This weekend, Ohio University students will trek 600 miles from Athens to Hilton Head Island for what has become an annual Memorial Day weekend trip.
The impending switch to semesters might curb enthusiasm for the decade-old tradition, though. Because the coming academic year will end on May 2, 2013, weeks before Memorial Day, the busy weekend that the island’s businesses and law enforcement anticipate could fizzle.
The Frosty Frog Café, a frozen daiquiri bar and restaurant across from Coligny Beach, looks forward to those who vacation on the island every Memorial Day weekend.
“We enjoy the business, and from our perspective, we’ve never had any major bad experiences,” said Shaun Rockaway, co-owner of the Frosty Frog. “It’s always been safer bunches, a lot of drinking and a lot of fun.”
To cater to the Bobcats populating the island this weekend, the Frosty Frog Café will, for the first time, sell green and white T-shirts that read “OHIO” on the front.
“We try to do a little something for OU students that come down for the weekend,” Rockaway said. “It kicks it off for us, really; it’s a big part of the year, and from here on out, we’re busy.”
The Shore Beach Service at Hilton Head Island and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, which holds jurisdiction over the island, also mark the holiday weekend as the start of the busy season.
Ralph Wagner, the director of Hilton Head Beach Patrol, said lifeguards and personnel have noticed the increasing number of students but would be on duty regardless of their presence.
One of the main focuses for the beach control is attempting to limit behavior that upsets locals, Wagner said. In the past, residents and other tourists have complained about profanity, nudity and other delinquent behaviors.
“You might say we increase our vigilance,” Wagner said.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office increases the number of deputies on duty in response to an increased number of tourists, but it isn’t specifically due to OU’s reputation as a party school, Lt. Glenn Zanelotti said.
“They’re not a nuisance,” he said. “(Students) just don’t understand the laws of South Carolina or the local ordinances.”
One of those ordinances includes a ban on drinking alcohol on Hilton Head Island’s beach, Zanelotti said. Despite that fact, many students still plan to go to the beach and drink all day, and the authorities are aware that such a plan is common.
“We understand why (students) are coming down here,” Zanelotti said.
Even with the laws, the weekend trip remains a highlight of the year for many students.
Leigh Strosnider, a sophomore studying music therapy, is heading down with her friends for the first time. Though she has been to Hilton Head Island before, she’s never participated in OU’s caravan. She and her friends booked their hotel room in November.
“I heard it was the best three days of the school year,” Strosnider said, “and it’s a great way to end Spring Quarter and kick off the summer.”
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