Hillary Cliff is ready for this week to end. After all, spring break is just around the corner. Will she be taking in the white beaches of some exotic island? Or will she be hiking through the beautiful rainforests of Africa? Neither. She’ll be bypassing both for an experience that will impact her life as well as many others around her.
Cliff, a junior double major in Advertising and Latin American studies, will be joining a lieu of about 30,000 college students on an amazing journey to forgotten parts of the country, according to Break Away Connections. She and 14 other SMU students are participating in Alternative Spring Break (or ASB), a program that offers students the opportunity to learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment by performing services for disadvantaged communities.
This is SMU’s 13th year to run the program. Each year, SMU sends a group to five different locations across the nation that is in need of service. Participation is relatively low in numbers at SMU compared to schools of the same size, such as Vanderbilt University, who is sending over 450 students to 39 different service sites according to The Vanderbilt Hustler.
While other schools are dealing with excessive interest in ASB, SMU faces the latter. Even with efforts to reach all students, it is the same few students who will attend ASB trips each year.
“It’s hard to get SMU students to step out of their bubble and try something new,” Sharyne Ng, a junior Art History major believes.
Trying to encourage students to leave the sunny beaches and bright skies for a week of volunteering in troubled communities, especially at SMU, is a task within itself.
This year, however, the programmed faced a bigger obstacle. Because the ASB program relies heavily on their student budget, an unexpected budget cut from SMU Student Senate last spring almost destroyed chances of sending out student trips. Though most of the funding was given back to ASB during fall residuals, they were left faced with the task of locating available service sites.
“When we have a definite budget determined, we start researching sites almost 10 months before our trips,” ASB Coordinator Cliff explained. “We try to pick sites that will be reflective of issues that we feel students are passionate about on our campus.”
Even with limited choices, a smaller budget and time-restraints, Cliff had to “work some magic with certain organizations.” This magic came in the form of a nationwide service program called Break Away Connections.
Break Away Connections offers an informative website assisting in alternative break programs for students and participants. It is a powerful liaison for 150 campuses across the nation to take part in ASB. Service-driven students are able to meet and connect with others with the same passion to perform short term projects for community agencies.
Because of the setbacks, SMU is sending a group of 15 compared to last year’s group of 40. They will embark on their respective trips with fellow ASB Texas Christian University students to volunteer their time. Students will be doing environmental work in Chattanooga, TN, assisting in Junior Achievement, a program that educations young children about real-world skills in Gainesville, Fla. Others will help build homes for Habitat for Humanity in Santa Fe, N. M. A group will assist in preparing meals for Campus Kitchen in New Orleans, La., and the last group of students will help perform social services for the City of Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Each trip undertakes a different issue that society faces. Students are forced to step outside their bubble and confront cultural dilemmas. Alternative Spring Break offers those students who want to give back to the community the chance to work with others with the same enthusiasm.
“This is my third ASB trip,” said Cliff. “It’s hard to describe how one of these trips can impact your life. You’ll be given the opportunity to see changes take place that will leave lingering effects on the community and on you, personally. You’ll get what you want out of it.”
To learn more about getting involved with this program, students can visit the Student Community Service Office on the third floor of Hughes-Trigg or by contacting Hillary Cliff at [email protected]. The Alternative Spring Break (or ASB) program is supported at SMU by SPARC (Students Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Citizenship).
