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GRAFTON--In the coming weeks, im- ages of "College Spring Break" will again flood the airwaves, giving pundits and cultural commentators another opportunity to speak at length about the decaying morality, apathy, and dangerous drinking habits of the stereotypical "college student."

In fact, this stereotype has spread so pervasively through our culture that it is hard to imagine that college students do anything else on spring break besides reach mythical levels of imbibery and debauchery.

An increasing number of college students, however, are choosing to participate in an alternative spring break, traveling with their peers to many of the most marginalized areas of our nation--and abroad--and committing themselves for a week to the service of others.

During my time at James Madison University, I had the privilege of co-leading two Alternative Spring Breaks, most recently leading a group of 17 to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Through my experiences on the Gulf Coast, I invite you to look with new eyes on your understanding of today's "college student."

Our group drew from all aspects of collegiate life, including fraternity brothers, business students, musicians from the marching band, a football player, a local alumnus, and the associate dean of general education.

Despite our different backgrounds and varied motivations for participating in the ASB (only two group members had close ties to the Gulf Coast), we came together as a group through our shared desire to do something about the tragedies of Katrina--to contribute in some small way to helping the people of the Gulf Coast rebuild.

During the trip, I learned firsthand the depth and dedication of my peers, as our group fully embraced the mission of the trip by working hard at every task and never complaining about a situation. Wanting to live and work in solidarity with those we served, we ate simple meals (five days straight of peanut butter and jelly), and slept on the floor of a Methodist church in Gulfport, Miss.

In fact, sleeping space was in such short supply that the entire male contingent of our group (10 of us total) crammed into a vacant classroom that had barely enough floor space for all of us to lie in our sleeping bags at the same time.