Horrors of Mexico alter student perception of South-of-the-Border

By: Greg Gentile

Posted: 3/4/09

03/04/09 - Thousands of college students flock to Mexico for Spring Break every year, while drug wars and dangerous situations run rampant in the country.

It is becoming increasingly important for students to be aware of these issues. The U.S. Department of State has been posting travel advisory warnings on its Web site since the summer about growing problems with the drug war and safety issues.

"Armed street crime is a serious problem in all of the major cities," the Web site stated in August. "Some bars and nightclubs, especially in resort cities such as Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Acapulco and Tijuana, can be havens for drug dealers and petty criminals."

Students' awareness of the drug war and safety measures are growing, and it seems today's concerns vary from nonexistent to making Spring Break a dominant issue.

"I wouldn't go anywhere where it would be unsafe," University of Rhode Island senior Leslie Barber said.

Students are aware of the issues, but don't want that to stop them from having fun, according to freshman Paul Cabral. "It wouldn't stop me, but I'd be more cautious when I went," Cabral said.

The increase in conflict and faltering safety standards at resorts are pushing students away from traveling. "Spring Break isn't worth my life," URI freshman Zach Luis said.

For one traveling Massachusetts student, that's exactly what it cost.

Maureen Webster started mexicovacationawareness.com after her 22-year-old son died from drowning at a resort in Mexico last January. The Websters had given their son Nolan and his girlfriend tickets to Mexico as a graduation present. Nolan went to University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

To this day, no one knows exactly what happened, or how Nolan ended up drowning in the resort pool. His mother wants to inform the public about inadequate safety and possibly dangerous situations in Mexico.

Webster said the main problem is that "their safety standards are not our safety standards."

The safety measures and urgency taken by hotel staff, the medical equipment at hand and the response time from the emergency medical crews were all inadequate.

According to the State Department's Web site, there have been 2,243 non-natural deaths of U.S. citizens outside of the country's borders from Jan. 1, 2005 to Dec. 31, 2007.

Of that total, 669 of these - 30 percent - have occurred in Mexico, followed by Iraq with 113 deaths, or 5 percent.

The top seven causes of these deaths are vehicle accidents, homicides, drownings, suicide, terrorist action, air accidents and deaths related to alcohol or drugs.

"It is not always alcohol involved, people like to use that as an excuse," Webster said.

On Feb. 20 the State Department released a specific travel advisory to all those looking to travel to Mexico. The advisory reads: "violence in the country has increased recently," and that it is of extreme importance travelers understand the risks of trekking to Mexico.

"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat," the travel warning said. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico."

Tourism is Mexico's third largest income producer.

Webster will be meeting with the head of Mexican Tourism Board soon.

She said, "I am not out to destroy their tourism, but they got to step it up."

Through everything Webster has been through with the death of her son, she gave one piece of advice for all those traveling this spring.

"No one should travel alone, always use a buddy system," Webster said.