Samy Benkhelfa: “I’m gonna go back to France soon to see my family for the break.” Sebastian Castro: “I come from El Salvador so I’m very excited to go back home and just see my family and friends and hang out with them spending Christmas with my family.”

Aster Pearson: “Thanksgiving I’d usually go to on my father’s side. We’d usually go to my grandmother’s, but then with my mother it’s an entirely different deal.” Lan Vu: “I’ve been here for two semesters. I don’t know maybe going around the city. I haven’t really planned out for Thanksgiving.”

In an effort to foster a sense of unity and understanding among college students from diverse backgrounds, the Baptist Student Ministry, or BSM, at Richland is gearing up for its last events with Crossing Cultures this semester. This unique initiative, born out of the collaborative spirit of the Texas BSM and local churches across Dallas County, seeks to teach students about the different cultures of the world, and foster meaningful conversations with the different people in the school...

Valentine’s Day season is right around the corner! As students across Dallas College look to woo their partner, the perfect date might be sitting right in front of them. Richland has a load of romantic hideaways for student couples to enjoy themselves and further their education. Here’s the Chronicle’s suggestion for the perfect campus date.

Winter is nature’s metaphor for death. Impending signs of “aging” appear, such as the transition to cold weather, shifting of outdoor bustle of the summer to quieter indoor life, completion of harvest, slumber of the earth, burrowing and hibernation of animals, shed- ding of tree leaves, sallow branches, gray and dark sky, shorter days and longer nights. The time between October end and early November is a period of “in-between” - summer and winter, neither hot nor cold, halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice - a gateway between this world and another, the world of spirits.

Spirits are departed souls, who play the role of beneficent ancestors when appeased and malefic demons when dishonored. The traditions of Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and Shraddha are three different rituals that honor the dead during this transitional time period.