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News
March 1, 2012
Traveling throughout the world A guide to helping make spring break a trip to remember
Brittany Thiesing Staff photographer
H
aving street smarts during sticky situations is crucial, most students plan to travel to popular destinations for spring break, but some students do not have all the street smarts to get through the tough parts of spring break. Here are some tips help out students who are planning to travel over break. Planning a spring break trip is stressful. Deciding how much it will all cost, how to get there, where to get the best deal, who is all going, and the biggest factor of all where to even go. Before picking a place director of student life Kristi Shaw said, “Talk to a bunch of people that have been there before.” Some popular destinations for spring break are usually
Great sites for good deals:
South Padre Island, Texas, Daytona Beach, Fla., Cancun, Quintana Roo Mex., and Jamaica, “the hottest one would have to be South Padre,” said Shaw. After selecting a spring break location the next step is to figure out how much it will all cost and how many people are joining. “Know where the destination is located, have it mapped out, do a lot of research prior to, make sure to have amenities, and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into,” said Shaw. For the students that are flying, talking to other people about it to have a good idea of what do during the whole flying experience. “Don’t pack a lot, always know where your terminal is first, have a good amount of time with your layovers, know your airport, and also chew gum when taking off,” said freshman Hannah McClure. For each bag there is a bag fee, managing money throughout the whole trip is also a critical tip so the fewer bags the better; a faster way to get a boarding pass is through the website of the airline chosen when the flight was set in stone. Boarding passes can be printed from home.
CheapOAir
“My worst experience with flying was when I lost my ticket and ID because I left my ID in my suitcase,” said McClure. For those students who are driving, there are a few important things to know when driving to the spring break destination, “avoid driving when tired, being distracted by friends, and driving recklessly,” said sophomore Josh Golding. “Drinking lots of coffee take regular stops to rest, and share the driving time with friends is some tips when driving for a long period of time,” said Golding. When arriving at the destination, “Know your surrounding where ever you go,” said Shaw. Another major tip is to use the buddy system when traveling, “I’m big on the buddy system, girl and guy just don’t be by yourself,” said Shaw. Street smarts are generally just common sense things. Along with gathering knowledge from everyone that has traveled quite a bit, can help someone gain more knowledge that can help in the long run.
Groupon
Students need to be aware of travel tips, as well as have the ability to talk to others about traveling. Gaining all the possible information before heading out can help for any occasion no matter what mode of transportation. Freshman, Brandi Regier tried to pack as much as she can into her suitcase for her spring break trip to Texas. (photo illustration by Brittany Thiesing)
Living Social
Sniqueaway
Travelocity
Taking reality to the big screen Director Mike McCoy & Scott Waugh Staring Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez, Nestor Serrano Genre Action, Adventure, Thriller Length 1 hour, 51 minutes Rating Rated R (violence & gore, profanity, frightening scenes)
Plot Synopsis A CIA agent is captured by hostile forces and SEAL Team 7 is sent out to rescue the agent. When they do, they uncover plans of global terrorism starting on United States soil. The film was cast with
Neal Andrews Contributing writer “Act Of Valor” is a glimpse into the life of our incredible Navy SEALs and it is not an easy life to live. The movie is based on actual combat missions and you get to see firsthand what these brave men are more than willing to do for their country. The film follows Seal Team 7 on their various missions. During one missions they discover a plot that puts America herself in danger. SEAL Team 7 will stop at nothing to ensure her safety. The introduction of the
real life Navy SEALs. The real SEAL Team 7 is now on a mission to save millions of American lives from those who wish to bring death and destruction to them.
SEAL team is pretty cool! The narrator is introducing them; on the screen a picture comes up, the team member with his name, rank, and other stats. Each exercise location had a similar introduction. A global map comes up with a red dot symbolizing the location and the name is typed up along with the latitude and longitude of the location. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Throughout the film there are great camera transitions as well as angles. During firefights, HALO jumps, and other parts of the film the angles are in a first person view. It wasn’t like a video game. What you see during the film is real. The people dying are not really dying, of course, but the team use real bullets. The men playing Navy SEALs really are Navy SEALs. Do you get what I’m saying? My brother made a good point: there is nothing sexier than the sound of a minigun
Two SEALs dodge an explosion from a suicide bomber. (photo courtesy) (M134) tearing a vehicle to shreds. MMM MMM!!!! Whenever the SEALs were engaged in a gunfight, the theme song to the movie “Team America: World Police” kept playing through my head which was AWESOME! From beginning to end there are a lot of scenes that build incredibly high tension and put you on the edge of your seat. I really got into it so I was on the edge of my seat! I saw “Act Of Valor” with both my father (retired Navy) and brother and they really enjoyed it. However, my brother’s only complaint was with the acting. I personally enjoyed it. My Dad made a good point, though. These SEALs are not trained actors. They came into this movie acting like themselves. If they had come in and not acted like themselves then the movie would not have had the authentic feeling it had. I agree with both
my brother and my father. However, I would not say that the acting sucked. It wasn’t great but it was good. The movie delivered an authentic feel and that’s what it was trying to do. Now on to the soundtrack/score. The score is by Nathan Furst, I have never heard of him before but he delivered a score that really sucked you into the film. The score made up its half of the movie earning 5 out of 5. The story and plot was very believable and kinda scary too which in turn earns 5 out of 5. The cast and crew I give 5 out of 5. Like I said before the acting wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad which earns a solid 4.5 out of 5. The acting could have been a bit better, but it is important to remember, these guys are not actors; they are trained Navy SEALs.
A SEAL rises from the water surveying the area for hostiles. (photo courtesy)
The Final Verdict I know I have said that there is no such thing as a perfect movie. Well I am going to have to say that ‘Act Of Valor” has exceeded my expectations greatly, earning itself a well deserved 5 out of 5. “Act Of Valor” is directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. This is the first film they have directed. I’m giving “Act Of Valor” five stars not because of superior acting.
Overall Acting + Cast Sountrack Plot + Theme Visuals + Scenary
Not because of unbelievable writing. Not because of a terrific set design or inspired cinema photography. I’m giving this movie five stars to thank the SEALs that hang it out there every day for this nation and as a way to honor the sixty SEALs that gave their all since September 11th, 2001.