Spring break is a time for students to put their work and worries on hold and "take a break from it all," and as one might expect, students are pumped for this much-awaited break from the daily grind.
Many prefer flying to tropical locales such as Cancun or Florida, because they can enjoy getting a tan in the sun instead of freezing in the icy Buffalo weather. But with transportation costs at a seasonal peak - a round trip Greyhound bus ticket from Buffalo to N.Y.C. runs $153, while a round trip plane ticket can set you back a whopping $688 -many students are opting for the collegiate rite of passage: the road trip.
Mike Micara, a sophomore engineering major, said he is taking a massive road trip in which he will travel from Buffalo to N.Y.C., and then on to Florida, making many stops in between.
"For my sporadic spring break I will go to Long Island for a day to work on my car and to visit my friends back at home," Micara said. "Then I am going to West Virginia. From there I am going to Florida, where I will camp out at the beach for a couple of days, and then I am going back to Long Island."
For Joe Azzarella, freshman chemistry major, it will be his first road trip in college.
"I am going on a road trip over spring break where I will go to Albany. Then I am off to New Jersey to see how trashy it really is as everyone says so," Azzarella said. "Then I am going to Pittsburgh to visit my friends and my last stop will be in North Carolina where I will see my ex-girlfriend. This trip will be my rite of passage."
But that's not all - some students are going even further. Bert Ferguson, a sophomore business major, said he's traveling to Egypt this spring break.
"I am going to Egypt to see the great pyramids and tombs, because the pyramids have been an interest of mine since I learned about them in high school," Ferguson said. "I just wanted to use my money for a good cause, which is to get educated."
Sure, there are many places to go during spring break, but there's only one "home sweet home." Some students said they are just glad that spring break has arrived and now they can go home.
"I am ridiculously happy to go home for spring break, because I need a break from architecture," said Sara Broke, sophomore architecture major. "But I will work to make some money, because I am broke."
On the other hand, some students are staying on campus for spring break. There are a number of reasons for doing so, one of which is when the student is an international student.
"I am staying in Buffalo this spring break because I am an international student from India," said Harish Iyer, a graduate industrial engineering student. "While I am here I will study and look for an internship and relax."
Other students simply don't want to go home for the spring break.
"For this spring break I am staying at UB because I don't want to go home," said Adrian Choi, a freshman biomedical sciences major. "I need to stay on campus because I need to study for my exams, and besides, whenever I go home I get in some kind of trouble."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
