Thanksgiving break left the St. Lawrence campus all but deserted. However those who remained due to distance, circumstance or a combination of both made the best of their time on campus.
The students who would continue to make St. Lawrence their home through the Thanksgiving break would stay on a campus that was all but shut down, save for security. Emmanuel Ngenoh ’15 said that the students on campus consisted of, “About ten to twenty students, mostly international.” As Dana and the Pub were closed to eat, Ngenoh commented that, “You had to get food from price chopper and cook for yourself.” Ngenoh went on to say that the International House was where most of the cooking was done. Meanwhile, some students, like Felisha Ordborn ’18, stuck to the simple things like peanut butter and jelly and mac and cheese.
Fortunately though, Thanksgiving for the students on campus was of better fair. Many of the students on campus over break participated in a large Thanksgiving dinner with many members of the local community. Ordborn says, “It was amazing. We had lots of food, there were lots of people, and we were there for hours.” Ngenoh, who also attended, added that it was great to be able to meet people at the dinner.
When not occupied with scrounging for food, those on campus were able to relax and attempt some productivity. Vela Mineva ’15 says she spent most of her time working at her job at IT, going to the gym or hanging out with friends, saying, “I did things that I usually don’t have time to do when I’m not on break.” Some students like Ordborn, however, were unable to reach their goals for the break. Ordborn said, “Originally, I was going to spend my time doing homework and studying, but you know how that works when you have Netflix, so I spent a lot of time doing Netflix.” Ngenhoh thought, “It was kind of fun in a way,” as he was able to, “Take it easy and take a break”.
The empty campus could be lonely at times though with the dorms and other campus buildings empty. Ordborn said that, “I felt like I was in a horror movie. There was nobody around, there were no cars; you would hear the wind and jump.” Ngenoh concurred saying that, “Tt could be tenuous at times” with no one around. He added that, “At the same time, it can be rewarding if you are the kind of person who needs the space.”
With the rest of the campus back Ordborn expressed happiness at having the campus hopping again, remarking, “It’s nice seeing people around.”