In a few days, the College will shutdown for the weeklong Thanksgiving Break. Most of the student body will go home, gorge on turkey and, with a little luck, avoid schoolwork like the plague. In our haste to enjoy this much-needed week of freedom, most of us forget about the rest of our classmates who, for a variety of reasons, cannot make the trip home. For some, the time spent traveling would be too time-consuming to make the trip worthwhile. But for others, it's impossible to financially justify such a short spell at home with Winter Break and Interterm just a few weeks away.

According to the Office of Financial Aid, the current comprehensive fee includes travel expenses to cover two round-trips home-presumably for the summer and winter breaks. So, the administration must expect that some economically disadvantaged students will be stranded on campus for the other breaks in the academic year. Thus, our unique weeklong break causes some equally unique problems for those of us who can't be homeward bound.

We are not asking the administration to increase the travel stipend in order to fund trips home for Thanksgiving. However, when the College's own expectations for student expenses do not include travel expenditures for this particular break, the administration must be considerate of those students left on campus. In particular, one practical issue that needs to be addressed is meal options.

We understand that due to the absence of the vast majority of the student body, keeping Valentine Hall open is untenable if not impossible (and without doubt, Valentine's workers deserve their break too). For the same reasons, Schwemm's is also not an option. Still, some alternative source of food needs to be provided for students who are still here since they are especially likely to be remaining on campus due to financial constraints.

As the break is currently organized, Valentine closes after dinner on Friday, Nov. 18 and doesn't open its doors again until dinner on Nov. 27. Schwemm's is also not open for business for the entirety of the break. This leaves students to fend for themselves off-campus for eight days worth of sustenance. Obviously, that many meals, no matter where they are purchased, can be taxing on a student's budget­­-especially when the student is likely to be on a tighter budget to begin with.

Although we appreciate and support our long break, we wish that the administration would recognize the drawbacks it has for some students. All of the other Five Colleges have class as usual Monday and Tuesday of next week, so their students are left on their own for a time span comparable to that of Fall Break. If the College could limit the number of days students have to live without "free" food to the same four days as the other institutions, it would significantly lighten their burden. It seems obvious that we can, through the consortium, provide our stranded students with dining options at the other Five College dining halls. We realize that such a program would not come free, but we would rather the College, and not the students themselves, handle the burden.