Spring break. For college students, those two words often conjure images of scenes from MTV's insane parties on tropical beaches or simply a vague picture of peace and quiet, without mountains of homework and midterms weighing them down.
Tufts students are entering that time of year when the weather tempts them with temperatures just rising out of the 30s and professors drown them in papers and tests. Such a combination makes many on the Hill look forward to fun in the sun with friends — if only for a week — later this month.
With the recession still affecting the wallets of students and parents, alternative plans have become the norm for many, and a number of those who chose to stick to the standard spring break fare of beachside locations near the Caribbean have booked their trips months in advance to ensure the best deals on accommodations and airfare. Others have, for one reason or the other, decided to eschew the traditional spring break experience and opt for a slightly different kind of vacation.
Will Perry, a senior on the Tufts men's ultimate frisbee team, is one student not partaking in a stereotypical collegiate spring break, as he will be traveling with his team for the week. "First I think we're going to Atlanta for a Frisbee tournament the first weekend of break, then down to Clearwater, Florida for most of the week itself," Perry said. "We're staying at a beach house there, then back up to [Washington] D.C. the second weekend for another tournament."
The trip is not expensive when compared to the other types of spring break adventures that a Tufts student might want to indulge in. "[The] baseline price is around $250, I think, but we get reimbursed by the school for gas later, and we pay for our own food," Perry said. "We do it because the weather in New England is obviously terrible until late April, so we go south in order to play some warm weather games against colleges from around the country. Then we practice and bond while chilling out down in Florida in between tournaments."
The women's ultimate frisbee team members also go to Clearwater for the week, but they will be staying in a separate house.
Junior Geoff Lerner is also travelling with a Tufts group, but for a different reason. He's heading with members of the Department of Geology on their bi-annual spring break trip to Utah do research in the field. "I'm a geology major, and I thought it seemed extremely relevant to my studies. I had other things that I could have done over spring break, but this seemed to be something that would further my geology studies," Lerner said.
"I've gone on trips out west with my family to national parks and Utah actually, and I really like hiking around in places like that," he continued. "I thought it would be a lot of fun. I believe it's to southeast Utah, places like Arches, Canyonlands, Chimney Rock and Fossil Mountain."
At each of those sites, the students will be exploring concepts firsthand that they've learned about in their geology classes, including looking at fossils that they learned about in paleontology sections. Lerner did have to make a difficult decision regarding his participation in the trip, which is open to all geology majors.
"The second round of Mock Trial tournaments was on the last weekend of spring break," Lerner said. "If I had been picked for that team I would have stayed over spring break, practiced and then competed on the last day. But I can probably do that next year, and I can't do this next year."
At approximately $500 for travel and another $150 for lodging, the departmental trip is not inexpensive, but students that can't afford the trip and would like to go are offered scholarships.
Senior Prachi Godiwala is sticking close to Tufts for the majority of her spring break.
She will be spending part of her vacation working at a local emergency medical service company, Armstrong Ambulance Services, where she is employed part time as an emergency medical technician. Her reason for working instead of playing over the break is so that she can save money for a grander trip later.
"I don't want to go anywhere for spring break because I'm taking a two-month vacation to Europe over the summer — no need to go to, like, Miami for four days when I'll be spending my summer abroad," Godiwala said.
There are also some distinct and delicious benefits to sticking around Tufts during spring break. "There's all these things I never get to do in Boston because I'm so busy, and spring break is the perfect time to do them," Godiwala said.
She added that she is looking forward to taking advantage of Restaurant Week, when high-end restaurants offer menus for a fraction of the price of a normal meal.
Tufts organizations also offer opportunities for alternative spring break vacations. Tufts Hillel participates in an alternative spring break every year, partnering with different Jewish service organizations to send students to help people in disadvantaged areas of the world. This year they have partnered with Jewish Funds for Justice to send a small group to New Orleans, where students will be working with United Methodist Disaster Recovery.
Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) has been organizing service trips to New Orleans during spring break for the last five years, since Hurricane Katrina. The program — Katrina Relief Urban Plunge (KRUP) is organized by InterVarsity New England for various colleges in the New England area. TCF has worked in conjunction with various organizations providing relief work in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, such as Habitat For Humanity in 2008 and Committee for Plaquemines Recovery in 2009. The trip is open to students of all faith backgrounds, and encourages and facilitates discussion of issues such as faith and social justice.
The Tufts Amalgamates will be travelling to Miami to soak up the sun and perform in at least three shows while there. Other clubs, organizations and sports groups also take advantage of the break from classes to spend time together doing something fun and getting to know the people with whom they share interests and passions.
Dilys Ong contributed reporting to this article.
