Spring Break!

Spring break, also March break in some parts of Canada, is a week-long recess from studying in early spring at universities and K-12 schools in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, China and other countries.

Spring Break Background

In the United States, spring break may range from the end of February to mid-April, but many schools are out for one of the weeks in March. Some schools call this March break when it is a middle week in March. Many K-12 institutions in the United States coincide their spring break with Easter and Passover.

In Canadian universities, it is known as reading week and is in late February or early March.

In Japan, the spring break starts with the end of the academic year in March and ends on April 1 with the beginning of a new academic year.

In Hispanoamerica and Europe spring break is usually the Holy Week, the first week of April and the final one of Easter.

Spring Break Locality complications

Some popular destinations include Miami, Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Panama City Beach, Palm Beach and the Florida Keys. Most Spring Break Goers choose to go to Beaches in Florida, Cancun and sometimes California and hispanoamerican beaches.

From the end of World War II until the 1980s, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a notorious spring break destination in the United States. On March 19, 2006, the New York Times reported that Fort Lauderdale's reputation as a Spring break destination for college students started when the Colgate University men's swimming team came to practice there over break in 1935. Fort Lauderdale became even more popular due to the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, in which college co-eds met boys while on spring break there.

Spring break's notorieties include increased drinking and sexuality, including public nudity. Residents of the Fort Lauderdale area became so upset at the damage done by vacationers, that the local government passed laws restricting parties in 1985. By 1989, the number of college vacationers fell to 20,000, a far cry from the 350,000 who went to Fort Lauderdale four years prior. Most recently in 2006 the Fort Lauderdale local government passed even more laws to prevent spring breakers from traveling there for Spring Break 2007 and many to come.

Spring break partygoers responded by moving to the more liberal community of Daytona Beach area (over 200,000 students traveled there each spring at its peak), but after Daytona's local government undertook similar measures, the crowds of the mid-1990s and early 2000s had fallen to a point where "a few students still come, but officials don't even estimate their numbers." Fort Lauderdale suffered a recession as a result of the self-imposed boycott, but the local hotel industry survived by catering to the retirement population. Panama City Beach, Florida remains a spring break mecca.

Spring Break Popular destinations

The most popular spring break spots in 2007 were predicted to be Cancún, Mexico; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Rosarito, Mexico; Acapulco, Mexico; South Beach, Florida; Panama City Beach, Florida; South Padre Island, Texas; Negril, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There are several logistics companies that charter airplanes and buy large blocks of hotel rooms to offer the deep discounts most college students need. Prices range from about $600 to $1400, which includes airfare and hotel; open bars or "party packages" are usually available for purchase at additional cost.

South Padre Island is a very popular hot spot allowing travelers a two-nation vacation. Partying on the beach during the day and in Mexico at night is a common theme. The drinking age in Mexico is only 18, which is a major selling point to many U.S. college students.

In recent years, Las Vegas has also become a spring break destination for many college students, despite its lack of beaches and restriction on its drinking and gambling activities to those aged 21 and above.

For students, one of the most popular ways to book a trip is through an organization called Student City. Most of the trips/destintaions previously spoken about can be booked through this group.

Spring Break Beach Life

Beach Life (known as 'Spring Break' in America) is a business strategy PC game released on September 6, 2002 by Eidos Interactive. The game was developed by Deep Red and, presumably due to the somewhat comic allusions to sexual activity and intoxication, the game is certified 12+ by PEGI and 'Teen' by ESRB.

Spring Break Gameplay

Beach Life is a business management sim in the same vein as perhaps Theme Park and Rollercoaster Tycoon, to which it has been compared. The twist is that you manage an Ibiza-style holiday resort, complete with themed clubs and holiday reps. Through learning what your guests want from their stay, different kinds of attractions and food and drink establishments can be built to satisfy their needs and make more money. Staff can be hired to help facilitate this, such as cleaners, mechanics and security guards.

Gameplay options themselves come in two forms - the Scenario mode and the Sandbox mode. In Scenario mode, you work your way through island after island, completing a number of set objectives in each. Your progress on a resort can be hampered by such hazards as shark attacks and thunderstorms, all while you build up attractions and cater to the needs of the guests. Once you have beaten a level in Scenario mode, you then unlock it in Sandbox mode. Sandbox mode is essentially a 'free-play' mode, where there are no objectives, unlimited time and more building options.

Spring Break Music

The game's soundtrack consists of twelve licensed tracks from genres ranging from chillout to dance music, and changes tone as the day goes on. For example, laidback chillout music tends to play during the daytime, while more lively dance and trance music comes on at night, to fit the nightclub atmosphere. The music can be changed in-game via an 'MP3 player' located in the bottom right of the screen. Additionally, music files from your own music collection can be cOpied into the game's soundtrack folder, thus allowing you to customise the game's soundtrack to your liking.

Spring Break Reception

In-game screenshot of Beach LifeCritically, the game was not extremely well-received, with reviewers rarely giving over 70% . This was mainly due to a perceived unoriginality in the core gameplay mechanics, which do strikingly resemble most other business management sims. The original idea of resort management is often dismissed as being gimmicky.

However, the game is not without a wide fanbase, who appreciate the kooky sense of humour that the game has and its youthful, energetic spin on business management compared to most other games of the same genre. Graphically, the game is not stunning (all 2D and very fuzzy if you zoom in) yet has some very attractive background renders, with a good level of animation.