By Richard Parker
March 12 marked the beginning of spring break. Many students use this recess to return home, to visit family and friends, and to catch up on their studies. However, there is a large distinction between the so-called traditional spring break, which can be characterized by partying and binge drinking, and alternative spring breaks, defined by participating in volunteer activities.
Alternative spring breaks take many forms, but some of the main similarities between most of them are service work and a focus on social justice. They offer the chance for friends to strengthen the relationships they have with each other and to develop new ones with other volunteers. Most importantly, they offer students the chance to give assistance to those who need it.
Several organizations at the University of Louisville offer opportunities for students interested in a different kind of fun. The Office of Civic Engagement, Leadership, & Service; the Interfaith Center; and the Baptist Campus Ministries are only three of the many possible outlets students can utilize in their desires for civic engagement.
Traditional spring breaks, or party vacations, stand in stark contrast to volunteer vacations. The activities I associate with party vacations – binge drinking and wild partying – are not exclusively limited to the spring break period. Spring break is yet another occasion which those adhering to this college lifestyle use as an excuse to engage in these activities.
The types of activities exhibited during party vacations are what Robert Stebbins, a sociological researcher known for his studies of leisure, would likely classify as casual leisure. Stebbins defines this leisure as “immediately, intrinsically rewarding, relatively short-lived pleasurable activity requiring little or no special training to enjoy it.” Casual leisure exists in various subtypes. Social conversations and sensory stimulation are the subtypes that are relevant to the activities of partying and binge drinking.
This type of leisure can descend into incredibly deviant activities, such as the kegs and eggs parties in Albany, N.Y. Fox News reported on these parties and included a cell phone video of the students in action. In the video, Albany college students are seen destroying cars and other property, with alcohol visible in every direction. Stebbins is perhaps too kind when he describes creature pleasures as being a facet of sensory stimulation, as the behaviors exhibited here are deviant acts many animals wouldn’t consider doing.
While I acknowledge the humanity of the students in this video, and those participating in other criminal acts of this form, the individuals are certainly not behaving in a manner that we would like to describe as human. If we act under the presumption that we are the so-called higher species or somehow superior to other forms of intelligent life, then I would very much like to see that behavior actually exhibited.
I am aware that not all parties and episodes of binge drinking turn out quite this bad, but I still argue against this is an irresponsible, selfish and dangerous form of behavior. Party vacations of this sort rob students of their dignity and self-respect, with very little received in return for that sacrifice. Alternative spring breaks or volunteer vacations reflect a resistance to hedonistic tendencies in favor of altruism. Instead, these activities are the embodiment of students’ attempts to rise to the potential demanded for human dignity.
Many students might disagree with what I’ve said here. I want it understood that this criticism is not intended to blatantly disrespect anyone who participates in these activities, or to make them feel worse about themselves. I see the harm and potential harm these types of activities can do. The evidence I have to support these claims suggests the costs far outweigh any benefits offered. I care about the students at this university and other universities. I care about their health, safety and personal development, all of which can be decreased by party vacations and increased by altruistic activities such as alternative spring breaks.
