Students Herald Halloween at House-Hosted Events

Sugar flowed this weekend as many Houses made candy displays and celebrated Halloween.

A number of Houses held social gatherings to celebrate the spooky holiday, while others undertook more extensive activities.

Kirkland converted its library into a haunted house. According to event organizer Daryn J. Forgeron ’18, this was the second year the House hosted this event. She said she wanted the event to be a chance for students “to get into Halloween spirit,” and that it was successful.

Luke Walczewski, a tutor in Kirkland who has staffed the party both years, said he was surprised the House had never held a haunted house event before last year.

“It was a lot of fun. We had a great time,” he said. “I couldn’t believe we hadn’t done it before.”

Despite a number of events occurring around campus on Saturday, the party had a high attendance rate.

“We had people lined up the door the whole time. People just kept coming throughout the whole night,” Forgeron said.

Kirkland resident Jiha Min ’18, who attended the party, said she enjoyed the event and saw it as a way to encourage social gatherings in the House.

“I think it’s a really nice idea and a nice bonding experience,” she said.

Both Walczewski and Forgeron said they hope the event continues next year but recognized the planning process was time intensive.

“I would love to continue doing it,” Walczewski said. “It takes work to do it, and so you have to have somebody who's willing to take point and organize, but as long as there’s somebody who's willing to put in work, it’s great.”

Winthrop’s House Committee organized a catered soiree in the House dining hall Saturday night. Matthew T. DiSorbo ’17, a social chair on Winthrop’s House Committee, said the event hoped to provide a unique experience for attendees.

“We try to stay away from doing something at the same time or the same exact theme, because we obviously support what other Houses are doing and we want to have the most social thing possible,” he said.

He added that House-wide events of this sort require extensive planning.

“Dealing with sort of the building aspects—being able to move the dining hall, turn off the lights—that can actually be kind of a hassle,” he said.

Min said she appreciated the Houses’ efforts and hoped the events expand next year.