When the Saturday of spring break dawns, campus is devoid of students as they head to their vacation destinations. While many opt for the Florida beach fronts of Panama City or Destin, others choose alternatives like backpacking or even visiting Cuba.

The Honors College is taking 15 juniors and seniors in the University Fellows program to Havana, Cuba, for 12 days for classes and cultural learning.

“I’ve been going to Cuba for the last decade, and it was my idea from the very beginning that this would be an international experience for a group of Fellows to have,” Chip Cooper, artist-in-residence at the Honors College, said. “If you went to Rome, Italy, you would be so caught up in the scenic texture, but in Havana I think you can really get to the people, you can get to the government. You can get to why things are so different there than here.”

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Cooper said the trip will have students ask a lot of pertinent questions and will seek to inspire thoughts that reveal what Cuba is all about. Students will be exposed to art, music and cultural events around Havana during their stay.

“We’re going to expose them to everything. I think one of the neat things about Cuba is that it is an artistic country – it’s in the streets, it’s in the houses,” Cooper said. “I think this is one of those over-the-top experiences. They see it as just an extreme opportunity that’s a must. I don’t think it even dawns on them that they’re giving up a beach trip.”

Not all students spend their alternative spring breaks studying under palm trees. Claire Cochran, a senior in New College, is going to San Francisco, Calif., to hike in Big Sur with a sorority sister. Big Sur National Park is south of San Francisco, where the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean.

“We’re planning on staying in Big Sur for two days, just hiking around,” Cochran said. “They have kayaking, and there’s a spa. We love to hike, and even though it’s in late March when we go on spring break, I feel like it’s always still cold [here], and so we’re hoping that California would be a little warmer.”

After Big Sur, Cochran will explore San Francisco before going north to Muir Woods National Monument, which is home to some of California’s famous redwood trees. Cochran said she wanted to have an adventure during her break, not only to get back to reality but also to find some peace and quiet.

“We wanted to have the freedom to go hike,” Cochran said. “Since it’s our senior year, we’ve already gotten the beach thing out of the way. I went with a group of sorority sisters my freshman year, and that was a lot of fun, and then sophomore year we did that too, so we’re just wanting a little bit something more. I’m looking to have a last hoorah with one of my good friends before we all move away.”

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The charity circuit is also an option students make use of during their spring breaks. Kyle Glisson, a junior majoring in biology, will be joining a group of 18 other UA students in Moore, Okla., to work on a Habitat for Humanity project, aiding those directly affected by the tornadoes last year.

“At least one spring break in college I wanted to do that, and it just worked out that this was the best time,” Glisson said. “I feel like I could have gone to the beach, but it’s a little played up.”

While in Oklahoma, Glisson and fellow students will spend their time painting and laying down sod, among other yard and house repairs.

“I just remember last spring break I went to the beach hanging with my friends every day, and I look back and I feel like I didn’t do anything,” Glisson said. “I was a year off from the Tuscaloosa tornadoes, so I heard about people, heard about the damage. So I think it’d be nice to gain some of that perspective, because [Oklahoma’s] tornadoes were only a year ago.”

For the diverse students of the University, the beach is not always enough. As students get older, many branch away from typical spring breaks to discover trips they find to be more meaningful. Cochran said the beach scene is a rite of passage for freshmen, but she’s outgrown it with every passing year.

“We wanted to take advantage of our last spring break because we probably won’t have another one,” Cochran said. “In your older years, you kind of want to have more of a sophisticated vacation, and I think as it goes on also in college, freshman year was a lot of fun because everyone hadn’t totally grouped off yet, so those big groups of people all coming together worked. But as you get older and older, you kind of get your own niche groups.”

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