Ken Lock '08 is disappointed that he won't be able to go home this Thanksgiving. The South San Francisco, Calif., resident said it's impractical to fly back to the West Coast for such a short break.
"You pretty much lose two days on the plane, so you're spending a lot of money to go back home for three days," he said. "I'm going back for Winter Break in four weeks anyway, so it doesn't seem worth it."
As a result, Lock and a handful of other students will find themselves on a relatively empty Brown campus during next week's recess, without access to many University services and facilities, including fitness centers, health services and, most importantly, food.
"I wish they didn't close the dining halls over break," Lock said. "I'm going to go shopping with one of my advisors for food over the break. I'll get some Easy Mac or something like that."
Marylou McMillan, executive officer of campus life and student services, said most University services will be suspended during Thanksgiving recess. However, she added that essential services such as Emergency Medical Services will be available.
"The two things that we always emphasize to people is that there are always crisis and emergency people available," she said.
McMillan said EMS and the Department of Public Safety will operate as usual during the break. She also said Psychological Services will have a clinician on call, and the Office of Student Life will have an administrator or community director available in case of emergencies.
The majority of University facilities will close Wednesday afternoon and will reopen on Monday morning. Health Services and Psychological Services will close Wednesday at 5 p.m. SafeRIDE will suspend service at 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Most dining facilities, including the Sharpe Refectory and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, will close on Wednesday afternoon, while Josiah's and campus snack carts will not be open on Wednesday.
All libraries will also close Wednesday afternoon. The Rockefeller Library and Sciences Library will be open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and normal operation hours for all libraries will resume on Sunday. Satellite fitness centers will be closed, but the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center will be open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Although major University operations will cease during the break, at least one organization is trying to make the break a little bit easier for students staying on campus. The Third World Center is inviting everyone on campus to its Thanksgiving dinner. Organizers say that the dinner will include cooking, conversation, games and good food. Frank Crespo '07 attended last year's TWC dinner with 20-30 other students, and said he is looking forward to this year's feast.
"It gets pretty solitary around here during the break, so it's nice to know that there are other people on campus," Crespo said.
Many international students are staying on campus during break. Sean Hong '06.5 said that instead of taking a 14-hour flight home to Korea, he'll stay at his dorm during the recess and spend Thanksgiving Day at a friend's house in Providence.
"I feel all right because I can go to Korea during the winter," he said.
Because his family does not celebrate the American Thanksgiving, Hong said that he won't be especially tough to be away from home during the holidays.
Instead, he is looking forward to the break. "I can rest," Hong said.
Lock is also eager for the break. He said he is looking forward to the TWC Thanksgiving dinner and for time to take it easy. "It'll be nice to be able to relax for the five days," he said. "I definitely do miss home, but I've already been here awhile so I think I can wait a couple of more weeks."
