The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/16/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy Shruti Suresh Pruc Tran paints a house in Mobile, Ala., through the ASB program. [Click to enlarge]

Though many University students use spring break to get away, 233 students piled into vans, buses and planes and journeyed around the country to build houses and create awareness about social concerns.

Through a program called Alternative Spring Break, which began in 1994 by the Center for Leadership and Service, students sign up in the fall and pay $130 for a trip to one of 13 states, including cities such as St. Louis, Boston and New York City. Each trip focuses on specific social issues, such as HIV/AIDS, children's issues, poverty, affordable housing and environmental, immigration and disability awareness.

Darren Liddell, a senior from Acworth and site leader for one of the HIV/AIDS groups, travelled to Mobile, Ala., with 19 other students.

At one point, the group went to a homeless shelter and all of the participants sat at different tables to talk to homeless people, some of whom were infected with the disease, and hear their stories, Liddell said.

"A lot of people from the South have a very negative stigma about the disease," he said. "The lack of education affects their lives - the people really appreciated what we did and that makes it worth it."

Mikko Mamagat, a sophomore from the Philippines, voyaged with other students to Boston to work with four centers in providing children the attention they need.

"When I read to the kids, they really wanted me there - they paid attention and kept asking me questions," Mamagat said. "The experience taught me how much of a difference in one week that I can make in a couple of kids' lives that I had never even met before."

Sophie Raboud, a senior from Switzerland, travelled with others to St. Louis for HIV/AIDS awareness.

The group went to two different organizations where they were taught about AIDS before arriving at Doorways, a home for 36 residents affected with HIV/AIDS.

When it was time for the ASB students to leave, all of the participants wrote in a greeting card about what they learned, she said. The card was presented to a Doorways activities director, who "choked up and cried," Raboud said, citing it as one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

"ASB is one of the amazing experiences I have had at the University," Liddell said. "It brings together a group of students who never would've spent time together otherwise and it is a good feeling becoming good friends.

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