Every year, as the academic year reaches its toughest point and the weather refuses to decide if it’s spring or still winter, the sun-starved students of Marshall University flee from campus and their responsibilities for one week: spring break.
Although a new group of students take on spring break each year, their vacation destinations remain the same – and have remained the same for over 40 years.
According to an article published on March 5, 1982, by The Parthenon’s Kelly Messinger, Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ranked among the most popular places to travel, with Washington D.C. and New York attracting students as well.
Senior Ashley Bohm is spending her second consecutive spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with 46 other girls, many of whom are her sorority sisters in Alpha Xi Delta.
“We decided to return to Fort Lauderdale because we had such an incredible time here last year,” Bohm said. “The weather is perfect, the beaches are beautiful and the nightlife is so fun.”
“We made unforgettable memories and had so much quality time together, so we couldn’t resist coming back,” she said.
In 1982, Messinger cited a room near the beach in Fort Lauderdale as costing $58-65 per night for two people, or $45-55 for a room away from the beach. Now, a room for two on the beach in Fort Lauderdale could cost anywhere from $128 to $500 per night, according to Airbnb.
In the March 16, 2000, edition of The Parthenon, Robyn Justice reported, “Some students will travel to places to have a week full of fun; others are going home to relax with family and friends for the week; others aren’t so lucky and must stay in Huntington and work.”
Senior Rimsha Kingson is one of many students who falls into the latter category.
“Spring break is a little pause from classes for me, but everything else is still moving forward, so it’s barely a break,” Kingson said, who will be spending half of her break working and the other half presenting at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference at Tennessee Tech University.
Kingson said she will use any extra time on break to catch up on sleep or try to get ahead on studying, but she is not the only Marshall student planning to do the same this break. Of the 218 students polled by The Parthenon on social media, 132 said they would be spending spring break sleeping or studying, while only 86 said they’d be traveling.
Even for those just planning on traveling home to spend spring break in their own bed, the trip may be pricey. According to the American Automobile Association, the average price for gas in West Virginia is currently $2.86 per gallon for regular and $3.23 for mid-grade.
According to a Greyhound ad in the March 25, 1955, edition of The Parthenon, students could pay $1.25 for a one-way ticket to Charleston, $2.75 to get to Beckley, $3.35 to Lexington, Kentucky, or even $6.95 to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Although spring break traditions have not changed much throughout the years, prices and piles of homework have certainly made it more difficult for Marshall students to get their one-week escape from the academic woes.
Baylee Parsons can be contacted at [email protected].
