Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: W v UAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'all. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. And it is the Sunday before spring break. Or of spring break.
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Can you believe we made it?
[00:00:20] Speaker B: No.
[00:00:21] Speaker C: If you would have asked me back in January, I would said this never going to get here. But it's here.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: I know. And sometimes I feel like our campus spring break is a little bit earlier than other institutions because I was thinking, okay, what do we want to do? And it's that kind of early march ish still time frame, so not necessarily optimal to me for the investment of the beach. Because it's like, if I'm going to pay to go down there, I want the weather to be nice.
[00:00:50] Speaker C: Right? I don't know. I don't want a light jacket. I want to be full on sunscreen and sweating.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Yes. So at this point, what are you doing this week?
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Playing catch up. Lots of grading, lots of little things. I know that a couple of episodes back, we said that we were going to share a dumpster and we were going to declutter.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Yeah.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: I'm kind of sad we didn't make that happen.
So, you know that we don't always. We're human. We don't always do what we put our minds to. We were going to. If you didn't listen to us. A couple of weeks back, one of our New Year's resolutions was to declutter our house. And you said you had told your husband that you just wanted, as a little happy gift for him, to bring a dumpster.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I wanted a portable dumpster.
[00:01:34] Speaker C: And I said I would go havesies with you. Yeah, we didn't make it happen, my friend.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: No, we didn't make it a smart goal. We didn't actually plan and make it a tangible thing. Like, we kept talking about it in theory. So I really do need to. And actually, this reminds me, a friend of mine, I'm on this group video chat with some other friends, and this person does not live in the Tuscaloosa community, but she was sharing a story about how they had gotten a new housekeeper, and apparently the housekeeper had taken it upon herself to throw away things in their home that she thought they just did not need. So she kind of did decluttering for them. So first she threw away toothbrush covers, went to the store, replaced them, threw away my friend's husband's slides, like, several pairs of them, because she thought they were kind of janky. I was like, wow. Maybe as terrible as that would be, that might be the kind of housekeeper I need that declutters and cleans for me at the.
[00:02:30] Speaker C: Just makes those decisions for you.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm like, you know what?
Just do it. So I don't know. But, no, we really do need to make a tangible.
[00:02:40] Speaker C: What are you doing on your week off?
[00:02:42] Speaker B: I don't know yet. We do have a tentative plan to take our children to. It's in the Montgomery area. One of those drive through safaris. We took our oldest there when he was younger. I'm thinking now with a three and five year old, they would either think it's amazing or absolutely frightening to have an ostrich, like, stick their neck in the vehicle and bite bits off.
[00:03:07] Speaker C: I would say at my age, I would find that frightening as well, but also equally intriguing. I think I would want to. Yeah.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: I told my husband, I'm like, we're taking your vehicle because I don't want to scratch up my minivan. It is a very precious commodity, and I know our listeners at all costs. Yes, I know. And I feel like our listeners are probably thinking, what kind of demographic do they think listens to this show? Because we're talking about mom life. Dumpsters, minivans.
[00:03:36] Speaker C: But I think we're cool. One day they'll get there.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: One day.
[00:03:40] Speaker C: We didn't think we would. And look.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: No.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: At where we're at now, but.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: Okay, so spring break, just so that we can acknowledge that we haven't always been in mom season, what is your most memorable spring break experience that you're willing to share right now?
[00:03:57] Speaker C: Always work in college. So I kind of feel like I got kind of, I don't know, the short end of the stick for when it came to spring break, I never got to do anything super fun. But, I mean, what did I want to do or what did I do? I always wanted to go and have something memorable.
[00:04:18] Speaker B: I never got to do anything really fun.
[00:04:19] Speaker C: I'm kind of sad. What about you?
[00:04:21] Speaker B: Probably the same. I think that I always just used that time to go back to my hometown, to not be obligated to anything. Right.
[00:04:30] Speaker C: Just a break.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: A true break. Yes. And I know we're going to talk about this later in the show, but I feel like the spring break trips these days for these kids, I'm like, I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were going to Bali or.
[00:04:44] Speaker C: Jamaica.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Like, groups of just. I don't know. I know that existed back in my day. But also, too, I think many of our students their quote unquote side hustle is being a social media influencer. Right. And they're making a ton of money. So maybe that. Maybe that's the answer.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Maybe that is the answer.
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Okay, I'm going to shut myself down right now, y'all. We got to take a break. We have an amazing show for you. You are listening.
[00:05:26] Speaker C: To fit to be tied with Sheena and Mika on 90.7, the cat stone and Sheena. I'm so excited about our guests today.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. You know, I think we really pride ourselves on the show to have amazing guests. You know, we like to take a look at our campus partners. We always like to involve students, and so we're kind of getting the best of both worlds today.
[00:05:45] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: So today we have folks from UA's collegiate recovery community, more specifically, Alex live Oak, who is the assistant director of collegiate recovery, and also Carter Miller, who is a UA student and member of the CRC. So, guys, welcome to the show.
[00:06:02] Speaker A: Good to be.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Absolutely. So, you know, I think in this segment we always like to kind of get to know our guests. So, Alex, why don't you start us off, tell us a little bit about know the basics, like hometown, academic background, professional background. What brought you to where you are now?
[00:06:18] Speaker D: Yeah, so I am from Tuscaloosa, so I grew up here. I grew up going to Bryant Denny every Saturday and doing that whole thing. And I got my bachelor's here in psychology, and then I got my master's here in marriage and family therapy. And so I'm a licensed therapist, and I practiced therapy and treatment facilities for almost two years before coming back to UA and being the assistant director at the collegiate recovery community, which is what I'm doing now.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: Roll tide.
[00:06:49] Speaker D: Roll tide. That's right.
[00:06:52] Speaker C: So tell me a little bit about what your role looks like at the CRC for listeners who this is the first time they've ever heard about the collegiate recovery community.
[00:07:00] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah. So my individual role is I do everything right. I wear all the hats.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: You're a jack all trades.
[00:07:08] Speaker D: That's right. I do fundraising and all the directors meetings and engage with students, set up all of our events and tailgate my classes, come to talk to classes, a lot of outreach. We're going to North Carolina this Thursday to a treatment. So, you know, we make relationships there. So my individual role is quite a lot. For sure.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Quite a lot.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Okay, well, and I feel know through all of those tasks that you do in the community that you build. That kind of leads us to our next guest, Carter, who is a member of the community. Carter. Tell us about yourself.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: My name is Carter Miller. I'm a student here at the university in the creative media program.
I'd like to just say I'm a film student, but it's not technically called that.
As far as the CRC goes, I've been in it for three years. I'm also from Tuscaloosa as well. Grew up going to Bryant Vinny as well every Saturday, because we actually lived, like, right off Queen city.
And, yeah, three years ago, I came back to the university after a brief hiatus and kind of was enrolled in Shelton a little bit, like, halfway, and then got into the CRC slowly. And, I don't know. It's just been kind of a spiral since then. Like a good spiral.
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Well, we got some Tuscaloosa boys.
[00:08:42] Speaker C: We got some.
So, for our listeners, give them a little quick overview of what is the mission and the purpose of the CRC.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:53] Speaker D: Yeah, sure. So what we do is we just provide services for people who are actively in recovery from addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, gambling, just the whole gamut, mostly made up of substance use disorder right now. But we provide services for them, like I was saying, like tailgates. And we have a space on campus that they can access 24/7 it's got big screen tv and Nintendo Switch and Xbox and computer lab and all that good stuff.
And we also give stuff like scholarship money and priority registration, and I think I already mentioned access to the building.
But we also do, like, academic advising, and we have good relations with the dean of admissions. So somebody who maybe tried college before and didn't do so well, and now they're in recovery and want to come back. We have good relationships with them, and so, yeah, we just try and support our students any way we can academically, but also, we try and create an environment that is very fun and very safe, and so they can make connections and find some belonging, which is what.
[00:10:07] Speaker C: It'S a community looking for.
[00:10:08] Speaker D: That's right.
[00:10:08] Speaker C: It's a community I love just when.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: You mention all of the things that you provide to the students and just essentially any kind of support they would need to continue to be successful at UA while living this life of sobriety with collegiate recovery communities. Like. Like, how common is that at this point in time? Are those services pretty well known on other campuses?
I guess just in relative terms, because I would say in undergrad for Nika, and that wasn't necessarily a thing, or at least not at the University of Alabama. So I didn't know if you could kind of speak to the context of our collegiate recovery communities. Excuse me. Pretty well common in higher ed settings that you're aware of.
[00:10:57] Speaker D: Yes. So there are over 100 collegiate recoveries across the country. There might be more now, but yeah, like larger institutions, some have a real problem with getting institutional support, which is unfortunate. But, like, LSU got one this past year, Tennessee's got one now, Ole Miss. Most of the SEC schools have pretty thriving collegiate recovery communities at this point.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: That is amazing. Now, in terms of membership, are there kind of some membership rules or just things that students need to meet to be able to be part of the community?
[00:11:38] Speaker D: Yes. So to be a full member of the collegiate recovery community, you just have to have a year of recovery, however that looks for you, most people, it's complete abstinence and working some sort of program. A lot of our students do twelve step stuff, but smart recovery, faith based stuff, just therapy. Right. As long as you're doing something is fine with us and just be enrolled in school. And then the requirements that we have, programming wise is we have recovery Night, which is open to the community Thursday nights. 07:00 Farrell 120. It's a speaker comes and tells their story, and then we have seminar on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 530, where we do like topical stuff, study habits, that kind of thing. Or we just go and hang out and check in on each other and just get everybody together, make sure everybody's doing okay.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: It's mostly that.
[00:12:38] Speaker D: It's mostly that. Yeah, mostly that.
[00:12:41] Speaker C: But now you also take, right?
[00:12:43] Speaker D: Oh, yes, ma'am. Yeah. So last year we went to Louisiana and Ohio State.
This year we're going to the SECRC conference is at Kennesaw, so we'll be doing Atlanta. I think we're going to hit a Braves game while we're there. And the Arhe national conference is in San Diego. So we're going to take a couple of students to San Diego with us this year as well. But we've been to Boston, Nashville.
Where else have we gone?
It's hard to remember. Now, Atlanta, we went to Kennesaw. But yeah, we do all kind of fun stuff, for sure.
[00:13:19] Speaker C: A lot of fun. So it dispels the myth that being sober or being in recovery is not fun. It can be.
[00:13:28] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. No, our students have a blast all the time. Just come by our space and check it out. Just on a random day. Right.
I think that's something that's really tough for people, especially young people, to wrap their heads around. Even for me, I was like, oh, recovery is going to be the death of fun, right? I'm just never going to have fun again, and it's just been the exact opposite.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Gosh, I love that so much. And I know we're about to have to come on a break, but, Carter, I would love for you to kind of start a little bit about telling us what you love most about being part of the CRC and just what that community has given you so far.
[00:14:05] Speaker A: The people, easily 100%. That's the biggest thing.
The whole point of it. Obviously, it's in the name. It's a community.
But I think just the fact that there's anyone willing, like myself, to get sober at this age and recognize certain problems and patterns at this age.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Commendable.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: At the institution we're at, especially in the environment, is a big part of staying in the program.
I assume we'll get into it, but it's not for everyone. Recovery and it's not meant to be, but for those who need it, there is a space here on campus, and it's a really good space, and it's only gotten better since I've been in it.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: I think that's an amazing sound bite to take a break because I love the way that you articulated that. So you guys stick around. We're having amazing conversation. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: W v UAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:15:20] Speaker B: Hey, listeners, you are listening to fit.
[00:15:22] Speaker C: To be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. And we are talking with Alex and Carter, who are with the collegiate recovery community at the University of Alabama.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: Yes, and I think that if you missed the earlier part of the show, you're going to have to go back and listen to the recording, because I think just to know about these folks, they're both Tuscaloosa boys. We got to throw that out there. But before the know, Carter was mentioning what he loved most about the community, and that was the.
So, you know, as you think about getting more people into this life of sobriety and going into that conversation about substance abuse or misuse, however we want to label that. Alex, could you kind of speak to maybe some misconceptions about addiction and substance misuse?
[00:16:14] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, absolutely. So we mentioned the not being able to have fun was. So I'll go ahead and do another one. I'll give you one about addiction and one about recovery as well. Yeah, so the addiction one, I know for a lot of young people is the picture they have is the guy under the bridge, drinking out of a paper bag or shooting heroin or something crazy like that. Right? And that's the picture they have. And if they're not at that point, then it's all good and I don't have a problem or whatever. When really, if you're 2021, it looks a lot different, right? It looks like not going to class because you're using or drinking or you're hungover from the night before or going out and saying you're only going to have a couple, and then you're out to the bar closes more times than not.
And then there's that one person that's always doing really stupid stuff when they start drinking, the obvious ones.
So that about addiction and then the one about recovery is that whenever I speak to classrooms, I always have somebody come up and be like, God, you're so brave for fighting this battle. Every day I'm like, it's really not a battle anymore. We're not hanging on by a thread. After years and years and years of being sober, that really goes away very quickly. I mean, the beginning, yes, it's very fragile and all that, but after a few months of working on yourself and being separated, your brain chemistry comes back and it's just not even a thought anymore. So I think that's one of the.
[00:17:46] Speaker A: Biggest misconceptions, for sure.
[00:17:48] Speaker C: And I want to add this. I've had some students tell me in a joking manner, but that the adage is, it's not a problem until after graduation.
[00:17:58] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, sure.
[00:17:59] Speaker C: And what do you say to that?
[00:18:01] Speaker D: Yeah. And I get it right. It's easy to think that, especially when you look around and most of the people, if you're hanging out on the strip or downtown, it looks like everybody's doing the exact same thing. Right? Sure. So, yeah, that can be very tough, but I can assure you it can be problematic very early.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: That's what I wanted to ask Carter.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: If he's okay with sharing.
[00:18:24] Speaker C: How did you know? Because you're not out of college, when you realized, hey, this is a problem, would you mind sharing? What were some of the things that led you to realize this might be a little out of my.
[00:18:40] Speaker A: Is Alex is very qualified to talk about the technical aspects of how everything works, and I'm very good at talking about the street level version of it, so it might be a little crude.
[00:18:53] Speaker C: So throw some straight credits in here.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: Come out.
So when I was a freshman, which was 2018, my first semester, I went to maybe two classes total.
That's not, like, an exaggeration. That's like, legitimate. I came into college having already drank like most users and most kids my age, to be honest. And for two years, I fooled pretty much myself, my parents, pretty much everyone around me into keeping me in school for the excuse of living and drinking and using and stuff. And then when I was 20, I ended up in the hospital due to some even more extreme circumstances.
And I had a doctor finally ask me if I thought that rehab might be a good option. But I never went to anything inpatient. I went to outpatient treatment, which is just over Zoom meetings, too, because it was during the pandemic, too. So it was an interesting experience. I think it was very unique, actually, but in that I actually met a guy who referred me to the CRC, which was under different management at the time. But if I had not been in that meeting with that guy, I would have never known about the CRC, to be honest with you. I maybe would have discovered it, but I don't know.
So, yeah, I think the biggest misconception, I think that goes around the thing you said about the after graduation, it's a problem.
Everyone is a case by case basis. That's the difference. And Alex is right that I think every alcoholic and addict I've ever met has said the same thing. They don't like when people come up and tell them they're proud of them for staying sober. Because once you get to a certain point, you feel like, why would I keep doing all this work? Or why would I have done all this work just to give it up in, like, 5 seconds by taking that drink again?
[00:21:04] Speaker B: I think for a lot of listeners and maybe people who have a loved one that they're concerned about, there's always, I'm sure this thought of, what could I do or say, or what could I have done or said to get somebody into treatment or intervention faster? Is there anything that a family member or friend can say to get somebody to do that? Or is it just very individual? Because I feel like so much of it is a personal choice. But then also, too, what does that look like? So for our listeners who are like, goodness, how can I help somebody? What would you say to that?
[00:21:43] Speaker D: Yeah, I feel like the biggest mistake that parents make is trying everything before they just talk to a professional like themselves. Right. And I get it. I'm a parent. I'll probably make the same mistakes with my kid.
But that's what I would tell them, is if they have serious concerns about it, get in touch with professionals that can help, for sure. Because, number one, you're their parents and so they're probably not going to listen to you the way you want them to. And if you get a professional involved, then maybe with all the credentials and background and all that, and it's an outside entity looking in at. So that's what I would say.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: I like that. Just thank you for your wisdom.
Carter. Anything that you want to add to, you know, if someone were to say, know, if they're like, dude, I want to help my friend, what would you say?
[00:22:40] Speaker A: It's a painful thought to be in that situation because I know several of my friends were in that situation, or like, close to it at least. To be honest. I've heard this a lot and I think it is true, but I think, again, it's a case by case basis, so it's always different. But the only person that can help that person is themselves, which is an unfortunate thing to deal with in recovery. But I feel like the only thing that really got me to give it a chance was the threat of losing, I guess, what my comfort level was. And beyond that, I was so scared that I didn't know what else to do. So I gave it a try and it ended up sticking. So I feel like for me, it was more of like, almost like it was a rock bottom moment is what we call it. Our bottom.
Yeah. I feel like it doesn't always take that much to get there because my situation, compared to some people I know, is not terrible at all, like, looking at it, but it's different for everybody.
[00:23:52] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:23:53] Speaker C: Right?
[00:23:53] Speaker B: Sure. So for our listeners who have been living that life of sobriety and they're thinking, wow, I didn't know about the CRC. How can I get plugged in? So what does that application process look like as far as membership goes?
[00:24:09] Speaker D: So really you can just come to eleven one Jackson Avenue if you would like, and come to the CRC and just walk in, you don't need an appointment or anything.
You can also get on our website, which is cris ua.edu, and there's a tab you can click where it just asks for your name, cell phone number and email address and that's it. And then we'll reach out to them.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:24:38] Speaker D: So it's not like you're putting any private information online or anything like that.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: And are applications rolling or is it one of those things where to be accepted for this academic year, have your membership in by.
[00:24:49] Speaker D: Okay, we take anybody at any time and even, yes, to be a full member, you have to have a year or more, but we'll take people day one or even if they don't even know if they want to stop or not.
[00:25:02] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:25:02] Speaker D: They just want to come by and talk to us, then that's fine, too.
Yeah, we welcome that kind of thing. We're not going to try and talk anybody into anything either.
[00:25:12] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Well, roll tied to that, we're going to take a quick break and then we're going to have a little bit of a shift in conversation. But you are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena.
[00:25:39] Speaker C: And Nika on 90.7 the cat stone. And we are continuing our discussion with Alex and Carter with the CRC at the University of Alabama. And so we were talking over break about where we kind of what some of the things that we wanted to ask. And so let's see if I can do this in a way that makes sense. So at the university, we've got students that are like, this is the environment. This is the norm. This is what's kind of. I thought this is what was expected. I still want to be quote unquote cool and get to do things, but I don't want to put myself in a situation that is going to lead to misuse, abuse and dependence. So looking back, as somebody who's come out from on the other side, what would you tell your former self or what would you tell friends to say, this is a red flag. This kind of behavior might not be great, might not lead you down a great road. This should be your alarm signals that, hey, back off.
Change direction.
[00:26:49] Speaker D: Interesting question.
What would I tell my former self? I would tell my former self to be more open minded to other people's ideas.
Especially, we talked about it earlier that you're too young to even think about this kind of thing.
I would also tell myself back then that, oh, I just had a bad run, something happened. And so that's why I'm doing all this, when really it was just a pattern. It was just very problematic.
[00:27:23] Speaker C: But they see a pattern, right?
[00:27:25] Speaker D: If you start seeing patterns, if you start acting in ways that are not the way that you want to act, right, and you don't feel like you can change it.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:27:35] Speaker D: Then those are pretty big red flags for sure. Or if this is a really big one, if you feel like you can't have fun unless you're drunk or high, then that's a pretty big problem because there are billions of people out there that absolutely do.
[00:27:51] Speaker C: Right. And Carter, before you answer this, I want to ask you both, what about for students who are using it as a means to cope like they're depressed, they're sad. They don't know what they want to do. They've broken up with someone.
How do you start seeing.
Having a drink? To take the edge off is one thing, but then noticing that that's a pattern.
[00:28:14] Speaker D: Right.
And that's something that's really important, because if you're doing that to cope more often than not, then that means that it's working. Right? Or it worked at some point, and we need to acknowledge that it did work at some point. But if it's starting to get to where you're doing that every time you need to cope with something, then again, I'd say, come talk to our office, because the only way to figure out other coping skills is to talk with somebody and stop doing the things that you've been doing and to see what's on the other side of it, for sure.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: I appreciate you mentioning that, because I think that one of the things that we didn't necessarily acknowledge with the CRC is that it's under this umbrella of collegiate recovery and intervention services. So there is a completely other side of the house where you have your fabulous coworkers that are also seeing students and kind of tell us about what those interactions are like and what those services are for students.
[00:29:15] Speaker D: Yeah, sure. So, on the intervention services side of the hall, we have three therapists there, which our students get free therapy with them if they want it. Nice people that are committed to our program.
But really, the first time you come in, it'll be just a conversation about what's going on with you, and then you can decide if further therapy on this topic is something that you'd like to pursue.
[00:29:42] Speaker C: Love it. So, Carter, how would you answer the question going back to 2018.
[00:29:49] Speaker A: What would I tell my former self? Not nice things immediately. But I think it all boils down to my maturity level evolving over time as well, because addiction stunts your emotional growth, so you kind of resume growing when you get out of it.
When your brain chemistry comes back and you return back to normal, you kind of get this influx of, like, oh, wow, my life's finally actually starting, especially as a young person. I think that's one of the beautiful things about recovery, is that some people would view this as a negative more times than not. But I'm, like, almost 24, and I feel like I'm finally at a point in my life where things are organized, I'm happier, I have a future, and 99% of the time, I was using, and most people I know that used or are sober now were using it, to cope. It's an escapism method. Right.
So I think that I would tell my former self to be more open minded as well, but I also tell myself to just look forward and not hang on to things as much as I used to. Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing with a lot of recovery and a lot of addiction is based on.
[00:31:28] Speaker B: Know. Carter, you kind of told us about your timeline, as far know, when you were a freshman and how old you are now with the current set of students at the CRC where ages fall. I'm kind of curious, do you have several members of the community that kind of took a long stint before coming back to school, or are you all in similar ages? Like, is there a big age gap with the group right now that's kind of all over the place?
[00:32:04] Speaker D: Yeah. No, I think our oldest is 47, and I think our youngest is 20. I would say 19. Yeah. So it's about half and half traditional and nontraditional students, I'd say, which is incredible, because when I went through the CRC starting in 2016, it was all nontraditional students. Yeah, probably the youngest was 25, 26 or so.
And now I look at my spreadsheet, and it's like half these kids are born in, like, students, not kids, were born in 2003, 2004, which I think is pretty amazing, for sure.
[00:32:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: Gosh, I'm thinking, like, what was I doing back in 2003? I was like, I was not a newborn.
[00:32:47] Speaker C: Makes me think about my own age.
[00:32:52] Speaker B: I was just going to say really quick, one of my most favorite things that you all offer as a community is the sober tailgate on the quad. Because, again, as we think about just the culture of college, the culture of Alabama, an SEC school, a football, just this whole concept of, well, I want to be on the quad, but I want to be with my community. So I love that that's something that you have for the students. So that was just me kind of saying that, not necessarily asking questions.
[00:33:23] Speaker C: It's pretty nice, right? Like, you have catering?
[00:33:26] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, we do catering. We got the big screen tv and cornhole.
[00:33:31] Speaker A: I would say it's, like, probably our most looked forward to events of the fall semesters besides our own. I mean, when you're in the program and you get to know everyone, there's several things we do throughout the week that we just keep students engaged, especially recently. But the tailgates were huge this last semester.
They were insanely fun.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:33:58] Speaker C: Another rule tie. Yes, another rule tie. So, before we take a break and we may come back after the break and talk about it. But I want everyone, if you don't mind, since we are on spring break and we're talking about college, what is a safety tip? Can be anything that you would like to share with our listeners about staying safe on spring break while you're a college student.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: I would say mostly because I was reading an article about this a week ago about sharing your location on social media and all of the ways that kids know how. Kids know how to track each other, where they're like, oh, yeah, I could find their geolocation from where they did this snap. And I'm like, this old fogey didn't know how to do that.
[00:34:46] Speaker C: But also, if somebody who does not need to be showing up at that location shows up to find someone, that can be very dangerous.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:34:55] Speaker C: I love that tips. I will share mine, and then when we come back, we will ask our guests. So my tip is if you're traveling with friends, plug their parents phone numbers and names into your phone so that.
[00:35:10] Speaker B: If something happens, you can call and.
[00:35:13] Speaker C: Say, hey, this is so and so. I'm with your son or daughter and we are at the hospital or whatever, because I think, you know, parents sometimes.
[00:35:23] Speaker B: Are the last to know. Yes.
[00:35:25] Speaker C: As a parent, I would say plug it in.
[00:35:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just going to say that was the best hashtag mom tip. But, y'all, we got to take a break. Then we're going to listen to hear what Alex and Carter have to recommend. You are listening to fits inside with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 Acapelle.
[00:35:46] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:35:55] Speaker B: Welcome back, listeners.
[00:35:56] Speaker C: You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika. And we are winding it down with our guests, Alex and Carter from the collegiate recovery and intervention services community at the University of Alabama. And before we took a break, I was asking everyone to share their best safety tip for college students on spring break. And I'm excited to hear what you guys have to say. So what is your tip you would like to share with the world? Carter?
[00:36:26] Speaker A: I think one thing, I heard you mention the numbers and the phone thing, so I immediately thought of this. For any younger people out there that don't do this, because I know this is not common anymore. Memorizing phone numbers is huge.
[00:36:39] Speaker C: If you lose your phone.
[00:36:40] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:36:40] Speaker A: At least your mom's. At least that's huge for me.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: That is good.
[00:36:44] Speaker A: I've had it locked in since I was, like, five.
[00:36:46] Speaker C: I love it.
[00:36:48] Speaker A: Thank God it's stayed the same.
And then drink water.
[00:36:52] Speaker C: Drink water.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Hydration, man.
[00:36:55] Speaker C: The key.
[00:36:55] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:36:56] Speaker C: Alex.
[00:36:57] Speaker D: Yeah. Carter stole my drink water. One. I was just thinking about being at the beach. Know, you don't realize how long you've been out there and all that stuff. Drink water, make sure you're eating food. And if you're at the.
Know, when I go to the beach, I see people do this all the time, and I have practiced this as well. You feel like you're at the beach, and so there are no rules. I promise you there are. And you will upset the locals. Yes. You will upset local law enforcement. So just be safe and don't do dumb stuff.
[00:37:30] Speaker C: Don't do dumb stuff. I love it.
[00:37:32] Speaker B: I would say yes. Respect the flags out there at the beach. Because on my 30th birthday, my husband and I went to Mexico, and I just decided to ignore the red flag.
[00:37:44] Speaker C: Or double red flag and almost died in a riptide.
[00:37:47] Speaker B: And I'm pretty sure the lifeguard was, like, cussing me out in Spanish. And I was like, that actually would have been the worst scenario possible, to die on my 30th birthday.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: But that's another good tip. Know how to identify a rip current and how to get out of it. Yeah, that's always a good one, too.
I love that we're on spring break, and hopefully everybody is having fun. They're making good, healthy decisions.
[00:38:13] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:38:14] Speaker C: But if not, if you find yourself in a pickle, just know that your phone has Google. Yes, you can also call the national poisoning hotline. Yes, you can call 911. But then another tip that we were talking about over the break is if you're traveling to Mexico, my friend, or anywhere out of the country, go and plug in that Us embassy's number into your phone so you'll know exactly how to get help from the Americans.
[00:38:50] Speaker B: Which we forgot to ask this Alex Carter. Are y'all doing anything fun for spring break?
[00:38:55] Speaker D: I'm going to New Jersey. My in laws are in New Jersey. Okay, so me and the fam are driving to Jersey for spring break.
[00:39:01] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:39:02] Speaker B: Very nice, Carter.
[00:39:03] Speaker A: No.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: Sometimes no plans are the best plans. Right?
[00:39:08] Speaker A: I've actually never done.
At least, I don't think I've ever done anything for a real spring break. I'm pretty sure I've had things here and there, but nothing like a huge beach trip or anything.
[00:39:21] Speaker C: I'm with you.
[00:39:22] Speaker D: Me?
[00:39:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
That ship sailed for me. But it's all right.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: No, I understand.
I have loved our conversation today. This has been amazing. And obviously, the fact is very exciting that spring break is coming up. I do have one more very random question for the two of you all. It's kind of a spin off from some things we've been asking our other guests, but just thinking about the fact that people are traveling this week, maybe doing road trip stuff. What is your favorite road trip song, Alex?
[00:39:50] Speaker D: Go, man.
You got to go, Carter.
[00:39:58] Speaker A: Probably Franklin's tower by the Grateful dead.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:40:02] Speaker D: Yeah. All right.
[00:40:03] Speaker C: He's got his queued up in the.
[00:40:04] Speaker B: Car, ready to go.
[00:40:05] Speaker D: Yeah. All right, so I'm going to go road tripping red hot chili peppers.
[00:40:09] Speaker C: Literally called road tripping. Yeah.
[00:40:11] Speaker B: Mika, what's a road trip song for you or just car song in general? You know what?
[00:40:16] Speaker C: Speaking of the red hot chili Peppers, I do love their can't stop.
[00:40:19] Speaker B: Oh, yes.
[00:40:20] Speaker C: It's a good driving song. Yes. Be careful, though, because you can get a little heavy footed on the pedal. Trying to keep up with the beat. Yeah. What about you, Sheena?
[00:40:29] Speaker B: I'm kind of digging thunderstruck right now. We've been listening it on the way to preschool a lot lately. Just, like, mostly the intro, because then it makes me think, like, Alabama football. And then I stop the but because I just get hype. And then I stop. But, y'all, with that said, y'all have a safe hype. Wonderful spring break. You have been listening to fitsby ties with Sheena Nikki on 90.7. The Capstone.
