The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Print Edition
Letter to the editor submissions
Have a strong opinion about something happening on campus or in Fort Collins? Want to respond to an article written on The Collegian? Write a Letter to the Editor by following the guidelines here.
Follow Us on Twitter
Crypto Exchange Listing: Types of Exchanges and Compliance Requirements
March 25, 2024

The crypto industry continues to evolve, fueled by the increasing institutional adoption of crypto. Today, numerous companies are entering the...

Giving Thanks Your Own Way

As students eagerly await Thanksgiving — the historic feast, the family reunions, the football games, the spectacular parade and the break from school — not all of them honor the American holiday the same way.

For vegans like Spencer Downing, sophomore human development and family studies major, the classical turkey dinner is not a possibility.

Ad

According to Downing, Thanksgiving 2007 is what inspired her to become a vegetarian. She witnessed the emptying of the organs from that year’s turkey and then eventually went full vegan in the spring of 2013.

“My mom doesn’t make the turkey dance in front of me anymore,” Downing said, “so that’s good.”

According to Downing, she eats vegetarian chicken nuggets and gravy without any turkey in it. Her mother does not agree with her lifestyle and does not like to make exceptions, but that does not stop Downing from enjoying Thanksgiving her way.

“Thanksgiving is an excuse in my family for us to indulge in unhealthy foods,” Downing said.

Like many out-of-state students, Emily Stewart, sophomore music therapy major, does not travel home to Nevada for Thanksgiving because winter break comes only three weeks later. It is more cost-effective to visit her family once, during the longer of the two vacations.

According to Stewart, her mother, father and brother usually cook their annual meal together with family friends. Because her immediate family is in Nevada, she has been unable to participate in this childhood tradition, but she eats with her grandmother, aunt and uncle who live in Fort Collins.

And yet, according to Stewart, she misses certain details about the original ritual, such as eating Cap’n Crunch cereal every Thanksgiving morning alongside her parents and sibling.

“Where’s my Cap’n Crunch?” Stewart said.

Sometimes the circumstances of college prevent students from honoring Thanksgiving at all. This is a common experience for graduate students, according to CSU alumna Kalyn McGinnis.

Ad

McGinnis graduated in May 2012 with a Bachelors of Science in psychology and now pursues a Ph.D in cognitive psychology at University of Notre Dame.

According to McGinnis, Notre Dame is a private school, so Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week are their only days off — this makes a flight home less feasible.

Typically, the festivity has been a family affair for her, but, as a graduate student, she describes it as “eclectic.”

McGinnis said she and her peers hosted a potluck the week before Thanksgiving 2012, but it was nothing as ornate as the conventional supper. It was mostly an opportunity for them to get together because not a lot of them could go home and they did not know anyone else in the community.

“The purpose and value of Thanksgiving gets lost,” McGinnis said. “Grad school doesn’t feel like home around the holidays. It’s hard to get into the spirit of things when you’re in the middle of nowhere.”

According to McGinnis, she was invited to her advisor’s house that year, where she ate Italian cuisine along with ham and stuffing with his family and other undergraduates who had nowhere else to go. They watched the parade and football. This year, she has no plans.

Whether you end up eating Cap’n Crunch, Italian food, or spending it with fellow students, Thanksgiving is what you make of it.

Collegian Entertainment Reporter Hunter Goddard can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

When commenting on The Collegian’s website, please be respectful of others and their viewpoints. The Collegian reviews all comments and reserves the right to reject comments from the website. Comments including any of the following will not be accepted. 1. No language attacking a protected group, including slurs or other profane language directed at a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, age, physical or mental disability, ethnicity or nationality. 2. No factually inaccurate information, including misleading statements or incorrect data. 3. No abusive language or harassment of Collegian writers, editors or other commenters. 4. No threatening language that includes but is not limited to language inciting violence against an individual or group of people. 5. No links.
All The Rocky Mountain Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *