The end of the fall semester is right around the corner, and as much as people look forward to being done with classes, Christmas on the Hill remains the highlight of the end of the year for most students. This tradition has been altered a bit this year to include an earlier dinner option at four p.m. in the Greensburg Room, rather than the usual seven p.m. dinner in Lowe Dining Hall, but most aspects of the festivities have stuck to tradition. Clubs on campus have also taken advantage of all of the excitement surrounding Christmas on the Hill by having themed fundraisers.
By Stephanie Isacco
Staff Writer
The end of the fall semester is right around the corner, and as much as people look forward to being done with classes, Christmas on the Hill remains the highlight of the end of the year for most students. This tradition has been altered a bit this year to include an earlier dinner option at four p.m. in the Greensburg Room, rather than the usual seven p.m. dinner in Lowe Dining Hall, but most aspects of the festivities have stuck to tradition. Clubs on campus have also taken advantage of all of the excitement surrounding Christmas on the Hill by having themed fundraisers.
Jaime Steel, director of Activities and Commuter Life, reports that, “We are having two dinners because every year we increase the number of students, which is fabulous.”
Because of the influx of students signing up for the dinner, several different options were discussed to prevent the dining hall from becoming too crowded. One of these possible options was to limit only juniors and seniors to the privilege of inviting non-SHU guests to dinner, but luckily the addition of the early dinner in the Greensburg Room, “seemed to work best because we can fit about 120 people at 12-15 tables,” without taking away date options for freshmen and sophomores.
There are many traditions regarding how Lowe Dining Hall and the Greensburg Room are decorated that most students are not aware of. Darren Achtzehn suggests that students pay special attention to a few things, so they can learn more about the traditions. You should look for how many white lights there are. Also, you should try to find a unique ornament on each of the four Christmas trees in the centerpiece in Lowe Dining Hall and put them together to make a statement; or if you are eating at 4PM, find the seven unique ornaments on the main tree in the Greensburg Room that also make a statement. Santa Claus is the main character in the theme of the decorations: can you count how many times St. Nick’s face appears in the space? The answers to these questions lie with Darren, and if you ask nicely he will be glad to share them with you.
The junior class is trying to start a new tradition for Christmas on the Hill with their 1st Annual Mocktail Mix-Off. The Mocktail Mix-Off will be a competition to see who can come up with the best hot or cold non-alcoholic drink, and it will be held on Thursday December 3rd. The winning mocktail creator will receive $50 and their mocktail will be showcased at the Christmas on the Hill dinner. The deadline for mocktail recipe submission is Monday November 30th.
This year another new aspect of Christmas on the Hill was NAACP’s “Buy-a-Date Auction.” NAACP members and other SHU students signed up to auction themselves as dates for Christmas on the Hill. The event was a success, and students found dates and possibly new friends.
This is junior Melissa Kaufold’s third year of Christmas on the Hill, and she, like most Seton Hill students, is enthusiastic that it will be another great celebration. Kaufold says, “I am very excited for Christmas on the Hill. It is always a magical time. When I enter the café, I feel like I’m in the movie The Santa Clause. I hope Santa brings pumpkin roll this year for dessert.” The dinner and dessert are always phenomenal, and the atmosphere of the dining hall is always festive with all of the decorations. SHU makes the students feel like they are out to dinner at a five star restaurant on the North Pole with the annual dinner, and all expect to be dazzled again this year.
The schedule for Christmas on the Hill Saturday December 5th is the first dinner in the Greensburg Room at four p.m. followed by the later dinner which seats at six-thirty p.m. and begins at seven p.m. The later Dinner will be followed by mass at eight-thirty p.m. in the Chapel, and the dance starts at ten p.m.
