Thanksgiving Break Plans: Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for students to spend time with their family, enjoy delicious food, and relax before the inevitable arrival of finals week. However, Thanksgiving break poses special difficulties for students who are unable to return home for the break. Organisations both on and off campus have begun providing assistance to students who are housing on campus, ranging from meal boxes to Thanksgiving dinners hosted by neighbourhood families.
Beginning on Wednesday, children will get three days off from school in addition to the weekend for Thanksgiving break. Before 2007, the break lasted for a full week. Students from outside the state and those studying abroad claimed that the break did not account for the considerable travel they would have to do shortly after it was extended from one week to three days.
Approximately 32% of undergraduate students come from outside the state, while 5% are foreign students. Due to expensive transportation and lengthy travel durations, these students cannot simply visit home for Thanksgiving, unlike their in-state counterparts.
While on-campus dining options are open with limited availability during break, many organisations have organised programmes and events to make sure that students who choose to stay on campus feel at home. One such initiative is making sure that students have access to a free or inexpensive meal on Thanksgiving.
Tuesday through Saturday is when Newcomb Dining Hall is closed, however it is open for breakfast and dinner on Wednesday. On Thursday, all U.Va. Dine options will be closed. On Friday and Saturday, only Crossroads and other Observatory Dining Hall to-go options will be offered.
In order to help students in need of food assistance, the Student Council’s Student Life Agency has teamed up with the U.Va. Community Food Pantry to offer about 200 free meal kits. On a first-come, first-served basis, students can request the kits online. The kits include food from the Blue Ridge region food bank as well as donations from Trader Joes and Harris Teeter. Remaining food will be given back to the pantry.
As a first-generation, low-income college student in his third year, Christopher Joseph, the director of the Student Life organisation, has utilised the meal packages during his Thanksgiving break stays on Grounds since his first year.
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“I was so intrigued by the Student Life agency because it’s just really helpful to know that there are resources out there for students,” Joseph remarked. “I really felt supported and welcomed at the university thanks to the meal kits.”
Furthermore, every year the Lorna Sundberg International Centre hosts the Thanksgiving Meal Match, which pairs together international students with local families for a Thanksgiving dinner. Through these activities, international students can become a part of the university community and the larger American culture, feeling accepted and integrated.
Huijing Zhu, a second-year college student from China, decided to spend Thanksgiving break on campus last year and plans to do so again this year.
Zhu remarked, “Choosing to fly home is an expensive decision, especially when there is only one week [of break].” “I believe that the calm atmosphere at the university during the break is what I prefer, and it helps me focus more on work.”
Zhu claimed that even with the benefits of the peaceful surroundings, she frequently felt alone on Grounds throughout Thanksgiving break. During break, all on-campus housing is open; however, Housing and Residence Life offices and mailboxes will be closed from November 22 to November 26.
Zhu remarked, “The grounds and dorms are so empty.” “It feels very constrained, like I’m locked in my own room.”
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The short vacation presents additional travel issues for out-of-state or international students who opt to return home for the three-day holiday.
Kiersten Freeman, a third-year college student, talked about her own experiences returning home to Tennessee from Charlottesville. Freeman’s trip takes about five hours if there are no cancellations or delays. At the moment, a round-trip ticket can cost as much as $600.
“It’s kind of hard to gauge how to book flights and how my class schedule plays into my travels home, given that the University doesn’t give us the full week off for Thanksgiving,” Freeman said. “I try to get the full week because, considering how expensive flights are, it wouldn’t be worth it to go home for three days.”
Even though classes are scheduled to meet on Mondays and Tuesdays, some instructors decide to hold online or cancelled sessions. Nevertheless, most students cannot rely on a longer break without losing out on crucial material in the classroom due to schedule irregularities.
Freeman said that although if the university makes sure that students have housing during breaks, there was still more the university could be doing to help these students and their travels.
Given that we frequently have more extended travel plans, “the three days that we do get [of break] doesn’t really take out-of-state and international students into consideration,” according to Freeman.”The University could do better, in my opinion.”
