Exotic locales and couches at home alike make ready for the influx of spring breakers that will begin this weekend, but some say alcohol can cause problems for these students.

As students prepare for destinations abroad and at home, officials and spring break veterans say they can offer advice on how to keep alcohol from ruining a spring break, or worse.

In an incident two years ago, several students received underage drinking tickets because pictures posted on Facebook showed them drinking in Alexander Hall.

Although the administration may not necessarily check for incriminating spring break photos, students should still be cautious, Lock Whiteside, judicial board chief justice, said.

“Administrators do have access to Facebook,” he said. “People can access that, and [pictures] could be used against them.”

Whiteside, who plans to spend his spring break in Jamaica, also cautioned that any alcohol violations students incur in the U.S. can be reported to the University.

“If you’re in Florida and you get a [driving under the influence charge], it can get back to the University — a lot of students aren’t aware of that,” Whiteside said.

According to Whiteside, a senior in political science, the University will suspend a student charged with a DUI for a minimum of one semester and the director of student conduct determines the punishment for students charged with underage alcohol consumption.

Chris Austin, assistant director of Health Promotion and substance abuse prevention, emphasized that although punishment for alcohol-related crimes can be very serious, a person’s health is very important as well.

Austin said students should always drink with friends and watch carefully for symptoms of alcohol poisoning.

“Letting someone pass out and leaving them in the hotel room and saying, ‘Oh, they’ll be OK,’ is very dangerous,” Austin said.

Students should also watch their drinks at all times, according to Sgt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police.

“Don’t take drinks from strangers,” Barnwell said. “Don’t leave drinks unattended. That could lead to a situation where things could be slipped into a drink.”

Mary Michael Denning, a senior in business management, said she went to Cancun last spring and said drugging drinks is a serious risk.

“You had to watch your drink — that’s what worried me the whole time,” Denning said.

Stephanie Sobol, assistant coordinator of Health Promotion, said that while too much alcohol alone can be dangerous, students must remember that many factors can increase the effects of alcohol like medications, heat and dehydration.

“Two hours of sun in Florida is like eight hours of sun in North Carolina,” Sobol said.

Sobol said she recommended alternating between alcoholic drinks and water, especially if students are drinking in the sun. She said the combination of alcohol and heat can easily dehydrate alcohol drinkers.

“When alcohol is entered in the body, it is seen as a poison, and your body stops whatever it’s doing,” Sobol said.

Austin said that medicine containing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, can amplify several of alcohol’s negative effects, including causing damage to the liver.

He said people will often drink alcohol and then take medicine with acetaminophen before going to bed, which is a dangerous combination.

A person should drink no more than two normal alcoholic drinks per day, according to Health Promotion’s pamphlet on low-risk alcohol use.

“You can’t save all 14 [drinks] for Saturday,” Sobol said.