Victoria Ronan
Equinox Staff
For some students, spring break consists of tanning in the sun on a hot beach somewhere south of Keene. For other students, spring break means a chance to finally spend time with friends and relax.
With spring break right around the corner, whatever their plans may be, Keene State College students don’t intend on missing out. In an informal survey of 63 KSC students, approximately 24 percent responded and said they planned to attend a service trip for the week-long period.
Leah Blumenthal / Equinox Staff
Twelve students said they had planned a tropical vacation, and five stated plans to travel with family. Thirty-one percent of students said they would not travel, instead, stay in Keene or go home to visit family. Eleven students responded to the poll by stating they had “other” plans. KSC junior Amanda Ribeiro said she is planning to visit Panama City Beach this year. She said she definitely plans on having a good time while she’s there.
“I think spring break should fun and exciting. I’m going to relax on the beach sometimes but I’ll mostly be having a lot of fun,” she said.
KSC senior Paige Carusello is also traveling for spring break this year. She explained how much fun she had in North Carolina last year so all of her friends decided to go back for a second year. “Before college I never had the opportunity to go somewhere so I’m glad it worked out,” Carusello said. The location she vacations at isn’t a popular spring break destination for many people but it’s still a lot of fun, according to Carusello. Student athlete Christine Collins said she plans on traveling to Florida with her lacrosse team during Spring Break.
“We go to Florida every year, but just different locations.” Collins said she and her team will have practice every day and play two games while they are there. “It’s a lot of team building and we become a family down there.” Collins explains that even though they are going to Florida because of lacrosse, they still get to relax and have some fun. Having fun, however, is not the only thing students intend on doing over break. KSC student Maggie Fitter explained she plans on babysitting and spending time with family during Spring Break this year.
“For me it’s better to stay home and relax. I never get to go home during the school year so this is the time for me to have a down week and go home.” According to Fitter it is not worth it to spend a lot of money during spring break but it depends on each student and their financial situation.
Mike Murphy, a senior, said he plans on spending his spring break working and preparing for his future. He said he believes going on a tropical spring vacation is a waste of money “There are better times to be had on a cheaper dime,” Murphy explained. At Keene, spring break is a time to catch up on work or give back to the community, Murphy explained. According to Murphy, a good majority of students go on service trips over the break. Murphy said some students go on extravagant vacations because they think that’s what they are supposed to do.
“It’s a culture of this is what needs to happen, you’re supposed to do this, this is what fun is supposed to look like, this is how you’re supposed to have fun, you’re supposed to get crazy and go on spring break and have those stories you’re never supposed to tell.” Murphy said some students that do decide to go on extravagant vacations, do so because they think that’s what they are supposed to do.
He continued and said that he used to watch MTV when he was younger and, because of that, he thought college spring breaks are all fun and exciting. Carusello explained the spring break destination isn’t that important. The most important part of spring break is friends.
“It’s all about who you go with, who you spend your time with and who’s going to make your trip memorable,” Carusello said.
Victoria Ronan can be contacted at
vronan@keene-equinox.com