Maybe dressing up for Halloween should have ended when classroom holiday parties went out of style, but it seems Halloween is still ripe for the picking in college.
While most students have traded trick-or-treating for Halloween parties, the spirit of the holiday still haunts the campus.
Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for children and children at heart, appealing to the sweet tooth and spook in everyone.
Even at the college age, most students aren’t willing to give up the notion of dressing up and pretending to be someone else for a day.
Junior psychology major Sarah Hense said Halloween takes on a different meaning in college with a little hint of nostalgia.
“People want an excuse to dress up, some more scantily clad than others,” she said. “I think it brings us back to our childhood. We love it for the same reason we love themed parties.”
Although the costumes are no longer pumpkins, Power Rangers or ghosts, students are still finding ways to make the holiday their own.
Lately, it seems costumes are getting more and more provocative and creative. A quick look at an online Halloween store shows a multitude of costumes appealing to the college mind.
From the creative Chick Magnet costume (a cardboard magnet with baby chickens on the end) to the slutty version of the entire cast of “The Wizard of Oz,” there appears to be no shortage of ideas for Halloween costumes.
But not everyone agrees with the lack of costume in Halloween costumes.
Junior psychology major Jade Peters, who is proud to be going as a penguin this Halloween, said she felt the costumes were freeing for some students.
“In my opinion, the younger the student, the younger the costume,” she said. “It is inevitable that girls are going to dress slutty. It’s the one time of the year that they can dress like that and not be criticized.”
Other people use the holiday to jump back to being a kid again, however. Some students take a recent pop culture phenomenon and play it up in hopes of getting a few laughs and a simple costume.
Hense and her roommate junior public relations major Carly Vadnais are going for the tag team approach to costuming. The pair are going as the dual Disney personality Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus.
“I’m going as Hannah Montana with the Hannah Montana wig and microphone and everything,” Hense said. “Carly is wearing a shirt that say’s ‘I’m just being Miley.’ ”
Hense said dressing up for Halloween in college is just a whole lot more fun.
“Why not?” she said. “I feel like everyone gets a whole lot more into it in college and a whole lot more creative. It’s just fun to see what people come up with.”
Some people might ask what is so appealing about the holiday and wonder why students are still acting like kids, but it’s no surprise they are dressing up still.
With the stresses of college and adulthood on a daily basis, Halloween is the one day to let go of the stresses of life and step back to the days of costume parades and homemade pumpkin cookies.
Life’s too crazy and you are never too old to have a little Halloween fun.