For many students, the work at Harvard never ends. Never. Ever. Not even for Thanksgiving vacation.

This year, like all others, several Harvard students will be staying on campus for Thanksgiving to complete lingering assignments and to break ground on their theses.

What explains such dedication? An unrelenting work ethic? An unquenchable thirst for knowledge? Or Harvard Dining Services' mouthwatering holiday menu?

Marcello A. Morgan '97 said he plans to stay at Harvard this Thanksgiving to catch up on his studies.

"I have work for a class that I need to catch up on and I knew that if I went away, I wouldn't do my work," he said.

Jeremy D. Horowitz '94 said his obligation to work on his thesis was a major factor in his decision to stay at Harvard.

"Hopefully, I will be able to use this time productively," Horowitz said.

And Don S. Lee '95 has a test and two papers due next week, keeping him inside the ivory tower for the long weekend. "I plan of catching up on a lot of work," Lee said.

On the other hand, Clare G. Crawford '94 said she is planning to spend the time relaxing and catching up on sleep. "I'll probably try to just take a vacation," she said.

Many students who live far away plan to stay at Harvard due to the high costs of traveling home for such a short time period.

Jason G. Wood '97, who hails from Orem, Utah, faces this problem, but he is in good spirits about spending Thanksgiving at Harvard.

"I'd much rather be going home, but since that's really not an option, I guess it's okay," he said.

L. Paulina Cardenas '96 said the break was too short to return to her home in Texas.

Cardenas said that this Thanksgiving, she will be busy with Harvard-Radcliffe Raza festivities.

Raza will be sponsoring "Pachanga," a weekend of multicultural events, including Thanksgiving dinner in Cabot House, lectures, panels, parties and dancing. More than 200 students from 22 colleges all over the East Coast are expected to attend.

Peter W. Duncan '97 said it was too expensivefor him to travel back to Seattle, Wash.

Duncan said he plans to spend Thanksgiving withhis host family that was arranged by Harvard. Thefamily introduced him to Boston when he firstarrived in September.

Most of the students interviewed expresseddisappointment about staying at Harvard.

"This is always the loneliest time of the yearon campus. The weather is always miserable and noone is around," Horowitz said.

Many students who plan to stay at Harvard arelooking forward to the winter holidays.

"I guess I am a little homesick, but I will begoing home soon enough for Christmas," Duncansaid.

Students who are staying at Harvard can feastoff of the bounty provided by Harvard DinningServices.

The traditional Thursday meal will be repletewith roast turkey with homemade stuffing andgravy, baked sugar cured ham, harvest nut roastwith vegetarian gravy, whipped potatoes, butternutsquash, mashed turnips, garden green peas, freshcranberry sauce, dinner rolls and fresh pumpkin,apple and pecan pies.

The Dunster House dining hall will be servingThanksgiving dinner from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday night, Thanksgiving festivities willend with a traditional Mexican dinner at NorthHouse, featuring a Mariachi band. And Sunday, it'sback to the Harvard grind for everyone