Spring break dangers: Practicing safety on vacation

By Midm Yi

With the unusually warm weather appearing briefly last week, Mother Nature seems to be teasing us with the thoughts of sunshine, flip flops, shorts and skirts. As the snow melts so does the patience of students who desire to reside on a tropical beach with the sun radiating warmth all around them.

For many college students, spring break is a week of full of partying in clubs, swimming on beaches and living in luxurious hotels all located in exotic hot spots. With television programs such as MTV, students see visuals of the palm trees, the clear blue water with young adolescents in swim shorts or bikinis all joining together to have some fun in the sun. To soak up the sun, college students choose the typical warm locations. According to About.com, the past three years students have chosen hot spots such as Cancun, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas and Barbados to throw down a week of crazy parties.

What draws college students to travel down to these locations? The freedom from the watchful eyes of parents and the easy accessibility to alcohol and drugs instantly attract college students to spend spring break in these specific locations. The drinking age in places like Cancun and Cabo sit at 18 years of age. Students being able to gain easy accessibility to alcohol and drugs without a chaperone are prone to dangerous activities, which at times can potentially be life-threatening. However, as hazardous as this can look, college students overlook the perils lying in front of them while in search for fun and pleasure.

Griffin Ng, a third-year finance major, believes that the dangers of spring breakers generally depend on the person's ability to have self-control.

Ng said, "Students usually want to go there for fun so most of them avoid dangerous activities, but when a person doesn't have a strong self-control things can get a little bit dangerous."

Breet Singh believes that places like Cancun where the drinking age limit is younger compared to the U.S. can create dangerous situations as well.

Singh states, "Although I haven't personally been to these locations, I have been on spring break trips before and my friends have gotten alcohol easily and it led to bad situations."

As spring break seems to be months away, this gives college students enough time to think about the issue, the fact of the matter that lies behind the curtain of the fun. As beautiful Cancun or Cabo may seem, what lies beneath is a beautiful danger.

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