Giving Thanks from Mount Pleasant

The holiday season is here, which means time spent with friends and family. It also marks the arrival of a much-needed break from the hectic life of a college student.

While hometowns begin to flood with college students, the absence of students in Mount Pleasant quickly shifts this bustling college town into something of a ghost town.

Although the vast majority of students travel away from the hectic college environment for the holiday season – some even to different states – there are still some who stay in Mount Pleasant.

Freshman Janae Alexander won’t be making a trip back home this holiday season. Despite that, she said she’ll still find ways to entertain herself while everyone else is out of the dorms for the long weekend.

“Netflix and Youtube are going to be my main sources of entertainment,” Alexander said. “I will also be hanging out with friends and playing cards in the lobby (of the dorms).”

Since most parts of campus are shut down during the holiday season, as student staff members head home to visit family, those who depend on the residential restaurants for meals will be out of luck – but Alexander has a backup plan: Taco Bell.

While many students won’t miss dodging questions about their career choices and personal lives, Ypsilanti junior Jada Motley, who is spending her Thanksgiving in Mount Pleasant, said she will miss having her extended family around for the holidays – she might even miss their incessant questioning.

There is still some hope Motley will be reunited with her immediate family for Thanksgiving, which is dependent on the unpredictable Michigan weather. With a trip home still up in the air, Motley is planning to make her own Thanksgiving dinner.

“I’ll be cooking for myself since I don’t have to work, which is the main reason why I am not going home – I work the day after Thanksgiving,” Motley said. “The Thanksgiving meal won’t taste the same but at least I won’t go hungry.”

While Mount Pleasant certainly has a smaller population during the holiday season, there’s no stopping students like Alexander and Motely from giving thanks from their home away from home.