Spring Break 2010: Be Safe

So we all know that consuming alcohol under the age of 21 is illegal in the United States. With that being said we can't be ignorant to that fact that it happens every single day. I am here to say that no matter what your age is if you choose to consume alcohol please be safe.

Sure, The Hangover was a hilarious movie about a bachelor party gone wild when one of the guys spiked the "wolfgang's" drinks with roofies. It's fun to laugh about but it's also important to recognize date rape drugs are a real danger. It doesn't matter if you are in small town Steamboat or a big city, it can happen anywhere.

I'm asking you to enjoy yourself this spring break, but BE SAFE. Whether you are in Cancun enjoying the sun and a margarita or visiting friends at college and attending a large party you could be at risk. It's one of those "it'll never happen to me" things... until it does. As much as I like to disregard the serious things in life, these drugs are incredibly dangerous because they are often tasteless, colorless and fast acting and I'd hate for someone to get hurt.

Although there is no absolute way to ensure this won't happen to you there are ways to prevent it.

• Don't go out alone. Always have a buddy with you and watch after each other. If you notice your friend is more intoxicated than they should be after a couple of drinks or is acting really strange get them somewhere safe immediately.
• Watch the bartender pour your drink and have them hand it directly to you.
• Never leave your drink unattended. Keep it within eye sight at all times. If you glance in another direction for even an instant you are making yourself susceptible to possible dangers.
• If your drink tastes funny dump it and get a new one, it may have been tampered with.
• At parties do not drink from punch bowls and never accept already opened beverages.
  

If you think you or a friend may have been drugged:

• Find a trusted friend and ask them to take you some place safe immediately. If this happens to your friend stay with them as these drugs can induce blackouts and vomiting.
• Go to the hospital and request a toxicology report. These drugs can clear from your system within 6-8 hours and there is no chance of any trace after 48hrs.
  

If you think you have been assaulted

• Do not shower as you will likely wash away evidence.
• Go immediately to a hospital and request a preliminary rape exam along with testing for date rape drugs.
• Get in contact with a local advocates group (Steamboat's emergency crisis number is 970-824-9709)
• If you choose to press charges be sure to have a support system of close, trusted friends to be there for you throughout the process.
  

Three of the most common drugs are:

GHB

Street names: EZ Lay, Liquid Ecstasy, Clear X, X-rater, Liquid Dream, Scoop Her, Get-Her-to-Bed.

What it looks like: Odorless, colorless, liquid, White powder or Tablet

Is it legal in the US? No. It's banned in the US, Canada and many parts of Europe. Most of the time it's made in illegal drug labs

What are the side effects? GHB affects the central nervous system and can cause euphoria, amnesia, intoxication, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, visual hallucinations, hypotension, severe respiratory depression, and in extreme cases coma.


Rohypnol

Street Names: Rophies, Roofies, Roach, Rope

What it looks like: Tasteless, odorless small white tablet

Is it legal in the US? No

What are the side effects? excitability or aggressive behavior, decreased blood pressure, memory impairment, drowsiness, semi-consciousness, dizziness, confusion, stomach disturbances, and urinary retention

Ketamine

Street Names: Special K, K, Vitamin K, Kid Rock, Ket Kat, Make-Her-Mine

What it looks like: It comes in powder, liquid, or pill form

Is it legal in the US? Yes. Ketamine is often used as a sedative by Veterinarians

What are the side effects? delirium, numbness, vivid hallucinations, cardiac excitement, mild respiratory depression, confusion, irrationality, violent or aggressive behavior, vertigo, slurred speech, delayed reaction time, euphoria, altered body image, amnesia, and coma.

All information has been provided by Steamboat Advocates and http://teenadvice.about.com/library/weekly/aa062502a.htm

The Great Technology Dilemma (Texting, Sexting and a Lost Generation)

Recently I decided to upgrade my phone from the palm centro to the palm pixi. Let me just say wow. The phone is half the size with twice the capabilities. At first it was a bit overwhelming. Verizon now forces you to buy the broadband data package when you buy a smart phone. This is not something I need by any means but the phone is incredibly sleek and I don’t have internet at my house so I figured why not? When I first started playing around with it I kept asking myself how long it would be before my lap top became obsolete. I can do literally anything on this phone that I can do with my lap top. My friend once referred to it as a "Computer-phone" and he was exactly right. It takes pictures, downloads music, uploads documents… the possibilities are endless.

Left: Palm Centro

Right: Palm Pixi

This advancement of technology has made me think a lot lately. Much like my parents can recall watching black and white TV, I will be telling my kids stories about a time before cell phones. I can already see myself saying “ I remember when I was growing up we didn’t even have texting, nevertheless the ability to search the web in the palm of our hands.” But I feel like with all this advancement there have been major consequences. I feel like I am part of a generation that thrives on instant gratification. We want things now because we are used to getting them that way. I recently took my computer in to get worked on and when they didn’t call me to tell me it was done the next day I was furious. Perhaps this has something to do with how impatient people are when they have to wait a couple minutes for me to make them coffee. Or why the women at the Verizon store were rushing to take care of customers as fast as possible so those of us in line didn’t get too upset. How long will it be before the English language drops the word patience altogether?

Beyond how needy I feel we are becoming as a society I can’t also help but feel we are becoming impersonal. Everyone hates calling tech support and other business help lines because you never get to talk to a person. This has become a complete social norm. In fact, I find it surprising when I call an 800 number and an actual human being answers the phone. Nowadays when you go to the supermarket you can forget about becoming familiar with the friendly neighborhood cashier because half the time you are using a robot instead. But my biggest pet peeve of all is texting. Sure, it was convenient for my mom to shoot me a text when she needed me to pick milk up on the way home from school. It has its purposes, but it also has its major flaws. Now when someone has a favor to ask there is no longer any need for them in interrupt my oh so busy life with an actual conversation. And I mean maybe this is just my life but it feels like whenever someone is upset with me they’d rather converse over texting then sort things out in person. Why? Because it's easier to say hurtful things through a text when you are not talking face to face? Because you can be dead honest and not have to physically watch the consequences of your words? Texting has bothered me for a long time and it's only getting worse.

There is a new controversial phenomenon deemed “sexting”. For those of you who haven't heard this term before, Wikipedia defines sexting as "the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones". The frightening part is it's most common among teenagers. Often times a young girl will send explicit photos to her boyfriend. It may seem innocent at the time, but if they get into a fight it is so easy for the boy to forward the pictures to anyone he wants. Imagine walking through the halls of high school after everyone has seen an inappropriate photograph of you. As if those teenage years weren't hard enough. In extreme cases girls have committed suicide because they could no longer handle the constant torture from kids at school. Another problem is both the girl and her boyfriend can now be charged with distributing child pornography. There are cases where young men have become registered sex offenders for their actions. It's a terrible downfall of making technology available to everyone.

With all this ranting and raving I figured I better do more than sit around and complain. So, I have decided to give up texting altogether. Yesterday I went into Verizon and had it blocked from my phone. This was a timely process as the woman didn’t understand why I would do such a thing. In this day and age who chooses to get rid of texting, especially when I have unlimited texting through my family plan? Call me crazy but I've decided to try at least one month without it.

It's been less than twenty-four hours and so far I feel completely liberated. Rather than feeling the need to constantly check my phone, I feel the exact opposite. If it's not within an arms reach at all times I am OK. I am no longer a slave to my phone as I feel so many people in my generation have become and it feels wonderful.

The Coat Vote

The craziness began when Bonfire decided to produce a very girly looking jacket in their men's line. My friend and fellow blogger Jake decided to buy the jacket and wear it with pride. Normally I commend Jake's fashion sense but this light blue jacket with swirls on it (pictured below) was meant to be worn by a woman. After months of constant backlash for wearing a female looking jacket Jake finally gave in and sold it to me.

The trend seemed to continue as we often shared similar tastes in outerwear. So, we've decided to have a friendly competition of blogger vs. blogger. The other day Jake, our gimp buddy Eli and I took a trip to the local thrift store where the two of us tried on the same jackets. We are putting the fate of ultimate bragging rights and a home cooked dinner in your hands by asking you to vote. The winner will be declared on February 25th so you have until then to choose who looks best!

Orange Burton: Who looks better?

• Jake
• Bobbie

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Blue Blazer: Who looks better?

• Bobbie
• Jake

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Black/Leopard Rain Coat: Who looks better?

• Bobbie
• Jake

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Black Sessions Jacket: Who looks better?

• Jake
• Bobbie

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Colorado Mountain College Helps Haiti

Once a month Student Activities sponsors a coffee night at the Steaming Bean. Usually students are invited to hang out and drink free coffee but this month we decided to add a little twist. We opened the event up to the entire community offering coffee, tea and baked goods by donation. We also sold fair trade coffee beans and tee shirts for $15 each. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Haiti relief organizations.


Overall the event was a complete success. A lot of students showed up and emptied out their pockets which is pretty noble considering how many times a week I hear my college friends say "I have no money". We even had a few community members come and hang out. A special thanks goes out to Tamara for planning the event, Caitlin for working so late and Rob and Dave for the live music!