tl20031201-000 "2 F 2 I. OS .?r id the n d , had portu-a trio ;. :ball ;hance off its ,eague with a S bas- Le last leyball NCAA poorly ao had during Iset by of the back to ter los- )St the ady off iething st this things a, trail-second ci Cilk lchrist. ;red 16 on to dvance rals. tle was Combs would season. with a would dace in silback in the ravarus ley set orched Lid time touch-in. 's bas-to win looked le first iwever, ng the am or le, as ;uthful I-53. ekend would ashion TOillEig thbi Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 12/1/03 Business venture earns quick cash 5 Firm contributes new scholarship 5 December offers seasonal shows 13 'Timeline' movie cliched escapade 14 Departments Opinion News Campus briefs Nation 2 5 6 7 Arts 13 Now Showing 14 He Says She Says 15 Sports 20 In this corner 20 Face-Off 18 Athlete of the Week 17 Classifieds 16 Holidays deliver packed month Students return from Thanksgiving break to finish projects, get ready for festivities Cailin McGough The Towerlight With Thanksgiving over, shoppers stormed the malls Friday, marking the official start of the holiday sea-son. For students, the appearance of Christmas lights also signals a full month of trips home, gift shopping, enticing treats and less enticing finals. Shwanda Harris, a senior criminal justice major, said she's used to being asked about her grades and when she's going to graduate during family get-togethers at home in Prince George's County. She's also getting used to not being considered a ""kid"" anymore. ""The older you get the less gifts you get, so you watch all the kids get gifts and you get nothing."" she said. Fortunately, Harris said, most of her cousins are around her age, and after making it through the holiday they go out at night with friends. ""All the cousins just try to get together and find a room to escape the little kids and the adults. We just share our stories about college,"" she said. ""We hide."" The holidays bring a to-do list for freshman Brian Bradford. � ""They're going to want you to get the tree, decorate the tree, bake stuff. My dad told me on Thanksgiving I'm going to get a tree,"" he said. ""My dad already asked me to put up the Christmas lights,"" freshman Ron Halbruner added. Despite the chores, both said they enjoy being home and like finding presents. ""I've gotten 3 lot better. When I was younger I didn't even get my par-ents anything. I never had any money,"" Halbruner said. Bradford said he already has a job at home in Gaithersburg, Md., but said it will be hard to make money in time to buy gifts. ""Coming back for two weeks and trying to get a paycheck before Christmas is hard. Then you only have a week [to shop] and the lines Saul Stoogenka/The Towsrlight Shoppers got a start on holiday shopping at Towsontown Center Friday. For students, finding time to get to stores to buy gifts can be difficult. Others take on seasonal work to pick up extra cash for holiday spending. are long,"" he said. With one set of grandparents in Winchester and the other in Rockville, Md., Bradford said he expects to spend a lot of time on the road during Thanksgiving and Christmas. ""We get in the car and go there, eat turkey, ham, and whatnot, then go all the way home, all the way to the oth-ers' house and eat again. At least I'll put some weight on,"" he said. Terrell Blackwell, a freshman phi-losophy major who spent this Thanksgiving with family in South Carolina, said he looked forward to doing some cooking over the holi-days. ""It'll be me and my grandmother cutting stuff, paring stuff. I love it,"" he said. This year junior CIS and business administration major Tom Oliver will have Christmas dinner at his cousin's house, where he said he's expecting ""a lot of baby talk."" ""All the cousins just try to get together and find a room to escape the little kids and the adults. We just share our stories about college. We hide."" Shwanda Harris senior, criminal justice ""She's pregnant again,"" he explained. Anait Saakyan, a freshman mass communication major, said her fami-ly isn't very traditional, but they put up a Christmas tree and has a big din-ner. ""I was born in Russia so I'm not into Christmas as much as New Year's, which is what we celebrated. We give presents on New Year's,"" Saakyan said. ""I'm Jewish so Hanukkah is corn-ing closer, so I have less time to buy presents,"" Hayley Nelson, a sopho-more early childhood education major, said. Her mom buys everyone in the family presents for all eight days, she said. ""I just get [them] one. It's a money issue,"" Nelson said. Noelle Buccino, a junior business management major, agreed that find-ing money for gift shopping would be hard. ""I have a huge family: six brothers and sisters, plus mom and stepdad, dad and stepmom to buy for,"" she See SEASON, page 9 Today High 53 Low 30 Tuesday High 45 Low 25 Wednesday High 40 Low 25 Thursday High 40 Low 28 Friday High 42 Low 33 "
