SPRING BREAK OFFERS SAFE ALTERNATIVES

With the close of classes Friday, many students from Southeast Missouri State University headed out to the beaches of Florida for spring break, a time often associated with raucous parties and bacchanalian excess.

But not all.

Because of the efforts of some of the university's campus ministers, several students will be spending their spring breaks far removed from the usual raucousness.

"Traditionally spring break has been a time when you party till you drop," said the Rev. J. Friedel of Catholic Campus Ministries.

"But not all students necessarily want to celebrate with that kind of fervor. They want something more meaningful," he said.

To bring more meaning to the students' spring break, Friedel organized a trip to the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, where the 10 university students will work at La Posada Providencia, a temporary shelter for refugees.

The shelter -- run by the Sisters of Divine Providence, a religious order whose headquarters is in St. Louis -- has as its mission serving the needs of people seeking political asylum in the United States. While the refugees complete the necessary paper work to remain in the country, the shelter provides them with a place to stay.

"The point, of course, is if they are seeking political asylum, they will be without paperwork because they are running for their lives," Friedel said.

The fourth annual trip gives students an opportunity to discuss the issues of immigration and political asylum while they are working on service projects with the mission. Sometimes the discussions get heated as students grapple with tough issues.

In addition to addressing questions about political asylum, the students can see the border where Mexican nationals try to sneak into the United States.

A person, who may have trouble feeding his family in Mexico, can earn enough money in the United States in one day to feed his family for a couple of weeks in Mexico, even though the jobs they take in this country are extremely low paying jobs, Friedel said.

"It is, of course, a different issue than the asylum issue, but it allows students to discuss the political and moral aspects surrounding immigrants, illegal aliens and refugees," he said.

While in Mexico, the group will travel farther into the country's interior to see how the people live, Friedel said.

Culture Junction, a campus club sponsored by the Baptist Student Union, is planning a different sort of spring break trip as a way of enhancing the cultural exchange between American and foreign students -- a trip to New Orleans.

"New Orleans is kind of an interesting choice for Baptists," said Denise Lincoln, a campus minister with the BSU who heads up the Culture Junction.

But, she added, the whole purpose of the club is to provide a way for students, both international and American, to broaden their understanding of different people and cultures.

New Orleans provides a glimpse at a different way of life not only to international students, but to students who have grown up in the Midwest. The city is a study in cultural blending, Lincoln said.

The trip to New Orleans -- 10 hours in a van -- will provide the group with as much of an opportunity for cultural interaction as the time spent in the city. The group includes students from Japan, Russia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and the United States.

"We can have good discussions where we can get beyond superficial conversation," Lincoln said.

Once in New Orleans, the students will stay in a dormitory on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. They will also take a swamp hike through Jean LaFitte National Park, tour a restored plantation and shop in the French Quarter.

"We'll try to avoid Bourbon Street," Lincoln said.