FIU Students Dispel Spring Break Stereotype

MIAMI BEACH, FL — With spring break 2017 in full swing, it is not uncommon to hear tales of drunken college students running afoul of the law. In fact, it's a gimme.

Less common are the group of selfless Florida International University students, who spent part of their vacations this week cleaning up the mess left behind by the less altruistic kind of spring breakers — the ones we have come to associate with this annual rite of passage. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach, FL Patch.)

"My understanding is, it was a group of FIU students who simply asked if they could stay and help," Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department told Patch.

The students spontaneously offered to stay into the night cleaning up the same stretch of South Beach where hundreds — if not thousands — of other students and young people from around the country had left a huge mess for someone else to clean up.

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"The students efforts have really resonated with the public," said Rodriguez. "In what is generally known as a 'party week,' to have a group of young men and women stay behind and help clean the beach, shows true leadership."

When Miami Beach police posted photos of the FIU students and thanked them on social media on Tuesday, the post was retweeted more than 600 times.

The story also drew the attention of some very responsible adults like Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

"Their efforts were greatly appreciated," Rodriguez acknowledged.

Photos courtesy of Miami Beach Police Department