SAINT PETER— Arriving at the end of Spring Break refreshed and enlightened, student voluntourists have been loudly proclaiming themselves free of their white guilt for the next several months. The trips, which have included activities such as building homes, teaching English, and missionary work, have been praised by many students in their Instagram posts as “#LifeChanging” and “Totally liberating from my privileged shame.”

“We’ve become an inseparable group, and it has temporarily freed me from the gnawing remorse that eats away at my white, upper-middle class, heterosexual soul,” said sophomore Tanner Smith as he described his Habitat group. Smith and his friends reportedly spent more hours of the nine-day break in a car than working on a house. The group seemed somehow unaware of the people who needed help that weren’t near tourist destinations. Smith has been “truly humbled” by the trip that included having his meals cooked and served to him by churches, access to a complimentary gym with showers, and free time to go hiking. Part of the backbreaking work he encountered was stocking shelves at a Habitat ReStore after taking a twenty-minute break and eating Habitat supplied snacks. “It really allowed me to see what a difference I could make in someone’s life,” he said as he reminisced upon the four days of labor on the nine day trip.

“I feel like helping these people has changed me for the better, and has given me a really legitimate rebuttal whenever somebody accuses me of being privileged,” remarked Junior Alex Wright, who was taking a break from digging a well in a Nepali village to pose for a photo with her friends.

As of press time, several voluntourists are expressing their thankfulness for their Spring Break experiences saying, “This is going to look sweet on my résumé.”