Though a flagging economy has impacted university budgets and students’ resources, it has not dampened efforts to take alternative breaks during the academic year, said Don Austin, assistant director of community service at Ithaca College, where an alternative breaks program has existed for about a decade. “I think that there has been an increase in interest in these types of programs,” said Austin. “I think you’d find a large and always increasing percentage of institutions in the U.S. at least offer one thing for students to do during … breaks throughout the academic year.”
From the University of California, Irvine, to the University of Kentucky to Cornell to the University of Tampa, this season undergraduates aren’t just leaving campus for a holiday with family and friends, but they are embarking on journeys to address local, national, and global issues.
“A lot of times students will participate in a trip like that, and then they will broaden the conversation of what is the role of the college student in addressing this type of problem in the world,” said Austin, who has worked in the Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs for three years.
At UK, the Center for Community Outreach at the college organized a trip to Nicaragua for students to volunteer with Outreach360. Students taught basic English language skills in local schools from December 15-December 22. The trip cost a hefty $1,750, which Austin said is one of the biggest detractors for an alternative break program. Austin noted that the school has attracted a more diverse pool of applicants by subsidizing much of the cost through his office and tuition program fees.
“That’s been a goal of our office: to make these programs more affordable so that a wider and more diverse group can participate,” he said.
At New York University, a few of the options available for students include working at an animal sanctuary in Utah, rebuilding homes in Joplin, Mo., and supporting an LGBTQ organization in Buenos Aires Argentina.
“I think a lot of times these things are in addition to the classroom learning,” said Austin. “What I have found is that students do like to take the opportunity to show their concern,” he added.
