“For me it evokes family, kind of a connection, but not necessarily blood family. Me with my personal family, like mother, father, brother, sister, we never really celebrated Thanksgiving. But I celebrate Thanksgiving with all of my friends from middle and high school. We call it Friendsgiving. So whenever I think about this time, I always think about them.” – Daniel Medina, 31, Psychology

VOICES: What does Thanksgiving evoke for you? City College students share

Family traditions, dark colonialist history associated with November holiday

Kevin Ouellette, Luke Bradbury, Ren Charifa, Luz Jaimes, and Marco Guajardo

November 16, 2023

San Diego City College classes will be on hold from Nov. 20-24 for fall break.

For many, Thanksgiving still holds its traditional meaning of taking time to gather with loved ones to express gratitude.

The origins of the U.S. holiday have always been associated with the initial interactions between European settlers and Indigenous peoples, traditionally characterized as amicable.

Our current socio-political climate has given birth to new associations with the cultural day of observance.

City Times hit the walkways of the San Diego City College campus to ask students a question: What does Thanksgiving evoke for you?

Click on the image below to see the students’ responses.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story was published before the editing process was complete. This story has been updated to reflect grammar, spelling, punctuation and AP style edits.

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