Plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween this week, from pumpkins to horror
By Allison Opitz
Contributing Writer
There are a plethora of options to celebrate Halloween at UMBC if you’re willing to participate.
It seems as though one of the most prominent concerns in the life of a UMBC student is the school’s alleged lack of spirit. During Quadmania, Homecoming and now at Halloween, there’s always apathy in the air. There are plenty of options to celebrate Halloween on campus, though many choose not to participate. Those who do, however, are in for a treat.
There is certainly no shortage of events on campus, and that holds true for Halloween. Last weekend, the Asian Student Connection hosted an Asian Haunted House in the University Center Ballroom. Several Asian groups on campus came together to present an impressive Asian-themed haunted exploration through the 3rd floor of the UC, complete with darkness, fog and costumes.
Next week, Zeta Sigma Chi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. is hosting what they call “The Vicious and Vile, Wickedly Wild Haunted House.” These types of events around this time of year are not uncommon here, and have taken place in the past.
The Student Events Board is hosting Halloweek, starting on Monday with Pumpkin Pie and Cider. Throughout the course of the week there will be Breakfast and Bingo, two horror movies, pumpkin carving and the Boo Bash, a big party hosted by (seb), UHS and the Gameroom staff. As always, (seb) encourages all students to attend.
All of these events can be found on flyers around campus, on myUMBC and Facebook. It’s impossible to go to class without seeing an advertisement for something new going on, and there are usually multiple events happening on the same day.
It’s not all (seb) either. If one wants to look elsewhere for fun, UMBC has a myriad of student organizations host dozens of cultural events per semester. In November alone there are upwards of twenty events that are selling tickets, with hosts ranging from the Hindu Students Council, Arab Student Union, African Student Association and multiple fraternities and sororities. These are all created for students, by students.
UMBC is on the smaller side compared to its university brethren, with approximately 10,000 undergraduate students, most of which are commuters. As a result, it can be difficult to have a high turnout, especially for an event that gets less advertising exposure. It brings into question an important issue: which is more important, high numbers or the quality of the experience?
Halloween is a time to celebrate Fall and dress up in costume while drinking copious amounts of apple cider and ingesting far too much sugar. There are plenty of on-campus opportunities to celebrate throughout the week. Worry less about whether UMBC has Halloween spirit and think more about how many different ways there are to get free candy this week.
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