I am a freshman at a smaller cold-weather school in the Northeast. We are on Spring Break, and many of my friends have gone back home or with their families on vacation somewhere else (not necessarily warm or foreign). I haven’t heard anyone say, “Me, Bob and Jim (freshman) are going to Cancun,” or any place warm. Is the stereotypical Spring Break traditions more popular with southern schools like UCLA, TAMU and UF?
In my college experience (at the University of Chicago back in the olden days when fun really did go there to die) I never went on a spring break trip and I don’t recall anyone else I know ever going on one either. And I was in a sorority. So from my viewpoint, it is mostly a media constructed fantasy. Perhaps there are some “party schools” where a substantial number of students participate, but its not the norm that you would think from watching MTV. (Do they still have spring break on MTV?)
Back in the olden days I went to Ft Lauderdale with my roommate and stayed at her Grandma’s. There were definitely some beach parties and the like. But to go to spring break in florida, you have to pay for it and have friends that also want to pay for it. My older DD came home for spring break and we as a family went to Florida a couple of times.
When I attended a few years back, GW really pushed ‘Alternative Spring Break’ where students would go to underserved areas of the country and do community service. My roommate, for example, went to build houses in Louisiana with Habitats for Humanity. There were SOME students that would go on an actual vacation but I think they were in the minority. Me? I went to the NCAA Wrestling tournament sophomore and junior year (girlfriend at the time’s brother was in the tournament). My other two years I didn’t do anything special- just recouped from midterms.
I can’t say that I’ve ever known any college students that actually took a stereotypical, MTV-esque spring break. I’m on spring break this week, and I’m sitting at home. I have one friend that’s in Florida with his family right now, but that’s more of a family vacation than a stereotypical spring break. I think this whole “going crazy on spring break” fantasy is largely constructed by the media, but rarely serves as a reflection of reality.
I see advertisements scattered around my school’s campus for parties in Montreal since the drinking age is 18, but I don’t think anyone is actually going. Plus, why go even more north in this cold when it’s bad enough in New England.
The joke at my Southern school is that come spring break, South Padre Island, TX becomes a branch campus of my university thanks to all the partying students. Other students, IME mainly greeks, rent out cabins in more rural parts of the state where they spend a few days partying, hiking, and chilling.
Personally I’m just going home for Spring Break given that there’s a good chance I won’t see my family until Winter Break.
I know a lot of people who go to Florida from here in Indiana for typical spring breaks. I usually go home, but my friend and I are taking an east coast road trip instead this year. It’s unconventional but whatever.
My spring break is in two weeks (with finals next week, uuuugggh…), and me and my friends discussed what we’re going to do after finals. The answer from everyone was something along the lines of “go home and spend time with my family”. To me, spring break is just a week to recoup from winter quarter, spend time with my family, and get things ready for spring quarter. I don’t personally know anyone that actually goes on the stereotypical spring break trip, and I’ve lived in California my whole life.
Directly answering part of your post, none of my friends at UCLA go on the stereotypical spring break trip. Granted, I only know a couple people that go there.
I go to school in Michigan (where it’s pretty darn cold) and I spent my spring break in Montréal (where it was even colder).
I went with two of my classmates (we’re all French majors) and one of the French foreign exchange students.
Basically, we sight-seed, I drank a little, we worked on our French (we spoke it to each other and to natives), we studied for a test, and the French student helped me out with my pronunciation and some slang.
In the end, I had a great time, became good friends with the French student, got a 4.0 on the test when I returned, and didn’t go broke or lose my wits entirely (like I said, I did drink, but it was by no means the main objective of the trip).
Like the others have said, there really is a stereotyped concept of spring break that doesn’t really ring true for most people. Mine was educational and interpersonal, but I know that some of my friends went down to Florida and just got completely trashed every night.
I agree with comfortablycurt. I get a week off and I wouldn’t dare spend it getting trashed. There is enough to do if you’re a full-time college student, in my opinion. Yes, it’s called spring “break”, but using a break can help you have a break when you’re banging your head against the wall before finals.
Around half of my classmates go to Florida or to the beach for spring break every year
(parent of freshman here) We can’t afford to fly my son home (to Hawaii, from Denver) for his break, so he and a friend are going camping in CA. They’re on the quarter system so it’s a nice break after winter finals and before spring term starts. He finished his finals today and leaves tomorrow. I think a lot of the kids in CO go skiing, hiking, or other outdoor activities; I’m sure many also spend time at home. S hasn’t mentioned anyone going on a classic “spring break” trip to party, but he probably doesn’t hang with those kids. When I was in school (long ago) in Michigan, a few went on vacations but most went home or stayed on campus and worked. At least once I visited my older sis who lived closer than my parents (and was more fun).
I never got to go on a spring break trip. My parents couldn’t afford it and I wasn’t allowed anyway…nobody ever invited me along on one. Most of the people I knew just went home, slept most of the time or ate home cooking.
I tubed down the salt river in Arizona my freshman year and that was a blast. Luckily it was only a moderate drive away from my school so it didn’t very cost much.
