I hope most of you are home (or at least en route) by now, enjoying a home-cooked meal and some quality time with your friends and families. I wanted to use my post today to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving and encourage you to take a moment and reflect on all that there is to be thankful for: the opportunity to pursue a college education, to better yourself through intellectual pursuit, to strive to make a difference in the world, and to work toward a degree that more folks don't have the chance to earn than do. Things in college may be stressful and frustrating sometimes, but really, at the end of the day ... wouldn't you rather be in college than not?

Happy Thanksgiving! Now go eat some pie.

Lincoln University (of Oxford, PA) hit the headlines when it began notifying students with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 that they needed to either lose weight or take a course about exercise and nutrition. Needless to say, many students were upset, although the university is claiming that their requirement is part of their curriculum: being of fit mind and body includes actual physical health.

This one is sure to continue to be controversial. What do you think? Feel free to add your comments in the comment section of this post or in the forums.

The Rhodes Scholarships -- and Rhodes Scholars -- were announced on Sunday, November 22. The scholarships, which are some of the most prestigious available, "were established after the death of Cecil Rhodes, who dreamed of improving the world through the diffusion of leaders motivated to serve their contemporaries, trained in the contemplative life of the mind, and broadened by their acquaintance with one another and by their exposure to cultures different from their own."

Scholars are invited to Oxford University and take courses there. You can head to the Rhodes Scholarships website to see a list of winners (by both individual names and institutions) as well as short biographies of this year's recipients. Congrats to everyone!

Thanksgiving comes at the perfect time in the semester: midterms and the workload are picking up just as you need some time to wind down. Your visit home can be complicated, however, if you are considering bringing your college friend or college roommate home with you. You may not want to leave them alone for Thanksgiving, but you may not be sure if going home with you is the best alternative. Before extending the invite, make sure you consider all the factors.