Vivian Greenlee remembers well her senior trip to Cancun.
“It was just a bunch of kids drinking and smoking and there was at no time a supervisor or chaperone,” Greenlee said.
She graduated with honors from Wasco High School two years ago. “I found out about the trip through a friend who found out about it from a friend’s parent who organized it though a travel agency for the senior class. It had nothing to with the school other than that’s where I heard about it,” she said.
Most school policies state that schools are not affiliated with such trips, however, representatives from travel agencies appear on campus every year. Rachelle Richardson, a Centennial High School senior, said she remembers clearly seeing a woman coming on campus yearly to Centennial High School promoting the senior trip to Cancun.
Aaron Martinez, a junior at East Bakersfield High School, says he got word of the senior trip through a flier being passed around by his friends. Other students from schools have noticed that even tables are set up with advertisements promoting the trip.
Terrie Stanton, the director of instruction for the Kern High School District, said, “We do not allow any travel agents on campus. If we saw or knew of such about this, then we would stop it immediately.”
Brenda Lewis, assistant principal for Foothill High School, said, “We don’t sponsor a senior trip, that’s a private matter.” And John Gibson, principal for east Bakersfield High School said, ” We have nothing to do with the senior trip.”
However, a local travel agent, Ray Watson from Uniglobal Travel Agency, acknowledged that senior trips do occur and can become out of control at times, sometimes ruining hotel rooms.
He said that the ruckus and misbehavior of 17 and 18-year-olds give travel businesses a bad name.
He also said that the travel agencies just make sure that the student follow hotel rules. If the hotel rules require an adult in each room, then the agency should make sure that happens.
“We don’t make up any rules, we just follow them,” said Watson.