Emily Ambery | Staff Writer
11/5/2020
Although all of 2020 has felt like “spooky season,” Duquesne students celebrated the end of it on Halloween at a party hosted by Spiritan Campus Ministry, Crossroads, DU Cares, the Center for Student Involvement and Freshman Development.
On Halloween, the Mellon Hall patio was filled with activities to enjoy: candy, food, prizes and games. Duquesne students came out dressed in different spooky costumes.
“It was fun to dress up and have somewhere to go on campus,” said Megan Dell, a student at the event. “The food and activities are good, and it’s nice to have a safe option for Halloween during COVID.”
Partiers had the option to paint or draw with friends, watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown or smash pumpkins. People could also hang out and enjoy the chilly weather, food and candy.
Pumpkin smashing was a big hit. Students were given a huge mallet and a pumpkin to release any stress in a festive and entertaining fashion.
Raffle tickets were available for participants and throughout the event, the tickets were pulled for gift cards to Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and other restaurants.
A highlight from the event was the costume contest, where students who dressed up could showcase their costumes to win prizes. The categories for the contest were overall best costume, best group costume, scariest, most creative, funniest and best couple’s costume. Prizes included a JBL speaker, a Google Home, a Duquesne sweatshirt, Airpods and various gift cards.
There was certainly no shortage of candy; each table had a large bucket full of sweet treats for students to take home and enjoy while painting.
“My favorite part about Halloween is the candy that lasts till Easter,” said Emma Polen, a student painting with her friends at the party.
With restrictions due to COVID-19, Halloween this year was definitely not as big as usual, but the party gave students the opportunity to get outside with friends and safely enjoy festivities.
“I probably would have just watched movies inside,” said Olivia Goodwin who was also enjoying candy and painting.
The Halloween party was a fun and safe way to celebrate the end of the spooky season and the transition into the holiday season.
“Having the party to go to as an alternative to staying in definitely lifted our spirits for Halloween,” said Lucy Barber, a student who was enjoying a hot cup of apple cider. “It has been difficult to safely celebrate different occasions and having the party as a safe option made Halloween in a pandemic a lot better.”
