Hunter A. Maats ’04 spent Thanksgiving break in his Mather House room sleeping, eating, watching movies and cleaning 30 dollars worth of dirty laundry. When friends tried to invite him out to their Thanksgiving dinners, Maats refused, preferring the peace and solitude of an empty room.

“It was complete autonomy not having to wear any clothes or check when you belch or fight over the remote control,” he said.

Unlike Matts who spent Thanksgiving Day in his room, many of those stranded at Harvard for the weekend shared the holiday meal with local friends and distant relatives.

“People try to find any family they can just to go to their house for dinner and then come back,” Zachary A. Corker ’04 said.

For Thursday’s lunch, however, 461 students came together at Quincy House to eat a special banquet of fine cheeses, festive breads, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and over 600 slices of pie, according to Derrick Cripps, the production manager of Quincy Dining Hall.

“We put a buffet down the middle of the room, linen on the tables, and had a carver on stage for ham and turkey,” Cripps said. “Everyone was really appreciative. It was almost the feel of a family get-together.”

For the rest of the weekend though, students were on their own. The few who remained found themselves scattered throughout a dark and quiet campus. Some said however, that they enjoyed their vacation anyway.

“You meet a lot of new people because it was Thanksgiving and you feel like you have to bond with someone and you are the only ones here,” said Elizabeth C. Hamrick ’05.

Groups of students found activities—including trips to the mall or to movies—to fill their time.

“It was my first opportunity to watch a real movie since September,” Craig L. Hetherington ’03 said.

Other Harvard students took advantage of the lack of official supervision on campus.

Many proctors and resident tutors headed home for the weekend, creating the potential for uninterrupted parties.

“The good thing was that no proctors were here,” Matthew S. Moon ’05 said. “The bad thing was that no one else was either.”

Though many students did make it out of Cambridge, some stayed on campus because it was too far a commute to return home.

“It didn’t make sense to fly back,” said California resident George W. King ’05. “It was two days of vacation for two days of travel.”

Several sports teams, including soccer, basketball and hockey had practices or tournaments over the break and were required to remain at Harvard.

Other students said they do not have strong enough Thanksgiving traditions to make the return worthwhile.

“Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Canada,” Matt R. Lincoln ’03 from Ontario said, “Christmas is so close and I just didn’t want to bother.”