Spring break is not a new tradition by any means, and many students have looked forward to trading in their schoolbags of books at the library for ice chests of beer at the beach.  
As the end of the school year approaches, some students may take their week off of school to catch up on missed assignments, but over 1.5 million students go on spring break every year to cities that either welcome them as tourists or shun them as drunken fools.  
Of those 1.5 million students who travel and party, a total of $1 billion will be spent on food, hotel accommodations and alcohol, according to the DoSomething organization.  On average, spring breakers spend $1,100 for a week of fun, which is the same amount of money a family of four spends on food for an entire month.
Tammy Joachim, dietetics senior from New Orleans, said she is not going on spring break this year because she has to work, but would not spend the estimated $1,100 for spring break if she were to take a trip.
“Usually when on I go on spring break I spend around a $350 maximum,” Joachim said.  “Spending more than that would be too much money for my budget as a college student.”  
Krystalyn Bercegeay, education senior from Houma, said she also plans to spend less than the estimated amount on her trip to Orange Beach next week.
“I’m going for three days and plan on spending around $300 to $400,” Bercegeay said.  
John Laurie, a business consultant for the Kauffman Foundation, wrote that spring break became a large spectacle in the late 1950s and early 1960s as more students traded in Easter Sunday church services for Easter-break trips to Fort Lauderdale.  As its popularity grew in 1960, the numbers of people who attended spring break in Florida increased from 20,000 to 50,000.
By 1986, it was a tradition that many people had to “see to believe” as they traveled to Daytona Beach where MTV hosted its first beach concert.  The concerts were broadcasted live, similar to the coverage that can be found on mtvU today.
Travel Weekly reports the most popular spring break destinations come at no surprise from the usual hot spots such as Cancun, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Panama City Beach in Florida, while the number one destination is Daytona Beach.   
However, some of the most popular spots students travel to also made USA Today’s 2013’s trashiest spring break destinations list:
1. Las Vegas
2. South Padre Island, Texas
3. Daytona Beach, Fla.
4. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
5. Orlando
6. Lake Havasu, Ariz.
7. Miami
8. Panama City Beach, Fla.
9. Key West
10. Fort Myers, Fla.
11. Tampa
12. Virginia Beach
13. Scottsdale, Ariz.
14. New Orleans
15. San Diego
Over the years, the amount of alcohol and police altercations during spring break has risen, and law enforcement in areas along the Florida panhandle have initiated stricter laws for partygoers.  
Sherriff Frank McKeithen of Bay County, Fla. created a jail on Panama City Beach for anyone who is too drunk to endure the 25-mile ride to the county’s jail.  A new addition for spring break 2013, the Bay County Sheriff’s office also started a spring break court.  
“If they’re charged with misdemeanors, then the judge will assign them some hours of community service,” McKeithen said to the New York Times.  “It’s humiliating for the kids when all their friends are at the bar and they’re beside the road picking up trash.”