Monday, February 27, 2006
Spring break with purpose
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Eagle Road Crew, a new service organization on campus, is heading south for spring break, but members won’t be lounging on the beach. They are headed to Waveland, Mississippi, to help rebuild a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Area coordinators Tracy Shadowens and Matt Krevda founded the group in fall 2005. Last semester’s projects included volunteering at a national park in Maine and feeding the homeless in Indianapolis. “We were looking for an alternative spring break trip for which students could actually help,” Shadowens said. Eagle Road Crew will be joined by the USI chapter of Habitat for Humanity, as well as students from Silver Lake College in Wisconsin and Lynchburg College in Virginia. In all, about 50 students will help with clean-up, building, and anything else that needs to be done. A local church will provide food and accommodations in a MASH-style camp. “The area looks like the hurricane hit yesterday,” Shadowens said. “Fifty college students will really be able to have an impact there.” The Student Christian Fellowship is sending groups of USI students on mission trips to Chicago and Panama City, Florida. In south Chicago, USI students will join with Sunshine Ministries to seek out the homeless, bring them food and blankets, and make sure their healthcare needs are addressed. Students also will provide food and clothing to new immigrants to the United States, and work with inner-city children. This is the second year SCF has done this work in an urban setting. Students also will participate in a program called Beach Reach, serving a free breakfast for three to four hours each morning to people up and down the Panama City Beach strip. Starting in the early evening, students provide free van rides to ensure people get to the clubs safely. Beach Reach drops off and picks up club-goers. The vans run until 3 a.m. “It sounds crazy, but it’s an interesting trip,” said Don Williams, director of the Southern Christian Fellowship. Every year, College of Liberal Arts faculty lead Travel Study programs during the spring recess. Michael Aakhus, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, will lead a tour of the art of ancient, colonial and modern Mexico. His group will visit the site of Teotihuacán, the colonial cities of Queretaro and San Miguel de Aliende, and view the 20th century mural master works of Diego Rivera and others in the National Palace and the Belles Artes in Mexico City. Eric vonFuhrmann, associate professor of English, is taking students on a 19th annual European tour to Spain and Morocco. Stops include Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Gibraltar, Tangiers, Granada, Cordoba, and Valencia. The second annual spring break trip sponsored by International Programs and Services will make stops in Clearwater, Tampa, and Orlando, Florida. Kristine Meier, program coordinator for International Programs and Services, will accompany about 20 international students on the trip. Heidi Gregori-Gahan, director of International Programs and Services, said, “Over the longer breaks we try to plan a trip that offers international students a chance to do something. Sometimes they don’t have many friends, or even know anyone with a car.” She said they chose Florida because it’s an accessible warm-weather location. “Of course, Disney World and Universal Studios are a huge draw for international students - and they usually have heard of Florida!” Spring break starts Monday, March 6, and continues through Friday, March 11. Classes resume Monday, March 13. |
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