2008 Woodie Awards
Spring Break Safety
Some Safety Tips to maximize your Spring Break pleasure.
Chris Winsor
Issue date: 3/3/06 Section: Life & Times
- Page 1 of 1
Hallelujah! Spring vacation means a break from the books and a chance to hang out with friends for a dose of adventure. Whether you are heading for the beach or a solid week of home cooking, it is important to keep the partying on the safe side, even while on vacation.
This means making all of your decisions when you are sober. Particularly, those regarding sex. It may seem like alcohol and drugs make it easier to deal with social hang-ups, but they also make it easier to engage in risky behavior that can have long-term consequences. So if all you want to bring home from spring break is some fun memories (and not a sexually transmitted disease or a regret), read on for some good reasons to stay sober.
It is a fact, plain and simple -- drinking and taking drugs impairs your judgment, and makes you act in ways you would not if you were sober.
That is why it is illegal to drive a car under the influence: When your brain is not alert, you are in no position to make big decisions. The same rule goes for sex. Choices about sex are choices you want to make when you are at your most alert, not carelessly, when you are under the influence.
Choosing a birth control method takes advance planning. Talking about what you feel comfortable doing -- and about using protection -- should happen before the heat of the moment. Teenagers who use alcohol and drugs are less likely to use a condom. And even if you have birth control on hand, it takes concentration and focus to make sure you are using it accurately. By staying sober, you will stay fully in control of your decisions.
As is true with unintended pregnancy, it only takes one unprotected encounter to catch an STD. The best available protection against STDs is to use a condom; that means having a condom on hand and being sober
enough to use it correctly. If you are alcohol and drug-free, you will be in a better position to keep yourself healthy.
Because date rape is often linked to alcohol and drugs, here are a few common sense precautions to take. Stay sober on dates. If the person you are out with has been drinking to excess or using drugs, stick to public spaces and find your own way home.
At parties and clubs, never leave your beverage unattended, and never take drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) from strangers. Since Rohypnol and GHB, two "date rape" drugs, are odorless, and often colorless and tasteless, they can get slipped into drinks easily and go unnoticed.
Only accept drinks from bartenders or waiters, and try to watch them pouring. At parties, pour your own.
Attend parties and clubs with friends, and make sure you draw up a plan-- in advance -- for keeping an eye out for each other and going home together.
This means making all of your decisions when you are sober. Particularly, those regarding sex. It may seem like alcohol and drugs make it easier to deal with social hang-ups, but they also make it easier to engage in risky behavior that can have long-term consequences. So if all you want to bring home from spring break is some fun memories (and not a sexually transmitted disease or a regret), read on for some good reasons to stay sober.
It is a fact, plain and simple -- drinking and taking drugs impairs your judgment, and makes you act in ways you would not if you were sober.
That is why it is illegal to drive a car under the influence: When your brain is not alert, you are in no position to make big decisions. The same rule goes for sex. Choices about sex are choices you want to make when you are at your most alert, not carelessly, when you are under the influence.
Choosing a birth control method takes advance planning. Talking about what you feel comfortable doing -- and about using protection -- should happen before the heat of the moment. Teenagers who use alcohol and drugs are less likely to use a condom. And even if you have birth control on hand, it takes concentration and focus to make sure you are using it accurately. By staying sober, you will stay fully in control of your decisions.
As is true with unintended pregnancy, it only takes one unprotected encounter to catch an STD. The best available protection against STDs is to use a condom; that means having a condom on hand and being sober
enough to use it correctly. If you are alcohol and drug-free, you will be in a better position to keep yourself healthy.
Because date rape is often linked to alcohol and drugs, here are a few common sense precautions to take. Stay sober on dates. If the person you are out with has been drinking to excess or using drugs, stick to public spaces and find your own way home.
At parties and clubs, never leave your beverage unattended, and never take drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) from strangers. Since Rohypnol and GHB, two "date rape" drugs, are odorless, and often colorless and tasteless, they can get slipped into drinks easily and go unnoticed.
Only accept drinks from bartenders or waiters, and try to watch them pouring. At parties, pour your own.
Attend parties and clubs with friends, and make sure you draw up a plan-- in advance -- for keeping an eye out for each other and going home together.