Julian Arceo knows how to play peacekeeper and keep arguments from hurting a strong family on Thanksgiving. 

Holiday dinners are different for each family. For Arceo, a second-year Cybersecurity major, it entails celebrating with a Mexican family that makes lots of food and noise. 

Dinner table conflicts are rare at the Arceo household. He said that his is a tight-knit family

“Typically… there are not a lot of arguments at the dinner table,” he said. “Where there are disagreements in our family, we are able to solve [them] quietly and make sure not to show the rest of our family.” 

Politics are often a source of Thanksgiving dinner arguments, but they are not a fire starter for Arceo’s family. 

“Our family has never had political issues with each other,” he said. “We’re a first-generation immigrant family so our priorities typically lie in the same place.” 

This doesn’t mean the family never gets into quarrels.

“There was a time where we had a familial disagreement,” Arceo said. “One of my uncles did not agree with the life decisions of his siblings so he decided to shun them, and whenever we ate dinner or were playing games as a family he would act as if she was never there.” 

But the conflict blew over because of strong family ties, he said. 

But the relative calm at dinner can take some effort.

 “If there was an argument at the dinner table, I would try my best to change the subject before it got heated,” said Arceo. “If the argument does blow up… I would ease the situation and act as an objective third party to try and help them solve the issue,” said Arceo.