By Meagan Ozuna

Spring break at one point was nonexistent. In early years, spring was the season of fertility and awakening. This was celebrated by the Greek and Romans by worshipping gods of wine, Dinyus and Bacchus. The beginnings of spring break didn’t come about until 1936.

In 1936, a swimming coach at Colgate University had the idea of bringing his team to Fort Lauderdale to train. It wasn’t until 1938 that the community saw this as a marketing opportunity. The city decided to host the first college Coaches’ Swim Forum, which brought in more than 300 swimmers competing. The tradition of swimmers coming to the city continued on into 60s. This was the start of spring break.

The acknowledgement of spring break wasn’t until 1959 in TIME Magazine. That led to a spring break themed movie set in Fort Lauderdale, Where the Boys Are, which came out two years later. This movie actually spread the idea of both collegiate men and women going there to let loose and have fun. Things changed in the 70s.

In the 70s spring break became much raunchier. Communities around the spring breakers started questioning why they had allowed these students to party there. By 1985 there were 370,000 students coming down annually. It wasn’t until the 80s that the town had had enough. Laws against public drinking were soon created. It went as far as the mayor, Robert Dressler, to go on Good Morning America to tell all students that they were no longer welcome.

Spring break had turned into a huge party filled with binge drinking. The reputation of spring break was reinforced by MTV when they started their spring break specials hosted in various locations, from Florida to Mexico. They showcased loads of students getting drunk on national television. This led to The American Medical Association to warn students of the dangers of binge drinking and to be safe.

The ideas of how to spend spring break have evolved since then. Students have started taking alternative trips to places other than the beach. An organization called Break Away helps students come up with other ways to spend their breaks as opposed to getting drunk. Remember, there are more ways to have fun than getting trashed. Be safe and have a fun spring break.