The threat of war didn't keep students from enjoying Spring Break away from Muncie.
Many students headed south to enjoy the warmth and relax, and some cities even saw an increase in tourist rates.
According to the Associated Press, Panama City, Fla., is expected to have a 2 percent to 4 percent increase over last year's record hotel bookings, estimated at 400,000 visitors over an eight-week stretch ending Easter week.
Kirsten Day, a junior at Ball State, flew to Cancun, Mexico.
"I wasn't worried about the war because it's Mexico ... If I was going to Europe, I would have been [worried]," she said.
Day said she didn't encounter any problems flying.
A struggling economy didn't stop her fun either.
"It will hurt me now because gas is so high, but on the trip, it was fun with pesos because you can barter with them," she said.
Junior Tim Lueke said he had some fears before he flew to El Centiro, Calif.
"The flight was great, but I haven't flown since before Sept. 11, so I had some concerns beforehand," he said. "Once I was on the plane, though, it was like any other trip."
Some students were not able to ignore the war.
Sophomore John Lofay, who drove to Panama City, said he was worried because his friend is in the Air Force.
Some students encountered problems even though they didn't fly.
Kyle Jean Fisher, a freshman, said her group's car broke down in Georgia and they had to take a Greyhound bus to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
"We laughed about it at the hotel," she said. "We were more worried about our luggage and some of the people on the bus than we were about war."
Most students shared Fisher's carefree attitude.
"Just the fact that you're so free down there, there's a beach, and you don't have that in Muncie," Day said.
Lueke said he didn't want to come home.
"The air is so much nicer over there," he said. "There are scents that don't exist in the Midwest."
For most cities, there wasn't a noticeable dip in tourist visits.
A throng of vacationers packed Cancun, Day said.
Fisher said Ft. Lauderdale was also full of people.
"Our hotel was like Ball State," Fisher said. "It was packed, but we had fun."
Lofay said he didn't feel Panama City had been as packed compared to previous years.
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