By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

Scene: Spring Break 2014: Students discuss how they’re going to spend the week off

BY MARIA HARR, Staff Reporter

Students say they’re looking forward to the free times they’ll have this Spring Break. Students plan on reading, hiking and playing video games at home with friends and family, and some Central students just want to relax.

“We’ll basically be lazy bums,” senior Russian and psychology, Wilhelm Zuercher said.

Zuercher will be helping his girlfriend house-sit in Vancouver and playing the indie game “Don’t Starve” and an array of BioWare produced video games. He also plans on hiking Multnomah Falls.

“I used to hike a lot, but I don’t have a car in Ellensburg,” Zuercher said, noting how hard it is to go out and hike without a vehicle, but he hopes to do more hiking in the future.

Dana Halfhill, senior Russian major, also has video games on her Spring Break menu. Halfhill says she has several video games she hasn’t had time to play during the school quarter and plans to play as well as read and book shop.

“No stores in town sell Manga,” Halfhill said, adding that her books of choice are not as popular and thus harder to find. She has high hopes she will be able to find the books she wants in Bremerton when she visits her mother.

Halfhill will continue several Central-themed projects she’s started on Minecraft. She also has blueprints for a large circular castle and apartment complexes for her growing Minecraft city that she wants to add to over the course of the break.

Mechanical engineering freshman Riley Travis follows the video game trend with his Xbox in mind. Riley wants to spend time sitting at home and watching TV instead of working like he did last Spring Break.

“I really want to go camping now,” Travis said, planning for “cheap and nearby.” Travis says he’ll definitely go with friends and probably end up going to Capital Forest, near his family’s home in Olympia.

Spring Break will feel just like a stay-at-home vacation for senior English major Amy Blizzard, who has been commuting from her home in Yakima this quarter. Blizzard says she’s been busy all throughout the quarter, so this Spring Break she wants to relax.

“I’ll be raiding the library,” Blizzard said. “I’ll probably check out half the shelves.”

Junior English literature major Sabrina Shrader plans to stay in Ellensburg. Shrader will continue to run the Pathfinder game (a pen-and-paper role-playing-game) she’s been leading during the quarter. Shrader will also be house cleaning for a professor.

“It won’t pay much, but anything’s better than nothing,” Shrader said.

Darian Hardy, a senior Spanish education sophomore, plans on relaxing and hanging out with her family back home in Kent. Hardy says she’ll also be getting to know her future step-family better. Hardy wants to have a scary movie night with her father and play a gambling game called “Po Ke No” for bowls full of dimes with her aunt.

Alongside time with her family, Hardy hopes to work at a warehouse making bundles of coupon ads.

Graphic design sophomore Stephanie Betschart has no real plans for Spring Break, saying she doesn’t plan that far in advance.

“I could be going home, or I could be cleaning my room,” Betschart said.

Senior law and justice major Katherine Kenderian is planning a ride-along with her local Police department back home in Port Orchard. Kenderian says she’s taken so many Police related courses, she feels it would be a good experience to see what the typical day is like and is looking forward to the opportunity.

Morgan Schimelfenig, a freshman in the chemistry major, will be going home to Tumwater, where she’s looking forward to hang out with her family.

“I have two weeks of Spring Break because my last final is on Monday,” Schimelfenig said. Schimelfenig says she decided not to work this break because she worked through her last spring break in order to save money for college.

English as a second language student Miku Suzawa will be leaving Central and returning home to Japan during Spring Break. Before she leaves, Suzawa will go to Seattle and visit some tourist destinations, such as the first Starbucks, and she wishes to get souvenirs to bring home.

Before she returns to school, Suzawa will spend two weeks in Japan, where she will be attending her friend’s wedding. Suzawa says it will be the first wedding ceremony she’s attended, and she’s looking forward to showing her friend the video she made to celebrate her wedding.

After the wedding, Suzawa is hoping to visit with her grandparents and great-grandparents before returning to her home in Ibaraki.

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