The Alternative Breaks (AB) program at LMU has been sending students out locally, nationally, and internationally since 2003. This year the program offers Lions the chance to become a global citizen and commit to service and justice through in-person and virtual opportunities during winter and spring break trips to places such as East Los Angeles and San Diego, the U.S/Mexico border, Chicago, Appalachia, and El Salvador.
These immersive and formative experiences allow students to meet new people, engage in a social justice issue that each trip focuses around, and expand their understanding of what community is and who they define their community to be. “I hope students begin to see themselves in community with the people that we visit on these trips so that it is less about ‘us’ and ‘them,’ but more of a ‘we,’” shared Alyssa Perez ’15, assistant director of Alternative Breaks and advocacy. “When students begin to see other folks as part of who they consider ‘our community’ then we deepen our relationship with and responsibility to those people — even if we live in different places.”
This year many of the new trip offerings allow students to experience communities in the U.S. and the diversity of social justice issues that need attention and advocacy. “Our L.A.-based trips offer students a unique opportunity to learn more about justice here in L.A. during a weeklong immersion,” said Perez. “It’s a great opportunity to learn from local Angelenos about their communities and LMU’s role in supporting justice work across the city.”
Perez looks forward to leading one of these new trips to San Diego during winter break from Jan. 4-8. For many students, AB immersions have become the highlight of their time at LMU. This formative experience invites students to learn from some of the most unlikely teachers. “At LMU, students learn from the faculty teaching their class, and on an AB immersion, the community becomes their teacher,” Perez said. “Students will learn the most important lessons about life and justice from people like a manager at a local soup kitchen, from a migrant on their journey, from a social worker at a youth resource center, from a resident in a shelter in an unhoused community, and from the children at the schools they may visit. We are reminded that we are both students and teachers at times, and we have a lot to learn from the people around us. We value that education on AB trips just as much as the one inside a classroom!”
The AB Program is a member of Break Away, the National Alternative Breaks Organization. The AB Program received Honorable Mention for the national Alternative Breaks Program of the Year Award in 2010. More information about each of the trips and costs are listed below. Submit your application for AB trips by Friday, Oct. 1. For more information about the AB program at LMU, visit the AB website or follow them on Instagram.
Winter Break Trip Options:
Virtual AB/Ignacio Companion El Salvador: Women’s Rights and Climate Change— Jan. 3-7, 2022 (Five-day virtual experience/$40)
In partnership with Campus Ministry, this collaborative Ignacio Companion (IC) and virtual AB will focus on women’s rights and leadership in rural Salvadoran communities, highlighting the impact that climate change has had on the current migration situation El Salvador/Mexico/U.S.
AB East L.A.: Restorative Justice – Jan. 3-7, 2022 (Five-day/$100)
Students will spend the week in Boyle Heights and visit with community partners at Dolores Mission and Homeboy Industries. This program focuses on highlighting how restorative practices transform the criminal justice system and end the school-to-prison pipeline.
AB San Diego: Art Activism in Migration Justice— Jan. 4-8, 2022 (Five-day/$200)
This AB focuses on the San Ysidro border, and students will visit the border towns in San Diego and meet with migrants to learn their stories and nonprofit organizations, art activists, and community members to learn about ways to join the movement for just and humane migration.
AB/IC Downtown L.A. (DTLA): Housing Justice and Service Retreat—Jan. 5-8, 2022 (Four-day/$100)
In partnership with Campus Ministry, this collaborative virtual Ignacio Companion (IC), AB DTLA, will focus on housing justice in L.A. Students will visit the community in Skid Row and meet with community members most affected by housing injustice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spring Break Trip Options:
AB Chicago: Anti-Racism and Xenophobia— Feb. 27-March 5, 2022 (Seven-day/$800)
This AB trip will center around racial justice, anti-racism, and white supremacy designed to give students an in-depth analysis of racism in the U.S. and Chicago specifically. Students will learn about racism in the United States firsthand from community members and local anti-racist training organizations.
AB Appalachia — Environmental and Economic Justice – Feb. 27-March 5, 2022 (Seven-day/$600)
Students will visit two locations in the Appalachian Mountains to learn about the fossil fuels industry, coal industry, mountain top removal, the current gas boom, and understand the environmental impacts of climate change and the economic implications in the region.
AB/IC Nogales: Migration Justice at U.S./Mexico Border – Feb. 27-March 5, 2022 (Seven-day/$400)
In partnership with Campus Ministry, this program will focus on the reality of life in the borderlands. Students will hear stories about migration and life along the U.S./Mexico border and explore the impacts of recent U.S. immigration policies.