Distance, expenses among many reasons pupils stay near Princeton
By: Lauren E. Brady
As Santa Claus prepares himself for his yearly gift-giving sleigh ride around the world on Christmas Eve, one of Santa’s neighbors, Princeton University sophomore Jessica Illaszewicz, is busy making other holiday plans.
Ms. Illaszewicz is one of a handful of Princeton students who won’t be going home for the holidays this year. For some, travel is too expensive. For others, the trip is simply too far. For Ms. Illaszewicz, it takes two days and five flights to get to her hometown of Cambridge Bay, a tiny town on an island in arctic Canada.
"There’s only one flight per day from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay, and some days there aren’t any at all," she said. "Once I get home, it’s just lots of dark and lots of cold and that’s about it. This year, I’m going to meet some of my family in Ottawa instead of getting all the way back."
As the semester closes and the winter holiday begins, most Princeton students look forward to going home for a few weeks. But for some, traveling back home isn’t an option.
Due to the distance and expense of traveling overseas, Princeton’s international students usually make up the majority of those who remain on campus during the winter break. Of the 4,600 undergraduates at Princeton, about 9 percent are international students.
"It’s expensive to fly home and I get jet lagged going both ways. By the time I get home I only have a week or so to spend there," said Rachel Gong, a student from Malaysia who travels home only during the summer months.
Many international students choose to visit a friend or relative in the United States during the three-week vacation, as the campus is usually very empty and quiet for most of the holiday, said Paula Chow, director of Princeton’s International Center.
"I’m going to visit a friend in California, to see the West Coast for the first time. It’s just too long of a trip to go home," said Janine Yoong, a sophomore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "It takes over 24 hours and once you get there you lose a day. By the time I wake up, the holiday is over."
Yee Wai Chong, a sophomore from Hong Kong, will be spending all of the winter break on campus. As with most other students, distance and travel time played a large part in his decision to remain in Princeton. But he also considered the work he has to do before his final exams in January.
"I have work that I need to get done here that I can’t do in Hong Kong. It’s much more difficult to do research and access the university resources from overseas," he said.
Many Princeton seniors make the same decision to spend some extra time on campus during the break in order to work on their senior theses. The yearlong project requires extensive research and a need to access library and laboratory materials.
"I think the main factor in choosing to stay is that I have a thesis to write," said Josh Bonilla, a senior from Great Falls, Mont. "I have access to materials and books that I wouldn’t have at home, and it’s much easier to concentrate and get work done."
As the majority of university students do spend the holidays away from school, Princeton provides very few programs for those who choose to stay on campus.
"Sadly, there is not too much that happens for students or international students during Christmas break," said Marianne Waterbury, the dean of international students at Princeton. "Students are allowed to stay in their dormitories, which is more than most other institutions allow, and they can purchase an additional meal contract for the period when not all the dining halls are open."
In an effort to make travel easier for international students, the university recently revised its financial-aid policies, said student Jeff Gelfand, academics chair of Princeton’s undergraduate student government.
"One of our top priorities has always been closing the gap between what international students receive out of financial aid for travel allowances and what U.S. and Canadian students receive," said Mr. Gelfand.
Princeton now fully funds one trip home each year for international students who receive financial aid from the university. Before the revision, this travel allowance was not given in all cases, he said. The travel stipend is usually used to return home at the end of the academic year and come back in the fall. During the holidays, then, students are left to make their own plans.
"I hope that the university continues in the long run to provide more travel allowances for international students so that they can go home over the winter holidays like the rest of the student body," Mr. Gelfand said.
The International Center at Princeton provides students from overseas one of the few programs offered during the winter break. The program matches international students with host families from the community, with whom they can spend the winter holidays.
"Our local volunteers show a tremendous amount of hospitality for our international students," said Ms. Chow. "It there are students who are staying here, we have families standing ready to welcome them."
Most often graduate students take advantage of the program, she said, as more graduate students tend to remain on campus to do research work.
"I think the host family is really beneficial for international students," said Weidong Wang, a graduate student from China. "It is really a good feeling to have a host family who will think about you on the holidays."
For the past five years, Janet Stern, of the Arts Council of Princeton, has hosted an international student throughout the academic year, and considers the program a great success.
"We’ve always hosted graduate students or visiting scholars, and you really get a chance to get to know the student and sometimes their families," she said. "Everyone we’ve hosted has been wonderful."
Princeton’s annual Curtain Calls festivity on New Year’s Eve provides students who remain on campus another opportunity to celebrate the holidays. The Arts Council encourages university students who stay in Princeton to volunteer during the night and celebrate with the community.
"It’s a very community-oriented event and we consider the university a large part of the community," said Ms. Stern, "I’d hate to think of any students staying in their rooms on New Year’s."