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OP local mobileMU spring break: Hammers and nails over sunsets and sails
Friday, March 09, 2007
Volunteering over spring break is no longer novel at many universities, and a number of Miami University students will choose service over leisure for their spring break this year, Saturday through March 17.
Contrary to recent concerns about student selfishness, a report by the Corporation for National and Community Service said the number of college students volunteering rose about 20 percent from 2002-05, more than twice the growth of all adult volunteers. Several Miami groups volunteered over winter break as well, including Habitat for Humanity trips in which students did roofing in Ft. Myers, Fla., and construction work in New Orleans.
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"Service is an ideal way for students to discover gaps in their learning. By participating in alternative spring break, they learn more about themselves, about the societal conditions that hold others back, and most importantly they discover that taking charge of their own learning is deeply fulfilling," said Dennis Roberts, associate vice president for student affairs at Miami and adviser to the office of student leadership, campus and community life.
Miami students will be at these sites this spring, among others:
• The Habitat for Humanity chapter is sending 11 students each to
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Beaumont, Texas.
• Campus Crusade for Christ is taking any interested students to New Orleans to contribute to gutting houses, tutoring children and cleaning parks.
• Alternative Spring Break is taking more than 80 students on four trips: to the Gulf region (Lake Charles, La., and Hattiesburg, Miss.); to Miami, Okla., (where the school's namesake tribe, the Miami Nation, is headquartered) and to Tijuana, Mexico, to work with children, learn about U.S./Mexico border issues and build a house for a family in need.
Another Miami group, Ambassadors for Children, is sending a group to El Salvador with duffel bags full of school and healthcare supplies to give to children there and students will spend the week doing whatever is needed to help make the children's lives better.
