- Event: Eighth annual UBC Christmas dinner for students
- Date: Dec. 22, 2000
- Time: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- Place: International House, 1783 West Mall. (Enter at
Gate 4 off Northwest Marine Drive.) - Parking: Available in the Fraser River Parkade. Enter
at Gate 4 off Northwest Marine Drive.
More than 200 students at the University of British Columbia will
sit down to a Christmas dinner thanks to the hard work of 40 volunteers,
including a 71-year-old grandmother. The eighth annual UBC Christmas
Dinner takes place Friday, Dec. 22.
There will be two sittings of 110 students each at International
House. The first sitting is at 1 p.m., the second at 3 p.m. The
dinner is open to any student on campus during the holiday season,
although most of the students are from overseas.
Rev. Bill Wiegert, chaplain at the Lutheran Campus Centre and one
of the organizers, praises all the volunteers who help make the
event successful, but his highest praise is for Ollie Whitcutt.
Each year the retired teacher arrives at International House at
5 a.m. to put the turkeys in the oven. The day before, along with
the other volunteers, Whitcutt is peeling and cutting vegetables.
“It’s a very selfish thing because I get such a good feeling out
of it even though I’m bone tired at the end of the day. I’ve always
enjoyed working with young people,” she says. “Giving is such a
big part of Christmas.”
Tickets to the traditional turkey dinner are $2 for students. A
vegetarian meal is also available.
Feeding all the students requires about 65 kilograms of turkey
rolls. This year the Alma Mater Society is donating the turkey and
UBC Food Services is donating the squares and cookies. After the
dinner, there will be carol singing and door prizes.
Other organizers of the dinner include Counselling Services, the
Disability Resource Centre, Housing and Conferences, Student Health
Services, International Student Services, the Women Students’ Office
and UBC Chaplains. Donations were also made by the Alumni Association.
International House serves as a social and cultural centre at UBC
where people from around the world can interact. There are more
than 2,000 international students studying at the university.
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