Catholic University Celebrates Halloween Along With the Brookland Community
By Catherine O’Grady
Halloween is one of the few big holidays that students are on campus to celebrate, and this year campus organizations went all out to honor the spooky season during the last week of October.
To kick off the celebration of everything spooky, Campus Ministry hosted an excursion to Six Flags America in Maryland. For $20, Campus Ministry provided the ticket to enter Fright Fest, as well as offering free transportation to the park. Students spent the evening screaming for their lives, both from the rollercoaster and from the monsters chasing them throughout the park.
Redline A Cappella hosted their annual Spookappella on Saturday night where multiple a cappella groups from the DMV area, including groups from the University of Maryland and American University, performed. The event featured all three of Catholic University’s a cappella groups and provided the audience with free donuts and an entertaining show hosted by Sarah Beretich and Ethan Stickler.
Monday brought the “The Nightmare Before Fright Night,” where Program Board tabled in the Pryzbala center, offering free candy and the opportunity to decorate a Halloween themed Christmas ornament. The event was intended to excite students about Fright Night scheduled for the next evening.
Women of CUA hosted a Halloween Bash Monday evening where participants were encouraged to dress up as their favorite feminist and enjoy relaxing games and activities to prepare for more engaging events throughout the rest of the week.
Similar to the relaxing evening Women of CUA planned, Active Minds, a club dedicated to increasing mental health awareness, hosted “Nothing Scary about Mental Health” where participants were encouraged to take a break from everyday stress and focus on decorating a pumpkin. The event was designed as a way to break the monotony of everyday life.
Program Board’s highly anticipated Fright Night was held on Tuesday night on the Basilica lawn. Attendees were greeted by donuts from District Donut, apple cider, caramel apples, and the opportunity to paint a pumpkin while enjoying the classic film Halloweentown.
Wednesday, Campus Ministry’s Brookland Outreach planned and executed Halloween on Campus, an opportunity for the residents of the Brookland area to engage with Catholic’s campus with some holiday fun. Families were invited onto campus in the Pryzbyla Center to trick-or-treat indoors, due to rainy weather, and participate in games and activities sponsored by various CUA organizations. This is the first event Brookland Outreach has hosted this semester.
To celebrate on October 31, the Office of Campus Activities handed out candy from 1-3. FOCUS (Filipino Organization of Catholic University Students) hosted a Halloween party complete with a costume contest, free food, and fun games. The event was held in Pryz 321 at 8 p.m.
