What’s at Stake: Consider safety while traveling abroad
Natalee Holloway was last seen on May 30, 2005, outside of Carlos ’n’ Charlie’s, an Aruban bar and night club, at around 1:30 a.m. Holloway has never been seen since.
March 10, 2010 • Lauren Kassien, Reporter
Filed under In-Depth
Picking out bathing suits, finding resorts, and scouting out the all-night bars are most likely at the top of some students’ “to-do” list when it comes to planning their spring break vacation. The idea that underage American students can travel to drink legally is what propels many students to Mexico for spring break.
“[Last year,] I went to Playa del Carmen for spring break with my family and some family friends,” an anonymous student said. “There were a lot of high school seniors there because they could drink a lot and not get caught.”
Mexican cities such as Cancun, Acapulco, and Playa del Carmen, are among the top 10 “party destinations” for spring break in 2010 according to tripadvisor.com. Mexico is a popular place for students to travel because the legal drinking age is 18 years old. According to the USA Today article, “Alcohol-Soaked spring break Lures Students Abroad,” tour organizers are sending the message that destinations such as Mexico and Florida are places where underage American students can drink excessively and not face consequences with the law.
“Every day during spring break, the seniors would get up and go to an all-night bar and drink all day,” the anonymous student said. “Their parents didn’t care. They were drinking, too, but not as much. The only bad thing that happened to them was that they were in a bad mood on the last day [they were there], because they all had bad hangovers. The worst that happened was that one girl got alcohol poisoning. She got kicked out of the resort and sent home.”
With the promise of drinking without getting in trouble, more high school and college students are heading south than ever before. According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff Department in Florida, 267 citations were issued for underage possession of alcohol during spring break 2008. In 2009, that number jumped to at least 542 citations.
While underage drinking flourishes during spring break, because of the promises that tour organizers make, some students don’t realize the effects their decisions have on their future.
“Alcohol is involved in the vast majority of arrests, accidents, violent crimes, rapes and deaths suffered by American students on spring break,” travel agent Kim Cook said. “While traveling in Mexico, American citizens are subject to Mexican law. An arrest or accident in Mexico can result in a difficult legal or medical situation, sometimes at a great expense to the traveler. Mexican law can impose harsh penalties for violations that would be considered minor in the United States, and U.S. citizenship in no way exempts one from full prosecution under the Mexican criminal justice system.”
Getting caught by the law isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a student who chooses to drink over spring break. If students are drinking excessively, it’s likely that the thought of their safety will never cross their minds.
Natalee Holloway is a prime example of what could happen to a student who, after excessive drinking, doesn’t take the matter of their safety into their own hands.
According to her family, Holloway was to attend the University of Alabama on a full scholarship after she graduated high school in 2005. She was going to pursue pre-med in college.
On May 26, 2005, Holloway arrived with 124 seniors in Aruba for a senior class trip. The seniors were accompanied by seven chaperones. Although chaperones were not required to check in with every student, they knew Holloway spent all of her time on the trip drinking. Holloway’s classmates confirmed the chaperones’ statements, adding that she drank so much, she didn’t show up for breakfast for two mornings.
Holloway was last seen on May 30, 2005, outside of Carlos ’n’ Charlie’s, an Aruban bar and night club, at around 1:30 a.m. Holloway left with 17 year-old Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch honor student living in Aruba at the time, along with two of his friends. She was expected to fly home on the same day, but she never showed up for her flight. Her luggage and passport were found still in her room. Holloway has never been seen since. Aruban authorities searched the island and the ocean for her, but she was never found.
Van der Sloot has been a prime suspect in Holloway’s case for several years. Van der Sloot has confessed numerous times to disposing of Holloway’s body, the most recent on Feb. 23, 2010. However, due to lack of evidence, Holloway’s body has not been found, and van der Sloot cannot be arrested.
“Everyone should be able to travel and have fun,” Debbie Groover, a board member for the Natalee Holloway foundation, said. “Teenagers and young adults need to be able to have fun with their friends, but safety cannot be forgotten. There is no guarantee that everyone will be safe, but you increase your odds when you watch out for each other.”
Students can still have a fun spring break vacation while keeping safe at the same time. Students should make sure an adult knows where they are at all times. Going out in groups is much safer than going out by oneself. Everyone in a group should have a working cell phone with each group member’s number in it.
“When you are in high school or in college, you have a tendency to think that you are invincible, but you are not,” Groover said. “Remember that a moment of fun can ruin or end your life. Nothing is worth taking your future away from you… Stay with your friends and make wonderful memories with the people that matter the most.”
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Video: JETV May Newscast
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