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Thanksgiving weekend is right around the corner, and Michigan State University students are ready for the time away from classes.

“The purpose of celebrating thanksgiving is about getting together with friends or family to celebrate good fortune and blessings,” said MSU alumna Britt Holewinski.

International students, like sophomore journalism major Rachel Tang, said she didn't even really know much about Thanksgiving prior to coming to America.

Tang went home with a good friend of hers for Thanksgiving weekend last year and plans to do the same this year.

"I absolutely loved my experience last year because it brought the whole family together with lots of laughs and good food," said Tang. "I’m celebrating again this year and can’t wait for Black Friday either.”

Domestic sophomore kinesiology major Margaret Sicilian said her favorite part of the Thanksgiving holiday is all the traditions she has with her family.

“Thanksgiving is craft day! We all make a craft together as a family after our turkey dinner. It’s usually gingerbread houses or ornaments or something like that,” said Sicilian. “We also watch plenty of football, can’t forget football.”

For students staying on campus over break, MSU’s residence education and housing services department said this year is  different from years past.

All of the residence halls at MSU will be open throughout all of Thanksgiving holiday and students just have to use their ID to swipe in to their building as usual. In addition, one service desk will be available in each residence hall over the break.

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Family, food, and football: What else could a college kid ask for?

The Thanksgiving holiday is approaching quickly, which means a step away from classes for a few days for students at Michigan State University. 

With thousands upon thousands of MSU students taking classes in the college town of East Lansing, the variety of plans people have for the long weekend will be to a great extent.

A lot of international students who are unable to travel back home for such a short period of time remain on campus. 

The Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions, or OCAT, puts on a Thanksgiving dinner event for students, faculty and staff who will still be on campus on the holiday.

Whether students may be headed home, going on an extravagant vacation or just staying put at school, it is bound to be a relaxing break from classes for most.

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At Michigan State University, social media networks are used both in and out of the classroom.

Communication Arts and Sciences professor Karl Gude said he is an active user of social media in his classes.

"Social media, especially in the classroom, offers opportunities to communicate discussion to engage with one or multiple people," said Gude.

Gude said his main focus is Twitter for a key reason.

"Twitter gives a voice to the shy, especially in a large lecture," said Gude. "If I ask them to tweet at our class account, I get hundreds of responses to show up on the big screen for them to see and learn from.

Along with academics, another main aspect of social media on college life is using it for fun and to keep in touch.

An MSU-related Twitter account, MSU Crushes, has 10,700 followers according to its page. The three owners of the page take anonymous crush submissions and post them in tweets for MSU students to read.

"We chose Twitter for our account as we believe it is the number one most influential social media website being used right now," said one of the MSU Crushes creators who wishes to remain anonymous.

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It is an obvious fact that social media has a high prevalence in society today. It is helpful in many ways, making life much more convenient, especially for the younger generation.

On a college campus social media is everywhere. At Michigan State University, it is used not only by the thousands of students on campus, but by dozens of professors as a teaching tool as well. 

However, there is a question to whether or not using social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook are beneficial on a college campus. Are they actually useful, or should these sites be treated as more of a just-for-fun aspect?

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Michigan State student Nikki Erickson quickly paired up with her GameCube controller when she came home from her class-filled day on Tuesday.

Erickson was going through her normal routine of dominating her favorite game, Kirby Air Ride, in an attempt to win it all as she had done many times in the past.

Just after busting open a crate with a bunch of badges inside to collect in the game, Erickson was interrupted when her friend down the hall, Emily Baker, entered her room unannounced.

Erickson's concentration had been blown and as a result, blew up at Baker. Baker left the room promptly after.

"I really didn't know she was so in the zone," Baker said. "I wouldn't have interrupted her if I knew."

Just when Erickson thought she had lost her chances, it was time for her final race that determined her fate.

After zooming past her computerized opponents as fast as lightning, receiving 3 speed boosts on the way, Erickson took first place and won the game.

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A student at Michigan State University plans to come home from a long day of classes on Tuesday and play her GameCube. Nikki Erickson has always enjoyed video games and playing Kirby Air Ride in her dorm room is something that helps her to unwind at the end of the day.

Erickson is extremely competitive and excels greatly at this game she plays so frequently. However, every time she sits down to begin to play, the excitement is just as great as before.

Erickson knows the game like the back of her hand, yet she strives to perform even better and accomplish more than she did in the game she played previous.

"I love playing my GameCube because it helps me forget my school work for a little while," said Erickson. "Instead of doing college algebra I get to zoom around on a Warpstar. Who wouldn't want to do that?"

Although that's an easily answered question, the one that's not is will Erickson successfully take on several races and mini games once again and win the game?