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Vacation Safety: Students as Spring Breakers

By Megan Roth

For many colleges, spring break is officially here. Students across the nation are piling onto planes and heading off for what will undoubtedly be an unforgettable trip (at least for those who are lucky enough to remember it).

Aah - I remember it like it was just yesterday: enduring a week of seemingly prolific classes and their b.s. exams the week prior, all the while daydreaming about my upcoming trip-of-a-lifetime with friends.

Yes, as a college student, I indulged in the same Spring Break activities/festivities as all others; binge drinking until I couldn't see straight and rowdy, drunken behaviors that could've (and probably should have) gotten me killed. We had great fun but I admit I look back and think 'man, oh man, were we stupid!' Some of the things we did were just plain idiotic and we're fortunate no one got hurt. Unfortunately, not everyone's as lucky as us.

I have friends who've spent nights ill in the hotel room over their Spring Break (most from alcohol consumption but a couple who were believed to have contracted a strain of food poisoning). Either way, it wasn't the way they wanted to spend their college Spring Break.

Yet, millions of students will once again flock to numerous resorts and other beach locations and hundreds are bound to end up in the same fine-form.

Speaking from experience, I know preventing (or enduring) such a condition is the last thing on one's mind when moving to the beat in a trendy downtown club or downing a beer bong extending from the third floor of an over-crowded beach house. However, being slightly smart and maintaining a small sense of control pays off dividends in the long run.

Parents, I know you don't want your kids to end up a statistic. What statistic? The one that says many injuries occur on spring break trips, the vast majority of which are attributed to alcohol consumption and intoxication.

One thing you can recommend to your college-aged children? Stay active on their trip. Many S.B. destinations offer numerous outings and activities that don't involve drinking. Participating in such lessens your son/daughter's chance of participating in ill-begotten behaviors such as unprotected - or even protected - sex with strangers. Sometimes this isn't even a choice one makes; the environment on many spring break trips (where there's a free-flow of booze and sociable atmosphere) makes it easy for one to slip a date-rape drug into another's drink. So though they may choose to accept the drink (and unknowingly consume the drug), they aren't choosing the incoherency that is bound to result.

Even if it isn't taken to that level, there are other unpleasant, sexually charged behaviors that often result from drinking and will make a trip less than desirable. Men and women alike experience harassment on such trips (verbal, sexual and physical); however, many crack it up to be part of the experience and just look the other way. Others blame it on the drinking and hard drugs that often circulate in such environments.

Oh, did I not mention that spring break increases teen drug use risks? It's true: recreational drug use occurs freely and frequently o such trips and often leads to regrettable behaviors, including but not limited to sex, tattoos, piercings, etc.

All beautiful things, right Mom? Dad? Okay, maybe not-so much. I know you can't control the way your kids act on their Spring Break festivities; the best you can do is educate them of the consequences of their actions and act accordingly in the event that something does go wrong.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).