With the holidays approaching, it is the time of year where most college students are given the opportunity to reunite with their families. After a long semester juggling, classes, clubs, and events, Thanksgiving and Christmas break serve as a time of rest outside of one’s campus. However, not all students have the luxury of going home for the break, and if they do, plans are often difficult to coordinate.
I myself am a part of the small percentage of undergraduates who live thousands of miles from their school. As my friends were packing up to drive back to Atlanta for the weekend, my heart lay heavy. I was happy for their ability to finally be able to return home and reacquaint themselves with their hometown. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but long for the same.
With a majority of Historically Black Colleges being located on the east coast, the demographic of student residencies are generally populated around the region.
For example, at my school Hampton University, most students hail from New York, The DMV, or Southern States. Yet few of us come from the west coast, residing in states such as California, Arizona, or Seattle.
For many of us from these regions, returning home isn’t as easy. When speaking to my peers from the west side of the country, I realized that many of them had similar stories to mine. Canyon Steverson, a second year student form Phoenix notes that “Living in the west you have to spend almost an entire day flying”.
So instead of heading home, most students find an alternative place to spend their thanksgiving, rather than being alone on an empty campus. Manys students like myself headed to the DMV area for the Holidays. Osa Osasuyi a first-year student from Sacramento California stated “I am lucky enough to have a cousin that lives in Maryland so I will be spending my thanksgiving break with her”
However, some are not as blessed to have family in the surrounding area. Therefore suggestions were made on how the school could better accommodate the students who have nowhere to go.
Osa Osasuyi mentions how lonely it can be on campus, stating, “Being on an empty campus when you know most of your peers are back home with family can be very depressing”. Due to this Osasuyi suggests that schools host bonding activities to increase comfortability for the students staying on campus.
In regards to Christmas break Ciera Hart, a second year student from Los Angeles, desires for the school to create clear schedules surrounding finals week, allowing students to book flights in advance. Ciera recalls “I had to chase down professors to get a date”. Hart also mentions how waiting until the last minute to book a flight is inconvenient as tickets to the west coast can get near $1000 or more.
Every student should get the gift of seeing their families for the Holidays. With direct communication, and consideration from faculty on this subject matter, many more students would have a comfortable Holiday Season.
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