students find ways to enjoy spring break despite recession

Senior Angela Jones has been envisioning herself on a Jamaican Beach since early December.

Jones, along with 16 of her sorority sisters from Alpha Xi Delta, will be enjoying the sunshine and clear waters for spring break this week. In order to pay for the $1,200 trip, Jones is spending her entire Christmas savings.

“I had to ask for a lot of money for Christmas,” she said. “But it will all be worth it when I’m lying on a beach.”

Despite the economic downturn, students are still finding ways to travel and get away from snowy New Hampshire for spring break.

Other students are traveling with parents who are paying for the vacation instead of friends so they can enjoy a warm week in destinations like Cancun and Florida.

Jen Boucher, a Spanish and justice studies major, is flying down to Cancun with her mom and sister for four days. Boucher comes from a “family that loves vacations” and is taking full advantage by tagging along for a quick escape from the campus.
Other students are staying local and visiting family and friends since they can’t make it to a tropical climate. One of these students is Edmondson Cole, a senior economics and studio art major currently in the process of trying to find somewhere to drive during spring break.

However, not all students are using their spring break as vacation time. A group of 10 students with the Catholic Student Organization and Alternative Spring Break is driving down to West Virginia to help repair houses and plant trees, according to Alternative Spring Break participant and sophomore civil engineer major Zach Schmidt.

Another group of five students with Alternative Spring Break is heading down to Honduras to help replenish the habitat through agricultural work and food supplies for the local population, said University Chaplain Julie Tracy.

According to Tracy, the cost of the Honduras trip has dropped roughly $200 from the $800 it cost last year’s participants. Even with this drop in price, only five students are going this year, as opposed to last year’s 10.

“It’s less expensive this year, but finances are tighter now,” said Tracy.

Guster blows into UNH

The Student Committee for Popular Entertainment recently announced that Guster will play at the Whittemore Center on Thursday, April 16, as part of the band’s Campus Consciousness tour.

“It’s a name that’s been here before and done well,” said SCOPE’s Alex Dyment.

Guster performed at UNH in 2003 as the opening act for Ben Harper. The band also performed in 2004 in support of presidential candidate John Kerry.

Created by Guster’s lead singer Adam Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan, Campus Consciousness works to “inspire and activate students in a fun and exciting atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community and college that the tour reaches,” according to the organization’s Web site.

“They’re on the Campus Consciousness tour and we felt it fit the UNH vibe,” said Dyment.

Guster hails from Boston and has a strong fan base in New England. The April gig at UNH will be the only New England show on the tour.

Tickets for the show go on sale on Tuesday, March 24 at 10 a.m. in the MUB and are $5 for students and $30 for the general public.

“Financially, we’re trying to work (adding another show) out,” said Dyment.

Part of the trouble is finding a touring band that is willing to come to Durham.

“If logistics work out, we hope to have another show,” said Dyment.