Every year, college students travel to the beaches of Mexico in droves for spring break to take a much-needed break from studying. But this year, students may have to deal with more than finding a good beach and some bottled water, as the violence between the government and the drug cartels in Mexico has greatly escalated to such an extent that the United States Department of State has issued a travel alert for U.S. citizens.
Though there is no travel ban for U.S. citizens into Mexico and vice versa, the State Department in its alert recommends taking necessary precautions and using common sense to keep safe when traveling to Mexico. In addition, Bruce Reitman, dean of student affairs at Tufts, sent out an e-mail last Friday reminding students to exercise caution and gain as much information as possible before entering Mexico. Some of Reitman's recommendations include driving on the main roads, staying in well-known tourist areas of cities, leaving an itinerary with a family member or friend at home and avoiding displaying expensive-looking items.
The alert also mentions that most of the violence is taking place in the border region between the United States and Mexico. Many popular locations students visit, like Cancun, are in the southern part of the country on the Gulf of Mexico, far from the parts of the country where violence is occurring. Senior Brian Meshell, who planned a trip to Cancun with his friends, does not believe the situation will impact his trip.
"From my understanding, most of the violence is near the border," Meshell said. "Cancun is far away from that. It's a tourist-type area, so I'm not that worried."
The Department of State's warning, however, does indicate that kidnappings of U.S. citizens have occurred more frequently in recent years. Violence in public places has also increased, and some foreign visitors have been injured or killed. The alert lists the areas of Tijuana and Baja California as spiking in violence recently, especially in the city of Cuidad Juarez. Though these are not common vacation areas for college students, they do sometimes attract tourists — and they are popular day-trip spots for students who live in California and other states close to the border.
After hearing the Department of State's travel alert as well as coverage of the situation in Mexico by major news stations, some students and parents have become concerned about spending spring break in Mexico. Senior Michael Stephens plans to venture south of the border with a friend from Mexico who, he said, is familiar with the area. While he is not nervous about traveling to Mexico, he said that his plans have been slightly altered from the original itinerary.
"We're definitely still going. I figure since they know the area it should be okay," Stephens said; "however, we have tailored the trip to what's been going on. We were going to travel into the countryside, but now we are just planning to stay in a tourist area."
Many Tufts students who plan on going to Mexico have already become aware of the escalating violence and have educated themselves in order to make the best decision about whether or not to follow through with their original plans. Sophomore Alex Williamson was not surprised by Reitman's e-mail because he had already looked into the news himself.
"I'd seen the resources that were in the Tufts email about a week or two before it was sent and weighed my options," Williamson said. "My friends and I had a talk about not doing anything that would put us in danger. I think a lot of the area surrounding the hotel will be enclosed with private beaches. I think we'll feel safe, but we're also going to take precautions."
Students travel to Mexico for many reasons, but one notable reason is that it's a relatively inexpensive travel destination. "It's technically the most cliché vacation spot for college spring breaks," Williamson said. "[My friends and I] wanted to go to Jamaica, but it was really expensive. We found a ridiculous package to Mexico. This was about a month ago before any of these recent developments."
Stephens added that he had studied abroad in Spain and was interested in Mexico's language apart from the beach-lounging aspect. "[My friends and I] wanted to be in a Spanish-speaking country for spring break since we've all had experience with the language," he said.
Meshell carefully weighed his options before deciding to continue with his trip. "I do feel that Cancun will be one of the safer areas," he said. "I have to admit when I found out that the U.S. had issued a travel advisory, that did get me a little nervous, but not enough to cancel the trip."
Regardless of how far one is from the danger, the Department of State recommends that any student traveling to Mexico for spring break should read information and keep updated on the country's situation beforehand.
