About 75 students gathered Thursday night to hear why they should build houses in Appalachia or tutor low-income students in Boston, instead of lying on the beaches of Florida or Cancun.
The Alternative Spring Break executive board announced this year’s 14 spring break locations at an information session at Harris Hall. On each of the upcoming trips, 12 participants will be led by two site leaders. Participants will pay $175 to $400 per person to perform good deeds on their break.
ASB Co-Director Natalie Moore said she expects all the slots should be filled.
“We’ve always gotten more applications than there are spaces, so there is always a substantial waiting list,” Moore said.
Weinberg freshman Jenny Grobelski attended the session because she took an ASB trip to New York during Winter Break and enjoyed her experience working with AIDS patients.
“There weren’t any class distinctions among people with AIDS,” Grobelski said. “We worked with the richest and the poorest people.”
This spring’s 14 sites should provide an enriching experience, Moore said.
“This year we are going to a lot of new sites, but we are also going to some old tried-and-true ones that welcome us back,” Moore said.
Locations addressing HIV and AIDS issues include the Gay Men’s Health Center in New York, the Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance in Philadelphia and the Boston Living Center.
Students interested in Native American issues will travel to the Rough Rock Community School in Chinle, Ariz., and White Earth Land Recovery project in Ponsford, Minn.
At the Land Between the Lakes in Golden Pond, Ky., and the Nature Conservancy in Baton Rouge, La., students will spend their spring breaks trying to improve the environment.
Poverty and housing issues will be addressed at the Appalachia Folklife Center, in Pipestem, W. Va., Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service in Neon, Ky., and the Peace Neighborhood Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The remaining sites include: Save Our Sons and Daughters in Detroit, which addresses youth and anti-violence; The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., an animal rights group; Kipp Academy in New York City, which works to improve education; and United Way Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center in Cincinnati, for work involving youth and disabilities.
