The Daily Gamecock

Campus, downtown offer many outlets to celebrate 'Halloweek'

Not everyone celebrates Halloween in the same fashion, but whether it’s pumpkin carving, haunted houses, costume design or good old fashioned candy, there was a little bit of everything in and around campus this week. 

One of the more popular events was put on by Carolina Productions. They brought the Halloween spirit to campus Monday night with free pumpkins accompanied with carving and painting tools on Greene Street. Students flashed their CarolinaCard and were able to choose from a variety of pumpkins which, for some, could be the most crucial stage of the process. When it comes to the perfect pumpkin, Jessica Lessin, third-year finance and sports and entertainment management student, says hers “has to be the biggest pumpkin.” 

Once the pumpkin had been picked, students could then carve out or paint at the event with the tools provided or they could take them back home to work with at their leisure. With 350 pumpkins up for grabs there was no shortage of fun designs from spooky ghouls to USC pride.

Inside the Russell House was a different atmosphere. The ballrooms had been turned into dark halls dotted with strange glowing lights and monsters that roamed about to try to catch unsuspecting students. This was good news for Lessin.

 “When they jump out and touch you, that’s my favorite one," she said. 

Come Tuesday, students were taking a bolder approach to celebrating by putting on their favorite costumes. They enjoyed walking around campus in either a wacky Winnie the Pooh onesie, an ever terrifying clown costume or a favorite character, such as Batman. For fourth-year theatre and English student Michael Ferrucci it was an all-day event where he wore his costume to class and moved on to trick or treating with his little brother because, as he puts it, “I'm Batman.”

In addition to the costumes around campus Tuesday morning, there were people giving out candy to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth. Organizations such as The Lettered Olive were selling handfuls of candy for a dollar to support their magazine which publishes undergraduate student work.

Another popular place for students on Halloween were the shops of Five Points who stayed open late to allow for a fun environment for families like Ferrucci and his brother to trick or treat.

As the night progressed, students refused to be chained to school grounds. After assembling their costumes back home, they creeped and crawled around downtown Columbia for what they hoped to be a hell of a night.

When assembling a costume, some people work with what they have, digging through their closet last minute to put something together or borrowing pieces from roommates. Other students took a more planned approach.

"I went as Men In Black, but I was like the only one," said Jared Eubanks, first-year sports management student. "I tried to find some other friends and they were down, but then they looked at suit prices and they were like 'nah.'"

Some people, Eubanks thought, may have taken it a little too far, like a friend he talked out of going as Snoop Dogg's alter ego of Todd. 

"I don't know if that's the right time to do that," Eubanks said. "He switched it up and ended up being something else."

Working as a bouncer in the Five Points area allows Eubanks the ability to get into bars faster whereas others may have to wait in line. This afforded him time to see all that Five Points had to offer on Halloween night and he and his friends had a great time. He was glad he didn't have to work because as he puts it, "crowds are crazy on holidays ... that's the most packed I've seen it."

All totaled, it was a large variety of activities on campus and off for the holiday and students seemed pleased with their options. 


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