I have to say, I’d hate to live in a town that got invaded during spring break.

Patrik Jonsson of the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Spring Break crackdown: Has the college ritual really gotten worse?

It may be the ultimate love-hate relationship: the annual spring migration of hordes of college-aged Spring Breakers into sunny Florida versus conservative beach towns that relish the cash flow but squirm at the debauchery of unleashed youth.

While other Florida beach towns have basically banned the spring break ruckus, Panama City Beach this year is taking a strict yet nuanced view of the estimated 300,000 revelers flocking southward as the dogwoods prepare to bloom. Already, the county sheriff’s department has arrested over 500 people and processed them in open-air jail cells. And given the legality of alcohol on the beach proper, the debauchery is on the national front burner, largely thanks to the work of Fox News, whose Sean Hannity has complained about America’s seeming acceptance of loose morals and alcohol over-indulgence.

Police attention on a social media beach photo of an undressed 17-year-old standing in a group of men have highlighted the concerns in recent days. On Saturday, the girl contacted authorities to assure them that she was safe and that the activity was consensual.

“When you get this many people together being rowdy, it shows our community in a bad light,” Bay County Commissioner Mike Thomas told the AP.