Safe to Go South of the Border?

Brendan Morse
News Editor

Until recently, Mexico has always represented a safe haven for university students wishing to get away from their hectic lives during the early spring months. Recently however, drug wars have released a new unprecedented wave of violence and terror throughout the country to such an extent that the State Department has issued warnings to universities asking them to inform their students of the possible threat.

So why are a group of Academy students still planning to go?

Currently, a group of freshman Spanish students, along with their teacher supervisor Nicole Askin, plan on attending a trip to Cancun during Spring Break next year.

While Cancun has been fortunate enough to avoid a large part of the violence that has plagued smaller cities along the United States/Mexican border, the question still remains; just how safe is it for a group of fifteen year old students to travel to a country still in such a state of civil disarray?

Drug violence alone killed more then six thousand people in Mexico last year, along with one thousand more in just the first eight weeks of 2009. And although the area may be considered safe for a group of adult college students wishing to relieve stress, inexperienced high school students traveling to the area for solely educational purposes brings an unsettling picture to mind.

So why even risk it?

Although Mexico is the predominant center for Spanish culture in North America, obviously, other viable options exist. Spanish speaking Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, would still offer all the cultural benefits and exposure to the language that would Mexico, without the chance of an unwanted risk arising. Not only would this ensure safety for the students, but parents would have the added comfort of knowing that that their children would are in a safe environment, and that the large investment they gave to help fund such a trip be used to its maximum extent.

Askin, who is planning the trip privately and not with the school, declined to comment for this story.

Though the future of Mexico’s drug war remains uncertain, parents should still be observant of the events that are taking place, assuming they are still okay with sending their child their in one year’s time. If not, then changes should be made now before parents have financially committed, so the trip itself can be successfully altered.

Assuming the violence in Mexico continues on at the same level, parents, and students alike will have many choices to make in the upcoming months. Clearly, Mexico does not hold the same level of guaranteed safety that it once did for spring break students simply wishing to get away.

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