Is Spring Break Really Worth Dying For?

Personally, my Spring Breaks do not involve partying, drinking, and sex with strangers but I do know so many people who do want to do that on their week off in the middle of the spring semester.  Some people do this within their town, some choose to travel hundreds of miles across the country and even to other countries as well.  Fox News posted a story to their website just this week titled “Dangers Lurk in Some Spring Break Destinations.”  After reading this article, I wouldn’t travel south of good ole Missouri even if you paid me.  

It’s no question that Mexico is definitely a hot spot for many Spring Breakers.  I mean, really, it would be so cool to spend a week with your best friends in a foreign country.  No curfew, no parents, no classes, it would be the life.  But I can truly say that if I hadn’t read this article for my blog, I would’ve never known the dangers some of these high school and college students are going to unknowingly get themselves into, and as bad as it sounds, some of these kids could not come home.

Some known hot spots for Spring Break include Acapulco, Mexico, Jamaica, South Padre Island, Texas, Mazatlan, Mexico and the infamous Cancun, Mexico.  All of these places, including South Padre Island, are facing some rough times with drug cartels and situations students from our sheltered country could never imagine.  In Acapulco, deaths by drug cartels increased 147 percent between 2009 and 2010.  In Jamaica, there is a line in the sand where the sand changes color and that’s the line Americans are not to cross.  Just past the resort side of the line (which is safe to Americans), anything goes on the other.  There is also a warning of people being raped by the hotel or resort staff.  South Padre Island is in the United States, but just a few miles south of it are two of Mexico’s most famous trafficking hub.  Most students probably don’t know that but they do know that alcohol is much cheaper there along with a younger drinking age, so those are the things that stand out more than the fact that they could die.  Mazatlan is home to the country’s deadliest drug cartel, the Sinaloa Federation, and they are killing people so often the bodies can be found on the streets.  In Cancun, probably one of the most popular places thanks to MTV, U.S. citizens can act like they are still in the states, but don’t have the consequences which can be disastrous.  The researchers also warn that the undertow can also be deadly.

So, I can safely say, I never knew ANY of this, at all, if I hadn’t read this article.  Spring Break is supposed to be a time of fun and relaxation with family or friends.  It’s scary that the world today has to now worry about being shot or raped or something like that.  As a college student, I feel like a matter this horrific should be addressed in schools before our Spring Break.  If students really knew what was going on, I know if I were considering travelling to Mexico, I would really think otherwise.