Catholic University Celebrates Spooky Season with Halloween on Campus
Trick or Treaters in Centennial Village during the Halloween on Campus event last Thursday. Courtesy of communications.catholic.edu
By Abby Anderko
It is spooky season at Catholic University, and there are many ways students and professors alike get to get their scare on. All over campus, events are hosted to get the community into the Halloween spirit.
Campus Ministry held their annual Halloween on Campus event on Thursday October 25th, where professors and families from the Brookland community brought their children to campus for trick-or-treating around Centennial Village. At this event, clubs and organizations set up tables and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters.
Dr. Taryn Okuma, an associate professor in the English department commented on how much her family loves Halloween on Campus and have been attending since her oldest son was four years old.
“It’s amazing how much the event has grown over the years – not just in terms of the addition of great activities and treats, but the number of families who attend,” Okuma said. “It’s a wonderful way for the CUA community to connect with the families it shares a neighborhood with.”
Rachel Stevens, a sophomore media studies major, also attended the event commenting on what a huge success it was.
“It looked like the kids were having a blast and enjoyed trick or treating around Centennial Village,” Stevens said. “It really helps connect with the community here in Brookland when we host events like this.”
For students on campus, Program Board offered its Fright Night event on Monday October 29th. This event included fun activities such as pumpkin carving and/or painting, caramel apple making, apple cider, and a showing of the classic Halloween movie Ghostbusters.
Julia Kelley, a sophomore vocal performance major, said that her favorite part of the event was being able to pick her own pumpkin to carve.
“Being able to pick out a pumpkin in the mini pumpkin patch to decorate and carve it was a really great idea to get students into the holiday spirit” Kelley said.
Going back to Halloween’s Celtic roots, the CUA Gaels Club also held their annual Halloween party. The Gaels brought back Irish Halloween traditions with traditional games, turnip carving and some interesting Irish Halloween fun facts in a trivia game.
Jonie McMahon, a sophomore studio art major and Secretary of the CUA Gaels, said that her favorite part of the event was learning about the history behind modern halloween traditions such as pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples.
“Most people associate the Gaels club with St. Patrick’s Day, so the Samhain [Halloween] party was a fun reminder that Halloween is Irish too!” McMahon said.
