Florida Spring Breakers Need to Think Twice

Robert Crohan/Staff Writer

This month, as universities coast to coast canceled spring break to prevent campus outbreaks, a good portion of students and others took matters into their own hands.

Americans flooded South Florida beaches en masse, holding large parties in typical fashion as if the pandemic that is rapidly catching up with the 1918 Flu was a fairytale. From Miami to Key West, music, beach balls and trash returned to everyday life, and subsided with a mess as litter tarnished our beaches, COVID-19 infected many partygoers and Florida residents.

I have joked for years that Florida’s retirees come here as out-of-staters and act like they own the place, wreaking political havoc by voting for inept leaders and occasionally being rude to native Floridians. But the events that transpired over “spring break” take that to a brand new level. I understand wanting to have fun: I have managed to safely enjoy an occasional day out with friends and family. But the key word here is “safely.”

Similar problems have recently plagued Southern California and Puerto Rico. It goes without saying that what I have described is shameful, pure and simple. Not only does it desecrate a place kind enough to welcome tourists at all, but it is insulting to the public, which continues to suffer in these tough times. Miami Beach residents are angrily calling for more restrictions on parties.

The city was right to enact a State of Emergency and a curfew in response, and these measures appear to be working. But the damage has been done. Now, FIU families are at greater risk of infection, and students who can’t wait to leave their homes and return to campus are more vulnerable to infection, as well as another shutdown.

But what Florida and the spring breakers need is a reflection, not just of their behavior but of the realities of our current situation. Namely, we must confront narratives about the “young experience.”

For decades, our elders and parents have told us to enjoy college because it would be the best time of our lives. However, each of us has a different experience. I, for one, have not partied much, nor do I drink or play many sports. I found a college experience by spending as much time as I possibly can with friends and family in different settings.

I will not act like adjusting to the pandemic is easy, or even should be done a certain way. But entire generations before us had their young adulthoods upended by major global catastrophes: the 1918 Flu, the World Wars, the Great Depression, HIV/AIDS, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Great Recession among others.

Ultimately, that many people feel they have no other choice but to hold dangerous parties reveals the struggle of making this pandemic more livable, which the US has largely failed to do. Not only would a better pandemic response have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, but Americans would have safer and creative options to interact and have fun.

With that being said, the spring breakers need to ask themselves: how can this be justified, when undetected virus infection could kill many in a state with a population that is older-than-average? Why can’t the wait be made to experience parties like this, especially when so many others have literally had their lives ruined by this outbreak? The refusal to consider alternatives to these parties, especially among young people in a struggling city, reeks of entitlement.

I understand the frustration. At this point, I might have spent more of college in my house than on a campus. Traveling is my life, and COVID-19 cancelled four trips I had planned for 2020. With some experts warning that this could be a much longer pandemic than most, potentially lasting seven more years, my intestines want to slither and squirm like a snake.

But fun is encouraged, and is indeed necessary! Accepting that the old way of partying must be avoided for a while may take time, but is the noble and smarter thing to do. Instead of large, mask-less gatherings, consider meeting with several friends only and going on a drive to an empty beach. Try a zoom game, socially-distant beer pong, or even a meme-fest! Maybe you can plan a virtual watch-party for the many Netflix shows your friends recommended that you never ended up watching. You know who you are!

As I have previously argued, a point of contention over public health guidelines is whether they represent constraints on freedom, while I think that they should be followed as a means of honoring the country’s people and heroes who defended our freedoms.

Plus, what kind of message does it send to the rest of the world when the supposed harbinger of democracy has gone too far in the anti-authority direction?

I understand that, sooner or later, parties must be held to unleash people’s pent-up aspirations and revive mental health. They also help small businesses by providing revenue as the federal government provides little assistance. But there are ways to interact and have fun safely, and this is not it. 

Keep in mind the dire facts: COVID-19’s mutations are making a Tasmanian Devil look like a baby hamster by comparison. This disease is ruthless and rabid. And unless we stop it right now, it will mutate further and render vaccines useless, drawing out the lockdowns, suffering, and death into our adulthood and making us wait even longer for a resumption of large gatherings.

Florida’s leaders, too, need a reflection. Governor Ron DeSantis is right to honor freedom, but he is deathly wrong to advocate for a dashing return to normal when our state is so hard-hit. He has taken a relaxed approach to the pandemic and has not done anything substantial to assist the unemployed and otherwise struggling, who are driving Florida’s outbreak. Need I remind this university of what the Florida legislature was doing to scholarship earners as millions try to pay rent.

Instead of encouraging reckless super-spreader events, Florida leaders should prioritize public safety and emergency assistance, while making it clear that college students need safe means of enjoying time with friends.

I don’t want to bore you with the same old “wear a mask and socially distance” talk that you hear ten times a day, but I hope I have encouraged some to think twice about attending large gatherings, especially in Miami. This was a tough column to write, but its message is essential for anyone looking fondly at this quite literal March Madness: be creative, be safe, and keep that mask on. But don’t give up on your young experience. 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo by Serigo Souza on Unsplash