It’s the end of November, and for Binghamton University students, that means it’s time to go home, take out the turkey, violate your diet by stuffing yourself ‘till you explode and, most importantly, spend time with family and friends. However, not all students are going home this Thanksgiving break, so to those who are: You have something to be very thankful about.

So how does one spend their Thanksgiving in Binghamton of all places? For those who dread this week of family time and romanticize having no school, no parents and the Triple Cities available at your whim, there’s little to do on campus, and it’s easy to get bored.

Even if you wanted a Sodexo Thanksgiving, it turns out that on the day of Thanksgiving, all dining services on campus are indeed closed. In fact, everything is closed for the whole Thanksgiving weekend except for the Hinman Café/C-Store which is open starting Friday, Nov. 28 at very limited times. For the full Thanksgiving schedule, check out Sodexo’s website.

Nonetheless, students are finding ways to cope with the limited food supply and the lack of traditional Thanksgiving familial bonding, with some arranging “Friendsgiving” dinners. Having a potluck is a great way to not have to buy or make a lot of food and still eat like a king.

“I’m just going to hang out and relax with friends,” said Ilana Ben-Ezra, a first-year graduate student studying history. “We’re probably going to have dinner together on Thanksgiving.”

The good thing about staying in Binghamton for students is that they won’t have to spend hours traveling back and forth. Plus, the main focus for students going home isn’t to get work done; they’ll be so busy socializing and eating turkey.

But of course, all work and no play can make for a pretty dull weekend. It’s particularly difficult for international students, who can find it difficult to go home during the week and have little to do on an abandoned campus. Not to worry — since last year, a new Binghamton tradition has come about.

“Last year, I started a traditional event dinner for international students and others who are staying on campus, with the help of Sodexo,” said Gabriel Valencia, a sophomore majoring in biology. “We are also combining students from BCC into one big Thanksgiving dinner to help students adjust and mingle.”

Staying on campus during the holiday is hard, but doable if you have people around you going through the same thing.

“It’s hard to be away from family and friends especially when they’re putting pictures up online,” Valencia said.

If you are a student who is staying in Binghamton over the break, you can catch the new “Hunger Games” movie in theaters, go for a relaxing hike in the Nature Preserve or just reflect on what you’re thankful for. After all, that’s what the holiday is really about.