Whether you love the great outdoors, a night out on the town, a day of shopping, or a nice relaxing float down the San Marcos river, there is something in San Marcos that is right up your alley.

Most students who come to San Marcos never want to leave.  San Marcos has many exciting things to do.  The beautiful San Marcos River provides days full of enjoyment for many.  If it is the night life you look forward to, the Historic Downtown District has restaurants, bars, live entertainment, and shops for you to explore.  And who could forget the third largest tourist attraction Texas has to offer:  The Prime and Tanger Outlet Malls.  Whatever you are looking for, you need not worry.  San Marcos has something for everyone.

Private Parties

Whether you find yourself attending or hosting a party located at a private residence, you must think ahead and be prepared for any unforeseen events such as a fire.

As the host of a party, you must check to make sure that everything is in place and in working order (smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, doors and windows) before you have visitors to your home .  If there are smokers, put out enough ashtrays so ash or butts are less likely to get dropped in inappropriate places like wastepaper bins.

Much like having a designated driver when you go out on the town, it is a great idea to designate someone to be a sort-of party safety officer.  Safety is ultimately everyone's responsibility, but alcohol can impair good judgment.  Having a sober person looking after the place just makes good sense.

After the party, check for improperly discarded smoking materials.  Look under cushions and in trash cans.  Clean up immediately after parties and take all garbage outside safely away from the building.  Do your part to ensure everyone gets home safely.

As a guest at someone's party, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with your surroundings.  Know how to get out in the event of a fire or emergency.  It is good practice to know multiple ways out of any room you are in.  Remember, the quickest way out may not be the way you came in.

Have fun, but be responsible.  Be considerate of those people around you.  Be a good neighbor.

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Tips for hosting a private party:

• Inform your neighbors of the upcoming event.

• Keep strangers out.  Designate someone to work the door and be sure you know everyone at your party.

• Keep the noise at a respectful level to keep the neighbors and the cops happy.

• Be sure everyone drinking is of age.  You are legally responsible if minors are caught drinking and can be arrested for contributing to minors.

• Do not let anyone leave the party with alcohol.

• Be sure everyone leaving the party has a designated sober driver taking them home.  Be prepared to take away someone’s keys if necessary.

• Be courteous and respectful to the police if they should arrive.

• Keep all smokers outside.

• Supply enough ashtrays to keep the cigarette butts from ending up on the ground.

• Before the party, make sure all smoke detectors are in working order and you have at least one fire extinguisher in the house.

• Have all emergency numbers close by in case of any unforeseen events.

• Make sure all windows and doors are unlocked for easy escape in case of a fire.

If there is a fire:

• Tell everyone in your home.
• Get everyone out.
• Call 911.
• Don't go back in.

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Bars/Night Club Safety

Whenever you go clubbing or to a party, take a moment when you enter the place to check out the exits. It could save your life.

In the summer of 2004, the State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO) conducted fire safety inspections of bars, nightclubs, lounges and dance halls in eight Texas counties after studying the fire safety violations contributing to the tragic, 100-death February 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island and observing similar, recurring hazards during a county-wide inspection of bars and clubs in a Gulf Coast county in fall 2003.

Fire safety violations were classified according to five categories, including:

• Fire protection features (alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, etc.).
• Building services (electrical systems, heating and cooling, gas).
• Means of egress.

Means of egress — the way occupants evacuate a building — is the most important fire safety feature necessary in a building. Unfortunately, means of egress problems were the most common violation found by SFMO inspectors. Of the 189 establishments inspected in the summer of 2004, 182 had means of egress violations.

The State Fire Marshal believes that the safety of bar patrons depends on a collaborative effort involving bar owners, local fire departments and — principally — bar patrons and club goers who take responsibility for their personal safety by "knowing the way out" of whatever party venue they find themselves in.

Wherever you go to party or club, take a moment when you enter the place to check out the exits. There should usually be more than one exit, and each exit should be clearly identified and unobstructed. If necessary, ask a club employee where the exits are.

A fire-related catastrophe could strike a Texas nightclub. Less serious bar fires happen every week across the state.

To lessen the likelihood of a Station Nightclub tragedy in Texas, the SFMO is developing "Know Your Way Out", a collaborative fire-safety education effort involving the SFMO, TABC, club owners/managers, local fire marshals and departments, and other public safety organizations to get this simple message out to club goers:

You may now call the SFMO Bar Inspection Resource Line at 512-305-7943.

"Have fun, but know your way out."

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Alcohol and You

A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences

The consequences of excessive and underage drinking affect virtually all college campuses, college communities, and college students, whether they choose to drink or not.

• Death: 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Injury: 500,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Assault: More than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Sexual Abuse: More than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Academic Problems: About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall (Engs et al., 1996; Presley et al., 1996a, 1996b; Wechsler et al., 2002).
  
• Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem (Hingson et al., 2002) and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use (Presley et al., 1998).
  
• Drunk Driving: 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Vandalism: About 11 percent of college student drinkers report that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol (Wechsler et al., 2002).
  
• Property Damage: More than 25 percent of administrators from schools with relatively low drinking levels and over 50 percent from schools with high drinking levels say their campuses have a "moderate" or "major" problem with alcohol-related property damage (Wechsler et al., 1995).
  
• Police Involvement: About 5 percent of 4-year college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking (Wechsler et al., 2002) and an estimated 110,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence (Hingson et al., 2002).
  
• Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking (Knight et al., 2002).

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

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