Thanksgiving is argued by many as the holiday with the best food: turkey, ham and every type of pie you can imagine. Its function has also been upheld as a time to spend with family, and give thanks.

This Thanksgiving, many Americans may be struggling to feed their families, especially due to the stalling of SNAP benefits, during a holiday hailed for its food and a time for individuals to be grateful for what they have.

The dining hall and Shocker Support Locker being closed increases the need for meals. Not to mention the numerous restaurants that will also be closed, which eliminates opportunities to eat elsewhere.

Instead of building a system to provide meals over the holiday for students who already pay for a meal plan, and who may not have a home to return to for the holiday, or are unable to go home, they used this as a chance to market and sell a Thanksgiving meal bundle. How gracious.

The bundle “would include 6 meals (each meal consists of 1 entrée, 1 fruit, 1 chip, 1 bottled beverage) and will cost $54,” on top of the price students already pay for meal plans. Why would this price not have been worked into the overall meal plan?

WSU’s decision to close the dining hall on Thanksgiving, whilst advertising Thanksgiving bundles as an add-on purchase to students’ meal plans, is at best, tacky, and at worst, poor timing.

Shocker Hall could have worked to create Thanksgiving break meals built into the menu, and remained open. Students pay thousands of dollars in meal plans, with the expectation that they will be fed healthy, filling meals – especially on Thanksgiving — without an upcharge.

Students are of course thankful for all the work that goes into planning, prepping and distributing the meals, but could WSU not extend that care with a proper Thanksgiving meal instead of a turkey sandwich?