Forget
Daytona
Excellent spring break alternatives
By Laura Jungman
Does the idea of spending your spring
break drinking beer with thousands of
mostly naked people on the beaches of
Daytona sound unappealing to you? Don’t
sweat it, there are plenty of other things you
can do, like cruising America’s back roads or
counting sea turtle eggs in Brazil. The first
place to look for ideas is your own school’s
web site. Many universities now have alterna
tive spring break web pages with loads of pro
grams available for you to make the most of
your time and possibly give something back to
the community.
Volunteer Vacations
One of the most popular spring break
causes is Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org).
Founded in 1976 with a mission to eliminate
substandard housing and homelessness from
the world, they have built over 100,000
homes and provided low-income families with
interest-free mortgages on their new houses.
You can take part in Habitat for Humanity’s
Collegiate Challenge and learn construction
skills while helping to build a new home for a
needy family. There are many warm locations
available, including Florida!
For those of you with a few extra bucks,
you can spend your week in an exotic location
while donating your time. Global Volunteers
(globalvolunteers.org) offers short term “vol
unteer vacations’’ like teaching English in
Greece or planting trees in Costa Rica.
EcoVolunteer (www.ecovolunteer.org) spe
cializes in matching volunteers to international
wildlife conservation projects such as wildlife
rescue in Thailand or collecting and hatching
sea turtle eggs in Brazil. Program fees range
from $600 to $2,000 per week, plus the cost
of the plane ticket. If you’d prefer to volunteer
your time locally, VolunteerSolutions
(volunteersolutions.org) has a huge search
able database of ongoing volunteer opportu
nities in select cities.
Political and Spiritual Retreats
For all you campus activists, check out the
Ruckus Society (ruckus.org/spring
break.html), which offers an Alternative
Spring Break Action Camp for Student
Activists. You can sign up for a week of work
shops designed to perfect your rallying and
consciousness-raising skills. If you are more
spiritually inclined, there is the Mepkin Abbey
Retreat (selfknowledge.org/events/
springbreak.htm). Spend your spring break at
this monastery in South Carolina, working hard,
meditating and experiencing life as a monk.
Hit the Road
If you prefer to set out on your own path,
there are several web sites to feed your wan
derlust. Alternative Routes (alternative
routes.com) is dedicated to insider travel
information, a place where people can share
their travel knowledge. Also, GoNOMAD.com
(gonomad.com) offers resources and infor
mation for adventurous travelers. If you want
the security of a guided tour, but with an
unusual twist, consider Green Tortoise
(greentortoise.com), a bunk-bedded bus that
offers structured tours of America, complete
with gourmet vegetarian food.
Spring break is a wonderful opportunity
to forget the stress of the semester, meet
interesting peo
ple and get a
taste of some
thing new. •
Want More?
Search keyword: Alternatives
at www.steamtuhnels.net
There are plenty of other
things you can do over spring
break, like cruising America's
back roads or counting sea
turtle eggs in Brazil.
From top: Global
Volunteers in
Areola, Miss.; a ’
Ruckus
participant
during a climbing
exercise; the
Ruckus
Democracy
Action Camp in
the Santa Monica
Mountains, July !
2000.
Photos courtesy Global Volunteers and Ruckus
Baby You Can Drive My Car
It's hard—but not impossible—for college students to rent
By Douglas Desmond
If you’ve ever tried to rent a car and been
turned down, you’re not alone. Most
rental companies will reject anyone under
25 years old for insurance reasons. The
incidence of accident or theft is far higher
for our age group, and most companies
are simply not willing to shoulder the risk.
But you don’t have to hitchhike; there
are firms out there that will rent to stu
dents for a higher price. You’ll pay an
additional $5 to $30 per day—or
more—in some states. Also, watch out for
insurance coverage that you might be
pressured to buy. Damage to rental cars is
already covered by certain homeowner or
automobile insurance policies. MSNBC
(msnbc.com/news/305444.asp?cp1 =1)
has information about avoiding hidden
fees or overpaying for your car.
The best place to find rental cars
online is bnm.com/uage.htm, which lists
student-friendly companies in 36 major
cities. If your location isn't included in
their list, try Alamo (alamo.com) or
Dollar (dollar.com), although both have a
minimum age of 21 at most branches. Two
other
sites
worth checking out are Smarter Livings
Rental Guide (smarterliving.com/
travel_guides/cars_overview.html) and
cars-rentals-discounts.com. Another
thing to keep in mind is that the state of
New York passed a law to allow anyone
over 18 to rent there, although companies
are free to charge as high a premium as
they wish. Budget, for example, will add an
additional $65 per day. •