As Thanksgiving break approaches, many of us are looking forward to spending the holiday with friends and family. Fortunately, those of us who can’t make it home can do the same — the College’s efforts to ensure that there will be a festive, communal vibe on campus are sure to give us all something to be thankful for, even if we can’t be with our families or friends from home.

The typical Thanksgiving food-fest will not be missed by those staying on campus. President Martin has graciously arranged for two Thanksgiving-dinner seating’s at the Lord Jeffrey Inn on Tuesday, Nov. 26th. Thanksgiving day, Val will be serving a traditional meal for lunch between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and — if you can work up your appetite — there will be pizza served for dinner at a videogame and karaoke night in Keefe.

Aside from eating there will be many other ways to amuse yourself, including daily events offered by the Dean of Students Office and the Thanksgiving Student Coordinators. You can find a schedule for the week on the College website. There will also be quite a few sports teams playing home games throughout the week, and since there will be fewer students on campus than usual, they would love your support!

Even with all these great community-building campus events going on, if you’re on campus this break, you might want to take the rare opportunity to explore while the campus is a little less busy and without the distraction of classes. Take a trip to the bird sanctuary and check out the Book and Plow Farm or take a walk through downtown Amherst to explore a new coffee shop.

If you really want to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, consider volunteering somewhere in town. There is so much going on in our lives at school and in our Amherst community, and it is easy to forget that we are part of the town community as well. Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to take the time to reconnect with the town of Amherst and lend your services and support. One place to consider helping out is The Amherst Survival Center. The Amherst Survival Center’s mission is to provide food, clothing, healthcare, companionship and many other important resources to the residents of Franklin and Hampshire counties. One specific way to help out is to sign up to be a gift-giver (which entails giving a gift to a child in need) during the upcoming holiday season.

Another way to reconnect with the Amherst world outside the College is to venture to one of the five colleges and check out the different things they have to offer. Each college has its own unique museums, local community and natural sights to see!
No matter where you are over the break, enjoy the (relative) quiet, before the hectic finals-season begins! Happy Thanksgiving!