For many college students, spring break is a time to flock to Mexico or another tropical, warm place to get away from the pressures of school and take in the sun that SF State hasn’t had much of so far this spring.

But some college girls are taking the fun too far.

“Girls Gone Wild” videos might be a reality of the behavior of many college women during spring break, according to a poll recently released.

The American Medical Association is now warning girls to be careful, after a study revealed significant increases in drinking and sexual behavior during spring break vacations. College women and graduates aged 17-35 were polled nationwide as part of an initiative to cut back on university drinking. Seventy-four percent of the respondents admitted to engaging in sexual activity on spring break and 83 percent said they drank more during break than usual.

“You might as well assume that they’re going to act as lunatics,” said Dr. Louann Brizendine, clinical professor of Psychiatry and director of the Women’s and Teen Girl’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco. “The teen brain is under construction.”

The area for good decision-making is not securely attached yet until girls reach about 18 or 19 years old, and guys reach 21 years old and when alcohol is given to girls before this point, it could spell disaster, according to Dr. Brizendine.

Seventy-four percent of those polled blamed their outrageous behavior on their drinking. Over half of them said being promiscuous is a way to fit in on spring break.

Not all students agree with this ‘go wild’ trend.

Ashley Tyler, a 22-year-old fashion merchandising major said she and a group of girlfriends are going to Las Vegas before taking a cruise to Mexico.

“We’ll probably meet a couple of guys and have them buy us drinks, but we won’t bring them back to the cabin or anything,” she said. “I won’t be having sex on spring break.”

Valerie Wilson, 19, and a cinema major said, “If I drink it will be in a controlled environment. I don’t get drunk with strange men. It’s not a good idea.”

Nearly three out of five women know friends who had unprotected sex during spring break, and 59 percent know friends who had sex with more than one partner. This can put women at a greater risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease or an unwanted pregnancy.

Dr. Brizendine said she sees college girls returning from spring break, traumatized from a sexual assault that occurred on the trip. Many of them feel devastated because they were drunk when it happened.

“Rape is a crime of opportunity,” she said.

To prevent these things from occurring, Dr. Brizendine suggests sticking with a good group of girlfriends who have made a pact to watch out for other girls in the group in case one member over drinks. She also said girls should limit themselves to two drinks, or tall beers within a six-hour period.

Drinking by college students aged 18 to 24 results in 1,400 deaths annually, 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assaults or date rapes, according to a 2002 study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Task Force on College Drinking.

Many girls may continue to drink and act promiscuously during spring break, despite the risks.

“What happens there, stays there,” said Katrina Echon, a 19-year-old industrial arts sophomore. “But it’s not like I have done it.”