EVERY YEAR Alternative Spring Break receives a number of criticisms, among them the assertion that placement of individuals in ASB trips should be randomized instead of competitive. Though the goal of objectivity behind this suggestion is a noble one, the proposal reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of ASB's mission and operation -- to deliberately bring together members of the University community who might not otherwise interact in their usual social spheres in the common goals of service to and education about the global community.
ASB strives to arrange groups of participants in such a way that volunteers are challenged not only by their exposure to specific communities or environments that are different from their own, but also through interaction with their fellow volunteers. To accomplish this, ASB combines a name-blind and non-preferential approach to trip placement with one that places applicants with specific skills, talents, language proficiency and/or experiences on trips in which those skills can be of most use. Furthermore, this year's brief online application and hour-long group interview helped ASB ensure applicants are ready to take on to take on a year-long commitment to preparing themselves for a substantial endeavor that will shape their college experience. Each participant must be committed to attending pre-trip meetings, learning about the issues related to their service project, and then, finally, completing a one to four-week project through which they are faced with demanding physical and mental tasks. Participants are taken out their comfort zones, shown new places whose beauty or ugliness they did not expect and confronted by new viewpoints that challenge their own. To cart off a group of randomly placed volunteers who may or may not have any interest in or dedication to their particular project would be an injustice to the very communities in which students work.
Applying to ASB is not about one's ability to interview well or write a quality essay. The goal behind the ASB placement process is to bring a wide range of personalities and experiences to each group. ASB is made up of introverts, extroverts, first-years, fourth-years, veterans and novices of community service. For this reason, ASB cannot leave placement on trips to chance. ASB strives to bring together people who are unlikely to know each other already. This must be an active and planned process--not a toss of the dice.
General questions and critiques about Alternative Spring Break programs are put forward every year, and they warrant detailed responses now as they do every year.
1) Why should students apply to do community service? Unfortunately, ASB cannot admit every applicant to the program because trips simply cannot accommodate more people than there are spaces for participants to sleep, to ride on a bus or to contribute productively at a work site. To ensure students who are selected to participate are truly dedicated to their project and their host community and will benefit from interacting with their fellow volunteers, applicants must provide some basic information on which to base placement decisions. To increase the number of spots in the program, ASB encourages every returning participant to lead a trip for the coming year. Furthermore, ASB is not, and does not claim to be, the only venue through which a student can do volunteer service during breaks in the academic calendar. In fact, ASB is currently working with several other CIOs to develop collaborative spring projects that merge the missions of both organizations to expand the breadth of service provided by University students.
2) Why should students pay to do community service? One way to answer to this question is to point out what many often forget: ASB is a positive, constructive alternative to a Spring Break that might include spending similar amounts of money in other ways. Another way is to remind readers about the main reason the selections process takes place in November and not in February
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