Spring Break '98 - What did you accomplish?

Such were the words of Trinity sophomore Jillian Woodruff in a group journal for the HIV and AIDS volunteer trip for the University's Break for a Change organization.

Rather than trading in its textbooks for suntan lotion and a respite in the sun, members of the HIV and AIDS volunteer group, along with five other groups, spent their spring break in various parts of the United States, bringing alive the spirit of community change.

"People always ask me, 'Why do you give up your spring break?' But, I don't feel like I am giving anything up," said Trinity sophomore Steve Heasley, who was a site leader for one of the Break for a Change trips to Washington D.C. "You realize how much good was done."

Break for a Change, a volunteer organization at the University, performs local service throughout the year in different areas of concentration. Students can choose from several topics, ranging from domestic violence to homelessness. After enrolling in house courses in these fields, students have the opportunity to travel and serve diverse communities in a variety of ways.

"Break for a Change has not only opened my mind to the different social issues that we study but it has also changed my thinking about education in ways that have been really empowering," said Sara Forgione, a Trinity junior and leader of the organization.

And for fifty dollars worth of expenses per person, each group traveled to its respective site of volunteer activity.

Fighting the AIDS crisis

The HIV and AIDS group had a packed schedule in Washington. Group members received a free HIV test at the Whitman Walker Clinic, one of the biggest HIV/AIDS clinics in the world. They also attended a training session for the Hospice of Washington, made information packets for the fund raising group AIDS Ride, protested with the group ACT-UP and met with volunteers from the Names Project, the organization that maintains the AIDS quilt.

During the interaction between students and underprivileged and troubled children, many group members had an opportunity to hear about that which they often do not in Gothic Wonderland. "We met Lisa, a 16-year old who let us read her poetry," wrote one group member. "Some of the poems we read were really pretty, the other [was] an X-rated description of a sexual encounter. Lisa told us how she used to sell crack and often ran away and slept with boys she barely knew. We also met Dyanna whose father is in jail and whose grandfather raped her. The stories of the other girls in the group... were equally surprising and made us all realize how much these girls had gone through."

Addressing the problem of domestic violence: "One of the things that stands out for me and for most people in our group was listening to a taped 911 call from a six-year-old girl whose father was beating up her mother and who was threatening to hurt her two little sisters. The sheer terror and panic in that little girl's voice was shattering and had us all in tears," said Forgione, site leader of the group that worked directly with domestic violence organizations and victims in Charlotte, N.C.

In addition, group members played with the children and sat in on a women's support group at a shelter for battered women in Mecklenburg County. Other activities included sitting in on a domestic violence court, observing domestic violence classes for men and women inmates in the Charlotte jail, riding with members of the sheriff's department as they delivered restraining orders and eviction notices and talking with the people from HERO, an organization that helps children who have witnessed domestic violence.

Living with the homeless

For Trinity junior Neelam Pathikonda, a co-house leader for Housing and the Homeless and co-site leader for the group's trip to Atlanta, Ga., the trip opened her eyes to the reality of street life. "Break for a Change differs in that you try and understand why people are poor and why people need you.... You realize that [at Duke], we take a lot for granted." Pathikonda helps lead a weekly course in which group members read and discuss passages and articles about the homeless.

"We volunteered at a lot of places that deal with homelessness including the Hunger Coalition and The Task for the Homeless," Pathikonda said. Volunteers worked with the student anti-poverty group called Empty the Shelters and took the Urban Plunge-24 hours on the street in which volunteers talked to homeless people.

Engineering junior James Hsu said the Urban Plunge was the most eye-opening experience. While on the streets, they visited organizations called labor pools which find jobs for the homeless. Hsu noted that their stay on the street was a stark contrast to that of real homeless people, noting that students received preferential treatment at the labor pool. While the Break for a Change members got jobs quickly, others had to wait. "There is really a difference in privilege," he said. "There would be about 40 black men waiting from 5 a.m. until they get called for a job."

Observing religious differences

For their trip to Philadelphia, members of the race and religion group stayed in a local church basement, attended religious services at Jewish synagogues and Hindu temples and visited the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission, which works to prevent racial conflicts.

The group also worked with a Quaker organization and assembled hygiene kits for people in need around the world. "A lot of these social issues are all tied into each other...," said Trinity sophomore Mamta Bansal, one of the group's co-site leaders. "It's really hard to describe [the experience] in words.... This is something you just can't get from a book."

For some, the environment in which group members lived for a week was just as enlightening as the services they attended and the organizations at which they volunteered. "[Philadelphia] was a much more urban setting and primarily a poor Puerto Rican neighborhood. Instead of locking the doors and leaving, they introduced us to their neighborhood and put a face on it for us," said Trinity junior Andrew Miner, the group's other co-site leader.

Helping the Cherokee

The Native American Issues group which traveled to Cherokee, N.C. had five participants, and according to Trinity junior and site leader Jacob Harold, was "very laid back" due to its size.

Despite the relaxed atmosphere among group members, Harold noted that their trip to the Indian reservation for the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians was a serious look at the aspects of Native American life in the United States. Staying at The Cherokee Boys' Club, a haven for at-risk Native American youth, volunteers worked with the boys and finished a high ropes course with them. They also visited a modern rest home in the area and went to a domestic violence shelter where many of the clients were Native American. "The most enlightening experience was having a conversation with a Cherokee women who worked for the domestic violence shelter.... She had a strong sense of not just Cherokee identity but was an advocate for the well-being of all Native Americans," said Trinity junior Amani Redd, the house course leader.

In each activity, Harold said the group found interesting perspectives on Native American society. "It was fascinating to see ancient Native American women speaking Cherokee at a modern rest home," he said. "At the shelter, the [Native American battered women] thought [domestic violence] was a social disease brought by Europeans."

And as tans begin to fade and memories of exotic spring breaks are put away in photo albums, Break for a Change members have meaningful things to look back on. As Stevens concluded, "Break for a Change has been life changing in that is has been life expanding.... This sort of interaction and education isn't something one experiences in a purely academic setting."