The Region : Palm Springs Wants Peace

Behave yourselves. That’s the gist of a warning to students who traditionally flock to Palm Springs during the spring break. It’s contained in brochures city officials are readying for distribution at major college campuses in California and Arizona, and to be placed in 6,500 motel rooms. “Youth who visit Palm Springs during Easter Week will face the city’s new ‘get tough’ policy aimed at keeping peace and avoiding student-police clashes that marred the 1986 holiday,” the brochures caution. More than 500 arrests occurred last year, and the expense to the city was $100,000 in overtime salaries and $40,000 in damage, officials said. City police, beginning the third week in April, plan to beef up patrols and complement officers with a contingent of CHP officers.