Opinions
2 | Wednesday, July 15, 2015
twulasso.com | The Lasso
Opinion | Travel
Take a trip outside your comfort zone Proper planning can lessen stress turning traveling alone into a new adventure waiting to be discovered 12 Tips For Traveling Solo Safely 1. Research hotels or other places you plan on staying. 2. Make a local friend. 3. Schedule a regular check-in with someone from back home. 4. Bring an external phone charger. 5. Invest in a slash-proof bag. 6. Carry a safety mechanism you feel comfortable using. 7. If you plan on driving, fill up your gas tank from half to full to avoid running low in sketchy areas or places with no gas stations. 8. Take your bag everywhere. 9. Build a financial cushion into your budget for cab fare. 10. Drink in moderation. 11. Talk to lots of people. 12. Have fun! Safety tips courtesy of Buzzfeed.
Katie Olson Editor-in-Chief molson4@twu.edu Summer is a time of thrill-seeking adventure, yet often we are discouraged from traveling alone. The various reasons include safety, expense, and the social stigma of being seen without a partner or close friends. This last reason in particular seems to keep even the most adventurous individual from taking exciting trips to new destinations. However, if there’s a place you truly want to explore that’s within your budget, then you should take the opportunity to explore on your own. You don’t have to wait on your significant other or friends to free up their schedules on a moment’s notice. Concerning safety, keep in mind that no matter how many headlines or horror stories
you read about being stranded in a foreign destination, you never know what the true atmosphere of the destination will be like. Research and review various hotels and hostels, be familiar with the crime rates of the prospective city. Exercise caution whether you plan on driving, taking the bus, or grabbing a cab. Form acquaintances with locals. Learn about the best and worst places to be in the city at various hours during the day. Not only will you make new friends during your exploration, but you will also be more likely to avoid shady characters on seedy streets. Most importantly, keep in contact with friends and relatives back home, especially when wandering to parts unknown. Feeling a sense of wanderlust, but lacking the funds to leave the
country? Explore local options, such as taking a road trip down to a national park, beach, the mountains, or even a town or city you haven’t seen before. Be openminded to staying in inexpensive but clean hotels or even consider calling up a friend to crash with. Pack snacks along with other essentials to avoid stopping at fast food joints or convenience stores on the way. Your money saved on living quarters and food will come in handy if you decide to attend a local play or festival or find an oddball shop worth exploring. In the future, keep a jar designated for “travel funds” so that you can plan a more extravagant trip the following year. Traveling alone may seem daunting at first, but the experience can be liberating. Nothing speaks to the free spirit
like making the decision to take off on an impromptu adventure. Wherever you decide to go, don’t let naysayers convince you that traveling unaccompanied is a lonely experience. Many individuals choose to travel solo for various reasons, like work or study abroad programs. While journeying alone might require stepping outside your comfort zone, the second option – waiting on someone to accompany you – takes away from moments that can be spent learning your way around a new place or discovering new things. Once you’ve conquered the fear of the unknown, you may find that traveling alone might just be the ideal way for you to broaden your own horizons.
Opinion | Lifestyle
#whitegirlsdoitbetter #icanteven #clueless #whitepeopleproblems Matt Olson Copy Editor molson3@twu.edu
Recently a disturbing hashtag briefly took over the Twitterverse: #whitegirlsdoitbetter. Aside from raising a few questions – namely “What do white girls do better?” and “Better than who?” – the misguided and offensive attempt at a cultural movement serves as a talking point about blindness to privilege. The white girls who used the hashtag failed to make a case for their “better”-ness, but their need to assert it over women of other races makes it clear that too many white people seem unable to understand their societal privileges over others. Fortunately for anyone with a good sense of humor, derisive tweets flooded the hashtag, suggesting that what white girls do better is ignore privilege and borrow fashionable elements of other cultures and races while insinuating their own superiority. Undoubtedly some people who read the hashtag’s hijackers’ tweets will be offended, but these people are the sort who would wonder why #whitegirlsdoitbetter is fundamentally offensive. Maybe the hashtag’s appearance isn’t so surprising after all. Donald Trump recently caused controversy
by stating his beliefs that illegal immigrants from Mexico are by and large “criminals” and “rapists” during his presidential announcement speech. He has been called out for his blatantly racist remarks, but has not backed down on his stance. Yet amongst upwards of 15 Republican hopefuls for the 2016 race he has been ranked at second place in various polls. He has no official policies or plans to speak of, so his racist comments and his refusal to acknowledge their wrongness must have struck a chord with some members of the general public. People who support Trump for his comments sport the same mentality as people tagging their tweets #whitegirlsdoitbetter. Think of the controversy over the Confederate flag. That the flag was still flown in the 21st century is nothing short of a disgrace. For many, the flag is a symbol of hate and oppression, a reminder of the days of segregation and slavery. For others, the flag is a symbol of heritage and history. Those of us who don’t ignore it see it as a celebration of a past steeped in racial animus and inequality. Dylan Roof’s use of the flag in the Charleston church shooting only served to underscore this point. Still, the flag will be flown because the people who fly
it refuse to acknowledge the fact that what it represents is nothing to be proud of. It’s 2015. Same sex couples are free to get married, but we are still an unequal society. Racism is not dead, contrary to the narrative some white folks would like you to believe. People questioned #blacklivesmatter, and some white people were clueless enough to ask, “Why isn’t it #alllivesmatter?” #blacklivesmatter became a cultural movement because black lives were being cut short as a result of police brutality and institutionalized discrimination at horrifying rates. Other minorities deserved representation in the cultural movement, to be fair, but white people did not; in the western world, we live with the implication that white lives inherently matter. When violent white criminals are apprehended alive while nonviolent non-white (often black) suspects are brutalized or killed, the implication is that white lives matter more than others. If nothing else, the one thing the white girls behind #whitegirlsdoitbetter actually do better than non-white women is illustrate just how out of touch some white people are when it comes to issues of race and identity.
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