Radios blaring ‘N SYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.” Miniature plastic pine trees covered with tinsel. Doors wrapped in shiny red and green paper.

An explosion of color and lights rocked campus residence halls and townhouses last week as students returned from Thanksgiving break with holiday spirit on their minds.

Vivian Carballo ’10 said she was surprised by the hustle and bustle she found upon entering the Ignatian Residential College after vacation.

“I feel that it’s Christmas time; it’s hard to explain. You can just tell people are excited that the semester is almost over,” said Carballo.

However, not every student was happy about the immediate abundance of decorations springing up across campus.

Some students said they would have liked a little more time to breathe between the holidays.

“At first it was really nice, because Christmas Time is supposed to put you in good spirits. But now all the stress of finals approaching it just seems like it started too early. It feels like Christmas should be here already,” said Erin Schneider ’10.

Others, including Nadine Hovnanian ’09, disagreed.

“Our December here is cut short since we go home for the holidays, so you can’t really start too early because you want a chance to celebrate on campus with your friends,” she said.

Typical decorations found around the residence halls in the quad include stockings hung on doors, giant red bows, strings of mini-lights and winter-themed window decals.

Some students took their decorating to the next level.

Kristen Rossi ’08 and her fellow housemates constructed their own mini-fireplace out of brown bags, cardboard boxes, black garbage bags and paper towel rolls.

“It adds a little cheer. Decorating at school makes our townhouse feel like home,” said Rossi.

Alison Decker ’10 took advantage of the FUSA wreath decorating event last Thursday to design something unusual: a holiday wreath sporting a stuffed monkey and drink umbrellas.

“It’s something that makes me laugh every time I see it, which helps during finals when you’re stressed,” said Decker.

Other students decided that holiday decorations would make their room more cozy.

“I put up my tree that I’ve had in my bedroom since I was a little girl,” said Beth Anne Voight-Jause ’10. “I got into the habit because I wanted to spread the love and the cheer.”

Jenna Nolan ’10 agreed.

“It definitely brings the Christmas spirit in and brings a piece of home here to school,” she said.

Jess Lavine ’10 said that her roommate brought decorations back from Thanksgiving break to celebrate the holidays. These included two cutout Hanukkah menorahs in honor of Lavine’s half-Jewish heritage.

Fr. Michael Doody, director of Campus Ministry, said that because Fairfield is a Catholic school, most of the decorations are likely to be in honor of the Advent season. However, Doody said he welcomes decorations that represent other faiths.

“I’d say, have at it!” he said.

Off-campus Fairfield students found ways to deck out their homes as well.

Fairfield beach resident Kristen Freaso ’08 said she has big plans for her house.

“It’s fun here because there are all the neighbors around decorating too,” she said.

Many Fairfield students will certainly be decking their halls this holiday season.

James Maresca ’10 said, “We just figure that we’re going to go nuts.”

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.