5 College Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate what people are thankful for. Colleges and universities have joined in the festivities with campus traditions that bring communities together. Here are five schools that have created annual traditions for students.
1. Thanksgiving dinner:
When people think of Thanksgiving, turkey and pumpkin pie come to mind. At Ohio State University, the grocery list is long to accommodate the thousands of students, faculty, and staff who participate in the campus Thanksgiving dinner.
The annual event hosted 35 students during the inaugural dinner in 1991. Originally attended mainly by international students, the event has grown to include participation from out-of-state students as well. An estimated 1,600 guests will attend the dinner. Dinner will include 650 pounds of turkey, 30 gallons of gravy, 432 pounds each of green beans and corn, 320 pounds of corn bread and 2,000 slices of pie.
2. Thanksgiving Day Match-up:
Smith College in Massachusetts takes a personalized approach with students who remain on campus for Thanksgiving.
The Thanksgiving Day Match-up program, since 2010, asks faculty and staff to welcome international students into their homes. This gives international students and families a chance to gain an understanding of the holiday, and a global understanding of one another.
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3. Spiritual development:
While Thanksgiving is a national holiday that isn’t tied to a specific religion, Carnegie Mellon University uses this time of year to promote spirituality.
November is known as Spiritual Development Month at Carnegie Mellon. This gives the school a chance to highlight all the different faith traditions taking place on campus.
The Thanksgiving Spirituality Dinner—held before the university’s holiday break, has featured a video of students explaining what spirituality means to them. The dinner is ultimately a time when students can reflect on and appreciate the diversity of faiths on campus with one another.
4. Turkey Trot:
In anticipation of the in-state rivalry football game against Lafayette College, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania hosts a campus-wide 2.6-mile Turkey Trot. The school of nearly 4,800 students sees between 400 and 600 participants each year.
5. March to earn a day off:
For Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, a victory against their football rivals, Albright College, means more than just bragging rights for students. It also means an extra day of Thanksgiving break.
Known as the March to Kreiderheim, a tradition which spans more than 50 years, a group walk is led by the football team to Kreiderheim—the home of the college president—where the student body formally petitions to have the day before Thanksgiving off, in order to celebrate their victory.
Source: US News and World Report, Ohio State University