A frigid Christmas at the White’s house 

By Josh Schroeder

In the biting cold outside of Steven’s Student Center, a group of students boarded a warm Cedarville van that would take them to President of Cedarville University Dr. Thomas White’s house. They were attending an event that has become a Cedarville Christmas tradition called Christmas at the White House. 

This year, the frigid weather forced some changes, but Christmas at the White House has remained as festive as ever.

When students arrived, they entered through the garage instead of through the front like other times. However, just as normal, the event was beautifully set up and very festive. 

Dr. White warmly greeted student groups freshly shuttled from campus and gave an idea of what the night would look like. Meanwhile, coat racks were brought in and student coats were hauled off to the coat closet.

After Dr. White’s greeting and once inside, there were clear differences in activities and open areas had changed in order to accommodate more students inside. 

Some of the differences, according to junior student Kendra Kastelein, who had attended Christmas at the White House one time in 2023, included the upstairs being open for students this year and more food stations set up for students. 

“Last year, some kids were out on the trampoline while others were just sitting outside on the deck talking,” Kastelein said. “I sat and talked with people and roasted marshmallows.”

This year, one thing that didn’t change was the fact that there was a fire started outside for students to roast marshmallows. Although only those willing to bear the cold this year participated, Kastelein did not.

Despite the changes due to the cold, both new and old students alike enjoyed their stay. Freshman class president Sam Burkholder enjoyed his first experience at the White’s House When interviewed, Sam held a plate of food he had collected. 

“I like all of the food. I’m a real foodie.” Sam said. “Also, I got to see Dr. White, which was pretty cool. I got to make eye contact with him too.”

For previous attendees, the charm of Christmas at the White House has not worn off. Senior student David Riepma attended the event during each of his four years at Cedarville. 

“This year, it’s a lot cooler, I’ll tell you that,” Riepma said. “but they’ve all been great. The food’s been wonderful and I can’t complain.”

Riepma has experience as both a visitor and as a worker putting on the event. 

“It’s a win-win either way,” Riepma said. “When I worked, it was great because I got to help out and talk with everybody that came in, but when I’m not, I’m hanging out and talking.”

Due to the limited space, it was requested that students only stay at the White’s for 30 minutes to make room for new arrivals, but as students picked up coats and again braced the frigid cold, it was clear that many loved it so much that they wanted to stay longer. 

Joshua Schroeder is a freshman integrated Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism major. He is a chronic extrovert and one of his goals at Cedarville University is to make friends with everyone on campus.