Spring Break 2006
February is over and March is in full swing. Though snow may be making a comeback in the valley, there is still a surefire way to beat Old Man Winter: Spring Break.
Students at Utah State University spend their week of rest and relaxation in many different ways.
Last year, Nick Hendricks said he got to see USU win in the Big West basketball tournament in the Anaheim convention center in sunny California. This year, the junior majoring in history said he will still seek sunshine as he travels to Arizona for spring baseball training and to visit his fiancé.
With temperatures in the Cache Valley forecasted to stay around freezing and more snow expected over the next few days, many students are migrating south to enjoy their Spring Break.
“I am driving to St. George, and when I arrive there, I will stay in my Grandma’s condo,” Christin Campbell, an undeclared freshman, said. “I am going there to try out for Tuacahn’s production of ‘Peter Pan.’ I want to be Captain Hook, but I’ll probably go for Peter Pan instead.”
Some students are choosing to spend their Spring Break with service organizations helping underprivileged people around the world.
Ashley Linford, a liberal arts and sciences freshman, said she is traveling with the Spanish Club to Ciudad Obregon in Sonora, Mexico, to build adobe houses as part of the Sonora Project. This is the Spanish Club’s fourth year with the project. Linford said she joined the club because she saw the event on a flier.
“I’m excited because it’s what I want to do with my life: help people,” Linford said.
In adition to the Sonora Project, there are other service projects available to students. USU’s Alternative Breaks service group will take a group of 30 students to help in New Orleans. According to their Web site, www.sanlucasmission.com, the San Lucas Mission in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, has volunteers who “work in different areas like a medical team works in the communities with the coordination of Pablo Wise and Jesus Antonio, and other volunteers work in the different projects from the mission like construction, reforestation, water projects, education, medicinal garden, Coofee Project and others.”
Though sunny climes and service opportunities may fill some students’ schedules, others choose to stay a little closer to home and trade in exotic vacations and tans for the opportunity to catch up with loved ones.
“Both last year and this year, I’ve gone home and stayed with family or friends,” said Emilene Sprouse, a senior majoring in English teaching.
Of course, there are some who, due to projects, homework or lack of funds, will be staying around Logan.
“I’ll be staying [on campus] to finish projects and stuff,” Cassidy Pentico, a senior majoring in statistics, said, “but I’ll be running a half-marathon in Moab on Saturday. Last year, I got my wisdom teeth out [during Spring Break].”
For students not happy with their current spring break plans, it’s not too late to plan a Spring Break trip. Springbreakworld.com lists this year’s “hotspots,” which include Acapulco, Cancun, Daytona Beach, Jamaica, Key West and Panama City. Expedia.com and Travelocity.com both offer last-minute tickets to these destinations from $636-$1,648 roundtrip airfare, depending on destination and time. Smartertravel.com listed alternative destinations including Ireland, Iceland and Canada. Expedia.com and Travelocity.com also offer tickets to these places from $1,211-$3,325.
-limarc@cc.usu.edu