- Profile of Phillip Humphreys
- Plaudits
- Service Awards
- Colleague to Colleague: Caitlin Roberts reports on the rich history of Greek life at The Beach
- Spotlight on Beach Pride Center
- Unit Activities
- A CLASS Act
- Students Participate in Internships at The Washington Center
- Meet Erin Swetland
- Student Nuggets
- Alternative Spring Break 2009
- Facts About The Beach
- Target Case Study Competition Held
Text Size 
Thirty-five students, faculty and staff traveled to Louisiana for Alternative Spring Break.
Alternative Spring Break 2009
Originally conceived in 2005 by CSULB’s American Marketing Association as a response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, CSULB has now sent teams to Louisiana four years in a row through the Alternative Spring Break program. The week before this year’s team was slated to travel to New Orleans, staff organizers received word that the team had been assigned by Habitat for Humanity to work in Musicians’ Village.* Being part of the effort to aid in the preservation of jazz, the uniquely American musical genre, was to be a special highlight of the trip.
Arriving late in the afternoon on Sunday, March 29, the students received a tour of the greater New Orleans area on Monday—the good, the bad and the ugly—including the wards most devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the levees that gave way to the rising waters and, of course, the other more "touristy” sites of New Orleans, that is, Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, etc.
From Tuesday through Friday, the work day began at 7:30 a.m. and lasted to about 3:30 p.m. as the group worked on four homes in the Musicians’ Village area of New Orleans. Installing siding and roofing, students got a good workout with ladders and power tools—with some having to overcome their fear of heights. Lending a hand for two days was President F. King Alexander who also worked with the CSULB team in 2008.
Due to weather conditions, members of the group also worked two days at the Habitat ReStore Store, unloading trucks of goods and materials and organizing all the merchandise in the store. The ReStores are retail outlets where quality, used and surplus building materials are sold at a fraction of normal prices. Materials sold there are usually donated from building supply stores, contractors, demolition crews or from individuals who wish to show their support for Habitat. Proceeds from ReStores help local affiliates fund the construction of Habitat houses within the community.
Hearing the personal stories of area residents who lost family, friends and homes was a moving experience for the students. The impact of participating in Alternative Spring Break will continue to unfold over time for them. At the end of the week, standing on the roof of the home on which she had worked, marketing major Ashley Strong looked out over the lower Ninth Ward. She later wrote in her journal that, at that moment, she realized that the week was guiding “the direction of [her] soul’s journey” and that it had solidified her resolve to apply to AmeriCorps. The experience had served to remind her of “the beauty and good” that prevailed in the face of Katrina’s destruction.
President Alexander (right) helps a student install siding
To participate in the Alternative Spring Break, CSULB students were required to take a class, “Political Science Special Topics 493: Politics, Culture and Disaster.” Taught by Liberal Studies Director Dan O'Connor, a political theorist, the course examined the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the Gulf Coast and the rest of the nation, with a particular emphasis on the City of New Orleans.
Staff/faculty team leaders this year included Zion Redie and Brett Waterfield, Student Life and Development; Valerie Bordeaux, University Outreach and School Relations; Professors O’Connor; and Tim Caron, English. Zion and Waterfield have accompanied the team four years in a row, while Caron has made the trip three times including 2008, when he originated the course now taught by O’Connor.
Alternative Spring Break is a joint project of the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Student Life and Development. Many campus departments and individual donors supported this project. For a complete list of this year’s sponsors, go to www.csulb.edu/studentlife. Donations for the 2010 project may be made at www.csulb.edu.giving2students.
*According to the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many musicians to flee New Orleans. The Musicians' Village is designed to restore the city's musical heritage by providing local musicians and other qualifying partner families the opportunity to own a home in a thriving community of committed individuals and families.