By Juana Diego
Staff Writer
DeBell and Rho residence halls and fellow friends teamed up for a great cause over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. They carpooled to the poverty-stricken city of Ensenada, Mexico, to spend time at the City of Children orphanage.
The students spent their time being aspirations and playmates to the young children.
Rho’s Resident Advisor senior Marcus Rodriguez and Student Advisor junior Jason Palmer led the trip along with DeBell’s RA junior Katie 
Plummer and sophomore SA Nicole Garcia.
On top of a few pranks, some students had trouble finding the orphanage, but along the way they bonded with new friends and passed out food to the residents of Ensenada.
“I was anxious because I felt unprepared and inadequate,” Rodriguez said prior to departure on the trip. “I’ve never organized a trip like this.”
He hopes to stay in contact with Mario, a child from the orphanage, 
to be a resource to improve the young man’s quality of life.
“My trip reiterated my own need to be grateful for what I have. I think it is important to be reminded of that,” freshman Tara Spackeen said.
January 30, 2003