community center in a lot of ways,” said Lien. “People are always here.”

Tantra is located at 217 W. Hopkins St. and operates from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. every day except Saturday, on which they close at 1 a.m.