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Do you want to make a difference during your vacations? Alternative Breaks are student-initiated and organized trips to domestic and international locations with a variety of social justice themes. Trips intend to critically reflect on our role in the global community through service, activism, academic inquiry and leadership - while having fun at the same time.

Alternative Breaks are experiences that emphasize self-awareness through a critical debriefing and analytical process before, during, and after the trips. Trips are inherently political in that they address structural systems of inequality, injustice, oppression, and marginalization. Students can be transformed by the process of learning experientially in the field. Alternative Breaks encourage participants to examine their own privilege while also recognizing their own personal role in the larger issues at hand. The goal of Alternative Breaks is not to be paternalistic, nor to impose personal views or perceptions; but rather to engage in open dialogue and for participants to learn through listening and observing by living within the local communities.

Successful past trips have highlighted the plight of people resisting oppression, while expressing solidarity with grassroots initiatives. Some issues that have been examined are indigenous rights to land, NAFTA, intellectual property rights, women’s rights, immigrant rights, HIV/AIDS in Africa, minority rights, International Financial Institution policies, the environment, labor and trade.

Upon return, participants are encouraged to follow-up and take action in their own community. This can include raising awareness on and off campus, political engagement, lobbying and developing media materials such as documentary videos or written articles.