Campus Celebrates 25th Annual Servo Thanksgiving
President Janet Morgan Riggs interacts with students at Servo Thanksgiving (Photo Jamie Welch / The Gettysburgian)
By Gauri Mangala, Assistant News Editor
It was that time of year again for Gettysburg College on Tuesday when the Dining Center, lovingly known as Servo, transformed itself from buffet-style dining, to a sit-down family-style Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings. It was the 25th anniversary of the campus tradition.
Students waited in line for hours — some arriving before 10:00 a.m. — ready for a Thanksgiving feast with 12 of their closest friends. A Gettysburg tradition, each table was given their own turkey, which they got to carve themselves, along with corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, cranberry sauce, gravy, and pumpkin pie.
A competition between the women’s’ softball and volleyball teams broke out early in the day over which team could get in line first. Sarahrose Jonik ‘20, a member of the softball team, weathered the cold with her team all in the name of tradition.
“One of our freshmen didn’t have class so she sat outside at [around] 10:30, sadly we weren’t first. Volleyball beat us again! But they said it was freezing cold, they brought blankets and chairs and everyone camped out until 4:30. It was pretty fun, we got specialty dining seats so all in all it was pretty lit!” she said.
For many out-of-state first-years, this will be their first year not being home for Thanksgiving. Servo Thanksgiving provides students the opportunity not to miss out on the holiday, regardless of whether or not they get to celebrate with their families. Camila Seluja ‘21 was happy to be a part of new family at Gettysburg: “I loved how communal it felt and to be able to eat all of the classic Thanksgiving food, it definitely felt like a home away from home, as corny as that sounds.”
