Students Spend Break Rebuilding Gulf Coast

[Judi Lynn]

College Students Ditch Booze, Beaches and Debauchery to Spend Spring Break Rebuilding Gulf Coast
Students Spend Break Rebuilding Gulf Coast

By STACEY PLAISANCE

NEW ORLEANS Mar 17, 2006 (AP)— Some of the college students flocking to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for spring break are not coming for the beaches, the booze or the all-night debauchery. But they are getting hot and sweaty nonetheless.

Instead of stripping down to bathing suits and sunglasses, thousands of young people from across the country are putting on coveralls and goggles and gutting hurricane-blighted houses, repairing roofs and hauling away storm debris.

"I figured this is one of the rare times I'll get to do something like this, to really help somebody," said Danielle VanEaton, a freshman at the University of Iowa who spent the first day of her first college spring break gutting a flooded home in New Orleans' hard-hit Ninth Ward.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1738132

[MadMaddie]

1. I was going to ask what the political leanings of the students were...

but I already knew the answer....

Good for these kids they are getting a life lesson in compassion and understanding that tradgedy can strike at any time.

And with the leadership of John Edwards they will learn many valuable lessons!!

[Judi Lynn]

4. I had the same thought: could any one of these kids be Republican?

Oh, please! What ARE the chances?

[madrchsod]

2. one of my daughter`s friend is down

there this week...the more people who find out about what happened the better.

[WindRavenX]

5. many of my friends went

Often, they said they built/rebuilt the only standing house on the block :(

[KittyWampus]

3. Terrific Story, please send it on to family and friends!

[havocmom]

6. When you get to feeling like it isn't worth the fight to save America

refer back to this and suck up some strenght and resolve.

Worth fighting for. Worth saving... kids like this give me fresh strenght.

[jwirr]

7. This absolutely warms the heart of this Uof Iowa grad. Good to

know they are still as caring as they were when I was there.