Stranded Students Make Most of Holiday

Long after the last suitcase has been packed, Dong M. Kim '03 will remain roommate-less in his Matthews Hall suite.

The California native is one of many students with a lengthy commute who plans to stay at Harvard for the brief Thanksgiving break. With the options of host families and generous friends, however, his Thanksgiving dinner need not consist of the routine dining hall fare.

A traditional menu of turkey, cranberry sauce and squash will replace the usual Thursday dinner at Mather House, the only House whose dining hall will stay open for Thanksgiving.

While Kim says that he considers spending Thanksgiving dinner in a dining hall to be "rather depressing," approximately 550 people are expected to take their holiday meal at Mather House, according to Dining Services Project Manager Alexandra E. McNitt.

Meanwhile, international students and some students from the West Coast have the option to dine with 'host families.'

"Sometimes, students will call to ask if there is a private home where they can eat," said Director of the Parents' Association Julia G. Fox. "We encourage host families to invite students to have Thanksgiving with them, but often students will choose to eat with a roommate or friend."

Fox added that she thinks those who remain at school will enjoy themselves.

"We are hopeful that the ones who are staying here will be able to celebrate, and we sense that they will enjoy the peace and quiet of the dorms," she said.

Students left at Harvard plan to take advantage of this unusual tranquility by studying and sleeping.

"It looks like I'm going to catch up on a lot of my reading," Kim said. "Although I don't want to fit the typical mold of a Harvard student who stays at school during the holiday to study, this is the price I have to pay for slacking off."

Some faculty members have decided to open their tables to students who are without family for the holiday.

For instance, Penelope A. Ellard, a teaching fellow in Computer Science 50, "Introduction to Computer Science I," will continue what has become a tradition by inviting her class to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner.

"It's just a bummer to be alone for Thanksgiving," she said. "We enjoy cooking, so why not cook for a bunch of students who would not have a home-cooked meal otherwise?"

Many of the students who will remain at school, though, are international students who do not have a history of Thanksgiving with their families to miss.

"It's my impression that Thanksgiving does not hold as much emotional attachment for international students as it does for students from the United States," said Michelle L. Hewitt, assistant to the master of Mather House.

But the historical significance of the holiday is not all that makes being left alone on campus difficult.

"I'm going to dinner with my sister on Thursday, but the weekend will be tough," said Istvan Zollei '03, a native of Hungary.

"For the international students who are alone," he continued, "this will be a lonely time. If I didn't have my sister, it would be very bad."

And when Thanksgiving is no longer spent with family, some of the holiday's significance is lost.

"I just see this as a welcome respite from classes," Kim said of his first Thanksgiving away from his family. "I will see my family in a month anyway."