Threads Newsletter
March 6, 2006	First Edition
Multicultural Student Center PO Box 5677 Flagstaff, AZ 86011 Phone: (928) 523-5656 Fax: (928) 523-9444	Spring break can be great fun if you follow these safety tips... Drinking Florida State Law requires that you must be 21 to purchase, consume, or possess alcoholic beverages. Bring your ID — the clubs do check ID's... forget yours and you can forget drinking. Some of the clubs let those 18 and older in, but tag or stamp them as 18-20 who can't drink. Be aware of alcohol poisoning. According to a University of Wisconsin study, 75 percent of college males and 43.6 percent of females reported being intoxicated on a daily basis during spring break. Nearly half of the males and more than 40 percent of the females also reported being drunk to the point of vomiting or passing out at least once during break. This is the kind of binge drinking that is the major cause in alcohol poisoning. It also increases the risk of car accidents and arrests for such violations as drunk driving, public intoxication and property destruction. Don't drink, but if you are of legal drinking age and you do decide to drink: Don't drink too much! Decide in advance what and how much you will drink. Plan on how you will refuse once you reach your limit. Know what will happen if you violate state or local laws. DO NOT DRIVE. Use a designated driver or choose public transportation. Obeying these rules will keep you from becoming a guest at the county jail and missing a night of fun with your friends. Should a member of your group become intoxicated, never leave them alone. Hotel/Motel Generally, common sense rules here: Lock your door. Look through the peephole before answering the door. Don't open it for a stranger. If someone claims to be staff, call the front desk for verification. Don't leave valuables in your hotel or motel room. Use the buddy system when leaving the room for any reason. Do not overcrowd elevators - this often causes a malfunction which will cause you to be stuck with really bad elevator music! DO NOT CLIMB on balconies or sit on balcony rails. This can be fatal! Sex & Violence According to the same University of Wisconsin study, few students who had sex during spring break used condoms, even if a condom was available, and among women, those with higher alcohol consumption were more likely to have been the victim of a sexual assault. Don't drink too much - drinking makes it easier for a person to become either the victim or the perpetrator of a sexual assault. Don't allow yourself to be taken to an isolated location. Don't walk alone. Use the buddy system. Never leave with someone you just met. Attend large parties with friend and plan to leave with the same friends. Watch out for "rape" drugs. Don't leave your drink unattended. Don't accept open drinks from strangers. Sun, Sand & Surf That new bathing suit has you bearing more skin than ever and it is easy to spend hours partying with friends on the warm sand. Before it's too late, you need to know that too much sun can not only damage and dry our skin over time, today it can cause a nasty sunburn and even death — not to mention skin cancer years from now. Prevention is the key here, so follow these tips: Avoid sun exposure during the hottest hours of the sun's rays. Avoid over exposure - limit your time in the sun. You CAN get sunburn even if it is cloudy. Apply sunscreen with a SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of at least 15, paying special attention to the face, nose, ears and shoulders. Re-apply sunscreen after swimming and sweating. Wear a hat. Wear sunglasses with UV (Ultraviolet) Protection. Drink plenty of water, non-carbonated, and non-alcoholic drinks, even if you do not feel thirsty. Be aware of Heat Stress Symptoms. Although the beach is a wonderful experience, there are times and conditions that are a safety concern. Stay within the designated swimming area and ideally within the visibility of a lifeguard. Never swim alone. Know the flag warning system: -Red Flag: Stay OUT of the water - strong undertow and riptides. -Yellow Flag: Use CAUTION in the water - some undertow and riptides possible. -Blue Flag: Calm water. Be aware of rip currents. If you should get caught in a current, don't try to swim against it. Swim parallel to shore until clear of the current. Use common sense - if the waves look dangerous... they probably are. Jellyfish cause intense burning. Lifeguards know the first aid procedure for reducing the pain. Seek shelter in case of storm. Get out of the water. Get off the beach in case of lightning. > Lightning Quiz Watch out for traffic - some beaches allow cars. If you're driving... obey the speed limit. Available at http://goflorida.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/a/springbrksafety.htm · Women’s History Week began in 1978 in Sonoma County, California. · In 1981 Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Barbara Mikulski cosponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a National Women’s History Week. · In 1987 Congress expanded the celebration to a month and March was declared Women’s History Month. Before 1970, women's history was rarely the subject of serious study. As historian Mary Beth Norton recalls, "only one or two scholars would have identified themselves as women's historians, and no formal doctoral training in the subject was available anywhere in the country." Since then, however, the field has undergone a metamorphosis. Today almost every college offers women's history courses and most major graduate programs offer doctoral degrees in the field. The Women's Movement Two significant factors contributed to the emergence of women's history. The women's movement of the sixties caused women to question their invisibility in traditional American history texts. The movement also raised the aspirations as well as the opportunities of women, and produced a growing number of female historians. Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, one of the early women's historians, has remarked that "without question, our first inspiration was political. Aroused by feminist charges of economic and political discrimination . . . we turned to our history to trace the origins of women's second-class status." New Social History Women's history was also part of a larger movement that transformed the study of history in the United States. "History" had traditionally meant political history—a chronicle of the key political events and of the leaders, primarily men, who influenced them. But by the 1970s "the new social history" began replacing the older style. Emphasis shifted to a broader spectrum of American life, including such topics as the history of urban life, public health, ethnicity, the media, and poverty. The Personal Is Political Since women rarely held leadership positions and until recently had only a marginal influence on politics, the new history, with its emphasis on the sociological and the ordinary, was an ideal vehicle for presenting women's history. It has covered such subjects as the history of women's education, birth control, housework, marriage, sexuality, and child rearing. As the field has grown, women's historians realized that their definition of history needed to expand as well—it focused primarily on white middle-class experience and neglected the full racial and socio-economic spectrum of women. Women's History Month The public celebration of women's history in this country began in 1978 as "Women's History Week" in Sonoma County, California. The week including March 8, International Women's Day, was selected. In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month. Available at http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensintro1.html Support your regular season Big Sky champs-NAU Lumberjacks March 7-8 at the Sky Dome. Tickets must be bought in advance through Ticketmaster or box office. No discounts apply. The games are at 5 and 7:30 pm. After Spring Break March 27, early registration begins. So make sure to meet with your peer and academic advisors to make sure you have an academic plan. NAU will make history as the 13th annual M.E.Ch.A. conference will be hosted at NAU March 23-26. A lot of hard work, dedication and support has been provided to coordinate the many pieces of this program. There will be speakers, information sessions, a march and fun. It you are interested in spending your break in a unique way then visit www.nau.edu/mecha to register for this great opportunity.