In just a few days, it will be time to head off to spring break! This long awaited vacation is one that we’ve all been planning for a while, and although some of us are just going home, many of us are off to sunnier, wetter, and wilder places. Although it may be easier said than done, it’s important to remember our sexual health while we’re at the beaches and bars.

An important concern while partying is the large groups of people and alcoholic beverages. These days, it is so easy for drugs to be placed in a person’s drink. Taking advantage of women using “date rape” drugs has become quite common. These drugs include Rohypnol (roofies) and GHB. They can quickly be mixed into any kind of beverage and are colorless and odorless. They usually make the victim drowsy, sick, and sleepy. She usually quickly feels drunk and this can lead to the young woman passing out and never recalling the events of the blackout period. This almost always leads to rape and unprotected sex, which will be followed by many of the emotional and psychological effects of such an incident.

To protect yourself and your friends from being a victim to these drugs, some measures should be taken. Always watch as your drink is being prepared and never leave it unattended. Try to stay within your group of friends, and check on each other periodically to make sure that no one is feeling faint, sick, or needs to go to the hospital. If a you or a friend does get raped, head to the nearest hospital in order to receive the proper medical attention to help prevent pregnancy.

For those of us who choose to have sex throughout the break, it’s important to remember to use a condom, which is 99% effective in preventing pregnancy and the transfer of STDs, such as genital warts, herpes, Chlamydia, and HIV/AIDS, to name a few. The use of condoms is one of the most effective and probably the cheapest way to inhibit the spread of diseases and the possibility of pregnancy. Facilities on campus, such as the Women’s Resource Center and the Health Center provide free condoms for students. It’s important to note that abstinence is 100% effective and the idea of going on spring break should not make you feel the pressure to have sex just because everyone else is doing it.

All in all, don’t forget to be safe and watch out for your friends, as well as for yourself. If you are in a new country, educate yourself about how to stay safe. Women can be easy targets when they are under the influence of alcohol. Very few of us would like to come back from our vacations possibly with some terrible disease or pregnant. The Peer Health Educators are handing out safe sex kits in the Campus Center throughout this week, so drop by to become learn more about the risks and ways to stay safe.

For more information, contact the Women’s Resource Center at ksylvia@umassd.edu or 508-910-4584.

The anniversary of the establishment of the Public Forum policy has come and gone. It hit the two year mark this January. According to the consensus of the students and faculty interviewed, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has experienced an infringement on their freedom of speech for the past two years. The Public Forum policy implemented a zone, which is the only area on campus where demonstrations, protests, and rallies are permitted.

The Public Forum Zone, or better known by students as the free speech zone, is located on “the grassy areas to the south and east, within 75 feet, of the campanile, bounded by the Group I campanile walkway and the Group IV campanile walkway” as stated in the 2005 UMass Dartmouth Campus Policy Statement. The size is roughly one half an acre and is considerably small when compared to the 710 acres UMass Dartmouth’s campus has to offer (UMD web-site).

The way in which the administration went about implementing the policy has been a controversial issue for students and faculty at UMass Dartmouth. The administration sent out an email only to Student Senate and Faculty Senate about a student comment period on the policy. Consequently, the email was sent on December 18 2004 when students were preoccupied with finals and the comment period ended December 31 while students and most of the campus community was away on break. Kim Wilson, the coordinator of UMD Labor Extension Program comments about the method that the administration used to implement this policy. Wilson said, “To put in an unpopular policy you do it when the students are not at school—summer, and in this case, winter intersession.”

The Public Forum policy was put in place on January 17 2005, on Martin Luther King Day. Over the course of the last two years the free speech zone has affected the rights of not only the students, but also the faculty, and staff. The policy has been greeted with several student organizations’ disapproval such as the UMD’s Progressive Alliance and Social Change Society. UMass Dartmouth’s Progressive Alliance was the first group that influenced students to get involved and pressured the administration about the unfairness of the free speech zone.

Adrianne Schaefer, the president of the Social Change Society commented on the free speech zone saying, “College campuses are where a lot of the huge campaigns get started, like Fair Trade and anti-sweat shop movements. And those wouldn’t have happened without free speech. If you confine free speech to an out of reach area it might not make a huge difference this year, but it will have an impact on college activism in the long run.”

Wilson in agreement says, “We feel this is counter productive to the educational process at the university.”

Brian Pastori, a former student of UMD who started the Progressive Alliance, had set up a series of general information meetings to inform students and talk about strategies that could be taken against the administration in February 2005. The student organization also started a campaign to educate the students and faculty about freedoms of speech. Pastori felt very passionate towards the policy. “Not being able to protest and demonstrate in an effective area, a lot of the time is worse, than what people are trying to protest for or against,” he said.

Flyers were posted all over campus promoting their ideas about the free speech zone. One of the flyer’s messages was “Do you know what a free speech zone is? According to our Federal Constitution, the United States is a free speech zone, not selective areas.”

Wilson, who also served as the advisor to the UMD’s Progressive Alliance, comments about the affects of the free speech zone on students saying, “It’s to intimidate students, but faculty and staff are not intimidated.” Under the Public Forum policy, students, faculty and staff who do not follow the rules of the policy will be held accountable. Wilson, whom works closely with many students said, “The students have interpreted this as a possibility of being expelled.”

Wilson has found the policy to be contradicting, as it has not forced all demonstrations to be held within the zone. During October 2006, there was a demonstration outside the zone and they faced no repercussions. The demonstration was a group of faculty and staff members who marched around the Charlton College of Business building to rally for secretaries.

In contrast, Anna Vust, a senior Psychology student who organized the housing rally last April, was forced to stay within the free speech zone. Vust says, “I was warned by Lisa Evaneski, Dean of Student Affairs, to make sure that the housing rally was kept within the free speech zone for my protection.” Vust explains that the rally was not just for the changing housing conditions, but also to show how ridiculous the location of the free speech zone is in relation to the campus.

Schaefer and the Social Change Society were also a part of the housing rally. Schaefer agrees with Vust saying “It was made clear to the students who participated, to the students who saw the rally and to the administration that came that the spot on campus is not an appropriate place to have a Public Forum zone.” As the main area people walk is by Group 1, the Public Forum Zone force the protesters to stand far away from the administration, the very people it’s attempting to reach.

Schaefer also expressed frustration on how the Public Forum Zone is not enforced with everyone. She recalls that on the same day of the housing rally the Campus Activities Board (CAB) was holding a large event outside the campus center. She believes it is unfair that one group had to perform an activity in a confined area, while another group was unrestricted.

Furthermore, this past November there was a Deval Patrick rally that was held outside of the free speech zone. Pam Herzog, a senior Political Science major and the Vice President of the College Democrats participated in the Deval Patrick rally. Herzog says, “It started on the back side of the auditorium, like on the stairs.” Herzog also confirmed that the rally did move down to the back of the Campus Center on the grassy area, and it was not in the free speech zone. However, she didn’t feel that she was breaking the free speech zone policy because she was confident that the sponsor of the rally, the Patrick Campaign, made sure that they could have it where they did.

The two years in review show that the Public Forum policy has disrupted the practices of freedom of speech. However, it seems that there are loopholes of getting around the free speech zone.

The Progressive Alliance has now dissolved, but the Social Change Society is continuing to handle this matter this semester. Schaefer plans to work with the administration to reach a compromise. If this doesn’t work Schaefer says, “We plan to take further steps like contacting the media and taking more active approaches like having a rally around the issue.”

When asked where this rally would be held Schaefer smiles and says, “We could have it in the Public Forum zone. Or we could have it outside the zone to defy the policy and to show we can have a peaceful and safe demonstration that is not confined to the campanile area.”

Chancellor McCormack was unable to be reached for comment.