Whitman students talk turkey about Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break gives Whitties a hiatus from the end-of-semester academic crunch. Some students plan to unwind at home with family, while others intend to camp, hike, attend a parade, check out a rodeo, run a 10K and go on additional adventures out of town. At least one expects to do homework. And several mentioned menu options for the festive Thursday. Here's a survey.

"I am driving home to Spokane. I will mostly be working on my thesis and cuddling with my dogs. For Thanksgiving dinner, we are breaking with the home-cooked meal tradition and going out to dinner rather than deal with the hassle and expense of cooking."
—Alaina Jacobsen '18, gender studies major, from Spokane Valley

"I am traveling from Spokane, my hometown, to Seattle to spend the holiday with my extended family. We have a huge family. There are, like, 30 of us."
—Caroline Karschney '19, psychology major, from Spokane Valley

"I'm going home for the majority of break but will be spending the middle of the week and Thanksgiving Day with my extended family in Portland. My dad and I also signed up for a 10K in the beginning of break."
—Claire Mangan '19, Spanish major, from Seattle

"I will be in Bend, Oregon. Scott Nonweiler '20 [a mathematics major] from F-Sec invited me there. I don't know what we will be doing, but I think it will be fun. Also, hopefully, there will be a lot of good food."
—Gokay Abaci '20, from Istanbul, Turkey

"I'm flying home to San Francisco to see my family and my boyfriend. We are going camping for a few days and spending Thanksgiving at a friend's house."
—Estella Bastian '20, from Mill Valley, California

"I am getting a ride with a friend back home. I plan on spending the time relaxing and catching up with my family. I'm also planning on seeing some of my high school friends again, as I haven't thoroughly talked to many of them since summer."
—Holden Gaupo '20, politics major, from Salem, Oregon

"I'm going to San Antonio, Texas. I've never been, but my grandma was born and raised there and my grandpa was stationed in the military there, which is how they met. My mom was born there, but left when she was 3 and hasn't been back since. My whole family rented a big house for the week and it should be a walk down memory lane for my grandparents and mom. We're planning to go to a rodeo, eat some Tex-Mex and have lots of much needed family time."
—Katharine Gillen '20, from Westfield, New Jersey

"I'm just visiting my sister in Chicago."
—Robert Qin '20, from Plano, Texas

"I'll be going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, hiking with friends and hugging my grandma."
—Afton Weaver '20, economics-environmental studies and German studies major, from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania

"I'm going back to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with my family."
—Helen Maslen '21, from Sammamish, Washington