UNL students prepare for safe spring break as State Department issues travel alerts

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A University of Pittsburgh student, 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, went missing from a hotel in the beach resort town of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic earlier this month.

As Dominican Police, the FBI and Interpol search for her, millions of other students are preparing to head out on their own spring break holidays.

Alandra Hinsch, a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is leaving to spend the week in Jamaica.

She and several friends are flying to the island Sunday.

It’s her second trip there.

But she said they aren’t taking chances in terms of staying safe.

“So, we’re actually meeting with my parents for spring break,” Hinsch said. “So that was our big thing. We wanted to go, but we were like, ‘I don’t know if three of us should go out of the country by ourselves, just three college girls.'”

The caution is well-warranted, according to the U.S. State Department.

Jamaica is under a Level 3 travel advisory. The State Department said Americans should reconsider traveling there, citing high crime throughout the island.

The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica routinely receives reports of sexual assaults.

Hinsch said some of her other friends are heading to Nashville for the week, reiterating their plans to ensure they stay together and watch each other’s back in the unfamiliar environment.

You can check the State Department’s recommendations for your destination on its website.