Spring break plans vary across campus

By Emily Bjorklund

With the first signs of warmth, students are scrambling to make plans for spring breaks near and far to relax and find the sun they have pined for all winter.

Spring break was planned for Mike Rhoads the moment he joined the crew team. Like many athletes, Rhoads, a junior rower, has missed out on the week-long beachfest many students enjoy for spring break. With the Santa Clara crew team, Rhoads will be racing in Sacramento the first weekend of break, followed by a strenuous regimen of three practices per day for the duration of the week.

The team picks a house near campus to be home base for the week, where they can eat, rest, and fuel up for their next practice. They are on the water each morning before many spring breakers are home from clubbing.

Yet Rhoads is not entirely jealous. " It is sort of a drawback to not experience the traditional spring break, but at least I will remember my week, unlike a lot of people who come back from drinking in Mexico," he said.

The team benefits from the intense week of practices. "It is a huge team bonding experience," he said. "It is like a week-long retreat where we really learn to respect everyone because we are all going through hell together."

Junior Brigid Quigley has previously opted for a time-honored college vacation, trekking to Mexico for her past two spring breaks. She spent last spring break in Cabo San Lucas.

"Cabo is drinking on the beach during the day and dancing on tables in clubs at night," she said. "It was definitely fun while I was there, but not something I would want to do again in my life."

This year, Quigley, a Phoenix native, has chosen to return to the warmth of Arizona. Her home is an 11-hour drive from Santa Clara and offers an average temperature of 74 degrees in late March. Quigley's plans include laying by her pool, shopping, and watching the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks in their spring training.

Spring training games attract many tourists to Arizona, according to the state's Office of Tourism. The Cactus League, the name for the Major League Baseball teams that play preseason games in Arizona, includes the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Seattle Mariners, Anaheim Angels and the Oakland Athletics.

Phoenix is not the only Arizona destination that offers sun and fun. Lake Havasu City is another very popular destination, attracting most of its spring season tourists from colleges across the country.

According to the Lake Havasu City Convention and Visitors Bureau, the area offers virtually all kinds of water paraphernalia for rent, including waterskis, jet-skis, paddle-boats and even houseboats. The city also boasts cheap motels and hotels, that still have vacancies for spring break, as an alternative to the very popular and party-conducive houseboat.

Southern California is a closer option. An agent for Penny Realty on San Diego's Mission Beach said that houses and apartments are still available for rent in the last week of March. However, the agency tries to enforce a "no party policy," due to the hampering reality of permanent Mission Beach residents. Prices for houses hover around $2,000 for the week for an eight-person house.

Junior Catie Swendiman will enjoy spring break in Newport Beach, where she will rent a five-bedroom beach house with 18 friends.

"It is relatively cheap since we are driving down and the rent cost is split between so many people," Swendiman said. "And nothing could be better than kegs on the porch and laying out on the beach, which is my plan for every day of the week."

Swendiman said she and her friends had trouble finding a house to accommodate 18 people, and had a limited list of housing options because University of California students, who have the same spring break, had snagged many choice beach rentals.

As the end of the quarter draws near, students might think they have missed the deadline to plan a major trip. But Student Travel Agency (STA) of Palo Alto claims to have plenty of packages to offer for the last week in March, including trips to Machu Pichu, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aries, Costa Rica and, of course, Mexico and Hawaii. STA emphasized that the longer a student waits, the more rapidly the prices will increase, so they advise booking travel arrangements as soon as possible.

Some students won't answer to demanding coaches, tempting beaches or tequila shots, but to the call of service. Senior Mark Goodell has participated in immersion trips through Santa Clara since freshman year. He has been to Tijuana, Albuquerque, California's central valley and will spend his final spring break next month in Nogales, Mexico.

Goodell has taken this path to spring break because it is relatively inexpensive and allows him to lend his service to others.

"It is something constructive I can do to help a community in need," he said. "It is a really unique experience and one I probably won't be able to do after college."

Like Rhoads, Goodell does not feel he is missing out by choosing immersion over inebriation.

"Those trips do not strike me as enjoyable because you are hanging out with the same people you would at school," he said.

"With the immersion trips you get to meet completely new and different people," Goodell said. "It just can't be matched by getting drunk in Vegas or Cancun."

* Contact Emily Bjorklund at (408) 554-4546 or ebjorklund@scu.edu.