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May
4 , 2004
Spring break is part of long tradition
Francesca van der Feltz
Mesa Legend
Spring has been a time of celebration since the beginning of civilization.
Spring break as college students know it has not been around as long,
but it has developed into a tradition in its own right.
While spring celebrations can be traced back for millennia, there is evidence
in many scholastic archives that the modern version of spring break has
its roots in Easter vacation.
Many records show that in old American colleges, wealthy students took
the opportunity that spring break offered to travel, resting from their
difficult academic lifestyle.
Since the 1950s, most spring break trends appear to have been started
and fueled by the media. Partying on the beach became an attractive event
when Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon sang and danced in the sand
and surf.
In 1960, the popular movie “Where the Boys Are” started the
full-blown, Florida-bound, sun-and-sea spring break vacation that many
college students have been drawn to ever since.
MCC has had a “spring vacation” week since the first spring
semester in 1964, when MCC was still “Mesa College,” according
to the first school newspaper, the Hokam Legend.
Popular spring break destinations are spread throughout the southern United
States and Mexico.
Thirty-eight percent of students, or 2.14 million, traveled for spring
break in 2003, according to Student Monitor LLC.
About 1 million college students travel to the four most popular spring
break locations: Panama City Beach, Fla.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; South Padre
Island, Texas; and Lake Havasu, Ariz., according to Marketing to the Campus
Crowd and Twentysomething Inc.
Ideas about exactly how to use that school-free week or two became as
varied as the people involved in them.
“Students wanted to kick back and see friends,” said Susan
Bara, an MCC student who originally attended college in Wisconsin and
Washington in the early to mid-70s.
“Also, many parents worried about their kids, especially daughters,
traveling too far from home, and it wasn’t as socially acceptable
for guys and girls to travel around together. We usually took a couple
days off to catch up on sleep and then spent time catching up on papers
that would be due before the end of the term. If we could we would see
a rock concert,” Susan Bara explained.
“Spring break for me and my friends meant time to catch up at work
and spend a few extra hours with the family. We didn’t really get
together that often,” said Michael Bara, who graduated from the
University of Portland in 1981 at the age of 31 and is currently an MCC
student.
“For students in Portland, (spring break) primarily meant going
to do the hobby that brought you to Portland in the first place,”
Bara said, explaining that camping, skiing and boating were some popular
ways to spend the vacation.
Cindy Liska, who recently enrolled at MCC but had her primary college
experience in the mid-80s at Colorado State University, recounted both
mild and wild spring break traditions.
“We always started planning our trips in January, and they were
large group events. Professors were different then, and we didn’t
have homework,” Liska said.
“This semester at MCC, in addition to having to work, I had two
group projects, three papers to write, and a test the first Monday back,”
Liska added. “The biggest comment from everyone was, ‘Don’t
these professors understand that spring break is to drink and relax?’”
According to the American Medical Association, 97 percent of college students
of all ages are likely to drink during spring break.
Members of MCC’s student government, the Associated Students of
Mesa Community College, described more than one priority in their version
of spring break as it is today.
“It depends on what you’re looking for. If you want to go
get crazy with a bunch of college students, go to the places that are
typical. But if you honestly want a break and relaxation … you just
go camping, go somewhere where there’s not going to be a ton of
people … somewhere out-of-the-way,” said Chad Jewell, who
was elected as the treasurer of ASMCC for the 2004-2005 school year.
The normal way to spend spring break differs according to age group, and
there is more of a focus in universities on partying during spring break
than there is in community colleges, Jewell said.
“Normally what you do is you go get crazy the first weekend and
then you kind of relax the rest of the time,” said Alisha Bloom,
president-elect of ASMCC.
“During the week (of spring break), I work a lot and get caught
up on things,” Bloom said, but added that the popular spring break
places are not overrated.
“They are fun, a lot of fun,” Bloom said.
“Kids feel that they need spring break because they spend the holidays
with their families and spring break with their friends. This also gives
the university some time to catch up with paper work. There really is
not much difference in attendance after spring break,” said Leona
King, an advisor at ASU’s psychology department.
“Spring break is something I look forward to because I don’t
live at home anymore, and I can really do what I want and not have to
deal with my parents,” said Scott Johnson, a student at ASU.
Traveling for spring break is a good way to meet students from other colleges
and to unwind after midterms, commented Julie Bowen, a junior at ASU.
Apart from partying, spring break is used for studying and working, said
May Bynon, current vice president of ASMCC.
Students desperately need spring break by the time it comes around, Bynon
added.
Many current college students have too many expenses and are not able
to travel during spring break; instead, they have to work at their jobs,
Liska said.
“Sure, a lot of people may still vacation, but I think today’s
student is a lot more responsible and grown-up than we were in the 80s,”
Liska added.
“Yes, I think it has become a larger party over the years. From
what I see even though the parties are larger, even a higher percentage
are working, commuting people with jobs, and are happy to have some time
off,” Michael Bara said.
“I see spring break as a time for teachers and students to get away
from the daily grind in a long season without holidays. I think it’s
positive if it’s not overdone,” Susan Bara said.
“I always enjoyed my spring break experiences … I think a
vacation when students have been studying hard and usually working, they
deserve a chance to get out, let loose and relax,” Liska said.
“I also think that professors should be sympathetic to the situation
and not bury students in studies that either interfere with enjoying their
spring break or don’t get done. I think, that when in control, spring
break is definitely a positive experience,” Liska added.
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