Spring break selections: service or sun

By Christopher DaCosta

As the countdown toward spring break begins, sophomore Erin Stratta and junior David Zwaska will be joining the throngs of high school and college students flocking to exotic and exciting places for a week away from home, school and stress.

However, Stratta will not be partying on a beautiful beach packed with tanned teenagers in tight bikinis, nor will Zwaska be frolicking on the 23 miles of sun-soaked sands in Daytona Beach, Fla. Instead, both plan to extend their learning of cultures different from their own during spring break.

"I'm going with the Santa Clara Immersion trip to El Salvador to live and learn from the Tamarindos, a community group," said Stratta, a combined sciences major.

Stratta was prompted to sign up by the positive response and advice she received from various students around campus. "I've heard a lot of incredible feedback about the immersion programs, and the El Salvador program in particular sounded like a truly unforgettable and life-changing experience," Stratta said.

Hoping to gain a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, Stratta explained that her time in El Salvador will equip her with a greater understanding of the human condition as well as the difficulties afflicting people around the world.

Zwaska, who will be living among farm laborers in Immokalee, Fla., during spring break, is going on an immersion trip to further his understanding of economic hardships faced by a community of laborers.

"I want to learn more about labor issues, especially the farm worker issues in Immokalee because of the injustice and oppression that has taken place there," Zwaska said.

The workers have been exploited by Taco Bell for over 20 years, leaving them with no sick leave, overtime pay or other workers' benefits, according to the philosophy and psychology double major.

"By hearing their stories and experiencing their oppression first-hand, I will be better able to educate others here at school," said Zwaska, who hopes to work for social justice causes when he returns.

Instead of an immersion trip, sophomores Lorna Allen and Soraya van Dillen decided to go on a spring break vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with some of their best friends.

"I've wanted to go for a long time," said marketing major van Dillen. "I'm really busy during the year, and Mexico sounded like a fun and relaxing place to spend time with my closest friends and take a break from school, work and extra curricular activities."

Allen attributes the weather and package price-tag as her primary motivations to vacation in Mexico over the break.

"I'm not going to lie," said Allen. "There will probably be drinking, but that is not the sole purpose of why we are going there. It's a tropical and relaxing climate that is affordable - perfect for a break."

Her travel companion, van Dillen, added, "We will be doing our best to relax our minds from the hectic quarter we're having right now, more than anything, we just want to spend time with each other."

As a freshman, Zwaska went on a "traditional" college spring break trip to Cancun, Mexico and found it "unfulfilling and self-indulgent."

"The disparity between the rich 'hotel zone' and the poor rural villages is huge," Zwaska said. "Money spent in the hotels, restaurants and clubs does not trickle down into the local economy."

Zwaska explained that economic investments usually return to American companies that run most of the business there.

Stratta, however, disagrees with Zwaska and believes that those choosing to spend their breaks in other countries only add to the tourism industry.

"Many of the cities people go to for spring break vacations largely rely on tourism to boost their economy," she said. "In that respect, swarms of spring breakers are helping the host country."

While Zwaska does not condemn spring breakers who choose to vacation in underdeveloped countries, he does suggest that there are ways to avoid contributing to the environmental toll that can result from commercial packages.

"Most of the mainstream spring break packages often support the degradation of the environment and do more harm than good; enormous stresses are put on the environment by hotels and clubs that require exorbitant amounts of electricity and water," he said.

As a substitute, Zwaska suggests exploring opportunities for eco-tourism which promote more sustainable vacations as well as a perfect escape from the Santa Clara bubble.

Sun, fun and relaxation are what Stratta suggests for many Santa Clara students.

"I have no problem with 'traditional' spring break vacations and I think they can still be meaningful experiences in their own rite," Stratta said. "I see some people walking around campus exuding such stress and overwhelmed by unhappiness, that I truly believe that they need a few days in the sun to rediscover themselves, learn to smile again and spend quality time with their friends, not their textbooks."

The intensity of immersion trips can sometimes be a little too much for some who are simply seeking a break while the therapeutic nature of some trips can be a too slow for others, according to Stratta.

"There's nothing wrong with either of them; it's just different goals for people's breaks," Stratta said.

Both Allen and van Dillen, who are dedicated to community service and participate in campus activities, such as the gospel choir, have included immersion trips as possibilities for future spring break plans.

"I fully support any person or program that gives back to a community and I think that it [the immersion program] sounds like an awesome and admirable way to spend a week off," said Allen.