Spring break may be getting a lot tamer thanks to new alcohol rules at popular spring break locations across the country.
Beaches, specifically on the Gulf Coast, have been enforcing stricter alcohol policies to combat the disturbances created by the large number of college students who vacation there. The policies range from a complete ban on all alcoholic beverages to specific hours that people can drink on the beach.
The most controversial alcohol ban was at Panama City Beach, Florida. The city passed the alcohol ban March 2015 to try to calm down the wild spring break culture that has developed on their beaches. Arrest numbers have been steadily rising over the past few years, with 1,091 arrests during spring break 2015, which was up from 324 in 2014. An alleged gang rape that was caught on video and a shooting last year pushed citizens and city officials to try to make the city safer during spring break season.
After the ordinance was passed, many local business owners, who rely on spring break crowds, were worried about their future. A recent look at Panama City Beach businesses in 2016 [has shown a 50 to 85 percent decrease](http://www.newsherald.com/news/20160326/panama-city-beach-officials-expect-to-break-even) in sales. The city has said that it can deal with this drop in business during spring break.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach banned alcohol from their shores as well. The ban encompasses the time most college students are on spring break, lasting from March 1st to April 17th. Anyone who is caught with alcohol is “guilty of an offense, punishable by up to $500 and/or up to 6 months in jail,” according to a press release from the Gulf Shores website.
Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said they know that the city isn’t as bad as Panama City and that the new rules are to help prevent the beaches from becoming that rowdy.
City officials from Panama City Beach and Gulf Shores, including Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert, emphasized that the locations were for more than college students.
“The things that we did were to safeguard the citizens and the visitors that come to the beach and we’ve always been a family vacation location,” Gisbert said in an interview with WJHG Newschannel 7.
Port Aransas has created a 6 p.m. curfew for alcohol on the beach, instead of banning alcohol on the beach altogether.
Graphic by Katherine Rosso
####My take
Here’s how I look at it: I am all for living your best life. If you want to get drunk every day of break and party on the beach, be my guest. But when party culture turns dangerous, when people are getting seriously hurt and cities are having to pay to clean up messes they didn’t make, then I think it’s time for college students to step back and re-evaluate their party style.
We are not excused from being decent human beings during spring break. The world doesn’t work like that. If cities feel drinking bans are necessary, I stand by their decision. I feel bad that it comes with a cost to the city, but unfortunately, I don’t think college students are going to stop being complete messes any time soon.
If you want to keep other beaches more lenient about alcohol policies, show some common courtesy. Throw away your beer cans, puke in the garbage, and piss in the toilet. It’s that simple.
