UNLV Alternative Breaks
About
Purpose
Our purpose is to contribute to positive social change through the empowerment of our local communities.
Due to our positionality within the university, we are focused on the growth and development of UNLV students into social change agents; we do this by planning and hosting experiential, community-based learning trips in which students can learn from communities outside of the Southern Nevada/Las Vegas region. We aim to plan trips in accordance with our five core values of simplicity, community, solidarity, justice, and continuation.
Vision
Our vision is to create a community of active and educated individuals dedicated to the pursuit of social justice.
Mission
Our mission is to promote community engagement within the UNLV student body through experiential, community-based learning trips that focus on pertinent social justice topics.
We host one-day, weekend, and week-long trips on topics such as food and housing insecurity, immigration and refugee experiences, mass incarceration, ecology and sustainability, reproductive and sexual rights, and more. We organize engagement activities such as service projects and speaking panels with community leaders and organizations so that students are able to learn about the impacts of their trip topics, dissect the root causes of those issues, and bring back new knowledge and skills for positive social change within our communities. The overarching goal of the program is to foster the development of active community collaborators through education, community engagement, dialogue, and reflection.
About
Alternative break trips are a great opportunity for students to experience a different community and explore social justice topics through various activities with those communities (such as service projects, discussion panels, presentations, etc.). While students travel, they will learn, live simply, and get to know their fellow travelers and host community.
Our main focus is on community-based learning, so students can expect a balance of 80% experiential learning (Mon-Thurs) with the remaining 20% dedicated to recreation (Fri). Learning happens in sessions with community partners and in structured group reflection time (1-1.5 hours) every evening.
Administrative or academic faculty members attend to support learning and administrative aspects. These trips are subsidized by the University to be affordable to students, but still have some financial commitment from participants (cost dependent on the trip).