Weekends, Summer Break, Winter Break, Spring Break

Paulo Freire, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, wrote about North American higher education from the perspective of South America. He raised the concern that students in North American classrooms hear answers to questions that they, as students, never asked. ECM Alternative Breaks seek to remedy this. Questions arise out of the participant’s experience with different cultures and settings.

As a participant in last year’s ASB commented, “I found that learning of the community and helping the community was most important – I didn’t know that culture like this existed in the U.S.”

All alternative breaks include an orientation on culture, reflection on the experience, volunteer service, conversation with local residents, and support of an “exploring spirit” where participants are encouraged to search for understanding, not dogmatic certainty.

Thanks to the Community Mercantile fundraising jars, grants, fundraisers, and individual donors, ECM attempts to keep the ASBs affordable. They are open and affirming to all.

Trip Coordinators Honored as KU “Women of Distinction”

ECM Alternative Breaks were fortunate to be recognized by the selection of the four women as "KU Women of Distinction" for 2008-09. They were coordinators for the following trips: Juarez, Mexico- Jenn Gapetz, El Salvador- Sara Birmingham and Heather Wurtz, New Orleans- Haley Masterson. Pick up a 2008-2009 poster at the ECM and visit the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center website (http://www.etwrc.ku.edu/~etwrc/calendar/wod-0809/index.html)

Appalachia

March 12-20, 2010

We will be exploring the region and learning about the destructive processes of Mountain Top Coal Removal. On this trip we will work with an organization called Mountain Justice building and Eco-Village. Mountain Justice is an organization devoted to stopping mountain top coal removal in the area and raising awareness about how this process harms the environment and communities alike. We will discuss how these issues effect us and what we can do to not be complacent in the system that supports fossil fuels. We will also be visiting a Mountain Music School, Media Group, and National Park.

Trip Cost: $300 BUT Scholarships are available

What to expect: Light construction work, lots of hiking, exploration of a different culture, and building community with folks in Appalachia and here.

What to bring: Sleeping bag, pillow, clothes, hiking shoes, open mind, open hearts

Contact us with any questions! This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New Mexico
March 12-20, 2010

Up to 18 participants will experience the cultural enclave of north-central New Mexico, 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe.

The theme, “What do I want My Life to Say?”, will be considered as volunteers participate in activities including:

Physical Work
A Ghost Ranch liaison will arrange service projects.  Last year these included:

1. Maintenance on-site for Ghost Ranch (e.g. painting, "yard" work, etc.)
2. Clearing acequias, an important task in the cultural tradition of New Mexico
3. Blazing trails at Abiquiu Lake with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' associate

Gathering Together
We will meet in a large group at least once a day in discussion of what experience in Abiquiu have shown us about ourselves.  These discussions continue in smaller "base" groups which are formed upon arrival at Ghost Ranch.

Personal Reflection
Multiple opportunities arise for reflection, whether it be on a hike up Chimney Rock, in morning meditations, or on a long car ride.  These opportunities will have spiritual elements but not in connection to any specific religion.  All people whether atheistic, religious, spiritual or otherwise are invited, welcomed, and affirmed!

Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch is a national adult study center of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and, at 6200 feet above sea level, is similar in altitude to the Arizona trip. It is located in a high desert where American artist Georgia O’Keefe resided and completed many of her paintings.

(2009 group visiting an old Spanish monastery in Chimayó, NM near Abiquiu)

Thad Holcombe ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), ECM Campus Minister, served as a resource.  Bailey Olsen ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), junior in English, will return to New Mexico this spring (2010) and serve as the trip Coordinator.

Immokalee, Florida:

The Fight for Fair Food & Farmworker Justice

SPACES STILL OPEN FOR TEN DAY IMMERSION TRIP: MAY 15-25, 2010

Contact: Parendi: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |

 we work with – not for – farmworkers 

"A dozen years ago -- shortly before Christmas, 1997 -- a small group of farmworkers in Immokalee began a 30-day hunger strike that would forever transform the struggle for justice in this country's fields. Their excruciating month-long fast cast an unblinking light on the cruel reality facing tomato pickers -- slipping sub-poverty wages, rampant wage theft, and even violent modern-day slavery rings. But more than that, it also exposed the Florida tomato industry’s deeply-rooted, unregenerate resistance to dialogue with farmworkers and to improving farm labor wages and conditions."

This small group of farmworkers grew into the successful community-based organization made up of Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian migrant farmworkers known as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. 

only farmworkers can speak for themselves 

What better way to learn about the dynamics of social movements than to live and dialogue with one of the most important living movements today? ...the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and The National Campaign for Fair Food and Farmworker Justice that are deeply rooted in Immokalee, Florida. 

we have a powerful voice in working with farmworkers for systemic change

ARE YOU:

-A student/youth/community organizer working for social change - all levels welcome, no experience necessary!

-Willing to commit to weekly meetings before the Immersion trip, including fundraising and organizing events to report back to local community.

-Committed to anti-oppression, collective liberation and building diverse movement leadership.

-A creative team player comfortable working as part of a collective.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN:

-Strengthening relationships with allies in the fight for fair food locally and nationally

-Challenging one another to continue the work upon our return- being accountable to ourselves and the struggle for social change

-Developing the big picture and contextualizing our local and national struggles globally    

we organize to build long-term movements for collective liberation 

Arizona 2010

The site was a farm owned by an 87 year old Dine (Navajo) Elder woman on the edge of the Hopi Reservation in northeast Arizona. She and her daughter have refused to move off of their current location.

The 7 participants resided at the farm, preparing it for the spring while engaging in conversation with Ina and her family, who drove to the farm to translate and add to the discussion. The theme, “Learning what Sustainability is in the Traditional Sense”, was both experienced and discerned in evening conversations by those participating.

Zach Bealer ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), junior at the University of Kansas

ECM-KU Urban Studies "The New York Experience"

March 14-21, 2009 - "The New York Experience" dealt with the culture, issues, and influence of New York City. This Alternative Spring Break was based in critical pedagogy and experiential education. We learned about the social and economic forces shaping the city's cultural landscape and about its historic impact on the rest of the country. Some of the key issues covered are labor, economics, immigration, human rights, urban planning, and cultural, social, and political movements. Emphasis was given to changing and endangered communities. Some of the neighborhoods we explored include Chelsea, the Bowery, Alphabet City, Chinatown, Financial District, Manhattanville, Brooklyn Heights, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, & the South Bronx.

ECM-KU Urban Studies was an ECM and KU group made up of 10 diverse participants. This was the program's inaugural year.

• Coordinator: Jenn Gapetz, senior in American Studies
• Assistant Coordinator: Joshua Gapetz, junior in Political Science and American Studies
• Contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click here to see pictures of the ECM-KU Urban Studies "The New York Experience" trip!!!