Abigail Ollave, The Rider social media editor, wears drunk goggles, which simulate being inebriated, during the UTRGV Spring Break Luau March 9 on the Chapel Lawn on the Edinburg campus. Also shown is University Police Officer Marco Huerta. Ramiro Castro Jr./THE RIDER
It’s no secret that spring break is known to be one of the most hectic weeks across the country. It’s the time to let loose and forget about our school assignments for just a moment.
The Superhero Project and UTRGV Student Rights and Responsibilities hosted this year’s Spring Break Luau from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 9 on the Chapel Lawn on the Edinburg campus.
The event’s intention was to provide information from several on and off-campus departments, as well as to get us excited for our highly anticipated week-long break.
Free music, food and games were promoted to students.
At first, when I got to the lawn, it didn’t look like much was happening, but, just like any other school event, that all changed after 15 minutes.
Students formed a line for the free food. It weaved around the patio and continued to grow as more students passed, drawn by curiosity, and more organizations arrived to set up.
When it was my turn, I was handed my hot dog and chose my drink and chips. I found a spare table to take a moment to enjoy my free meal. As I ate, I took a look around to get an idea of which tables I was most interested to learn from.
There were many tables present to inform us about organizations we could get involved with on campus.
However, the ones that truly caught my attention were the organizations participating in the luau to teach us how to stay safe during our break.
There were hands-on, informative games for us to take part in, such as cup pong with drunk goggles. The game required us to put on goggles that mimicked our view as if we were intoxicated.
Though we could all get a kick out of watching each other miss the cup when we tossed the ball, make no mistake this game represented impaired vision and cognition that happens when people drink alcohol.
For instance, driving, walking and more all become skewed when drinking alcohol, leading to dangerous outcomes.
After four or five attempts, we were able to take the goggles off. However, if I were to ever be intoxicated, I don’t have the luxury of taking off some goggles and seeing normally again.
It is also no secret that many traffic fatalities occur during this time.
According to Community Impact, The Texas Department of Transportation reported every seven hours and 43 minutes, one person dies on Texas roads in an alcohol-related crash.
During spring break in 2021, 874 crashes occurred in Texas with a driver under the influence of alcohol, including 31 deaths, according to the website.
The same goes for the driving course.
When I was pedaling through the course, I couldn’t help but repeatedly say aloud how difficult it was to see and avoid the cones, and that was because I was going slowly.
Then, after completing only half of the course, the officer monitoring the course asked me to reverse, take off the goggles I had on and put on a new pair, except this pair was much worse.
I saw twice as much of what was in front of me and everything at my sides. Having that way of sight for the maybe three minutes I took on the second half of the course made me nauseous. I never want to be behind the wheel with impaired vision.
I really like that our university hosts educational tabling events such as the Spring Break Luau. It reminds us to stay safe as we take a break from our academic responsibilities; however, we must also think about the consequences we may face if we make immature decisions.
You may not always be able to influence the choices of others but you can control your own.
To whoever is currently reading this, I sincerely wish you safety and good health all year round.
