Courtney Van Haaften | Sports Co-editor
Traditionally, spring break on college campuses means students get away and relax for a week with a group of friends on a warm beach. However, contrary to popular media and national statistics, Buena Vista University (BVU) students break that trend. On March 22-30 this year, most BVU students do not have a sunny spring break destination in mind.
“I just started a new job a few weeks ago. My coworkers asked if I would stick around and work during spring break. Because I wanted to save money, I told them that I didn’t have anything planned. So now I will be working over spring break,” junior Aaron Burns said.
According to several students on campus, reasons for not traveling include saving money, being unsure of where to travel, and just wanting to spend time at home with family and friends.
“I know it would be fun to travel somewhere tropical, but I just plan on using the break as a time to catch up with my family and other friends from home,” junior Chelsea Gubbels said.
Among the BVU students who are traveling for spring break, the majority are doing so for school-related reasons. Several athletic teams will take trips to compete in tournaments across the country, and Alternative Week of Offsite Learning (AWOL) participants are also making their way across the United States.
The BVU athletic teams that are traveling for spring break this year include men and women’s tennis, softball, and baseball. The tennis teams will be competing in Hilton Head, S.C, softball in Clermont, Florida, and baseball in Tucson, Arizona.
AWOL is an organization that allows students to travel with their peers and participate in a week of offsite learning and volunteering in a chosen destination. This year the destinations are New York City, Colorado, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. According to Director of Civic Engagement Ashley Farmer-Hanson, AWOL provides an opportunity to go out and see the world at an affordable price. This year 42 students and eight faculty members will be participating in AWOL activities.
“I just love it because it takes students to a place they’ve never been before. It gives them a chance to explore, not only who they are, but also to serve others,” Farmer-Hanson said.
According to national statistics presented by Travelocity, an online travel booking site, South Florida is the number one destination for college spring breakers this year. Close behind are Phoenix, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nev., and Cancun, Mexico.
Although most students are going home, working, visiting family, or traveling for school-related purposes, there are still some students who are heading to these tropical destinations for a fun-filled week with their friends. Some spring break destinations this year for BVU students are Panama City Beach in Florida, South Padre Island, Tex., and Colorado.
People choose their destinations for many different reasons. Factors that go into the decision include cost, whether or not they want to fly or drive, and the number of people in the group.
Senior Jen Dimig, who is traveling to Panama City Beach this year, thinks of spring break as a week to relax and spend time with friends before getting back into a busy schedule with school and work.
“I had so much fun last year on spring break, so I wanted to make sure to do it again for my senior year. These are the years that we’ll never get back to go on huge trips with friends,” Dimig said. “After going on a trip last year, we decided that we would want to go somewhere different, but still warm, popular, fun, and relatively cheap.”
Photo by Kevin Coriolan
