For students staying on campus over Thanksgiving break, some services and facilities will remain open.

Among them are bus services, fitness facilities and some dining centers. Thanksgiving break officially runs from Nov. 20 through Nov. 27.

Joseph Lore, director of the Department of Recreation Services, said there will be reduced hours at recreation facilities during the break, but that some will still be open. He added that personal trainers will be available for those staying on campus.

Recreation Services has been reducing hours and making schedule changes during the break for about 25 years, he said.

“Facility schedules are modified as a result of the decrease in patrons who enter these facilities,” Lore said.

He added that the number of entries has been consistent over the years. There were 140 entries into Archbold Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, the day after Thanksgiving Day, Lore said.

“We typically would see in excess of 1,500 entries into Archbold Gym on Fridays that do not coincide with any type of holiday,” Lore said.

Tim Eddy, associate director of facilities for Recreation Services, said the total number of users of each fitness center for Thanksgiving week in 2015 were: 1,984 students at Archbold, 314 at Ernie Davis Hall Fitness Center, 123 at Goldstein Student Center and 176 at the Marshall Square Mall Fitness Center.

Eddy said he expected this year’s turnout to be similar to last year’s.

Scot Vanderpool, manager of Parking and Transit Services, said the Thanksgiving break bus schedules will be on the office’s website soon. As of Wednesday night, it has not been posted.

Vanderpool said Parking and Transit Services will offer South Campus service on Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving.

“During the week of Nov. 21, service is reduced on all routes due to less demand,” Vanderpool said. “Since most of our South Campus buses, for example, are in place to provide service based on students class schedules, the frequency is reduced when classes are not in session.”

He added that the number of students staying on South Campus over the Thanksgiving break has increased slightly.

“We noticed this influx last year, which led us to add the Thursday and Friday services,” Vanderpool said.

Dave Sargalski, director of the Office of Student Activities, said consistent with all breaks, there will be no student events scheduled during the break because most students are not on campus.

Patricia Burak, director of the Slutzker Center for International Services, said the center used to offer many different types of programs and activities during the Thanksgiving break, including dinners on Thanksgiving Day with local families. Those activities have been discontinued because most international students will take advantage of the break to travel around the country, he said.

Burak added that this year, Hendricks Chapel along with SU Chancellor Kent Syverud and his wife, Ruth Chen, are hosting an international Thanksgiving dinner on the Thursday before the Thanksgiving break. She said she expects more than 400 international students will attend the dinner in Schine Student Center.

Sam Clemence, interim dean of Hendricks, said he is happy to see that the university is holding the international Thanksgiving celebration again after six years of suspension.

“Ruth Chen really has been the driving force to bring it back,” Clemence said. “It would be a delightful evening.”

Hendricks will be open from Monday through Wednesday over break, but will be closed for Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, Clemence said, adding that the Hendricks food pantry will also be available during Monday through Wednesday for those in need. Hendricks holds the international Thanksgiving dinner a week before Thanksgiving Day.

He said Hendricks is planning to hold weekly sessions with different chaplains after the Thanksgiving break for people who need consulting services with the election outcome.

Lynne Mowers, secretary to the director for SU Food Services, said all residential dining centers will be closed, but Schine Dining and the Goldstein Student Center are open with select hours.

“Dining centers are closed due to the vast majority of students leaving campus to spend the holiday with family and friends,” Mowers said. “The operation hours in the student centers and convenience stores are based on historical data of student traffic patterns in the operations.”

Mowers said meal plans are accepted at Goldstein Student Center and Schine Dining during Thanksgiving week.

Students will have a meal swipe deducted from their account when they get to the register and if they choose to go back into the food court for more food, they will either be charged a second meal or will have to pay the regular a la carte price.

Published on November 17, 2016 at 8:02 pm

Contact Chieh: chchen@syr.edu