JOSH WYMYCZAK
Photo Editor
The annual tradition of Pepperdine students storming the beaches of Rosarito every Martin Luther King holiday weekend has been brought to a halt due to safety concerns in Northern Mexico.
According to the LA Times, crime has escalated in the area since Dec. 1 when Mayor Jorge Ramos took office and promised to fight drug lords. Since then, five police officers, including three deputy chiefs, have been killed, according to the article.
For years, Pepperdine students have been vacationing in Rosarito, Mexico, this holiday weekend, but this year students are being forced to make other plans. Organized crime and slaying of police officers have moved most students’ weekend getaways elsewhere.
“In the last two years the Mexican government has been really cracking down on drug trade,” Associate Professor of Political Science Joel Fetzer said. “But the problem exists because police officers are involved in the drug trading too because it pays much more than their normal salary.”
Meanwhile, those involved in drug trade are killing police officers who choose to crack down on catching the drug lords. The problem has become such an issue that the entire police force of Tijuana was disarmed and is no longer allowed to carry guns.
This isn’t the first time that a lack of safety in Rosarito has threatened the MLK tradition for Pepperdine students. At this time last year, the city was in a similar state but many students took their chances and visited anyway.
“I went last year and the most fun part about the trip is seeing so many Pepperdine students in a different country,” sophomore Fabiola Ordonez said, “but with so few people still going this year I don’t feel like it will be very much fun.”
Even professors are being affected by the danger in the area.
“I take my class to Mexico every semester and I still plan to go this semester,” Fetzer said. “But I’ve decided to take them much farther east where it is a lot tamer.”
Students have made other plans, trading in their weekend of lying on the beach for a much colder holiday weekend in the snow.
“I’m not going this year because I heard it’s really dangerous to be down there right now,” Sophomore Sarah Daugherty said. “Almost everyone I have talked to has backed out and decided to go to Big Bear.”
But not all students have forfeited their weekend of beaches and relaxation. Senior Taylor Wilson and her friends are still headed to Rosarito this weekend. However, they have decided to alter their plans.
“Most people usually stay in hotels right in the city to go to the clubs,” Wilson said. “But we’ve decided to rent a house in a gated community so that we won’t really be leaving the house all weekend.”
Wilson said she and her friends are aware of the issues in Mexico and have taken the necessary precautions to have as safe of a weekend as possible.
“I feel like it [organized crime] is a problem that has been growing in Mexico and students should definitely be aware of it before visiting there,” Wilson added. “It should definitely alter someone’s expectations about the weekend.”
For students who still plan to vacation in Mexico this weekend, Fetzer recommends students do activities during the day rather than at night and try to stay away from local hang outs.
He suggests traveling in large groups and staying as far away from the police officers as possible.
01-17-2008
