Dining Hall Changes May Threaten Shelter

For Kenya native Shakirah Hudani '03, going home for Thanksgiving is not an option--the flight is too long and the break is too short.

So Hudani will join a sizeable group of students who will stay at Harvard over the holiday weekend break.

"I was here last Thanksgiving, ... [and] it was great to have the whole community of international students," she said.

Student groups, professors and Harvard dining halls will all offer stranded students a place to go while most of their peers are away.

The Woodbridge Society, an organization for international students, traditionally plans events for the weekend.

Woodbridge Society President Mekhala Krishnamurthy '02 said the group is planning a lunch in Adams House's small dining hall on Thanksgiving Day and a movie night on Friday.

These activities, Krishnamurthy said, are intended not only provide the opportunity for international students to feel more at home during the holidays, but also to give them a chance to catch up with friends.

But the Woodbridge Society is not the only group looking out for students. Teaching fellows and professors sometimes invite students to join them in their homes for Thanksgiving dinner when going home is not an option.

Former Computer Science 50 head teaching fellows Daniel J. Ellard and Penny Ellard have traditionally opened their Lowell House residence to students on Thanksgiving--a tradition they decided to curtail this year.

"We have done that in the past, for the past four years actually," Daniel Ellard said. "[But] it just got to be a bit too much last year. We had about 26 people [and] neither my wife nor I is involved with [the course] this year."

But going to a professor's home is not the only way for those left stranded on campus to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner.

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) plans to offer a lunchtime Thanksgiving feast and a special Thanksgiving dinner.

According to HUDS Executive Chef Michael Miller, the main festive meal will include turkey and all the trimmings--mashed potatoes, stuffing and several varieties of pie. He said the HUDS staff will also serve Quinoa as a vegetarian option.

"Past history tells us to expect between 500 and 600 students for the Thanksgiving meal," Miller said.

Adams House and Currier House dining halls will be open Friday and Saturday.

For those not inclined to spend the holiday with HUDS, Square eateries offer an array of Thanksgiving meal options.

Charlie's Kitchen is featuring a prix fixe menu with a Thanksgiving theme, while Grafton Street is offering both its usual menu and Thanksgiving specials.

But dinner in the Square may run you more than the Pilgrims paid. Up Stairs at the Pudding's prix fixe runs $65 per person.

And some of the Square's budget establishments, like Mr. and Mrs. Bartley's and Ta Sheng, will be closed.

Popcorn--a Native American treat--will be the fare of the day at Loews Sony Theatres. The theater says that Thanksgiving is one of its busiest days of the year.

The television networks also have a packed schedule, with the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, afternoon football and It's a Wonderful Life.

But for Alina Das '01, the holiday means more than food and entertainment.

Das plans to spend the day volunteering at the University Lutheran Shelter (UniLu), a student-run homeless shelter in Harvard Square.

"During Thanksgiving, it is important to be thankful for what you have," Das said. "I'm particularly thankful to be able to spend this holiday with the men and women of UniLu. We are a shelter but we think of ourselves as a community."