Thanksgiving is but a day away, and many Dartmouth students are giving thanks for a desperately needed four-day holiday.
"Four days away from the stress! What more can a person ask for?" said one excited Dartmouth student.
Many students will be heading home for the holiday.
Joy Lisi '98 describes Thanksgiving as a chance to "share some peaceful time with family before the business of December."
Shirley Sperling '98 said this Thanksgiving will be the first one she has ever celebrated with her family. Her parents moved to the United States from South Africa this year, and her brother will be coming home from Israel to celebrate the holiday as a family.
Not every Dartmouth student is heading home for Thanksgiving break -- many are either staying at Dartmouth or celebrating the holiday somewhere else.
Jaime Guzman '97 said for the past three years, he has spent Thanksgiving break attending the Paschanga Conference hosted by the East Coast Chicano/a Student Forum -- which includes Dartmouth's La Alianza Latina.
About 12 or 15 students usually attend the conference, which will be held this year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Guzman said.
"The conference is fun, but it can't compare to a home-cooked meal," he said.
Guzman, who is from Chicago, said he finds it inconvenient to travel home for the short holiday. Since Fall term ends the week after Thanksgiving break, Guzman said his family agrees that it is better to wait to make the trip home.
Other students that hail from distant places said they are celebrating the holiday with friends or other relatives.
Stanley Weinberger '98 from Minnesota said he plans to take a road trip with Dartmouth friends to visit college students in Washington, D.C.
Texan Jo Weingarten '98 said she will be attending a reunion at a friend's house in Massachusetts with several of her friends from summer camp.
Guilan Wang, head of the International Office, said students usually want to join relatives nearby if they have that option.
Some students who live far from the College are lucky enough to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving with both friends and relatives.
"I'll be going to New York for Thanksgiving to visit with friends and relatives -- I'm fortunate that I have many of both in the city and they don't get tired of seeing me," said David Berkowitz '98, who is from Texas.
Staying at Dartmouth
For students who chose to stay at Dartmouth, there are many Thanksgiving activities on and off campus.
Chantal Barland '98, a Florida native, said she will spend Thanksgiving on campus, helping out at a local soup kitchen.
For the past three years, the International Office has run the International Friendship Program, where students are paired with host families in the Upper Valley for Thanksgiving dinner.
This year, 30 host families and almost 50 students are involved in the program. About half of the students are undergraduates. Students become involved in the program by completing a request form included with their registration packets at the beginning of the term.
Host families are volunteers from the community, and include many Dartmouth faculty and their friends.
The Native American House is also organizing a Thanksgiving feast. Kuulei Reyes '98, a Native American from Hawaii, said, "We'll have a big dinner of our own and think about what Thanksgiving really means to us as Native peoples."
Although all of Dartmouth's services, including the dining halls, will close down from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday, the Hanover Inn will have two Thanksgiving meals that Dartmouth students can attend.
A Thanksgiving dinner will be held in the Daniel Webster Room of the Hanover Inn on Thursday from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. To attend the dinner, which will cost $34.95, students must make reservations in advance.
The Hanover Inn's second option is "The Second Time Around Buffet," which runs on Thursday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and costs $19.50.
Students can charge the meals to their Dartmouth IDs.
