Compare & Contrast

One more grueling week of midterms and gray New England weather, and then it's spring break. It's the week of weeks for college kids, the stuff legends are made of. But where do more of those legends occur? The beach or Appalachia?

Weather: Winner = The beach If sunshine is what you want out of spring break, the beach is a good place to find it. On the other hand, you'll be a lot more disappointed if it rains all week at the beach than if you're building a house in Virginia. Good weather is a bonus for carpenters, but a must for the sun worshipers. Probability for fun in the sun is higher on the beach.

A tan: Winner = Appalachia The weather talk leads us right into a discussion about tans and tan lines. If you go to the beach, you might come home with a nice golden tan, but more likely you'll be flaunting a sun burn. The Massachusetts winters do not prepare college students for the intense rays of the tropical sun. Beach goers will be pealing by Wednesday. Hammering and drilling all week outside will leave the Boston College volunteers with souvenir tan lines on their necks and arms. The farmer's tan was earned. Friendships: Winner = Appalachia A spring break at the beach is usually planned sometime during first semester with your own tight knit group of friends. Appalachia throws you into a pool with a bunch of other strangers and sends you on a long bus ride to get to know each other. The friends at the beach will most likely be fighting about something by the middle of the week. The Appalachia kids will bond over playing spoons on the floor of a church basement and swear they have 10 new BFFs.

Skills: Winner = Appalachia Learning how to pound a nail straight and use a power drill are invaluable skills to have in life. These are not skills you can get on the beach, unless you're a contestant on Survivor and constructing a thatched hut, but in that case you probably don't have hammers and nails anyway.

Lazy days: Winner = The beach Appalachia is not a vacation destination for those who value their afternoon nap. With only a week to build an entire house, it's early to bed, early to rise, and lots of hammering in between. The work is hard, but if you whistle while you work, it makes it easier. Spring breakers on the beach have a prety easy schedule that goes something like this: wake up around 11 a.m., put on swim suit, head down to the pool, take a nap, wake up around 1 p.m., get a margarita, take a nap, and the cycle continues until the sun goes down.

Crazy nights: Winner = The beach Some crazy stuff happens late at night on an Appalchia trip, mainly making fun of the kid who snores. What happens at the beach stays at the beach, so I can't tell you about those nights, but, I assure you, they're crazy.

Overall Winner = It's a draw Both spring breaks are guaranteed to be weeks to remember. It's too close to call where the better place to get away from BC is. I recommend going to each destination at least once during college, and then make up your own mind instead of depending on a column to do it for you.