6A the university daily kansan
news
tuesday, September 9, 2002
Winter break service trips available
by Abby Mills
Amills@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
One University of Kansas organization may have an alternative for students looking for a winter break adventure besides crowded ski resorts. KU Alternative Breaks offers students a week of service in locations across the country.
Evan Stange, Wichita junior, went on an alternative winter break trip to Morehead, Ky., with a group of other KU students last year. He worked for Frontier Housing, a Kentucky organization similar to Habitat for Humanity.
Stange said he took the trip because he had construction experience and wanted to do something worthwhile.
When he arrived at the site,
Stange said, only a foundation
and basement walls were in place.
He said his group had walls up
and flooring down when it left.
providing the skeleton for the finished home.
"It was pretty fulfilling to see that much progress after only six days of work." he said.
Site leader applications for this year's trips, scheduled for Jan. 11 to 17, are due Friday. Participant applications are due Sept. 17. Applications and information on trip sites are available in the alternative break office at 428 Kansas Union or the Web site, www.ku.edu/~albreaks.
Of the 10 available trips this year, three are new — ABIDE Network, Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club and the National Indian Youth Leadership Project.
Jasmine Titus, co-coordinator for alternative winter break, said she was especially excited about the ABIDE program. The Newton senior said participants would have an opportunity to work in an inner-city area promoting leadership skills and analyzing inner-city problems and solutions.
Alternative Breaks is not releasing site locations this year until participants have been selected. Renee Horinek, co-coordinator for alternative spring break, said withholding the locations would encourage people to pick a trip based on its mission.
"At least in the past, people have gone on trips because of location," the Topeka senior said. "We hope people will choose based on social issues."
Titus said initial numbers suggested the policy was working. She said trips far away usually filled the fastest, but this year people were unknowingly picking closer trips.
closestrips.
Funding for the trips is also changing this year. Horinek said budget cuts had limited funds for all student organizations and Alternative Breaks was forced to rely more on participation fees. The price for site leaders is now $150, a $60 increase. Participants will pay $200, a $10 increase from last year.
"At least in the past, people have gone on trips because of location. We hope people will chooses based on social issues"
Renee Horinek Co-coordinator, alternative spring break
Site leaders receive the discount because they have more responsibility. They receive extra training before the trip and are responsible for managing the group and dealing with emergencies.
Alternative Break participants are enrolled in a Thursday evening class from Oct. 3 to Dec. 11. The hour-and-a-half sessions count for zero, one or two hours of credit. Topics prepare participants for specific sites and give information on general group dynamics.
Stange was the site leader for his trip and said the leadership training helped him motivate his group when cold, wet weather made working outside difficult. Stange is now a proctor at Battenfeld Scholarship Hall and said his training also helped him make sure his residents kept up with their chores.
"Instead of yelling at them, I tell them we all live here together and have to work together," he said. "So those leadership skills help me with that job."
Alternative Breaks applicants must sign up for an interview with an Alternative Breaks staff member. Each trip can take seven to 10 students, and staff members will narrow the number of applicants to fit the available slots.
"We're looking for people interested in service learning, who are passionate and motivated to make changes," she said.
Titus said the staff selected people based on their desire to help.
Alternative winter break locations include
Audubon Appleton-Whittell
Brownach Ranch
Teach For America
Research Ranch
SLU Baldycress Restoration
Project
Teach for America
Senior Citizens, Inc. Victory Over Crime
Crime United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Dallas
Anthony House
AIDS Foundation Houston
Anthony House
AIDS Foundation Houston
ADIDE Network
National Indian Youth Leadership Project
Mathews-Dickey Boys* and Girl's Club
Source: Alternative Breaks Web site.
http://www.ku.edu/~albreaks/
HOURS: Some computer labs still open late
Stange said the trip could be a lot of work at times,but the skills and friendships earned were worth the effort.
"It is a time commitment,but your reward is much greater than your investment,"he said.
Edited by Andy Marso
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
operated under a sort of honor system. Computing Services
operated under system. Comp employees would leave their posts for the night at midnight, and they would record the names of the students remaining in the lab. Students who arrived after midnight would check in with Hawk-Shop employees.
"I liked it because it was really quiet. There were never any distractions."
Kristen Reinert Overland Park senior
"I liked it because it was really quiet," she said. "There were never any distractions."
Reinert, whose busy class and work schedules didn't leave her time to work in the lab during the day, said these late-night sign-in hours were her favorite times to work.
"There has to be at least one lab on campus open 24 hours," he said.
Tom Roderick, student technology coordinator, said students such as Reinert needed an afterhours computing option.
"Why our tuition go up if our benefits went down?" she said, still angry at the change in her daily routine. "I think it's stupid."
Anschutz is now available at all hours, and the labs in Budig Hall are open until midnight. But Reinert is not appeased by these options.
But, Roderick said this view wasn't shared by the students he talked to. He said his department had not received any complaints.
"I think as long as students have somewhere they can go at any time, they're OK with it," he said.
Edited by Cate Batchelder
Students gathered at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries, a University community center at 1204 Oread Avenue, for Veggie Lunch, a free weekly meal for all members of the campus and community.
ECM: Students look for ways to express their
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
"We want to make people feel comfortable and welcome," Wilkinson said.
Holecombe, an ordained minister with Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the United Church of Christ, said he would like visitors to find a way to express their faith, even if it wasn't a
traditional Christian belief.
"We are clear that we are not here to convert." Holcombe said. "We are here to welcome where people are in their faith."
Drew Rosdahl, Nortonville senior, said he considered himself agnostic, but he never felt out of place at the ECM.
"It is a Christian community," Rosdahl said. "But many people
treat it like a scholarly environment."
Rosdahl is one of six students who live in the Koinonia living community in the basement of the ECM. Rosdahl said the students have individual apartments and common living areas. Once a week the residents meet to have dinner and discuss issues.
"We have a very diverse belief
ECM Weekly Gatherings
Gatherings
■ Faith Forum 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Tuesdays Meet to discuss personal, social and environmental concerns related to spirituality and the Christian Faith.
University Forum 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays
KU faculty and guest speakers lead discussions about community issues. Next week's topic: A Mexican Immigrant Tale.
Veggie Lunch
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursdays
Eat vegetarian dishes prepared by volunteer cooks. Donations accepted.
system," Rosdahl said. "Spirituality is more about knowing where you fit in your world and
your community"
—Edited by Joey Berli
DEAN: enthusiasm makes him a natural tour guide
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Becoming part of the Urarina meant sharing in all experiences, including unpleasant ones. Dean built coffins and had malaria three times.
and center for Dean's office in North American is a museum-like tribute to his friends in the Southern Hemisphere. Spears and blowguns are stacked in a corner, next to framed portraits of Urarina children. Two giant South American maps fight for
Dean's wife and three children have become a part of this adopted Peruvian family. They
joined him on his trips and learned the Peruvian language and culture first hand.
Dean's enthusiasm makes him a natural tour guide. He jumps from one artifact to another, pulling poisonous darts out of a small leather quill and showing off a bag that powerful Peruvian men used to carry "the magic they use to get women."
space with pictures of Dean's three children taped to their corners.
Dean's collection of treasures
and experiences would not have been possible without academic support like the Fulbright scholars program. Dean said he knows not everyone is able to take the risk to travel to new places like the slums of Lima.
"People say, I wish I could do what you do, but I'm so busy — I think I will be able to go when I'm
47,"" he said.
"I sav, '47?"
Dean's eyes widen "I say, '47?"
Dean will be 47 in eight years, and he'll still be doing everything he's ever wished he could.
"I get paid to do what I love," he said. "You can't beat that."
—Edited by Scott Christie