Make good choices.
Welcome back!
Today the Mailbag is here to talk to you about the best part of the semester.
Spring break is upon us. The weather is warming (and then cooling, and then warming again, but you get it). It's time to start planting the gardens. Baseball is back. Golf courses are greening up.
All the good things.
Most importantly, we have reached SPRING BREAK!
Yes, that annual week away from the pain and suffering of having to be responsible has arrived. Like always, we expect spring break to be a fun-filled adventure. Maybe you're headed to New Mexico to go bike the mountains, or down to Big Bend for a week in the wild. Maybe you're more the beach type and, maybe, you're just heading home for the week.
Whatever the case, we have a few things we'd like to remind you of.
First, if you're wanting to go home but you're not sure how to get there, here's a handy link of bus trips to cities around Texas offered by Family and Parent Relations. With gas prices as they are right now, these trips are cost effective and provide a safe alternative to road-tripping on your own.
But what we really want to talk about today is safety.
If you've read enough of these Mailbags, you're probably aware that we still celebrate the childlike spirit of our lost youth in as many ways as possible, and we'll admit we had a few rowdy days during our college years.
Looking back, it's easy to say now that, well, we didn't always make the best decisions while traveling. Because of that, we sometimes found ourselves in a tight spot due to our questionable decision-making processes (if flying by the seat of our pants can, in fact, be considered a process.)
Because of that we now feel compelled to help younger generations avoid our litany of mistakes.
Luckily, we know where to go to get tips and tricks to help our Red Raiders out.
Our friends over at Raider Safety have put together a list of tips to help make your spring break a safe and fun experience, and we felt compelled to share those in this space.
So here we go.
That's a pretty easy list to follow, and we sincerely hope you'll heed that advice. There's safety in numbers and knowing where you are and what you're doing is always a good thing.
We also reached out to our friends over at Risk Intervention & Safety Education (RISE) to see if they wanted to add anything.
Jorgann Holgersen, the program manager for peer education and outreach, sent back a few thoughts, including some resources to keep in mind.
“RISE strives to promote a campus culture that values holistic wellbeing by educating students to make informed choices and treat each other with respect,” she said. “One of our largest assets to the Texas Tech community is our work through peer educators, and we have a variety of other methods of outreach.
“We offer a range of services to students including two programs called Raider Recharge and Raider Restart. Raider Recharge is individualized wellness coaching to help students prioritize their overall wellbeing. Raider Restart on the other hand is a harm reduction program in order to assist students in understanding the consequences of participating in high-risk behaviors and how to reduce related risks.”
Holgersen also sent a reminder that help is always available.
“Remember, if you ever need more information or find yourself in a situation you aren't sure how to handle you can contact the RISE office at 806-742-2110, find us at Drane Hall 247, email at rise@ttu.edu, or direct message us on social media,” she said.
For more information about RISE and the programs it offers, please visit rise.ttu.edu.
We sincerely hope you all have a fun and adventurous spring break, wherever that may take you. But our biggest hope is, wherever you go and whatever you do, take care of each other and make it back to us safely.
In other words, make good choices.
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