Other Aggie groups will be participating in foreign travel, exchange and educational programs, as well as faith-based projects.

"Alternative Spring Break" is just what it sounds like, say officials with
the Department of Student Activities. It's a fun and adventurous, alcohol-
and drug-free alternative to the popular conception of college students
partying on a beach somewhere warm and sunny during spring break, they
explain.

During Texas A&M's spring break, which begins Monday (March 15) the
student-led "Alternative Spring Break" groups will go to different parts of
the country, and each trip will deal with a different social issue.

"'Alternative Spring Break' works to build active citizens and leaders for
social change from participation in our trips and various service opportunities," says Ashley Teel, chair of the student organization. "The
students involved in ASB have an unwavering passion for service and social
change, and in the process have a once-in-a-lifetime chance of making
memories and friendships that last."

One group of Aggies will travel to Tec de Monterrey in Cuernavaca, Mexico,
where they will teach English to children, experience a new culture and
attend workshops given by community members.

Another group will travel to New Orleans, where it is estimated that it will
take at least 10 years before the scars left by Hurricane Katrina will be
erased. ASB's mission for this volunteer trip is to aid families who have
been devastated by the disaster in the recovery and rebuilding process.

Other ongoing projects include the Peace River Refuge and Ranch in Zolfo
Springs, Fla., where students will provide care for abused exotic animals;
the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where they will help
medical staff by entertaining patients; the Kickapoo Reservation in Eagle
Pass, Tex., where volunteers will provide healthcare awareness information,
aid medical staff and work at the senior citizen center with elders of the
tribe of 900 native Americans; and Mammoth Cave National Park in Glasgow,
Ky., where volunteers will help the American Cave Conservation Association
restore and conserve the wonders and beauty of the caves.

In addition to the ASB organization, more than 100 Aggie Greeks will take
part in the Second Annual Greek Life Mission Trip during their spring break.
The group will be one of 30 national teams, working with the United
Methodist Church Disaster Response Team, challenged with rebuilding
hurricane damaged homes and businesses in Lake Charles, La.

Another Aggie group, the Memorial Student Center group Freshman Leadership International (FLI), is sponsoring a trip to Guatemala where students will learn about another culture while working with farmers, participating in cultural excursions and taking part in leadership activities. Organizers say, as a group focused on promoting international awareness, it is important that the students experience living and working in a foreign country while developing awareness, confidence and leadership skills. A second MSC group, Freshmen In Service and Hosting (MSC FISH), will send some members to Costa Rica for the second year as a service learning trip.

Texas A&M at Qatar sent 16 students to College Station during the Qatar
campus' spring break (March 4-7) for the first half of a two-week leadership
exchange program. A group of College Station Aggies will go to Qatar during
their spring break.

Aggies in Mission, a faith-based nondenominational Christian student organization, is partnering with the Houston-based international disaster response organization Christian Alliance for Humanitarian Aid to help retrofit mobile medical clinics to send to Haiti, as well as distribute food to Houston and Galveston's homeless.

The Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture Faculty-Led Programs will
sponsor a group of students and faculty on a trip to Denmark and the Netherlands in conjunction with a course on children's Holocaust literature. Included in the study abroad experience will be visits to the Museum of Danish Resistance, the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam as well as the Corrie Ten Boom and the Anne Frank Museums.

These are just a few of the community service and education projects planned. Other Aggies individually and in groups will work with churches, community action agencies and charities as they live the university's core
values of leadership, excellence, integrity and, most certainly, selfless service.