Spring Breakers Fear Mexico Border Town

March 10, 2008 -- SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Michigan State senior Paul Bonenberger avoided temptation during this island's season for wild spring break partying by leaving his passport at home.

"I've heard tons of (stuff) about the border," said Bonenberger, 21, two beers in hand and surrounded by hundreds of Midwestern spring breakers on the beach. "I've heard it's unsafe. I'm not about the border anymore, it's not worth the risk."

Once, most South Padre spring breakers visited nearby Matamoros, Mexico, for the touted "Two Nation Vacation."

But news of gun battles between soldiers and drug cartels in Mexican border cities this winter appears to have reached even the frigid campuses of the upper Midwest. Tourists have not been targeted, but students and tourism officials on both sides of the border say spring breakers are keeping their toes in U.S. sand this year.

The young, tan masses have not been surveyed lately, but Dan Quandt, executive director of the island's convention and visitors' bureau, said "we have noticed over the past few years a decline in the number of students going to Matamoros."

Debra Fassold, who manages a cross-border shuttle service, said she used to ferry several hundred spring breakers daily and now gets only a few dozen. She has canceled night trips.

"I've had no reason to schedule them this year," Fassold said, adding that no one has even asked for the once-popular excursion.

Those partying on South Padre Island said they opted to stay domestic this year not just because of safety concerns, but also because of tighter identification requirements for returning to the U.S.

Rachel Padgett, of Austin, has been coming to South Padre Island for more than half her life. It was traditional to go over to Matamoros for a haircut and to shop for jewelry, but not this year, said the 21-year-old Michigan State student.

"Not right now, there's a drug war," Padgett said.

Students from the University of Texas and Texas A&M descend on South Padre this week, the apex of spring break on the dune-covered island off the coast of South Texas.