Slumped over drunk on the beach, necking beer on hotel balconies and performing lewd dances in front of baying crowds, these are the Spring Break shenanigans that students don’t want their parents to see.Over the course of four days in Panama City Beach, DailyMail.com saw college kids get so drunk they needed medical attention, flash their breasts in public and, in one incident, appear to have sex pressed against the barriers in a nightclub.More still were seen getting drunk day and night, with some downing beer through funnels and others doing shots in the pool to chants of ‘drink, drink, drink, drink!’ – all despite the city banning drinking on the beach.
This week, 1.3 million students, most aged between 18 and 21, head out on vacation, with a further 2.5 million set to follow on Friday.
A student funnels beer on a hotel balcony – just one of the Spring Break shenanigans students don’t want their parents to see
While on Spring Break, students also were seen by DailyMail.com playing drinking games on their hotel balconies like ‘slapping the bag’ – removing the bag of wine inside the box of wine and then passing it around. This week, 1.3 million students, most aged between 18 and 21, head out on vacation, with a further 2.5 million set to follow on Friday
Over the course of four days in Panama City Beach, DailyMail.com saw college girls ‘performing’ on stage for crowds of men who cheered them on and took videos of them with their phones
‘Disorderly conduct’: One student appeared to expose herself to crowds of shocked onlookers
The student then seemed to dance her way off stage as men stared at her from behind dark sunglassesOf those, tens of thousands head to Panama City Beach, as well as other Florida resorts such as Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and Texas hotspot South Padre Island.For Panama City Beach, the annual influx means a $40m payday – approximately $2m of which is funneled into city coffers via a statutory bed tax.Bars and restaurants across town benefit greatly from the Spring Break shenanigans, including Dirty Dicks Crab House, whose slogan is ‘where diners come to get crabs’.Across the country, the student dollar equates to a $1bn boom for tour operators, bar owners and club promoters, according figures prepared by University of New Orleans economist John Laurie.But not everyone is delighted to see the students, including the local police department which is charged with enforcing rules introduced in 2015 banning drinking on the beach following a spate of rapes – 42 between 2007 and 2014.
Outside the Spinnaker Beach Club, which is famous for its Tuesday ‘Beach Bash’ parties, girls could be seen performing lewd dances for large crowds
A group of college girls cheer on a friend as she funnels beer on her hotel balcony not far from the beach. ‘This [Panama City Beach] is the top Spring Break place and it’s great for parties,’ one party-goer told DailyMail.com
Other students or college ‘drop outs’ relax and drink on a balcony nearby, ‘pre-gaming’ before heading out to a beach bash
Wet n’ Wild: Some revelers seemed in awe of the sloppy ‘performances’, including this fully clothed student who sipped her drink as she watches drunk girls dance – and fall over – on ‘stage’
Showing off: One student seemed to enjoy proudly displaying her behind for her fellow spring breakers
Quite the spectacle: Two men cheer on a twerking college student sporting a more sophisticated look, wearing glasses with her swimwear
Smile you’re on camera: The twerking college girl turned around to proudly show off her dance moves and toned physique – and is almost certain to have been filmed by those watchingAs a result, the 2016 season saw a drop in crime with police figures showing a total of 20 gun-related offences and 256 drug arrests, compared to 93 gun busts and 507 drug arrests the previous year.In total, 1,222 people were arrested during 2016 Spring Break, compared to 2,423 in 2015.Figures for this year are not yet available, although a total of 18 arrests were made in Panama City Beach over the weekend of February 3-5 – the majority for underage drinking and disorderly conduct.
STUDENTS USE COLLEGE LOANS FOR SPRING BREAK
A growing number of students, it seems, will use their student loans to fund their upcoming fun-in-the-sun spring breaks, reported the New York Post.About 30 percent of American students will tap into their college debt to pay for their wild week-long holidays.While using student loan cash for booze, beer pong and sunblock is not illegal, few experts find it wise.‘Students should minimize their borrowing during their college years and live a sparse lifestyle — but no one wants to hear that when their fraternity brothers or sorority sisters are packing up to Cabo for the week,’ said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst of Bankrate.com.‘It’s like putting spring break on a credit card, but this one is subsidized by taxpayers,’ McBride added.The average college student graduates with $28,000 in loans. The default rate on those loans is 11.8 percent, according to LendEDU.The company conducted a survey of 500 college students who have an outstanding student loan and who said that they were planning a spring-break getaway.The 30 percent response rate translates into 2.83 million students traveling to warmer climates on their loans.In Daytona Beach, which hosts between 5,000 and 10,000 students each weekend in March, 106 arrests were made last weekend, while police in Fort Lauderdale – the fourth most popular destination of 2017 according to a survey of travel businesses – logged 137 crimes, albeit not all committed by Spring Breakers.Among the those on the wrong side of the law in Panama City Beach was Adam, 20, a student from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, who was hauled off by cops for drinking on the beach according to his friends.Gabriel, 21, and friends Mike and Brett, both 20, said their roommate had found himself being taken away by police after being caught drunk on the beach at noon.‘It was crazy,’ the trio told DailyMail.com. ‘He was just having a few drinks on the beach and the cops showed up and took him away.’Party on: Girls continued to dance on stage for the crowd and their cameras despite the risk of arrest
A party-goer wearing a ‘no shade’ swimsuit seems to not have a care in the world as she dances for the crowd. ‘We’re getting drunk!’ one Michigan student said
Girls could be seen stripping off onstage and twerking for prizes ranging from t-shirts to having their entire bar tabs paid
Some party-goers really outdid themselves, showing off their dance moves for the more-than-impressed onlookers
Mike, who was dressed in a Stars and Stripes bandana and matching swim shorts, added: ‘They’re going to fine him $250 and bring him back when he’s sobered up.‘It’s crazy how harsh the cops are – we’re just having fun but they’re everywhere’.Paul Miller, 21, of the University of West Virginia, told DailyMail.com that he and his friends had come to party but complained of the police efforts to control the beach.‘This [Panama City Beach] is the top Spring Break place and it’s great for parties,’ he said. ‘But we should 100 per cent be able to have a beer and enjoy the beach without the cops stopping you.’The first wave of Spring Break parties saw a spike in drinking offences, among them public intoxication and disorderly conduct.By Monday afternoon, a further seven arrests had been made – most for breaking the beach booze ban and public intoxication.One local cop, who asked not to be named, told DailyMail.com: ‘We’ve arrested two already this morning. Each time, it has been for being intoxicated on the beach.‘We take them to the Bay County Jail up the road and leave them there until they sober up.’Local Police Chief Drew Whitman added: ‘Most of the Spring Break arrests are for drinking on the sandy portion of the beach, underage drinking and disorderly conduct.
As the day went on, drunken revelers started to get sloppy. One student put herself in a very revealing position in front of her friend, who appeared to push her away
Heartstopping moment: One acrobatic student jumped off a roof into the sandy beach as amazed spring breakers looked on
Drunken delight: A college student sporting a light pink bikini seemed to be having the time of her life dancing at the bash
Shocking: The same student then flipped over, revealing herself to the crowd including a man whose jaw dropped at the sight
‘Those who are arrested can get fines of up to $500 and have to get a taxi back after we release them from jail. Or their friends can pick them up.’Other southern party towns such as Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale also saw arrests for drunkenness, underage drinking, loitering and fighting.Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri said: ‘Come here, have a good time and obey the law. But if you want to come here, get drunk and fight, you will be going to jail.’And in South Padre Island, Texas, local law enforcement said emergency calls are ‘going up each day’ with Police Chief Randy Smith predicting ‘the busiest week of the year’ when revelers from the hard-partying University of Texas descend on Friday.But despite the risk of arrest, students in Panama City Beach told DailyMail.com they plan to party on regardless – and could be seen hauling bottles of booze into their rooms and playing a game of cat and mouse with cops determined to keep a lid on the shenanigans.