Thanksgiving is known as the time when families come together, but for some Whitman students, especially out-of-state and international students, going home is oftentimes not the most cost efficient option.

Although flying home for Thanksgiving may be preferable, plane tickets are expensive, especially for only a week-long trip.   For some students, staying on campus over Thanksgiving break saves money that can go toward returning home over winter break, which is about a month long. Also popular for students otherwise remaining on campus are short trips to more local cities, like Seattle.

“Over the break I plan to go to Seattle with a couple of the other people I know will be staying. We may stay in Seattle for a couple of days,” said first-year Aaron Aguilar, who is staying on campus.

Some international students, like first-year Michail Georgiev and sophomore Elena Zheglova from Bulgaria, will also be heading to Seattle over the break.

Since the campus doesn’t close over Thanksgiving break as it does during Winter Break, there needs to be at least one person on staff in each residence hall. For this reason, many of the Resident Directors end up staying for Thanksgiving.

“Each staff decides as a group who will be on duty and there is about 10 days so there are lots of days to split up…The campus is basically closed Thursday through Sunday.   There is no meal service after Wednesday evening,” said Nancy Tavelli, director of Residence Life and Housing.

The campus tends to be pretty quiet over the break, but students often do get together and plan activities or meals together. The halls and houses are locked for the entire week.

Some Resident Assistants, as well as most of the Resident Directors also have to stay on campus to split who will be on duty over the week long break.

“Due to travel complications, and a lot of homework, I decided to stay over Thanksgiving instead of being on duty during 4-day,” said junior RA Stazh Zamkinos.   “Being on duty consists of making sure the building is secure, as well as coordinating programs for students like movie nights and making sure that policy isn’t being broken. I also want to coordinate a cook-off in Anderson, depending on how many people are still here.”

Some faculty members also open up their homes over Thanksgiving break. It’s a time to get work done and relax.

Even though other countries might not celebrate Thanksgiving, at least Thanksgiving is a week-long break for students, allowing them to prepare for finals and other big projects if not spend time with family and friends back home.