The city suffered through a pretty horrific spring break season. Seven people were shot at a house party in late March. Less than two weeks later, a woman was sexually assaulted by four men in broad daylight—surrounded by dozens of witnesses who did nothing to stop the attack. The victim likely was drugged: She only realized she’d been raped when she saw a portion of the video on the news.
In the wake of these incidents (and the wave of uncomfortable media coverage that followed), Panama City Beach has ramped up security and is considering a ban on drinking on the beach—a move that could send spring breakers to other, more permissible hot spots.
However, those spots are beginning to dwindle. Both Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale—favorite spring vacation spots for college students at one time—enacted their own crackdowns on spring breakers several years ago. “Beer, vomit and urine, that’s not what we wanted,” said Nicki E. Grossman, now president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. (Panama City News Herald, Fox News)