tl20041129_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 11/29/04 Alums1 Web site posts local menus 5 Police search for robbery suspects 6 Area play looks at family, politics Hands-on exhibits distinguish center r 14 Departments Opinion 2 News 5 Paw Prints 6 Nations 7 Arts 13 Sound Bites 14 Now Showing. 14 Sports 20 In This Corner. 20 Face-Off. 19 Classifieds 15 Holiday season brings joy, stress With Thanksgiving over, students focus on end-of-semester work, gift exchanging Lauren Tilley The Towerlight Good-bye candied yams and mom's apple pie, hello long lines and packed shopping malls. The upcoming holiday season usually means one thing for the typical college student: stress. With all the end-of-semester chaos, including final exams and lengthy papers, the added camaraderie of gift giving and seasonal celebration can be hard to do with a cheery expression. The holiday season means a lot of different things to Towson students with various backgrounds and family traditions. While most will be celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, there are other holidays that many will observe over winter break. Jahangir Akbar, a junior accounting major, will be celebrating Eid, which is a Muslim holiday that occurs after Ramadan. """"It's basically like a day of celebration, you go to the mosque and pray and then hangout with your family,"""" Akbar said. Other students like Sarah Glassman, a fifth year graduate student in occupational therapy, will honor two holidays this holiday season. """"My dad is Jewish and my mom is Christian so we celebrate both [Hanukkah and Christmas],"""" Glassman said. """"We celebrate the first night of Hanukkah and then Christmas."""" For most, the holidays are all about traditions. Sophomore biology major Craig Patrick Martin said his family honors their culture with specific cuisine choices. """"On Christmas Eve, we only eat seafood, no meat,"""" Martin said. """"That's just something that goes back to my ethnicity."""" One thing on many students' minds this holiday season is the gifts they are giving and receiving. Most have yet to do their shopping and dread heading to the hectic stores. Lisa Johnson/The Towerlight Dutch Furlong, 3, attempts to lift a Christmas tree he picked out at St. Pius X Church in Towson Sunday afternoon. However, gift giving doesn't have to be the financial nightmare it's known to be. The gifts that cost the least, but offer the most amount of heart, are the ones made with a little marker, some glue and glitter, paper and string. Junior physical education major Stephanie Simon and her family use homemade presents to accommodate their large family and add meaning to their gifts. """"I have a really big family so we do Secret Santa; I'm one of 10,"""" Simon said. """"My family decided that we have to make the gifts; that way it's a little more special."""" While making gifts is an alternative to crowded malls and parking lots, stores can solve the last minute dilemmas. The Towson Town Center was a busy place last Friday, also known as Black Friday, the dreaded first day for holiday shopping. The Center accommodated the large crowds by staying open until 10 p.m. Even before Thanksgiving, the mall was adorned with Christmas lights, bells, red and white poinset- tias, a giant tree, and of course good old Santa for the kiddies. See FESTIVITIES, page 13 Vigil honors fallen Marine Lisa Johnson/The Towerlight Tracy Miller holds a candle during Wednesday's ceremony for her son, Nick Ziolkowski, who was killed in Iraq. See story Page 5. Today High 51 Low 35 Tuesday High 50 Wednesday High 53 Low 33 Thursday High 48 Low 32 Friday High 45 Low 24"