Clemson students to spend fall break in 'Corridor of Shame'

Published: October 26, 2010

By Stephanie Firth

CLEMSON — This fall break a group of Clemson University students will travel to Allendale Oct. 30-Nov. 1 to work with local high school students in what's been called South Carolina’s "Corridor of Shame."

Schools in Allendale and along Interstate 95 in South Carolina are not well-funded. Many students struggle with poverty and some schools have a dropout rate as high as 40 percent.

The Alternative Break Program is a student organization that allows students to spend their fall and spring breaks doing community service. In the past students have gone to Gulfport, Miss.; Columbia; Miami, Fla.; and Greenville. Spring break programs are community service projects out of state, while students spend fall break closer to home under the theme Caring for the Carolinas.

Jeff Schlandt, a junior, speaks of the Alternative Break Program as, “a really good experience, and a really genuine experience.”

Amber Lange, site director of Clemson’s Emerging Scholars Program, works with high schools from five different areas along the Corridor of Shame.

“I’m excited to have Clemson out there and to show we care,” she said. She hopes the project will “expose Clemson students to a different part of the state so they come back to educate other students.”

The students going to Allendale will begin by hosting a workshop for high school students Oct. 30 to talk about college, scholarships and the importance of studying and doing well in high school. 

“I hope it gives a better vision of what college is and how important it is,” said Schlandt. Clemson students also will perform service projects in the community, such as working with a church Halloween festival Oct. 31.

“It gives our students a chance to really make a difference in the community and it gives the students we’re helping a better understanding of their choices,” said Schlandt.

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