Stuck in Springfield over Spring Break?

By Ashley Rook - General Assignment Reporter

The moment you have been waiting for all year is here – Spring Break has arrived, and… What you don’t have any plans?  While your friends are heading off to far-away, warm places you are stuck here in Springfield? Well, take heart. There are opportunities for fun in the area.
Lucky for you party animals, St. Patrick’s Day arrives during Spring Break week, bringing with it lots of opportunities to party your little heart out.
St. Louis and Chicago are both an easy drive from Springfield and each has a full day of fun planned on Saturday in honor of St. Patrick.
Festivities kick off in St. Louis with the 5-mile St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run at 9:30 a.m. Energetic souls who want to register for the run can register online at www.active.com until Friday. There is an $18 fee.
After the race, the Annual AT&T St. Patrick’s Day Parade will march along Market Street through downtown St. Louis. After the parade, the official partying starts at Lacledes Landing, on the riverfront, with a free after-party until 8 p.m.
In Chicago, the day’s celebration begins with dyeing the Chicago River green at 10:45 a.m.  The Web site says this is a sight best seen from bridges at Columbus Drive and Michigan Avenue.  The parade starts at noon.
Here in Springfield, the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at noon on Saturday downtown. In the evening, head to Lime Street Café on Durkin Drive to see Emerald Underground play its version of Irish music, which the Web site describes as Celtic fusion.  The band will play March 17 and 18, from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
For the athletes among you, why not visit the Nelson Center on Sangamon Road.  The Center has a public skate from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Admission is $3.50 and includes skate rental.
If you prefer spectator sports, the Junior Blues will play a game on Saturday at 7 p.m.  Admission is $7.  The St. Louis Blues professional hockey team will also play on Saturday as well as Monday at 7 p.m. in St. Louis at the Savvis Center.  Ticket prices at the Savvis Center are a bit more expensive, $15 if you don’t mind sitting in the nosebleed section and it will cost you $90 to get up close and personal.
And for those of you who couldn’t get enough figure skating during the Winter Olympics on March 18-19 the Springfield Figure Skating Club will perform Spotlight on Ice at the Nelson Center at 2 p.m. and also on Saturday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. Jeremy Bonnett, program director at the Nelson Center, says they always have an up-and-coming guest skater but he hasn’t heard who it will be this year. Bonnett has not received the ticket information yet, but he says tickets last year were $7.

Finding last-minute deals to get away for Break

By Janee Mithcell - Feature Writer

If you wanted to go somewhere fun for Spring Break, but haven’t booked your tickets yet, you’re probably out of luck. Local travel agents are no longer giving quotes for Spring Break this year.
Janet McKinney, a travel agent at Atlas Travel/Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said there were “no Spring Breakers this year” for their agency. McKinney said airline prices are extremely high this year because of a rise in fuel prices.
McKinney also said that Cancun is usually a hot spot for Spring Break travelers, but due to weather issues and other concerns this year, Cancun is not opening its door to visitors.
Nancy Meredith, office manager of Franklin Travel Agency, said everything their office offers has already been sold out. Meredith said most hot destinations are full or unavailable because of hurricane damage. She said there is a variety of places that can cost more than $1,000 this time of year but that there is no space. She suggests that students postpone Spring Break until the fall or travel in late May, after the semester ends.
   Travel agents say Miami is a popular location, but they can’t book anything for their clients for Spring Break anymore either. After doing a quick computer check to verify the availability, one agent said all seats were full. He said that in the future students should book ahead of time to guarantee seats, especially to places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, common Spring Break destinations for students, because right now no seats are available for less than $1,000.
However, if you have a passport and enough money, some trips can still be booked online.
Most online travel sites have a section of the site dedicated to last minute package deals. While you won’t have complete control over the details, you can usually get find something interesting.
For example, as of Monday, Travelocity.com had quite a few last-minute deals that could take you out of the country from for Spring Break.
One trip you could book would let you travel to London, England, from March 10-15 for $798 per person. The price included airfare and accommodations.
Or, if you wanted to leave from Chicago, you could book a trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from March 11-15 for only $582 per person. This price also includes airfare and hotel.
Travelocity.com also offers deals on domestic trips, in case you don’t have a passport.
Don’t feel the need to make elaborate Spring Break plans this year? You’re not alone. A lot of people choose to just take it easy during the much-needed break.
Victoria Brinson, a junior in biology, said she will be going home to the Chicago area to be with her boyfriend and family, go to the movies and “hang out with past friends I haven’t seen in forever,” for her Spring Break.
And Aakash Raut, a political studies graduate student, said he will “stay at home and catch up on rest and do some things that I’ve needed to get done for a while.”
Assistant Editor Stephanie Orr contributed to this story.
Fact Box text:
Check out these sites for last minute travel deals!
Travelocity.com
Cheaptickets.com
Orbitz.com
Studentuniverse.com

College students take over Capitol

By Laura Camper - General Assignment Reporter

Beginning Thursday afternoon, the State Capitol in Springfield was bustling with senators, representatives and lobbyists. In the State Appellate Court, judges were hearing a case argued by teams of lawyers. Budget analysts were hammering out the governor’s budget.  And covering it all were reporters for the local newspaper.
Just an ordinary day in Springfield except these senators, representatives, lobbyists, lawyers, budget analysts and reporters are all college students and this is not just an ordinary session of state government. This is Model Illinois Government, a weekend event for college students from all over the state.
MIG allows students to gain firsthand knowledge of state government by modeling a legislative session and appellate court case, allowing students to take on the roles they hope to practice after college.
Lindsay Cloe, a sophomore political studies major and accounting minor at UIS, attended her second MIG this year. Last year, she was a budget analyst assigned the task of cutting the governor’s budget by 10 percent. “Basically, we had to debate out the budget,” she says. “We argued for which programs to keep and which to cut.”  This year she was a budget chairperson so she “just moderated this time.”
Cloe says the program is eye-opening. MIG is run just like real government - there is campaigning, a forum for debate and an election. “It just gives a chance for people to see what it’s really like,” she says, “a little bit of perspective of government.” A few students she knows have attended and decided that politics is not the career for them. “I personally am in the budget because it’s nonpartisan,” says Cloe.
Other students thrive on the election process.  Kyle Simpson, a sophomore political studies major, has also attended for two years. “It was a lot of fun last year,” says Simpson, who was a House member last year. “I learned a lot about the dirty works of government.” He saw how senators and representatives were pressured to vote along party lines, something he says most people aren’t aware of.
Simpson was elected Comptroller at last year’s simulation, so this year he was a member of the Executive Board. As Comptroller, he was responsible for purchasing awards for attendees and was part of the committee that chose the people to be awarded.
This year, three UIS students received awards.  Heather Shaffer was chosen Top Journalist. Bob Skorczewski was chosen the Best Senate Committee Member and Nick Nolfi received the Best House Leadership award.
Shelly Runyard, a sophomore double majoring in legal studies and political studies, was head delegate at UIS for MIG this year. She was responsible for preparing students for the Simulation. “Basically, I organized getting hotel rooms, organized the meetings that we had to prepare and made sure everyone got where they needed to be,” she says. She helped the students practice parliamentary procedure and get familiar with the bills that they would be debating in the simulation.
Runyard got involved in MIG when a friend invited her to a meeting. “I got an e-mail saying ‘Hey, come to this meeting. It’s really fun’ and that was it.” She has been involved ever since.
Runyard says MIG has taught her about political dealings. “I have a better understanding of politics and how everyone has to work together to get things done.”
At MIG this year several, UIS students ran for offices on the Executive Board, including Kyle Stevens who was reelected Attorney General. Two future UIS students were also elected. Guila Ahern will be the President of the Senate and Scott McFarland will be the new Governor. Both are from Western Illinois University and will transfer to UIS in the fall.

Stuck in Springfield over Spring Break?

Finding last-minute deals to get away for Break

College studetns take over Capitol