Alternative Break, a student club in its seventh year at AU, will expand its scope this year to include trips during the winter break in addition to their Spring trips, according to Andrew Willis, Alternative Spring Break coordinator.
Alternative Break was "formed in order to promote and call attention to issues of global justice through community service projects, educational campaigns and other student-coordinated activities," Willis said.
Willis, a junior in the School of International Service who led a trip to Chiapas, Mexico two years ago, said two trips will be offered during the winter break: India and Costa Rica.
In India, students will call attention to the Tibetan government in exile and human rights violations by the Chinese government against the Tibetan people, he said. In Costa Rica, students will address environmental issues such as air pollution, he added.
"People always want to go on these trips, and we always receive a tremendous response from the students at American," Willis said. "We know that we're going to have to hold the program next year."
The group will also offer six different travel options in the spring, he said. Willis will lead a trip to Cuba. He said he is looking forward to performing community service, and the prospect of talking to Cubans and listening to their perspectives on issues such as the U.S. embargo.
Willis noted that SIS also offers Alternative Break as a one-credit independent course of study.
In the past, students have traveled to Cuba, Zambia and Chiapas. Each trip is planned by the students, in conjunction with agencies such as Global Exchange, a human rights organization dedicated to correcting human rights abuses and bringing about social and economic justice, Willis said. The trips last about two weeks. It's important to call attention to the human rights, social justice or environmental issues affecting a country, Willis said.
Last year's trip to Chiapas was designed to call worldwide attention to the Zapatistas, a group of indigenous farmers who are protesting the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and harsh governmental policies within Mexico that make rural poverty worse and force farmers off their lands, he said.
Another visit to Chiapas is being planned for spring break, as well as other trips to Honduras, Ireland, Vietnam and Haiti, Willis said.
Kat Shiffler, coordinator for this year's Chiapas trip, said each trip is student-coordinated. Each group, usually consisting of 10 to 20 people per country, decides what activities to take part in when they arrive.
This means that students must raise funds on their own. The price of each trip varies depending on airfare, but the program fee usually ranges from $1,000 to $2,000. In previous years, students have solicited family members for money, searched for possible grants and have even held small fundraisers, selling calendars or other merchandise in the Tavern, Shiffler said.
Shiffler said her Alternative Break last year to Cuba was a worthwhile experience and that she "felt like an ambassador."
"I think it is important to get involved, especially at American, a place that prides itself on global exchange and international understanding," Shiffler said. "It is important to take the initiative and make your own experience"
