MONMOUTH, Ill. — So many students from Monmouth College are heading to places other than the beach that the term “Alternative Spring Break” may be a bit of a misnomer.

Although MTV wasn’t there to film their every move, some of the MC students who traveled to less popular destinations did wind up on the news, and all of them brought back memories to last a lifetime.

The 19 students who traveled to Brunswick County, N.C., as part of the college’s Alternative Spring Break signed on for several volunteer experiences, and they were featured in various local television and newspaper reports for their participation in a bio-terrorism disaster drill.

They played the part of tennis teams practicing in Shallotte Township Park when a private plane crashed, spilling chemicals. A wingless, 35-foot Beechcraft Air King was brought in and 30-foot high propane-gas flames lit to make the setting realistic. Homeland Security Funds were used to pay for the drill that involved firefighters, rescue squads, law enforcement, emergency service workers, 911 dispatchers and hospital personnel.

A front page article in the Brunswick Beacon newspaper featured photographs of and interviews with MC students who were made up to appear severely injured. Moulage artists used body clays, paints, oils, strap-on scars and even chicken bones to produce injuries that looked realistic. They spent two hours putting horror movie-type makeup on the students.

“The thing that made this drill unique,” the newspaper story said, “was pretending that many of the plane-crash victims had been covered with the chemical benzene and had to be decontaminated at the scene … The students wore swimsuits under their blue, paper shirts and pants.”

“We knew it was a drill, but it was still unnerving,” said Erin Musolf, a senior from Muskego, Wis. “(I was) stripped (to my swimsuit) in front of a whole bunch of people before going through the decontamination tent.”

Kristin Lee, a senior from Streamwood, agreed.

“You’re cold and you’re scared and it’s loud,” she said. “You hear people doing stuff, but you’re on the ground and you can’t see them. It was hard for me. They said I could have my eyes open, but I couldn’t talk. I think in the real world I would have panicked.”

Another MC student, Sergio Arteaga, a junior from Monmouth, said during the drill, “I’m about to die over here, and nobody’s coming.”

He and two other victims were left isolated for about 43 minutes without medical help or even an encouraging word.

“We learned some things today that we can improve on,” said Brian Watts, the EMS director.

Shallotte police chief Rodney Gause added, “The disaster drill lets us know what we’ve done wrong, things we can improve on, and maybe any equipment we need.”

The story had a happy ending, at least for Musolf’s character, who had first degree burns over 50 percent of her body. “UNC” was written on her wall chart to track her movement to the hospital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that specializes in helping burn victims.

“They think I’m going to live,” she said.

Musolf, who is also a member of the Monmouth Chorale, had never been able to go on Alternative Spring Break because it conflicted with Chorale’s spring tours. Of her new experience, she said, “It was phenomenal. The people of North Carolina were so gracious and hospitable to us that we all nearly forgot we were there to do service work, not to be local celebrities for a week.

She said her favorite experience was the disaster drill, adding “I was so impressed with the moulage artists and the level of realism that was achieved in our make-up. I think we all got an eerie thrill out of it.”

While on their Alternative Spring Break trip, the students also did landscaping for a church and the homes of some of its elderly parishioners, worked at a Habitat for Humanity house and did outdoor work and clean-up for a parks and recreation agency.

“They were great participants in (the drill) and other projects and were well-received by our community,” praised Brunswick Beacon editor Ben Carlson.

“It definitely was a blast being able to participate in something like this,” said Arteaga of the disaster drill. “Alternative Spring Break has been the best experience of my college years so far. It was great traveling to a new place I’ve never been to before and spending a week helping to make a difference in people’s lives. The wonderful people I met in North Carolina, the friends I got to share this experience with and seeing the majestic beach for the first time are priceless memories that will stay with me for a long time. Without a doubt I am going to do this again.” 

While a bad plane experience was a highlight for one student group, several other members of the campus community “hopped the pond” with little problems, landing safely in Munich, Germany. Although their trip was primarily organized for international business students by Don Capener, assistant professor of political economy and commerce, several non-business students also participated, as did English professor Mary Bruce and her husband, Guy. The trip was managed by MC faculty members Bill and Jackie Urban, who have traveled in Germany many times.

“I’ve had some very fine groups overseas in the past, from the ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest), Monmouth College and Eastern Michigan University,” said Bill Urban. “This year’s Munich group ranks right at the top – a first-class collection of young people. Monmouth College can be proud of them. I certainly am.”

The group, which included 10 MC students, saw such sites as the Bavarian National Museum, the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) museum, Olympiapark, Nymphenburg Palace, the world-class Alte Pinakothek gallery and the castle at Neuschwanstein. 

“Wednesday we were in one of the most amazing technology museums in the world,” said Urban. “We saw airplanes, locomotives, a very realistic (and long) coal mine, and much, much more. It was estimated that if a visitor spent one minute at each exhibit, it would take 36 days to see the museum.”

“I enjoyed the first trip to Germany so much and found it so worthwhile that I signed up for the second European trip,” said Paul Murphy, a senior from Oakbrook Terrace. “Going to Munich was a blast. It was interesting to see a whole different region of Germany than the last time we went. It makes history that much more real to a person when you walk upon the site where it happened.”

The group also visited the concentration camp at Dachau, and Urban said, “Probably nobody will forget that experience.” Murphy agreed.

“Walking through Dachau concentration camp was a very powerful experience. Exploring the crematorium on the grounds was especially moving since the ovens were open and inside you can see the ash residue from when they were in use. Above you in the room are the worn timbers from where they hanged prisoners. The chance to actually set foot in one of the ‘showers’ also was quite an experience. To see that room, which was made only for the purpose to bring death en masse, is a powerful experience to have. Just the idea that you’re walking where tens of thousands of people died, not from a battle, but systematic murder, it really speaks to what depths of evil hate can manifest.”

On a lighter note, Urban said that early in the trip the group went “to a family-style restaurant that had not seen Americans for a long time. It was a good start to a week of fine eating.” The trip also included ample opportunities for students to shop for relatives, friends and themselves. “We came back loaded,” Urban reported.

Said Capener of the business end of the trip, “Increasingly, I talk to employers about the need to find applicants who are interested or even excited about international opportunities. These students who traveled to Munich all feel more prepared to accept such assignments. The fact that German businesses do many things differently than their American counterparts, and do those things quite well, is evidence that there is not one path to success. These students now fully appreciate those differences and they are more open-minded about the differences in business administration abroad.”

Junior Nick Olendzki of rural Monmouth, who also traveled with a group that Capener took to Japan in January, said, “I am so thankful that Monmouth College is offering trips like this. I urge students to take advantage of these trips – it’s the chance of a lifetime. During the two trips that I have gone, I have made great friendships as well as memories that I will talk about forever.”

He added, “One thing that I find humorous is that people in both Japan and Germany listen to American music, even though they don’t understand the lyrics.

Although they didn’t travel abroad, three other groups of MC students traveled far from their western Illinois campus. Twenty-eight baseball players opened their season with 10 games in Clearwater, Fla.; 16 softball players got in five games in Cape Coral, Fla.; and 12 golfers played 18-hole rounds on four different courses in Biloxi, Miss. Those 56 student-athletes represent roughly five percent of the MC student body.