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4/9/2007

MTV documents a group of Rice students participating in the university's Alternative Spring Break Program

BY MARK PASSWATERS
Special to the Rice News

When most college students go on spring break, they usually use the week off for fun and relaxation. In most cases, they come back to campus with a few pictures and maybe some videos chronicling their events. Spring break was very different, however, for 10 Rice students, who spent their week expanding the horizons of some California elementary school students while having their exploits recorded for the viewing pleasure of a national television audience.

These students, who made up one of eight groups taking part in Rice’s Alternative Spring Break program, spent six days and five nights at YMCA of the Redwoods Camp Campbell, helping younger students in the Outdoor Science School. Besides the challenge of introducing kids from the urban areas of San Jose to the great outdoors, they had to deal with the cameras of MTV’s “Amazing Break” program following them around.

Above, a group of Rice students participated in the university's Alternative Spring Break program. The undergrads spent six days and five nights at YMCA of the Redwoods Camp Campbell, helping younger students in the Outdoor Science School. Below, a Rice student helps a camper.

The Alternative Spring Break program sends Rice students to communities across the United States and elsewhere to engage in community service and experiential learning. The objectives of an alternative break program are to involve the students in community-based service projects and to give them opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact. This year, for the first time, Rice students selected as site leaders were given the ability to help select where their groups would go. When she learned that she had been selected as a site leader for a trip sponsored by the Rice Outdoor Club last fall, Sid Richardson College senior Megan Kanagy knew she wanted to go somewhere out of the ordinary.

“I wanted to find a place that would not only be outdoors but would have an educational component,” said Kanagy, a civil engineering major. “Camp Campbell is in the Redwoods and nearly every activity is outdoors, which is what we were looking for.”

The camp, which is nestled in the massive redwood trees of the Santa Cruz Mountains, boasts some of the most breathtaking natural views in the nation.

“The scenery was absolutely stunning,” Baker College sophomore Tommy Fu said. “It felt like we were in a place that was untainted.”

It was equally stunning for the campers, who came from three San Jose middle schools.

“Some of them had never been to a place like this before,” Fu said. “They had lived in an urban setting their entire lives. At first, it was tough to find things they could relate to. One of the first things we did was get up and sing children’s songs and basically make a fool of ourselves so they would know that if we could be relaxed and silly, they could be too.”

“We were singing songs about Banana Slugs to the tune of ‘La Bamba,’” Kanagy recalled.

Each Rice student was given responsibility for between eight and 12 fifth- and sixth-graders, not only helping them during outdoor classes but teaching them life skills as well.

“In our spare time, we worked on team building and developing trust in each other,” Kanagy said. “They were really receptive to us. There was an element of ‘Wow, everything you do is cool.’”

One of the trust-building exercises was the developing of the “Truddy System,” where three campers went everywhere together, regardless of what time it was or where they were going.

“If someone had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, they had to wake their buddies up -- and wake you up, too,” Fu said. “I was surprised to see how eagerly they embraced responsibility.”

In most cases, “Truddies” and their Rice mentors were being followed by TV cameras while MTV assembled footage for their program. Though some students said the presence of the cameras was odd, it wasn’t a surprise -- they had been told MTV had an interest in their project months in advance.

“Earlier this semester, I started getting these strange e-mails,” Kanagy said. “At first, I thought they were spam. Once I found out they were serious, there was a lot of disbelief; then we thought it was fantastic. It could be good for Rice and good for the program.”

The idea that their activities might later be seen by millions of people across the globe didn’t seem to faze the college students or change their approach to dealing with their younger charges.

“I think they handled the MTV filming as almost incidental,” said Virginia Martin, the circulation manager of Fondren Library and the staff member who accompanied the group. “I think they were more concerned about the kids. They got really involved in thinking about the students and where they’ll be years from now.”

The footage compiled by MTV made up one segment of the “Amazing Break” program, which can be found online at .

“Each one of the groups they followed had to do with addressing a major issue,” Fu explained. “Ours was the environment. I think they did a pretty good job. I was surprised how much they could get in to three minutes.”

 After seeing the show and hearing reports from students who went on the trip, Mac Griswold, director of Rice’s Community Involvement Center, was pleased with how this Alternative Spring Break turned out.

“I think this was a phenomenal experience,” he said. “The students felt like they had a productive week and enjoyed what they did. I saw the footage [of the show] and it was well done.”

Griswold said the objective of the Alternative Spring Break is not only to get the students involved in an activity, but to return with lessons learned and put them into action at home.

“There is a larger goal of changing our perception on issues and translating that into local action,” he said. “This trip really lent itself well to that. It had the direct effect of working with these children but also brought up the larger issue of kids in an urban environment who don’t get to see things like this.”

That is an issue that resonated with Fu, a sports medicine major.

“At Camp Campbell, we were dealing with kids from the city, which isn’t very different from kids here. They don’t get the opportunity to see nature and why it’s important,” he said. “It’s nice to realize we can do something like this there, and maybe we can do something like it here. In history class, you don’t have George Washington coming in and talking to you. Here, you can pick up a leaf and that can be your lesson for the day.”

Martin said she was impressed by how the Rice students handled themselves during the trip.

    “I don’t get to see the creativity and ingenuity of the students on a daily basis on campus,” she said. “This was new territory for them, working with fifth- and sixth-graders, but they did really well. I was proud to be with that group.”

Even though the trip to Camp Campbell was Kanagy’s last collegiate spring break, she said she wouldn’t change a thing about it.

“I feel like we only have a limited amount of time to make a difference in doing things like this,” she said. “Everyone who went out there became like a family. I wouldn’t trade that in.”