THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2014
PAGE 8
TRAVEL
Breaks merge vacation, service
AMELIA ARVESEN
news@kansan.com
Alternative Breaks, a student-run program that sends volunteers to sites across the country, is like a road trip, service opportunity, cultural experience and vacation all at once.
This summer, 63 students traveled to nine sites in eight states. The groups drove from Lawrence to sites in Indiana, Louisiana, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, California, Washington D.C. and Texas.
The students who took alternative summer breaks had quite the journey—most of the destinations were more than 10-hour drives. Students felt like strangers to one another during the first hour in the car. By the time they returned home, they had become close friends.
"In the car, it's honestly a really good time to bond with the people in your group because that's the first time you spend an hour or more with them [in] a week," said Kristina Maude, a junior from Clive, Iowa. "We got to know each other really well during the car ride."
Maude traveled to Indianapolis in May to serve at the Indiana Youth
Group, a safe and supportive center for LGBTQ youth. The drive was the shortest out of the nine destinations at only eight hours.
Bryce Volk, a senior from Newton, sat in a car for 16 hours to get to Pensacola, Fla. to serve United Cerebral Palsy for a week. His group stopped halfway—in Memphis—and journeyed down Beale Street, one of America's most iconic streets lined with blues bands.
"It was a cultural experience too, which was more than I paid for, so I was happy," Volk said.
The trip cost summer participants $325 and covered transportation, housing and meals.
After the drive, Alternative Breaks itineraries were planned so students could experience their new surroundings after volunteering during the day.
Maude said even though it was exciting to travel to a new city,it was the people who made the trip memorable. She said one girl from the youth group made a lasting impression when she performed slam poetry about how body image doesn't define her.
"I think Alt Breaks is a really good
WILDLIFE
Natural History Museum bee colony splits. moves
At around 9:30 a.m. on Wed., June 11, about 15,000 bees swarmed around the University's Natural History Museum on Javhawk Boulevard.
The bees split from the museum's observation hive, after reaching its maximum capacity of 35,000 bees.
Greg Ornay, exhibit specialist at the Natural History Museum, said the recent rain has been so good for the bees that the queen has been laying around 1,000 eggs a day for about two months.
When the hive became too compact, the queen bee produced a new queen egg.
"The old queen and half the hive will split and go find a new home, and the new queen will stay there," Ornay said. "She'll go out and do a mate flight and then come back and start the colony over."
The bees found their new home this morning: a pine tree branch right outside the museum. Ornay then shook the hive into a box, capturing the queen and worker bees.
"I didn't even put on gloves today." Orny said. "It's not like you're opening up a working hive and actually disturbing them. They're already on one mission, and that is to find a new hive and protect the queen while they're finding it."
After gathering the bees, Ornay brought them to a coworker's farm, which already has a bee colony. It will also be available to the museum if the current hive ever collapses.
Even though thousands of bees surrounded the area, passers-by had no reason to be concerned, according to Ornay.
Allison Hammond
mixture of doing social justice, doing good and impacting a group of people," Maude said. "At the same time, we had plenty of time to explore the city like you would on a typical road trip."
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The deadline for the fall break application is Sept. 26.
Edited by Emma LeGault
ALTERNATIVE BREAK DESTINATIONS AND TRAVEL TIMES
Indiana Youth Group—Indianapolis: 8 hours
Indiana Youth Group—Indianapolis: 8 hours Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary—Austin, Texas: 10 hours The Nature Conservancy—Grand Isle, La.: 15 hours United Cerebral Palsy—Pensacola, Fla.: 16 hours A Wider Circle—Washington, D.C.: 17 hours
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens—Washington, D.C.: 17 hours
All Hands Volunteers—Staten Island, N.Y.: 19 hours
The Steel Yard—Providence, R.I.: 22 hours
Homeboy Industries—Los Angeles: 23 hours
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS UNIVERSITY THEATRE PRESENTS
Kansas Classical REPERTORY THEATRE
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
July 12,18,26,2014 at 7:30 p.m. July 19 & 20,2014 at 2:30 p.m.
AND
Rodgers & Hart's
The Boys From Syracuse
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, Book by George Abbott
Book by The Composers of Fame by William Shakespeare
July 11, 19, 25, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. July 13 & 26, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.
CRAFTON-PREYER THEATRE
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982. Lied Center, 864-ARTS; and online at www.KUTTheatre.com. Tickets are $20 for adults. $19 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for all students and children. Special Offer: See both shows for $30! All major credit cards are accepted. The University Theatre is partially funded by KU Student Senate Activity Fee. Kansas Classical Repertory Theatre is sponsored by Truity Credit Union.
THE UNIVERSITY OF KU KANSAS
KANSAS UNION LEVEL 2 • 1301 JAYHAWK BLVD. • LAWRENCE, KS 66045 • (785) 864-4640
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