The cancellation of fall break may cost some students more than just a few days of relaxation. Autumn Autrey, psychology and business sophomore, and six University students planned a four-day mission trip to the Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter in New York City. They were going to volunteer in the men’s shelter, she said. Autrey said her last visit in December 2007 to the shelter was a meaningful experience, and she wanted to share it with her friends.The students are staying at the shelter in order to get an idea of what the people there go through, Autrey said. Each student paid about $230 per plane ticket in June, she said. However, they will not be able to go because the University canceled fall break to make up for the days missed during Hurricane Gustav. After the University announced the academic schedule changes, the students spoke with their individual professors about having to miss those class days, she said. Autrey said the professors could not excuse the students because the trip was not a school sponsored event, and Oct. 9-10 are mandatory school days according to the Academic Calendar. Even if they would be excused from class, Autrey said she feels making up those days would be difficult.Many students are simply having to cancel all travel plans. Caitie Paskewich, kinesiology sophomore, said she was planning on going to the Florida game in Gainesville, Fla., but hadn’t bought tickets yet. Other students were simply planning on driving home to visit with family.Forrest Richards, political science junior, had plans to visit family in North Carolina. Richards said she has not yet contacted United Airlines about canceling her $300 ticket.If Richards and Autrey wanted to change their flight dates, they would be charged a $150 fee, said United Airways customer service representative Smig Dha. The only way the fee is waived is in the case of severe weather, she said. If the students cancel their flights at least 24 hours before the departure date, they will be refunded the total amount, Dha said. —-Contact Olga Kourilova at [email protected]