As Penn State students begin to leave for spring break, the community will feel their absence on campus and downtown.

"Certainly, the campus environment changes a lot," Penn State University Police Supervisor Dwight Smith said. "A few staff and students stay, and we do take extra security rounds to make sure the buildings are secure."

Smith said it is important for those remaining on campus to be especially aware of any suspicious activity.

"Because there are fewer eyes, we're going to need these students to be aware of anything that doesn't seem right," Smith said.

State College Police Department Sgt. Mark Argiro said students generate "a lot of activity" during the regular semester; however, things are different when they are gone. "Whenever the students go on break or go home for the summer, we see a decrease in the number of calls," Argiro said.

Keith Lesho, manager at Mad Mex, 240 S. Pugh St., said spring break eliminates the students who make up the "late-night crowd."

"The restaurant still does its business, but when nine or 10 o'clock rolls around it's like a ghost town," he said.

Lesho said Friday night of spring break last year brought in about $4,000.

"A normal Friday could be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000," he said. "[Spring break] takes away half of our business, if not more."

Justine Schmider (sophomore-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said she is staying in State College to work as a server over spring break.

"It'll be a lot slower," she said. "It'll be more of the locals, so I probably won't be making that much money."

David Wells, operations director for Dante's Restaurants Inc., which owns several bars downtown, said spring break is a unique time for business.

"It's kind of a double-edged sword because we obviously lose a lot of students," Wells said. "But it's also a time for the students who stay and the locals to explore."

University Health Services (UHS) marketing manager Ellen Nagy said UHS remains open during regular hours for spring break but is closed on Saturdays. "We're not as busy as we usually are, but we still see patients because not all the students go home," she said.

Nagy said the number of staff members is reduced during the break because students make up the majority of UHS patients.

"We do have staff members who use this opportunity to take vacation days," she said. "We don't have to be staffed as when we're having a lot of patients come in."

Nagy said UHS often uses spring break time to receive "professional development" training. "It's difficult to do that when you're running a full clinic program. You can't spare your staff for a lot of training," she said.

Smith said even though not that many people will be in town during break, students should drive cautiously, use seatbelts and refrain from speeding or drinking while driving.