Nicole Penza has a decision to make.
She's already purchased her spring break package and was planning to leave for Cancun -- but after a recent advisory warning against traveling to Mexico, she isn't so sure.
A travel alert for Mexico was issued Feb. 20 by the U.S. Department of State, only a week before spring breaks started for most college students. It offers advice on ways to stay safe, as well as regions to stay clear of because of a rise in criminal activity.
Penza (junior-rehabilitation services) has until Saturday to make up her mind, she said. But she will lose her $950 deposit if she decides not to go.
While the alert suggests not traveling into certain areas of the country, Penn State is sponsoring a trip to Mexico for the students in the COMM 498B (International Reporting) class. Course instructor Tony Barbieri assured everything possible is being done so the students will have a safe experience.
"There is no way to predict if someone will be the victim of a random act of street crime," he said. "We're doing everything to prevent it."
The students will be staying in Mexico City from March 7 to 15. Although Mexico City is listed as one of the safer locations in the country, Barbieri said the students were issued a list of do's and don'ts, detailing what types of taxis to take and how to dress.
"It's an exciting and interesting place to be a journalist," he said. "It's the other side of the coin, so to speak, because of the social tensions going on there because of the high crime rate."
Pei Wang (senior-management information systems) has an even higher crime rate to worry about. He and 21 other students will be visiting Tijuana during spring break for a mission trip. Tijuana is one of the most dangerous areas in Mexico, according to the alert -- the city is on the watch list for large firefights and daylight shootouts, as well as a rapid growth in the number of robberies, homicides, petty thefts and carjackings.
"We're not really worried about it," Wang said. "We'll be 15 to 20 miles outside of the city."
He said his group will be staying in a gated orphanage and will travel little while in Mexico. They will, however, have to cross the United States-Mexico border, also mentioned in the alert as an area plagued by drug cartel activity.
Wang said two students have already withdrawn from the trip because of the travel alert. The remaining students have been advised to travel in big groups while in Tijuana to prevent trouble.
Others aren't so optimistic. After hearing about the alert, Delanie Fitzpatrick (junior-biobehavioral health), who was planning to travel with Penza, canceled her trip to Mexico for spring break. The alert surprised Fitzpatrick, but she was informed by her mother that Texas and other states along Mexico's border are featuring the news about Mexico's troubles much more than in Pennsylvania.
"It's hard to put into perspective because the news isn't giving much information here," she said.
