FEATURE
As any Honors College (HC) student can tell you, the days leading up to winter break are far from the most wonderful time of the year. Between studying for finals, getting ready to check out of the dorms, and the daily woes of college life, a normally cheerful student can easily slip into Scroogedom if they let the stress get to them.
Fortunately, the Jupiter Program Board is there to provide some much-needed help with their last big event of the year: Festivus. Inspired by the famous Seinfeld episode “The Strike,” Festivus is the one time each year where HC students can air their grievances from the previous year anonymously and without fear of punishment.
The centerpiece of the Festivus celebration was the grievance board, a double-sided bulletin board where students could write about whatever was on their mind. Within the first hour of the event, the front side of the board was almost completely filled, prompting one student to complain that his classmates were “inconsiderate of the grievance space” in his own post.
“Since when does winter/December equal 80°F?!” wrote one student. “It’s not natural!”
The grievances themselves were mostly tongue-in-cheek, keeping with the comedy-inspired origins of the holiday. One student who jokingly wrote a complaint about a classmate quickly found their entry evolving into a massive “grievance tree” as fellow students wrote notes in agreement, culminating in one student suggesting the creation of a club or Facebook group.
“[I hate] selling textbooks back for less than you bought them for!” complained another student.
“I’m sorry! I just push the buttons!” replied an apologetic bookstore employee.
The bottom of the grievance board soon began to resemble a comic strip, as members of the HC’s artist community began to draw small cartoon portraits next to each of their complaints.
“This ho draws better than me,” wrote one artist next to an annoyed-looking drawing of herself.
Despite its humorous intentions, the grievance board offered a unique glimpse into the minds of the HC students. From their academic concerns, to political woes, to simply wondering “what the [expletive] time and relative place means,” the woes of the average HC student are a familiar, if amusing, sight to behold.
Festivus is traditionally organized by the Jupiter Program Board on the week before exams. For more information on Jupiter events, or to request a calendar of upcoming events, contact the Program Board at [email protected].
