Emily Ambery | Staff Writer
10/29/2020
This week, Duquesne students waved their wands, cast their spells and made their potions as they participated in the Honors College’s annual Harry Potter celebration.
Despite the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wizards and witches at Duquesne were able to safely celebrate the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Over the course of the week, the Honors College hosted magical events for all Harry Potter fans.
The annual Harry Potter Party began in 2012 and featured an evening of Harry Potter games, treats and activities. With capacity and social distancing restrictions, the Honors College Student Advisory Committee spread the celebrations out over the week to facilitate a safe and socially distant party.
“I am very proud of the Honors College Student Advisory Committee for coming up with this idea of a weeklong celebration,” said Kathleen Roberts, director of the Honors College and the lead organizer of the Harry Potter Celebration. “I asked them if they thought we needed to scale back, but they instead thought really creatively and expanded the activities so we could maximize participation while still keeping everyone safe.”
Harry Potter Week kicked off on Monday morning with sweet treats. Harry Potter-themed cookies, provided by Sugar Mommas Sweets & Eats, filled the Assumption Hall lobby.
Duquesne’s Harry Potter fans were put to the test on Tuesday night with Harry Potter Trivia at the NiteSpot. The winners were Lauren Zelnis and Bryce McCracken. The winners could choose from four Harry Potter house-themed prize packages, which included scarves, backpacks and prizes unique to each house.
On Wednesday night, Harry Potter fans watched the third movie in the franchise, “The Prisoner of Azkaban.”
Wizards and witches searched across campus for the Harry Potter Horcrux Scavenger Hunt on Thursday afternoon. Teams were given clues to find the seven horcruxes: the diary, the ring, the locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, Ravenclaw’s diadem, Nagini and Harry.
The week concluded with the famous Harry Potter Party on Friday evening — in a socially-distanced setting. The event was hosted in the three common areas in Assumption Hall. Each room had different Harry Potter-themed games in which participants earned points towards a variety of Harry Potter prizes. Similarly to the prizes throughout the week, the party participants could choose between puzzles, wizard chess, glow in the dark sheets, backpacks and other themed items.
The games at the party tested wizards in many different ways. Participants had to pin the nose on Voldemort, play table quidditch and test their wand abilities with Wingardium Leviosa. Wizards and witches could also play in a “Tri-Wizard Tournament,” which featured ring toss, a character quiz and plinko.
“My favorite part is how passionate the students are. Most of all, I love seeing students who enjoyed the party when they were freshmen coming back year after year — we have even had alumni stop by to play games and win prizes,” Roberts said. “It’s like a big Hogwarts reunion every year.”
