Thanksgiving break is almost here, and winter break is just around the corner. For many, these breaks also mean traveling home, seeing family and enjoying food. But for some of Wichita State’s students, these holiday breaks can look vastly different.
Most international students stay on campus for break, according to Tavonga Mwenje, the Student Government Association’s (SGA) international student affairs director. Some domestic students also stay for various reasons. With most of the campus closed down, this can create problems for them, like temporary food insecurity.
“Being an international student as well … I’ve always been like, ‘We need something on breaks’ because, you know, the dining hall’s closed, and I don’t have a car,” Mwenje said.
So, when he became the international student affairs director, Mwenje, who is also a resident assistant, started an initiative to help provide food during winter break. SGA partnered with Housing and Residence Life to get students groceries through the Shocker Support Locker.
This year, they’ve partnered directly with Trader Joe’s, which donates to the locker, to get food to these students.
For Thanksgiving, Mwenje has also added another initiative to provide food to students: a Thanksgiving dinner. He said the idea was suggested by Omarian Brantley, the graduate residence life coordinator for housing at Shocker Hall.
Brantley said he wanted to provide some way for the students who stay on campus over Thanksgiving to participate in the holiday, especially international students, who may be unfamiliar with it.
“I wanted to make sure that we did something, specifically for those who couldn’t go home and provide that kind of family atmosphere,” Brantley said.
The Thanksgiving dinner food will come from Golden Corral, which Brantley said balanced the need for affordable food and a restaurant that would be open on the holiday.
Brantley said an RSVP form for the dinner was sent to residents, and around 50 have signed up so far out of about 100 students that he said usually stay over breaks. But Brantley said they’ve already planned to accommodate those who sign up last minute.
“We understand that even if we send it 50,000 times, that students aren’t going to check (their emails) so we’re ordering for extra heads on top of the ones that we have that have already signed up,” Brantley said.
Mwenje said that for more information about Thanksgiving, or getting food over winter break, students on campus can reach out to him at [email protected].
