Spring Break is a chance to sit back, relax and have some fun.
It is not, however, an excuse to throw caution to the wind.
The reason vacations are so popular is because they give the average, hard-working student a chance to break away from the stresses of the college routine. This is all well and good, yet there is a reason we call it a routine: Students are used to it.
When students escape these common, everyday conditions, they might break free and oftentimes have a little too much fun. Drinking, traveling, sexual encounters or drugs are just a few of the things students tend to think of on a "stereotypical" Spring Break.
These are also the things that make traveling much more dangerous.
If this week has taught Ball State anything, it is that people can never be too cautious.
Students hear it every year, and have since elementary school: "Have a safe and happy break. We'll see you when you return."
The words "safe" and "return" should stick in vacationers' minds.
Someone somewhere cares enough about students to say this. It's the age-old adage that says, "Remember that your actions have an effect on those around you."
Parties may be a given, but responsible partying is not always at the forefront of everyone's mind. Alcohol is tempting to those of age to enjoy it, but they should know their limits. It could save lives.
Stay in groups while visiting foreign territory, even if it is no more foreign than the Gulf Coast. An area may be new, fun and exciting to a visitor, but for someone else, it's a rape, robbery or something worse waiting to happen.
Likewise, experimentation may seem like a good idea under certain circumstances, but remember that it can spell trouble the next day, the next week or over the next nine months.
Students are apt to meet fellow spring-breakers at some of the nation's more popular destinations. They should not assume each of these people has the same values or judgment.
Steps like these can ensure more than vacationers' friends' and families' piece of mind. They can also increase the chance that vacationers will see another Spring Break.
Have a safe and happy break. We'll see you when you return.
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