Friday, March 26, 2010

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 23rd to the 25th 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 2nd and 4th 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.







An Event for a Future












SAN MARCOS- Texas State University’s Career Services department hosted a bi-annual Job and Internship Expo Wednesday, March 24 at Strahan Coliseum.


The expo is hosted by Career Services twice a year to get Texas State University students and alumni together with potential employers.


According to LaTonya Henry, assistant director of Career Services, 700 invitations to attend the expo are sent to corporations and businesses. Of these 700 invited companies, 71 attended.


“The ones who respond are the ones who are looking to actually hire,” said Henry. “Most of them come here because they want to recruit Bobcats.


Many of the recruiters at the expo were Texas State alumni themselves. Keri Mitchell, district manager from Ryder Logistics, graduated from Texas State University and found his job with Ryder at a past expo.


“I was on the other side of all this 12 months ago,” said Mitchell. “I seriously came to the event thinking I could just hand out some resumes and maybe make a contact or two, but no, I actually got a job.”


The expo is organized in full by the Career Services department. The directors send out information about the event to all the employers on the Jobs4cats database.


The other side of Career Services job is reaching out to students and alumni. The expo depends on the students and alumni showing up. The more students, the more inclined companies are to attend future Texas State University events.


Chris Jones, career advisor with career services, is one employee who participates in this outreach. “I send out emails, make phone calls and host events like the one we had in the quad yesterday to get people to show up,” said Jones.


Jones said his goal was to get 1500 students and alumni to attend the expo, but usually 900 is the most that will show up.


The success of the expo also depends on student acceptance. Kyle Hinojosa, 24-year-old Electronic Media major, didn’t get what he expected but still enjoyed the event.


“There weren’t as many media outlets as I wanted,” said Hinojosa. “I was expecting more newspapers and PR firms. It seemed like an over load of finance and business oriented jobs.”


Hinojosa went on to express satisfaction in getting his name out amongst the employers at the expo. Handing out resumes was a popular practice for the evening.


The event called for professional attire, although not required.



Fraternity, Police Officers Sponsor Carnival

San Marcos - It is 8 am as a rabbit hides goody-filled eggs while carnival games, moon jumps, and barbeque pits spring to life.

Every March, Omega Delta Phi Fraternity holds their annual Easter Egg Hunt in San Marcos the Sunday before Easter to give the children of the city a day of free fun, food and games.


The Easter Egg Hunt takes place this Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at the San Marcos city parks, and lasts from noon until five p.m.

Salvador Mena, president of the organization said from August to March, members of Omega Delta Phi plan the event and devise ways to improve it.

“We fundraise by selling food in the quad, we go out to local businesses and request either funding or we ask that they donate items that can be used during the event,” Mena said. “We even ask other Greek organizations for help. Some give us money or they volunteer for the event.”

Community Service chair Conrad Reyes said the first Easter Egg Hunt took place in 2003 at Chapultepec Homes in San Marcos and had less than 20 volunteers and served only a small group of children. The goal was to give underprivileged children a chance to have fun free of charge. Since then it has grown to a large scale event with over 50 volunteers and hundreds of people attending.

“It’s good to see how much our event has grown,” Reyes said. “It shows how much people like our event and are willing to come out to it. Our event is so big the mayor even came one year.”

Reyes said the organization also gets help from the San Marcos Police Officers Association. The SMPOA helps Omega Delta Phi by supplying volunteers and donating resources to the event.

“They have been helping us with the Easter Egg Hunt since 2007,” Reyes said. “The work they do for us is really great. We will continue to work with them in the future.”

Albert Lopez active Omega Delta Phi member has been participating in the Easter Egg Hunt since 2006 and has seen first hand how the SMPOA has become a key factor in making this event a success.

“During one of our Easter Egg Hunts, we weren’t able to get any power for our moon jumps,” Lopez said. “That’s when the officers called up the fire department to bring us out a generator. It saved us from embarrassment.”

Vice President of the organization Lorenzo Davila has been working hand in hand with Reyes and the SMPOA to make this event as fun and entertaining for the children as possible.

“There’s going to be carnival games, moon jumps, barbeque and several East egg hunts,” Davila said. “The first egg hunt will be for one-three year-olds, the second will be for four-eight years-olds and the third hunt will be for nine-12 year-olds.”

The plastic eggs which were donated by the SMPOA will be filled with candies and toys and several of the “golden” eggs will have tickets the children can redeem for special prizes.

“We give away bicycles, Easter egg baskets, razor scooters and other toys we think the children will enjoy,” Davila said.

By five o’clock the children will have gone home, the games will be packed neatly in their containers and the food will have run out. The Easter Egg Hunt took months to plan and cost thousands of dollars, but only took hours to execute. “It gives me a good feeling inside to know that we gave these children something that they can remember,” Mena said. “It’s not everyday these children can experience something like this.”

SXSW MADNESS FEATURES CONCERT AND SHOPPING DUO


The IHeartComix+Jelly+Mad Decent Carniville partnered with the American Apparel Factory Flea Market tour for a one-of-a-kind event at the Mexican American Cultural Center held on March 18 -20th, the last 3 days of the SXSW week long music festival. It was a free event that only required an RSVP to garner you a spot in the action-packed event loaded with free goodies ranging from carnie food to rides. As an added bonus, they included complimentary beverages to encourage the flow of good vibes despite the chilly 40 degree weather. Tommy Rodgers, a freelance writer, considered it to be SXSW heaven. “There are very positive vibes going on, with lots of people expressing themselves. This is what concerts are all about anyway; what brings people out here. But this is better. This is more than a concert, and it’s all free!” said Rodgers. The line-up of artists that graced the stage didn’t hurt either. The big kid 'round the block was Major Lazer, who the LA Times says birthed the “bandanna jah, dancehall spaz” subgenre. Major Lazer is a British collaboration between DJs Diplo and Switch, both of whom are known to supply major artist, M.I.A. with spine-chilling beats. As big as the band was however, they weren’t able to damper the crowd’s enthusiasm for other bands who all share similar genres and sub-genres with Major Lazer.



A lively crowd and The Very Best


The Very Best who performed right after Major Lazer also has had past collaborations with M.I.A. and features strong African, and dancehall influences mixed with electronic beats. Their current most popular song, Warm Heart of Africa, features Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig who is known for his weird, ad-lib vocals, and popularity amongst the hipster crowd.


DJ Mo-laudi, a South African singer was on tour with the band.

"The Very Best’s heart is in Malawi. That’s where (main singer) Esau [Mwamwaya]’s from. But with Radioclit, now they’re afro punk.” says DJ Mo-laudi.

This type of music genre seems to coincide perfectly with another popular attraction that lured crowds to Carniville—The American Apparel Flea Market, a nation-wide tour bringing factory prices that, according to its facebook events profile, has inspired “more than 50,000 people” to a spending spree extravaganza.

American Apparel, deemed sweat-shop free, is the Mecca for US manufactured clothing explaining their usual sky rocket prices. The lure of discounted price tags brought determined shoppers like Law Woods, a Texas State student, to the aisles despite the freezing 40 degree weather.


“It’s hard not to pass up this opportunity. I’ll probably be spending close to $200, but it’s worth it cause they’re all 50-85% off!” says Woods.

ElJohn, a staff member turned bouncer for the event, described the frenzy and intensity inside the active tent, “I see all these people wearing these tags come in here, spend 3 hours going up and down the stalls, and come out with both hands full of clothes. “ says ElJohn. “Sometimes it gets so crazy there’s a line formed to get in, and it can get really muddy. We had to put all these cardboard flooring to protect everyone from slipping. Some people have also been drinking before they even came in here, so it can get pretty crazy.”


http://ragstoreverie.blogspot.com/2009/10/prepare-yourself-american-apparel-flea.html - A Blogger shares her American Apparel Flea Market tips. IHeartComix - Follow IHEARTCOMIX Records on twitter for future and current event info.



by Katria Pamatmat

Spring Break For the Other Side of the School

By Mike Patterson


Everyone has heard students’ stories about their spring break a million times. People go to Cancun, South Padre or South by Southwest. However, what about the people that make their educations possible: teachers staff members and the like? What do they spend their breaks doing?


At Texas State University, faculty and staff use their time away from the worries of work in different ways. Some of the professors like to take it easy or work on personal projects. Members of the staff take vacations that are more typical of the students they serve.


In the department of anthropology, Dr. F. Kent Reilly worked diligently on his new book, Visualizing the Sacred, which is set to be released in the fall. Over the break he was glad to be left alone. “I wasn’t pestered by students and other faculty always knocking on my door,” said Reilly. (Image Right from Texas State Website.


Reilly attempts to “open the portal to the ancient American past.” He has spent several years, and written two other books about the symbolism of past civilizations of the North American Continent. Reilly believes that by understanding the symbols used by these ancient people, we begin to see how they saw their world.


Another professor also spent time working on a book over the break. Marilynn Olson is a professor in the English department, and over the course of the spring break, she finished the third of five chapters to her work. Her book shows the connection between a vanguard painters and the children’s literature of the time.

She points out facts on how the painters innovated and brought new things to the books that had never been seen before. An example would be Pablo Picasso’s work titled “The Golliwogg” was the first black hero in a children’s story. “He wasn’t the first ‘true’ black hero because he was in fact a doll not a person,” said Olson. (Image left from Loco Roco)


In addition, Olson also spent some time in her personal garden, planting flowers.


Staff members took advantage of the break to get away and relax. Robin Woodside, 49, is a worker for Chartwells, the university’s dining service, since the start of this semester.


She and her husband loaded up their RV and left for the beaches of South Padre island. “We were there from Saturday to Saturday,” said Woodside. Woodside collected many starfish, hermit crabs and seashells. They took the sea critters home to the kids and painted the seashells all bright colors. (Image left from Tshirt Magazine)


In the end, everyone has to come back to their normal routines after spring break. Great experiences are clearly had by people on all sides of college life. The funny part is when other students realize that their professors and staff workers have lives outside the school.


After returning to her work at Commons dining hall, Woodside that she saw her on her trip to the same place. “She told me, ‘I knew it! I told the guys that was you!’”