AU Alumni Update

March 2005

 

CAMPUS NEWS

Students Spring for Alternative Breaks

After the stress of midterms, most students can’t wait to board the plane to Cancun, the Bahamas, Florida, or at least home. This year, however, more than 100 AU students decided to give up their traditional spring break and head to a less-traveled corner of the world to experience a different culture. Six official alternative spring break trips were offered this spring through the Alternative Spring Break Club, with destinations including Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, Jamaica, Vietnam, and the Cherokee Nation.

“Rather than some sort of charity, I see [Alternative Spring Break] as an opportunity for learning about people and their struggles, and then taking that experience and being able to act in solidarity with them further on,” says senior Michael Haack, SIS/BA ’05, president of the Alternative Spring Break Club. Each spring break destination had an exclusive purpose to learn about the condition of the country, its culture, and its people.

Karen Gerlach (2d from right) and AU
students in Jamaica
AU Students in Jamaica

Faculty advisors traveled with each of the groups to their selected destinations. Karen Gerlach, CAS/MA '97, director of Student Activities, journeyed to Jamaica, where she and students experienced a new world of political and economic unrest. Spending most of their time in the country’s capitol of Kingston, the group of eight students visited various NGOs and human rights groups, and examined the impact of former loans from the IMF, which the country took out recently. “We really got a good picture of political violence and police brutality…The students and I are still trying to process everything that we experienced,” says Gerlach.

Vietnam             photo by Bob Carter
Vietnam
On the other side of the world, 12 students and two faculty advisors traveled to Vietnam for the third time in AU’s Alternative Spring Break history. Under the guidance of AU Media Relations Director, Todd Sedmak, SOC/MA '96, and AU Director of Treasury Operations, Bob Carter, KSB/MBA '95, students not only learned about Vietnamese culture, but also explored institutions such as the U.S. Consulate in Saigon, the Saigon Times Daily, a local orphanage, Vietnam National University, and the School for the Blind. Sedmak, who has been to Vietnam four times now, hopes to involve AU alumni in Vietnam in the future. “If there are any alums in Vietnam, it would be great to see them become more active in the program.”
AU staff Bob Carter '95 (left), and Todd Sedmak '96 (back) with AU students in Asia
Alumni and students in Vietnam

The Alternative Spring Break Club is not the only group on campus that offered spring break options. AU Hillel traveled to Argentina, while the University Honors Program packed their bags for nearby Bolivia. In Bolivia, Honors students were able to experience history in the making when President Carlos Mesa offered his resignation while they were visiting the capitol. Sophomore Kate Meck, SIS/BA ’07 traveled with the Honors Program to La Paz. "It was an honor to be in Bolivia during that time because we were able to witness history taking place. It also gave us a deeper understanding of the injustices that are forced on the oppressed."

Between learning about Jamaican economic development, visiting a Vietnamese orphanage, and experiencing Bolivian political history, each Alternative Spring Break trip made for memorable learning experiences. Gerlach notes that Student Activities and the Spring Break Club have already planned trips to Ecuador for this May and Zambia in August to examine the AIDS epidemic. They will begin preparations in just a few weeks for next year’s alternatives.

-Ashley Ferrell ‘07

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