Spring break officially starts Saturday and most students will be making their way to some sunny paradise or will just be going home for a well-deserved week of relaxation. Wherever you find yourself this spring break there will most likely be some form of celebration involved. Spring break is not a competition to see how trashed you can get, how many times you can get arrested, or how many notches you can put in your bed post. Responsibility and prudence, not to mention common sense, needs to be exercised.

There are certain common sense rules that need to be remembered no matter where you are. College students are not amateurs to the world of partying. College students are also not amateurs at doing some pretty stupid things at parties. Now, take any house soire that you may attend around Carbondale and multiply it a hundred times, and you might come close to what spring break is like. If students can tell endless drunken stories about the average Carbondale weekend imagine the possibilities spring break can provide.

As students come home, let us try to make the stories told be of fun and good times and not those that change and scar lives.

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Some of the common sense rules that students should leave with on their minds include:Don’t drink and drive, this is pounded into the heads of everyone in society, yet almost every day the Daily Egyptian has a police blotter item about some student being arrested for driving under the influence. Also drive safely period. Don’t try to make a long trip in one night without rotating drivers and keeping each other awake and aware.

An unfortunate addition to this list would be for people to watch your drinks. The recent news coverage of Rohypnol on college campuses has put a scare in many socializers, and it rightfully should. Also, one of the most important rules of all, protect yourself if you end up finding yourself back at the hotel with a member of the opposite sex.

Not only should students watch their drinks, but watch yourself and watch your friends. Also, keep track of your belongings. Anyone traveling to such places as Daytona Beach, Panama City, New Orleans or South Padre Island should realize these are metropolitan areas with metropolitan problems. Be prepared for overcrowding, including long lines for all the hot spots you want to visit. Always remain aware of your location and keep an eye out for trouble. Staying out of trouble also means staying out of the hands of law officials, so obey local laws. Those that wish to exploit and take advantage of the naive spring breaker can and will do just that.

Above all else though, just be careful. The rules for safety really do not need to be explained. These should be common knowledge by now. The Daily Egyptian would like to wish everyone a fun, safe spring break. Try to come back to SIUC the same way you left.