Alternative Breaks at Stanford

11/05/2019

Applications close at midnight! APPLY NOW @ cutt.ly/ASB2020

10/29/2019

Next up, “Stanford Travels South: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide” will head to Starkville, Mississippi to learn about life in the rural South.

Trip description: Do you want to engage with issues facing rural America? Step outside the bubble. Rural areas are home to 97% of the country’s landmass and 19% of Americans but until the 2016 elections many Americans weren’t aware of many of the struggles and successes facing rural communities. Rural America includes the 2018 US News “Best State to Live In” (Iowa), yet 40% of rural Americans are still left without effective broadband Internet access, opening the door to opportunities for development and implementation of technology. Join us as we head to Mississippi. Through our one-unit Winter Quarter class and the trip itself we will engage with issues that are disproportionately affecting rural communities including health care access, internet access as well as better understand the historic, social and economic context of Mississippi and the South. We’ll look at rural-urban divide patterns across the US as well as better understand Starkville, Mississippi and its surrounding local region as a unique example of this. Only about 4% of Stanford undergrads hail from rural areas, yet experiencing a diversity of locations and perspectives is a vital goal of Stanford’s education. We hope to provide Stanford students with a learning experience they otherwise may not encounter. It promises to be an unprecedented chance for future policymakers, computer scientists, business owners, and other leaders to engage in constructive dialogue and brainstorm solutions for tackling challenges to America’s future, thus parrying social media’s filter-bubbles and echo-chambers.

10/28/2019

Next, up “Q***r & Asian American Intersectionality”, led by Gillman Maung & Jacky Chu!!

Trip Description: The Q***r and Asian American Intersectionality trip aims to create a safe space to increase student awareness of and involvement in issues regarding Q***r and Asian American intersectionality, such as the lack of Asian American representation in mainstream q***r culture and acknowledgement of cultural nuances in q***r communities of color. Within these spaces, the trip leaders hope to empower participants with the knowledge to advocate for and navigate such issues. Throughout the program, students will collaborate with Q***r and Asian American organizations, engage in discussions and service with others, and participate in workshops. These immersive opportunities that include Q***r and Asian American politics, activism, health, and art will allow students to garner experiences that expand upon their own pre-trip perspectives. Potential organizations and people that we will meet include: Asian Pacific Islander Equality - Northern California (APIENC), the Visibility Project, Trikone, and Q***r Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP). In addition to these service-learning components, the trip will also focus on community building and cohort bonding. Because of the lack of spaces on campus for the Q***r and Asian American community to discuss their experiences, the trip leaders acknowledge the importance of fostering a tight-knit environment that encourages sharing and listening. Through active reflection, community building, and challenging dialogue, we will strive to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Q***r & Asian American issues and current initiatives whilst potentially fostering long-lasting connections with others. Ultimately, we hope that students will apply this knowledge to Stanford and other spaces to facilitate more intersectional inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.

Apply at cutt.ly/ASB2020

10/26/2019

As we approach the ASB 2020 deadline, we’ll be featuring a trip each day! First up: Capital or Community: Housing Inequality in the Bay Area, led by Kate Ham and Matt Nissen!

Trip Description:
What, exactly, do people mean when they talk about the “housing crisis”? What does this look like here in the Bay Area, and how does this crisis impact the people who call this place home? How has government housing policy, from the local to the national level, helped contribute to the marginalization of various groups? What is gentrification and how does it relate to displacement? What is the role of Stanford and Stanford students in contributing to and addressing this crisis? This one unit course aims to explore these questions and more in an attempt to understand the complex and ongoing process of housing inequality in Stanford’s own backyard. We will specifically look at the Bay Area and how housing inequality intersects with the experience of marginalized groups, including immigrants, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. With a focus on the Bay Area and Stanford’s place in this, we will begin by looking at the anatomy of the current housing crisis and present-day discussions. Next, we will explore the historical processes that brought us here, including the legacy of urban planning, the influence of wealth and development, and the far-reaching impacts of racial segregation. Following this, we will explore the role that business interests in the Bay have played in exacerbating this crisis - with a specific focus on the tech industry. Finally, we will trace the impact that Stanford and Stanford students have, as well as potential solutions and means of resisting the worst effects of housing inequality. By the end of this course, students will have an understanding of both the complex history of housing in the Bay Area and the intersection of housing rights with other contemporary struggles. The course is open to all students from all backgrounds and interests. Students do not need to have any kind of particular disciplinary training or specific knowledge about housing or the social landscape of different marginalized groups in order to partake in the class and the trip.

Apply @ cutt.ly/ASB2020 by November 4th!

10/26/2019

Apply for Alternative Spring Break 2019-2020 by November 4th @ 11:59PM!!

APPLY HERE: cutt.ly/ASB2020

05/07/2019

ROUND 1 APPS DUE THIS FRIDAY! Feel free to ask any of our lovely leaders this year about their experiences: Adam Nalley Andrew Dallakoti Ashley Song Courtney Cooperman Emily Lemmerman EM Deo Gabrielle Torrance Gracie Young Hannah Nguyen Jay Minsu Liu Michelle Howard Miguel Ceniceros Omar Gomez Oscar Ambrocio Shania Santana Soly Lee Sonia Velasco Lucy Arnold Harika Kottakota Sarah Verschoor Emily Mam Gillyn Maung Jacky Chu + Javier Aguayo Janelle Miller Naomi Gregorio Gianna Nino

11/02/2018

~ Apply at bit.ly/asbstanford1819!
In the Cherokee language, computers are sometimes called “anagalisgi unvtsida” meaning electric brain. As time and technologies quickly progress, Cherokee people have developed ways to bring their language into the modern era. However, only 400 (approx.) fluent speakers are left in the Eastern Band alone, which has made saving the language a key priority. Through our course and trip, we will explore how technology can assist second language Cherokee learners in their race to learn the language. Our guiding question throughout the course will center on how we can move the role of tech in language revitalization beyond recording words and phrases into databases, to a more central and interactive place within community language learning.
Along with basic Cherokee language instruction, the course will explore topics ranging from Cherokee culture to user-centered design processes. The course will also feature guest lectures from Google’s Internationalization Team, tribal elders, Linguistics and Computer Science professors. In spring, the group will travel to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reservation located in Cherokee, North Carolina. Participants will engage intimately with Cherokee culture and language while working closely with community members to identify tech needs and possible solutions. While in Cherokee, students will have the opportunity to visit the New Kituwah Immersion School and participate in the second annual Cherokee Language Symposium, as well as visit several community-initiated language classes. Students will also visit several sacred cultural sites as well as work with tribal members to build trails to remote sites.
We hope students walk away from this experience understanding the sacredness of indigenous languages and the importance of maintaining them for future generations, while acknowledging how technology can be utilized for these efforts.

11/02/2018

Due today! Consider applying and check out trip descriptions at https://web.stanford.edu/group/ASB/cgi-bin/prod/trips/asb 🤩🌻🌟

You could travel to Chicago, North Carolina, Washington D.C., or explore the Bay Area AND learn about amazing social justice topics 🚙✈️

11/01/2018

applications due tomorrow!

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