Underage Drinking in South Padre Island

Each year over 100,000 college Spring Breakers flock to South Padre Island, Texas for sand, booze and a good time with friends. Although the majority of their trips are simply about fun, some show concern for the large percentage of these students who are under the legal drinking age.

Some come out in “spring break mode” ready to party and not have a care in the world. The thought of bong-guzzling, keg-standing and shot-gunning are exciting adjectives to these students. Means of getting drunk faster, such as those previously stated, are their prime goal.

Demonstration of one of the ways Spring Breakers binge brink.

Kimberly Martin, a 19-year-old student from University of Southern Florida, admits that she loves to party and consume alcohol however she can get it.

“If someone offers me to take a beer bong, of course I’ll take on the challenge. Drinking helps me meet new people and make new friends; it’s great,” Martin said.

Zachary Pace, a 23-year-old senior at Texas State University, sees underage drinking as a normal and easy-to-understand concept. In his mind, there should be no repercussions for engaging in this sort of activity.

“Not only do the underage drinkers get tickets, but also the person ‘supplying’ them can get one too. I hosted a party one time at my house and I ended up going to jail because there were people drinking underage,” Pace said.

Although many Spring Breakers are fine with those who are drinking under the age of 21, some feel it is a problem that should be looked at more closely.

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) Police Officer Mathew Harris tries to prevent college students from engaging in illegal activities. Their health is one of his main concerns. He has been patrolling the beaches of South Texas for the last 15 years.

“Binge drinking is one of the biggest problems we see as [TABC] officers, especially in students under the age of 21. The majority of kids that we see being sent to the hospital due to this are in the age group of 17 to 20 year olds,” Harris said. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States is by ages 12 to 20 years old. Binge drinking constitutes 90 percent of this alcohol consumption.

Vicky Gonzalez, a 21 year old from the University of Southern Florida, tries to find ways to help prevent this statistic. She knows that binge drinking occurs, but believes that there could be some helpful ways to handle this.

“Coca-Cola is the sponsor for the entire beach almost the entire month of March. However, I didn’t once see a product of theirs being passed out. If they did this, I think it would increase the beach-goers intake of non-alcoholic drinks, which would benefit everyone greatly,” Gonzalez said.

Ultimately, the decision to drink or not is a personal one. Underage drinking has been popular for Spring Breakers in South Padre Island for many years. While laws and limitations regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages exist for the health and safety of those who partake, eliminating underage drinking is not likely to happen. Unless alcohol is banned altogether on the beach, this situation will most likely continue to exist.

Coca-Cola Beach.