Home for the holidays?

Bulldogs hibernate in Big Rapids over break

After the hours of studying and perhaps multiple mental breakdowns in the middle of the night, exams are over and students are finally free. 

While many go home for the holidays, some students are stuck in Big Rapids over break. 

Ferris advertising and integrated marketing communication junior Erin Patten admits that staying in Big Rapids over break can be pretty boring but the downtime isn’t too bad. 

“I mainly just watched movies because there was nothing to do and everybody was gone, so it was actually kind of slow,” Patten said. “But it was nice to have downtime.” 

Campus dining closes over break, as well as most buildings on campus with the exception of the University Center, so students in Big Rapids will have to find off-campus dining options. 

“My freshman year it was tough because I didn’t have the Rock or the UC or anything, so I spent a lot of money on food outside of campus, a lot of money I didn’t have as a freshman,” Patten said. 

Patten stayed in Big Rapids over break the past two years to work at the CLACS office in the University Center, an experience she said has been great. 

Another group of students who find themselves in Big Rapids over break are the basketball players. With the season in full swing and games until the week before Christmas, they only get a week at home. 

“You know, you could look at it the negative way. We’re the only people here, there’s nothing open, there’s not really a whole lot to do. But on the bright side, we get to hang out with our teammates, our freshmen get to stay with us—which is, you know, good and bad,” Ferris health care systems administration sophomore Renee Sturm said. “There’s no personal space but at the same time there’s no classes, so we’re just hanging out.” 

Winter break for the basketball players consists of a lot of bonding, downtime and practice, according to Sturm. 

“Since we can’t eat at the Rock, basketball is required to provide us with food, so we go grocery shopping as a team and then for lunch and dinner we’ll pick something and we’ll go to dinner there or we’ll get it delivered to the gym. We all eat together, always.” Sturm said. 

For students who want their break to consist of sleeping, eating and binging Netflix, Big Rapids is the place to stay.

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