Senior Caitlin Gorie and a few of her friends are some of the vacationers that will be on a cruise during spring break. 

“[My friends] Bailey, Mary and I were in the Boler lab one day talking about how we were the only people not going anywhere for spring break,” she said. “We decided to fix that. We looked up trips online and found this. It was very spur of the moment.”

They are excited to soak up the warm weather, rather than go home and work. 

“I hope to absorb some heat and get some sun,” Gorie said. “When the boat docks we hope to go on some expeditions. I’m excited to see what will be offered.”

The cultural impact of the event is undeniable: an MTV show appropriately named “Spring Break,” numerous movies depicting the events, as well as an entire industry banking on students taking off to resorts and hotels. It is estimated spring break is a $1 billion business, according to TruTv.com.

A simple Google search will present you with numerous travel sites dealing exclusively in spring break vacations. Many take a page out of the credit card company’s playbook by enticing students with attention-grabbers, such as all-inclusive week-long packages, starting at around $100.

Like many traditions in the collegiate world, the practice of spring break had humble beginnings when the 1934-35 Colgate University swim team sought to train in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., over winter break. Word of the migration spread, and soon other schools spent their winter recesses in South Florida, before the practice eventually became an annual spring pilgrimage.

The Miami suburb is no longer the exclusive “Spring Break Central” as it was just a generation ago. As many as 350,000 college students partied there in its heyday during the mid-1980s. Fort Lauderdale now hosts an average of 10,000 students every spring.

Several other southern communities, such as Panama City, Key West, and other locales in South Florida, are happy to do business with spring breakers. 

In recent years, vacationers have gone international, most notably in Cancun and Cabo San Lucas as well as on Caribbean cruises, such as Gorie this spring. 

The U.S. Department of State addresses the issue on its Web site, travel.state.gov, simply urging vacationers to use common sense.

“Using some common sense will help travelers avoid unpleasant and dangerous situations,” they said.

The Student Calling Center’s goal is to solicit funds from benefactors.

“We call alumni and friends for donations and update all the numbers for the Carroll Fund,” said Hallie Gallagher, assistant director of annual giving.

The Carroll Fund collects donations from benefactors to alleviate departmental budget crunches and provide for the general financial welfare of the University.

The Student Calling Center has undergone a transformation over the last 15 months as they have turned to a state-of-the-art software system that allows them to do their work at an unprecedented pace. DialVision is a Web-based consumer interaction management system which enables its users to efficiently call potential donors while offering advantages that were previously unavailable. DialVision is currently being rented on a monthly basis, Gallagher said.

DialVision utilizes hands-free headsets and provides a streamlined approach to telecommunications. The operator simply points and clicks on the computer screen and the software system dials the numbers while the students document the donation.

In addition, DialVision provides safer and more efficient services such as real-time credit card processing, superior customer support, and e-mail capabilities, all while serving as a detailed database that keeps track of each call and donation made.

“Before, we wrote everything down on paper and it left a paper trail,” Gallagher said. “Now that we use this, it’s much safer and more practical.”

Its effects have been apparent as this year’s number of donations have already surpassed last year’s. Since the beginning of this fiscal year, the Student Calling Center has collected 2,543 contributions; last year’s donations totaled 2,506. The Calling Center approximates that 28 percent of the responses are “no,” 40 percent are “yes,” and 25 percent are “I’ll think about it.”

In addition, this year’s total amount is on pace to greatly surpass last year’s as the Calling Center has already brought in about $206,000 compared to last year’s total of $265,000.

The Student Calling Center brings in donations for the University, its upkeep and events, but it goes toward students too. Not all proceeds go to activities and organizations; the donations the Student Calling Center receives actually give some students financial aid to attend the University.

“John Carroll is a great place and for some of these kids, without this funding, they wouldn’t be able to be here,” said Gallagher. “I bet 95 percent of them receive some kind of aid from the school.”

The room and the operation taking place are reminiscent of a grass-roots political campaign; student-employees sit side-by-side, sporting headsets, and making phone calls. Posters and inspirational quotes blanket the walls while a relaxed atmosphere encompasses the group. Each Sunday night, the students order pizzas from Pizzazz and eat dinner together.

Gallagher tries to keep things loose by incorporating games like hangman and blackjack into the work environment while providing incentives for feats such as collecting credit card donations.

Junior Chris Lewis said he thinks the forward-thinking approach is working.

“I love the [Student] Call Center,” Lewis said. “It’s definitely a great additive to the Carroll community, and has increased our overall donation efforts this past year.”

The Blue Streaks blanked Ohio Wesleyan University 3-0 before coming up short in a 3-1 loss to Case Western Reserve University in their two matches last week. 

“I think last weekend, we were going through a little bit of a funk,” said senior MaryEileen Dalton. “I don’t think we were quite as mentally prepared as we could have been. So before this week we made a decision to be a tougher group.” 

JCU improved to 8-9 by overwhelming a struggling Ohio Wesleyan team in front of the home fans at the Tony DeCarlo Center on Sept. 22. 

After Ohio Wesleyan pushed JCU in the first game by tallying 21 points, the Battling Bishops were limited to just 15 and 17 points in the final two games, respectively. 

The Blue Streaks were led by sophomore setter/outside hitter Kerry Fox, who recorded nine kills and a match-high six service aces. Dalton also accounted for nine kills. 

Coach Cally Plummer said she was impressed at how the Blue Streaks regrouped against Ohio Wesleyan. 

“We looked more energetic out there and I think we communicated better, so we competed better as a team,” said Plummer.

Coming off the sweep of Ohio Wesleyan, JCU faced a tall task in CWRU.

Again in the friendly confines of the Tony DeCarlo Center, JCU struck a big blow to the Spartans by taking the first game, 25-23. 

However, the Spartans responded in the ensuing three games, winning 26-24, 25-20 and 26-24. 

Despite being a non-conference game, the cross-town affair held significant weight in the minds of  the players. 

“This is a little bit of a rivalry,” Dalton said. “We knew they were coming in here and trying to take us down. We didn’t want to lose at our house.” 

JCU’s newly-acquired aggressive style was apparent all throughout the match, however, as the Blue Streaks registered 59 kills on that night, compared to 55 from the victorious Spartans. 

Fox again led the charge with 17 kills while sophomore middle hitter Laura Sudo set a new career-high with 13 kills of her own.

After splitting last week’s pair, the 8-10 Blue Streaks enter Ohio Athletic Conference completion tomorrow night with a tough road test against a nationally ranked team.

The Blue Streaks will visit the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

The Polar Bears are ranked No. 4 nationally in the most recent poll conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

ONU improved to 18-1 on the season by going 4-0 and dropping just one game at the Mount Saint Joseph Fall Classic in Cincinnati this past weekend. 

The Blue Streaks return home after next week and will play in conference for the rest of the season. 

“This is a really important stretch coming up,” Plummer said. “We have to continue to get better. We have an amazingly talented group that can do some damage.”

Editor’s Note: Results from last night’s match against Oberlin College were unavailable before The Carroll News went to print. Log on to www.jcusports.com for details.