Thanksgiving

If you’re staying on campus during Thanksgiving or want to celebrate the holiday with a group of friends before going home, then you should definitely be thinking of organizing a Friendsgiving. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend an evening with friends baking and crafting to celebrate the end of the semester and the start of this festive season.

You’ve been grinding for three months, probably really miss all your friends from home, and if that’s not enough, it’s been really damn cold. Fear not, though: Thanksgiving—that mythical and all too fleeting three day respite from Columbia life—is finally here to save you. But before you leave and get too crazy, remember the true point of the holiday: to reflect and give thanks. If you’re not sure about where to start, don’t worry: Spectrum has you covered on the basics of what to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving celebrates the feast shared between the Native Americans and Pilgrims after the Pilgrims’ first harvest. But let’s be real—when you think about Thanksgiving, the historical significance of Thanksgiving isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. You think about the FOOD: the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the incredible food comas you’ve experienced as a result of eating way too much, and, of course, the amazing desserts that you force yourself to eat even though you’re already beyond full. To make sure everybody has a great Friendsgiving complete with delicious desserts, here are five easy Thanksgiving desserts to make sure you impress at this years’ Friendsgiving.

Turkey season is finally upon us, and what better way to celebrate this day of gratitude than to appreciate the various Thanksgiving traditions of your fellow Columbia students? Whether you’ll be able to return to your family for Thanksgiving or will be reveling in the comforts of your twin XL mattress for the break, we hope you’ll feel at home while reading these short and sweet anecdotes!

For many Columbia students, Thanksgiving break is a much-anticipated chance to go back home, reconnect with family and friends, and enjoy some time off before the start of finals season. The issue with this holiday, however, is its short length—it’s only five days long. For those of us who live just a bus ticket away from home, the trip, and its relatively small price tag, are easily justifiable. For the rest of us left behind on campus, however, these days off can be an emotionally isolating nightmare.

For many, Thanksgiving rhymes with good food, family reunions, and awkward political discussions with extended relatives that nobody want to have. However, for the international students at Columbia and all the people who have decided not to partake in the Thanksgiving myth, Thanksgiving rhymes with an empty campus and daily quests for cheap food due to closed dining halls.

For us struggling, sleep-deprived, and caffeine-addicted college students, Thanksgiving is all about the amazing food waiting for you at home and the sleep you’ll be able to catch up on during this short break. However, it is important to remember that Thanksgiving is also about expressing gratitude and being thankful for all that we have.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Though you might be eagerly awaiting a heartfelt reunion with family and friends back home, take a moment to reflect upon your present surroundings. Have you found family—or some semblance of it—on campus?

Sure, Thanksgiving is technically about expressing gratitude, but let’s be honest: the holiday is mostly about the food—and it doesn’t have to come in the form of a fancy home-cooked meal. If you’re staying in the city and spending the holiday with your Barnumbia family, we have a few ideas for your traditional Thanksgiving meal.

The University Senate voted for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to be an academic holiday starting next year.