Spring Break often calls to mind rowdy beaches crowded with college students drinking and partying until the wee hours of the morning.
Lead the Break, a movement started by The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, is showing many students don’t spend break with stomachs full of alcohol.
FAAR, in conjunction with Responsibility.org and the BACCHUS Initiative of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, hold an annual Instagram contest called Lead the Break to share this side of Spring Break.
BACCHUS stands for “Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students,” the main goal of Lead the Break.
To enter the Lead the Break contest, students should take a photo of their non-alcohol-induced Spring Break and post it to Instagram with the caption #LeadtheBreak.
Participants will be entered for a chance to win big prizes.
Prizes include a Macbook Air, an iPad and an iPad mini.
Along with physical prizes, a donation will be made to a BACCHUS chapter or to begin a peer educator program on Murray State’s campus.
According to a survey Responsibility.org took in 2014, 31 percent of college students spend time at home with family and friends, 26 percent of students work and 22 percent of students study and catch up on school work due after break.
Wes Claiborne, Racers for Christ campus minister, first planned a mission trip to Atlanta, but it fell through because most students wanted to go home.
“I challenged the students to take one hour of their time and use it for service over spring break,” Claiborne said.
Lindey Hunt, sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fl., went home and took her one hour of service to the beach.
“During the week, my friends and I took water bottles to the beach and gave them to people who may just be thirsty, or may need a drink to help sober up a little,” Hunt said.
Kayla Rhodes, Murray State graduate student from Farmington, Ky., spent her Spring Break making up hours for her clinical placement at Lourdes hospital because of the snow Murray received last season.
“I honestly didn’t mind it,” said Rhodes. “It was a good experience to stay at the school for an extra week.”
For more information on how to enter the contest for a chance to win and contest rules, visit the foundation’s website at responsibility.org
Story by Julia Mazzuca, Staff writer