COLUMN: Penn's own tropical paradise?

From Jeffrey Snyder's, "Snyde Remarks," Fall '98 From Jeffrey Snyder's, "Snyde Remarks," Fall '98Spring break is over and it is now time to look ahead to Spring Fling, Hey Day and the end of the semester. Before I let the last week fade off into history, I would like to briefly discuss the phenomenon which we call spring break. We also thought that a trip to the Bahamas would be a great chance to get away from the University and partake in the revelry that state-schoolers always berate the Ivy League for lacking. Well, we were wrong on both points. Not only was this the most shady vacation ever, the island was also overflowing with fellow Quakers looking to get away from it all. As a frequent traveler, I thought myself to be fairly familiar with airlines, airports and that which goes along with travel. On its brochure, Sun Splash Tours listed airlines like Continental, American, Delta and U.S. Airways as potential travel options. Oddly enough, our carrier "SkyTrek International Airlines" did not appear on that list. On the return trip, my anger built as the so-called "ticket agent" at the so-called "Nassau airport" told us that we might be leaving in a half-hour "if the plane lands." If the plane lands? "Yes, mon, we don't know where the plane is, mon." Are you kidding? Actually, the airline wasn't what was really sketchy about this trip. It was Nassau itself that made me proud to be an American. In the Bahamas, a former British colony, drivers are supposed to stay on the left side of the road. This is a little confusing at first, but what really throws you is that they generally drive on both sides of the road while trying to sell you "mary-joo-ana" and attempting to bargain the price of the trip. Nassau has a bustling downtown area that consists of nothing but duty-free liquor and t-shirt shops. There is even a store called "I need a liquor store." Apparently that's not all that they need. The power at my hotel went out completely once, and the water randomly turned black and smelled of sewage on at least three separate occasions. As shady as this whole ordeal was, and I must admit I was warned, I was willing to deal with it all. I thought it was well worth it for the opportunity to spend the entire week relaxing with all of the party school folk who drink 24-seven and would never believe that I attend a school where the social event of the year is a black-tie charity benefit. Well, I did party all week and did some things that I'd rather not print, but the crowd was closer to what you'd expect to find at Smoke's on an average night than the MTV Spring Break crew. In short, Penn students dominated, with large fraternity and sorority representation. I'm not trying to say that there weren't large groups from other schools, but we were just bigger and more visible. This indicates a few things about the type of student that attends our university. It certainly was no coincidence that Penn students chose to stay at the nicest hotels and that the casino was populated by an almost exclusively Penn crowd. The reality is that many of the students from other universities, for various reasons, either go home for break or go to less expensive vacation spots like Panama City, Florida. At first, I was rather annoyed that I couldn't get away from Penn. But as annoying as it was at first that they were around, it was because of the Penn people that I had a fantastic week, not in spite of them. Transporting a portion of this campus to Nassau provided us with something that we never shared on campus. Many Penn students, scared of the locals and unable to relate to many of the other schools, were drawn to each other simply because they shared the unique experience that is our university. I found myself meeting and talking to people who I knew existed, but never had the occasion to meet on campus. It is so difficult to meet people on campus after freshman year and it was great to spend time with a different group of Penn people. At the same time, it is just slightly odd that one must travel 1,500 miles to meet people who live a block away. If you are thinking about a spring break vacation next year, and can afford to do so, pay the difference and take a real airline. If you go to Nassau or someplace similar, expect exactly what I just described. You won't find the outrageous state school scene, but you will find a unique opportunity to see some people from our campus in a different light. If you are really looking to get away from the campus crowd, try heading someplace different or just going home -- unless you live on Long Island.