2/25/2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University students will be maintaining the AIDS Memorial Garden in San Francisco and constructing houses for an orphanage in Mexico during spring break this year.
These are just two projects students will take part in during Alternative Spring Break (ASB), a living and working experience in which students perform community service and explore the culture and history of the area they are helping.
Within the past year, the program has expanded to include new sites and opportunities, including spring break trips to Puerto Rico, Honduras, a winter break trip to Pueblo, Mexico, and weekend service opportunities. More spots for participants have also opened up in already existing sites.
"I am really very passionate about this program, especially because of the opportunities it offers young people," said Carlos Fuentes, assistant director of MSU's Service-Learning Center and ASB adviser.
"We go down to a site for a week and we are not changing the world," Fuentes said, "but that experience changes the participants, who in turn can go out and change the world."
Approximately 330 MSU students will venture to other parts of the world during the March 4-8 class break and the adjacent weekends. Fuentes estimates that 100 more students are participating in this year compared to last year due to the additional openings.
Fuentes said he expects the program to keep growing because of newly formed partnerships with the College of Human Medicine and other units of the university.
"We are progressing into academics and these partnerships will only make the program stronger," he said. "Hopefully, soon the participants will have the option to receive credit for their contributions."
Additional 2002 spring break trips include working with the Otomi Indians at schools and homes in Amealco, Mexico; studying environmental issues in the rainforest in San Juan, Puerto Rico; painting and cleaning schools and daycare facilities at the Native American Rosebud Reservation in Mission, S.D.; and performing trail maintenance and extension at Cumberland Trail Conference in Tennessee.
Amy Rabe of Haslett, a senior majoring in music education and chairperson for ASB, has participated in the Cumberland Trail Conference for the last two years. She said she enjoyed her experience so much she decided to take a leadership role, serving as a site leader last year.
"I really believe in the program, and I want other students to have the same opportunities that I had," Rabe said. "It's a real positive way to spend a vacation because you still get to travel and have fun, but you are providing important services and the people you help are always so thankful."
For more ASB information, visit the Web at www.msu.edu/~asb/