Roosevelt's Franksgiving, Thanksgiving Abroad, Americana Tradition & More
A Thanksgiving Edition of Around the College Towns: Links related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of Nov. 24 - 29.
Happy Thanksgiving… from 1939!
One of my nerdy hobbies is going through old books, magazines, or newspapers that are posted on the Internet Archive. It’s like a personal time machine going through these historical records. This week, I found an old The China Mail (based in British Hong Kong) from 1939 that grabbed my attention. On the front page: Nazis’ treatment of minorities, Nazis in Prague, the Gestapo, gas warfare, US neutrality, Soviet invasion of Finland, royalty at the frontlines. There was A LOT going on back in November of 1939. But tucked at the bottom of the page was a reminder to still celebrate the US holiday.
THANKSGIVING DAY IN AMERICA
Washington, To-day. President Roosevelt has, proclaimed November 23 as "Thanksgiving Day" and asks that thanks be offered "for the hope that lives within us" eventual world peace. - Reuter.
This address by Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday that year to the end of November in an attempt to spur the economy. His critics dubbed the move as Franksgiving. In 1941, Roosevelt signed a bill that would officially fix the national holiday to the date we now celebrate. That same year, the US would also be plunged into World War II. Have a look at the front page yourself while you eat turkey leftovers.
Thanksgiving, London, 2007
Some of you may have missed my article on moving abroad after presidential elections from a few weeks ago. I thought this would be a good occasion to highlight a little excerpt on my Thanksgivings abroad that have been so memorable.
My favorite Thanksgivings have all been abroad. While studying abroad in Italy, I was on a weekend trip to the UK, a group of us Americans got together to watch the Cowboys beat the Lions in some random bar in London. No turkey, but we did have buffalo wings. Close enough.
Highlighting this experience really just gives me an excuse to repost this parody of An American Werewolf in London poster for Thanksgiving. It gives me a chuckle every time I see it.
NYC’s Catch-22 on Student Dorms Exacerbates Housing Crisis
In some non-Thanksgiving news: One reason for the US housing crisis is our Kafkaesque rules for building housing. Even in a massive metropolis like New York City that is full of tall, iconic skyscrapers, zoning and other restrictions constrict supply. One such rule highlighted in The Real Deal is that developers cannot build Class A student dorms unless a university has already signed a lease for the space. The Catch-22 is that universities are hesitant to sign these deals unless a dorm construction is almost done. The result of this 2005 rule has been that basically no dorms get built.
As a result, many of the city’s 100,000 out-of-town students are renting apartments that would otherwise go to New Yorkers. That pushes rents up and availability down, exacerbating the housing crisis. -Erik Engquist
It’s clear that the rule was meant to be pure obstruction because it allows for Class B dorms to be built without such agreement. This class of dorms are kitchen-less spaces, very unpopular with students, and universities don’t want to pay for them. This dorm rule just highlights why we have a national housing crisis that plagues almost every one of our cities.
Doctor-Turned-MMA Fighter KOs Opponent
Finally, I’ve been warning to be wary of pursuing doctorates unless someone has a strong back-up plan. Well, how about if academia doesn’t work out then become a UFC fighter? That’s (sort of) the path Ming Shi is on, who is not a PhD but rather a practicing medical doctor. She won her recent fight at UFC Fight Night 248 in Macau with a brutal knockout of her opponent, worrying the doctor who also happened to land the brutal blow. The funny part is that ‘Dr. Sleep’ had to keep her UFC dreams a secret from her parents.
“I don’t think I’m going to mention it to them… For my parents, they are traditional Chinese parents and they worry about me. Only doctor or a lawyer, I don’t have other choice.” -Ming ‘Doctor’ Shi
Hilarious and relatable. Perhaps Thanksgiving would be a good holiday to bring up her new career and success!
Happy Americana Thanksgiving!
I’m short on links this week with all the holiday hustle and bustle. I hope you are having a nice time with your family, eating turkey and watching football. And for those non-Americans, thanks for reading a slice of Americana here on College Towns. I leave you with one of my favorite illustrators, JC Leyendecker (1874-1951), who inspired Norman Rockwell. Leyendecker’s work shaped our classic image of American life and our holidays. Cheers!
