‘Wake up and help me prepare this dinner!’ If you have a parent or another relative’ who tells you to help out during Thanksgiving, this means you need a little more than just Thursday off. Because family is the first priority for many people, it is important that they pour their hearts out into the preparation.
A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, eggnog, fruit salad, corn bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, and most importantly, a large turkey with gravy, a clean house, a well-set dinner table, and lots of family.
If Thanksgiving was not at your house this year, lucky you! The hard work in preparing this intricate meal pays off when time is spent with family. Here at Stony Brook, many of us come to school expecting leniency’ in our lives, in exchange for devoting our precious years to this educational system, which is expected to make this world a better place.
There seems to be less tolerance at SBU for breaks, when compared to other schools. Why are we being treated different? Aren’t we just as deserving as other college students to have a longer break? If you are a student or faculty member here at SBU, you are probably aware of the fact that school was in session on Wednesday, Nov. 22, before Thanksgiving. Many students have travel plans to see their families.
This quick break seems especially unjust to students who live on campus. Most students residing in dormitories live at least 45 minutes away. One junior expresses her anger over Thanksgiving break, saying, ‘We have to pack up our f—–g things for like a brief period. I don’t feel as if I have had an f—–g break. This system sucks’hellip;and I live out of state’hellip;a d–m eight-hour drive!’
Here is a list of a few schools with’ corresponding Thanksgiving schedules:
Brown (Rhode Island): No classes after 12 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
SUNY Binghamton: No classes after 1pm on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
Keene State College (New Hampshire): No classes after Tuesday, Nov. 21.
SUNY Canton: No classes after Tuesday, Nov. 21.
SUNY Fredonia: No classes after Monday, Nov. 20.
Holly Cross College (Massachusetts): No classes after Monday, Nov. 20.
University of Connecticut (Connecticut): No classes after Friday, Nov. 17.
All of these schools seem to have a much better deal than SBU. Ironically, many teachers canceled classes because they were aware that most students would take off early, regardless. I personally took off a day early, even though I don’t like to skip my classes. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was a very important day’ for me. I had an alumni breakfast to attend at my old high school. My family always’ has a head start in preparing our Thanksgiving dinner’ the Wednesday evening before. My daily schedule included a class until 8:40 p.m. on Wednesdays. I decided not to go to class that day. After having left’ early, I can proudly say that I have no regrets. This extra day was too important to overlook.
At a later point in time, many students expressed their feelings over our quick break. Some mentioned expectations from family to help out in preparation for Thanksgiving. Ashley Figuereo said, ‘ It’s not fair’hellip;I had to cook and clean so I needed at least another day.’ Basically, all I can say is that we need a longer break to make Thanksgiving all the more special.
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