Girls Night Out pairs safety with good times

Several hundred Del Mar College women poured into the Richardson Performance Hall on September 2 to experience a Girls Night Out, an event sponsored by the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Incoming freshmen, high school students and many others who attended Girls Night Out obtained useful information on traveling abroad, skin care, self-esteem and health while living the college life.

Several speakers provided unique tips and stories, including Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba in 2005 during a high school trip abroad. Beth Holloway, who shares her daughter’s story with women throughout the country, spoke to students about her experience with the loss of her daughter and shared the significance of simple safety rules repeated by parents to their children.

“Violent and heinous crimes happen to people all over the world, but the difference when it happens outside your country is the level of help you will receive,” said Holloway. “Travelers need to get educated about where they’re going. Find out about the police precincts in your area and see if there’s a U.S. Embassy Office there.”

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Beth Holloway talks about her daughter, Natalee, who disappeared in Aruba in 2005, during Girls Night Out. Holloway advised travelers to research their destinations and offered tips to stay safe

Holloway established the Natalee Holloway Resource Center, a place for families who are missing loved ones, to turn to for guidance.

“It was very courageous of Beth Holloway to come up and talk about what she experienced and how it was for her to go through such a horrible experience with her daughter,” said Del Mar student Chevais McChester. “She has a strong will, and that’s definitely something to be admired.”

Other speakers talked about skin care and wearing broad-spectrum sunblock, even on overcast days, as well as the significance of taking care of your well-being and happiness as a student.

“It was definitely something different, getting involved on campus, especially because it is my first year,” said psychology major Jordan Bangert.

Several vendors spread across the lobby in the Richardson Performance Hall and provided games and free items for health, skin, alcohol awareness and more such as Clinique samples, shirts, coasters and coupons. Zumama representatives conducted a short Zumba routine that students and staff participated in.

“It was really cool to know that people care about women and women’s safety, and I think it’s really prevalent in society, and it’s what we need to know right now,” liberal arts major Rita Decastro said.

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