There’s Ph.D. dissertations written on the Spring Break phenomenon:
An excerpt from the Operational Definitions of one of them entitled: “Spring Break: The Economic, Socio-Cultural and Public Governance Impacts of College Students on Spring Break Host Locations”
According to Henderson (1997) Spring Break is “an annual celebration of spring – and of school vacations by…college students who whoop it up, sunbathe, party, drink (alcohol), dance, and listen to loud music” (pg. 321). While this description is a good beginning, other elements, such as suggestive or minimal dress, increasingly lewd public behavior and sexual activity have become associated with the event. In fact, the American Medical Association (AMA: 2006) recently described Spring Break “as a dangerous alcohol and sex binge fest.” All together these elements give a description of a ‘party atmosphere,’ an essential component of Spring Break. For the purposes of this dissertation the components that comprise Spring Break will include a locale that provides the sun, beach or water, and a ‘party atmosphere.’ The necessity of satisfying these components relegates Spring Break to warm climates, primarily in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. and/or Mexico. The level of ‘party atmosphere’ provided by each locale varies, but is a necessity for Spring Break to occur.
Emphasis mine and I’m not making this up! And this does almost sound like an “Onion” article.