Survey: Most college students spend spring break constructively ‘Lead the Break’ Instagram contest showcases reality of college spring break

WASHINGTON, DC — As spring break season approaches, a national survey of 18- to 22- year old full-time college students revealed many students plan to work, volunteer, spend time with family or catch up on studies over the break. Parents, family and finances are the leading influence on college students’ spring break plans. 

The majority of college students (58 percent) do not believe the media accurately portrays how most college students spend their time and/or behave during spring break. Furthermore, students’ perception of what other college students are doing during spring break does not match their own self-reported plans.

“Students across America spend their spring break volunteering, doing service projects, catching up on their studies, and spending time with family,” said Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. “While we work hard to fight binge drinking and other irresponsible drinking behaviors, these sensational headlines don’t reflect reality. The truth is the majority of college students spend spring break taking part in productive activities and parents still wield tremendous influence over their decisions.”

The survey was commissioned by The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, a national not-for-profit funded by America’s leading distillers and a leader in the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking. The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has partnered with The BACCHUS Network, a Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education initiative and a collegiate peer education program that supports the achievement of students’ academic and personal success by building skills in student leaders, to address campus health and safety issues and to address the issue of high-risk drinking on college campuses. 

Armed with these survey results, The BACCHUS Network and The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility wanted to show the “reality” of spring break to not only media, but also to students and parents to encourage students to “Lead The Break,” which means enjoying spring break responsibly. The goal of “Lead the Break” is to reach more than 8,000 student leaders and advisors on 330 campuses and reward them for promoting the reality of Spring Break by posting an Instagram picture showcasing a responsible and productive spring break activity. Hosted on www.leadthebreak.com, the effort will run from early March until April 15. To participate in “Lead the Break” college students are encouraged to post the image to Instagram with the hashtag “#LeadTheBreak”. The students must also hashtag the name of their college or university. The school with the most mentions will increase its chance of winning.

“The BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA is always on the lookout for new ways to address binge drinking on and off college campuses, and we know that students are involved in productive and responsible spring break activities”, said Ann Quin Zobeck, senior director of BACCHUS initiatives and training. “And we wanted to highlight that through the Lead the Break contest.”

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has transformed countless lives through programs that contributed to significant reductions in drunk driving and underage drinking.  Funded for more than 23 years by the nation’s leading distillers, we bring individuals, families and communities together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol responsibility. 

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