Go to the store, pack your bags and prepare your home. The apocalypse is coming to Sam Houston State University.
But all is not lost. Run, don nott walk, to the Student Money Management Center’s Apocalypse Preparedness Seminar on Wednesday from 6 – 7 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center room 315.
According to the SMMC website, the event will teach life saving techniques to prepare students for doomsday emergency situations. The techniques presented will give students the upper hand at becoming doomsday preppers.
One such doomsday prepper is Alicia Norman, junior psychology major. Norman has what she calls a “bug out bag” in the trunk of her car. It is a backpack that contains things like ponchos, toothbrush, painkillers and many other items that would be useful in the event of an emergency.
“I’ve always been drawn to post-apocalyptic scenarios and events that would lead up to them,” Norman said. “Whenever the movie ‘Contagion’ came out, that was my first time thinking that a post apocalyptic scenario could actually happen.”
“Contagion” is a film that came out in 2011 about a pandemic and the events that follow. From this film the “bug out bag” was born.
“One of the big things my research showed me was how to make a bug out bag, which is just a bag full of various supplies that could help you get through 24-60 hours,” Norman said. “Originally, I made one in the event of some horrible worldwide threat happening, but now I know it’s good to have even in the relatively simple event of a house fire.”
The bag is similar to the emergency kits many people keep in the trunk of their cars for flat tires. The differences between the two are scene in the heat reflective blankets, collapsible water bottle and tarps Norman keeps in the bag.
“I check it a couple times a year, just to trade out supplies and make sure everything is still good,” Norman said. “The [bug out bag] is just something you want to grab and go.”
It is always good to be prepared for the worst. In today’s world anything can happen, from the apocalypse to money management issues. It is this level of preparedness that students can learn at the Student Money Management Center’s seminar on apocalypse preparedness.
For more information, contact Student Money Management Center at 936-294-2600.
