The Onion Bagel is a satirical column for The Statesman
After a week of partying in Cancun and Mexico City, Stony Brook students say they’re returning to campus with a more enlightened and mature view of the world from their traveling experiences.
“Staying a week in Mexico really helped me to understand the plight that the people here are facing,” Chad, a junior business major and Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity brother, said. “I couldn’t see much from our resort and I was blackout drunk most of the time, but just being in the country made me feel like I was really connecting with the natives.”
A majority of students stayed at the Grand Oasis resort in Cancun, known for its daily beach parties, swim up bars and close vicinity to expensive night clubs. The popular spring break destination attracts students from numerous colleges each year who come to see the historic wonders that Mexico has to offer.
Becky, a senior biology major and sister in Theta Sigma Alpha sorority, said the trip gave her an opportunity to meet a variety of people she otherwise wouldn’t have. “I met so many people on this trip from various parts of the world, it was so cultivating. It was actually a lot of students from Rutgers, SUNY Cortland, UAlbany and SUNY Oswego… but I met someone from Britain and she was so sweet.”
A number of students called the vacation “life-changing” and “inspirational.” Brad, a junior computer science major, plans to add a Hispanic studies minor after his vacation in Cancun. “It really opened my eyes to the world around me,” Brad said.
The trip comes at a relevant time to American college students as tensions run high between the United States and Mexico because of President Trump’s border wall plans. Bret, a senior history major, said that while the trip helped him get a better understanding of the political situation at hand between the two countries, he was ready to return to New York.
“I’ve been drinking tequila for five days straight,” Bret said. “I love this place but it’s trying to kill me, which makes me think I understand the wall now.”
