In just two short weeks one of the most anticipated times for all students alike will be upon us — spring break. The expectations for this week are high and attendance rates at the gym will be skyrocketing as college students prepare for this week of fun.

Social media, music and movies have been engraining the idea of a “wild and crazy” spring break into our heads ever since we were in high school and many students, including myself, will run off to Florida or Texas in hopes of satisfying these expectations. However, with all the fun of these trips comes real-life safety concerns that many students seem to be ignoring.

I know, we are college students, which obviously means we are invincible; but we need to take into consideration that no matter the setting there will be real consequences for our actions. The reality says it: spring break is dangerous. Spring break trips, for some, are the first vacation students will take with friends and with no parents around and questionable decisions may be made.

In 2010, the city violent crime rate for Panama City, Fla., a popular spring break destination for students, was higher than the national violent crime rate by 87.53 percent. Panama City, or PCB, is one of the hot spots for spring breakers around the country. Students from many different fraternities, sororities and registered student organizations head to this beach every break in hopes of having a crazy experience. It is also where I intend on spending my week. But the insane stories I have heard and the glaring statistics further prove my point that this place, filled with thousands of college students, is not safe.

Most spring break destinations have laws that allow open containers on the beach and most places also have party packages that you can purchase for the week. My group decided to buy the party pass this year and realized that it entitled us to free beer during certain hours throughout the day. A college kid’s dream, right? While the idea of drinking from sunrise to sunset on the beach for seven days straight might sound great, illnesses such as dehydration can be a consequence if precautions are not taken.

When planning for spring break, all students need to be fully aware of the dangers they will be facing. Whether it’s a bad sunburn, dehydration or more serious scenarios such as assault, sexually transmitted infections, getting drugged or suffering from alcohol poisoning, bad things can happen on the beach and they are much more likely to happen during the spring break periods when students are in an unfamiliar location with many other students.

Being in this unfamiliar territory can cause even more issues if you are in need of a hospital or any other facility near by. There also comes the problem that all your friends have been drinking all day and there might not be anybody sober enough to drive to the hospital. As we can see from all these scenarios, safety really needs to be taken into consideration so that negative situations can be prevented.

Thinking you are immune to these issues is childish and downright stupid. The minute we start ignoring these risks is the minute these risks will become a reality. Now, I am not saying that we cannot still have all the fun we were planning on having during spring break, I am just stating that safety should be one of our concerns as well.

My friends and I have devised a spring break buddy system plan that we are going to be utilizing throughout the week. We plan on having at least three of us together at all times and we are planning on watching each other’s drinks to make sure nobody tries to slip us anything. Even small precautions like this will ensure a safer week that will be more fun for everyone involved.

College students need to understand that we are not invincible. Things can happen and spring break is not the time to test our luck. Just like we need to stay safe on campus we need to apply the same precautions and rules to spring break. Spring break will still be fun without doing anything illegal or reckless. I know I am excited to just get out of this terrible Champaign weather.

Whether they are escaping to PCB, Myrtle Beach, Daytona, Padre or even Mexico, college students need to keep safety in mind during their trips. One stupid move could cause something terrible to happen. Laws still stand during break and police will still be present, and students need to remember that when they are thinking about being adventurous or making a choice they wouldn’t normally make.

So keep it clean, Champaign. Party hard, but also party safe. Remember, nobody wants to come back to campus with a sunburn, illness, drinking ticket or STI. Use your common sense, have a great break and remember, you are not invincible.

Rebecca is a junior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].