To help students understand the importance of being safe while away from home, the Women’s Resource Center is hosting a two-day Spring Break Safety Fair. Lydia Weiss, educational program coordinator of the center, said the fair is meant to bring information to students on how to protect themselves.
“The Spring Break Safety Fairs are great ways to gain information and have fun at the same time,” Weiss said.
The Spring Break Safety Fair is an interactive one. Starting in the informational booths, students have the opportunity to talk to staff from the Olin Health Center, Women’s Resource Center , MSU Sexual Assault Program, MSU Police, MSU Safe Place and the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Prevention Program. At the end of their visit, students have the chance to answer some questions and then “buy” candy, T-shirts and other souvenirs with the fake money that they receive from the people in charge of the booths.
Human biology freshman Brianna Ferguson said she liked the concept of the Spring Break Fair in Snyder-Phillips Hall. “I learned the alcohol content in beer,” Ferguson said.
Kinesiology sophomore Michelle Masarira said she was going to her hometown, Berrien Springs, Mich., to spend time with her family.
“Most of the time I’m not concerned about safeness, but sometimes you get an iffy feeling,” she said.
During this recess, many students who go away to do community service in an alternate spring break trip are concerned with their safety.
“Safety should not be a concern,” said Eric Walton, financial coordinator of alternative Spartan breaks. “We spend a lot of time focusing on how to be prepared and what is the best plan of action if something occurs.”
Walton said that the teams that Alternative Spartan Breaks will send to the sites are fully trained to handle different situations.
Spring Break safety has always been a concern among students and parents.
In 2009, 11 MSU students were briefly kidnapped during a Spring Break trip in Guatemala. According to a previous report in The State News, the students, bus driver and organizers of the trip were retained for an hour and a half. “I thought the whole time they were going to kill us,” Zahkia Smith , one of the students participating in the trip, said in an interview at the time. “I wouldn’t let that stand in the way of exploring different cultures.”
The second fair will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Shaw Hall.
