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Show Features WEDNESDAY APRIL 4 2012 Wildcats visit border for break Students visit San Diego for Spring Break By Jennifer Peterson correspondent I The Signpost Instead of partying, working or doing homework during Spring Break this year, 18 Weber State University students traveled to San Diego as part of a service-learning mission for the Community Involvement Center. The service mission was called Alternative Spring Break. The trip is taken annually and provides students with the opportunity to travel to various locations and serve in foreign communities for an entire week. "The main focus this year was to learn about immigration issues," said chair Heather Gray. "We were able take a tour of the border with the border patrol and learn about different policies and the procedures they have there." As chair, Gray's responsibility was to organize the trip and perform all of the background logistics involved in the planning process. She started preparation for the trip as soon as she received the student leadership position at the beginning of the spring semester. She used an organization from California called Via International to arrange housing, food and the service excursions in San Diego. "Everything went smooth while working with Via International," Gray said. "They were a great organization to work with." To be a participant in the trip, students went through a competitive application process that included a submission of an online essay and an in-person interview. "We had about 60 people apply, and were were only able to select 17 of those people to come with us," Gray said. "We chose the applicants who could benefit the community, and also where the trip would benefit them in their life." Gray said she felt bad they could only take a limited amount of students. "I'm hoping in the future to have more opportunities for these 'alternative trips' during fall or winter break," Gray said. "I'm hoping for different times throughout the school year and not just over Spring Break." SOURCE: HEATHER GRAY Above: Weber State University students pose in front of the mural they created in Chicano Park in San Diego, Calif. Below: Students paint the mural. Eighteen students participated in Alternative Spring Break, an annual service-learning mission. The group traveled to San Diego in three vans provided by the university. They joined forces in Cedar City with students from Southern Utah University and planned beforehand to work together for the week. Their home-away-from-home was a Catholic church called Qunita-De Guadeloupe. They made the classrooms their bedrooms, slept on top of cots and woke up each morning to the smell of breakfast provided by the in-house chef. Gray said one of the highlights of the trip was going to Southwest Key, an organization that houses minors from the ages of 12-17 who have crossed the border and have been apprehended by the border patrol. Since they are minors without family, they cannot be deported to their home country and are in a kind of legal limbo. "We were able to go and do a gardening service project with them," Gray said. "We also played soccer and just got to know them. It was really neat, and it was my favorite part of the trip." Julia Darley, a first-time participant of Alternative Spring Break and a WSU senior, said the orphans now have a special place in her heart. "The kids were a lot of fun," Darley said. "It was really cool to be able to hear their stories and know that someone is not dramatizing it. They are kids and are just telling you, 'I came here because a coyote was paid $1,300 to smuggle me in.' It's not like an activist is trying to downplay their stories; it's from the source." Other service projects during the week included a gardening project at Crawford High School, planting trees at a community organic farm called Wild Willow Farms, a mural restoration project at Chicano Park, and joining a group Hoaxes and pranks WSU students weigh in on their April Fool's Day traditions By Cindy Jones correspondent I The Signpost April 1, sometimes referred to as All Fool's Day, is an opportunity to play pranks on friends, family and co-workers without getting into trouble. This unusual holiday is celebrated worldwide. According to modern tradition, it began in the 1500s when the Gregorian calendar went into effect. At that time, the New Year moved from April 1 to Jan. 1. Many people were unaware of the change and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. They became the first April fools. But according to Snopes.com , that is only one theory. Other theories suggest it might have something to do with the vernal equinox and the arrival of spring. One theory even suggests that Aprils Fool's Day began as a way to commemorate the fruitless mission of the raven that was sent from the ark by Noah to find dry land. No matter how it began, it seems to be a popular holiday with Weber State University students. WSU student April Edwards was born on April 1. "My parent's cruel joke was to name me April," Edwards said. "If I had been born any other day of the year, my name would have been Elizabeth." Edwards said she got sick of people playing pranks on her just because it was her birthday, so one year she and some friends got together and decorated the cars of six friends with "just married" signs. "We didn't damage their cars," Edwards said, "but we did a really good job." Edwards said it was lucky her friends never found out who did it, because none of the victims were happy about the prank. Student Stephanie Floch is from Frankfurt, Germany. She said she used to celebrate it there as well. "April Fool's Day is celebrated in Germany as well," Floch said. "It is the idea that you play tricks on people, the same as here - little things, nothing of real consequence. It is a day when we are not serious about anything." Not all students like the idea of April Fool's Day. "I am not a big fan of practical jokes, so I guess in a way I do not like what April Fool's Day GRAPHIC BY AARON FISHER I THE SIGNPOST See Fool page 8 called Border Angels to drop off water jugs randomly throughout the desert to save the lives of many immigrants. Madison Lemelle, another first-time participant and a junior at WSU, said the trip exceeded all of her expectations and encourages everybody to apply next year. "The week really changed my perSee Break page 8 Actions define our priorities Sacrifice is the key to getting what you want By Tucker Garrett columnist I The Signpost "I'd give anything to be a beach bum and just surf all day!" How many times have you heard (or said) this statement? I'm not sure people realize what phrases like this really mean. If you say you would "give anything" to (insert dream of your choice here), do you mean it? Would you really give up anything necessary to achieve your dreams? For example, I would love to take my band on tour. It's one of my life goals and the source of many daydreams. However, more than I want to go on tour, I would like to pay my bills and save up for a house. Our actions define our priorities. No matter what we say, it's what we do that really speaks for our inner desires. Many people would love to get in shape, but they are just "too busy." Yet somehow they have seen every episode of The Biggest Loser. Interesting. Sometimes we hear the phrase, "Their priorities are not in order." Not true. Everybody prioritizes 100 percent accurately. We do the things we do for a reason. We can disagree with somebody's priorities (even our own), but everybody prioritizes exactly how they want to. Everybody has the same amount of time in a day (24 hours). While it is true that some people have more free time than others, nobody has an advantage when it comes to time allotted them. Some people seem to do it all - they go on road trips, eat at amazing restaurants, swim in oceans, See Sacrifice page 8 |