Muhlenberg held several Halloween festivities this weekend, with students excited for activities that they once avoided due to pandemic concerns. Now, with a better idea on how to handle COVID restrictions, the community was able to get back into the full-swing of things, with groups all over the College coming together to share the weekend festivities.
It was clear that students very much enjoyed the holiday; walking through dorms and college housing, it would have been difficult to miss blow-up decorations, plastic skeletons and candy for people to enjoy. Greek life and other organizations on campus also brought people together to snack and socialize.
Delta Tau Delta organized a haunted house in the Hoffman House on Oct. 28. There was a large crowd and the entire ground floor was in use. There were fog machines and strobe lights (warning beforehand). All proceeds went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. Danny Milkis ‘23 commented on this annual tradition saying, “having it come back after two full years was certainly very special, since most of our brothers had never experienced a haunted Hoffman House before.”
The Office of Multicultural Life (OML) was another one of those busy groups this past weekend, hosting both a Halloween party and a step dance performance from the Mayhem Step Team back-to-back on Saturday, Oct. 30.
OML’s Halloween party was held in previous years as a small event only for the office and affinity groups. Director of OML Robin Riley-Casey noted that “with how much trauma people have experienced these past two years,” they felt it was important to share this time with the community around them and reach out to other college organizations to make a truly fantastic event. Almost every Greek life organization on campus was involved in the event, from setting up, to decorating, to staffing the hall and acting as ‘scarers’ for the haunted house; they were eager to help on top of their own celebrations. Even those who could not make the event offered decorations for it, showing how much students valued the events.
“having it come back after two full years was certainly very special…”
Danny Milkis ’23
Bianca Bolt, the event organizer, said of the event, “It was the best way to introduce multicultural life into the public.” The event brought together people of all identities to share an evening together. A good portion of Muhlenberg showed up costumed as angels, plague doctors, cowboys and an assortment of other people and creatures to participate in the costume contest, which was won by one striking Patrick Star entry. As Riley-Casey said, “It was all about having a good time and sharing it with the community at large.”
Mayhem’s step dance performance, entitled “Stomp Out the Graveyard,” fit in well with the theme of the holiday and featured fog machines. The event succeeded in bringing the community together, and the Great Room was filled with students and families alike. Performing with Mayhem were the groups Zion and the Rhythm Riders, from Albright and Moravian Colleges respectively.
“It was all about having a good time and sharing it with the community at large.”
Robin Riley-Casey
Riley-Casey stated how important it was to see the wonder that was Mayhem in action. “There was so much energy in the room, it started to draw people in,” they said, describing the unprecedented numbers that appeared in attendance that night. They had been expecting maybe 200 audience members that night, but it was guessed that visiting family members and the atmosphere of the event swelled their numbers to nearly 300, all appreciating the work of the step dancers in front.
So many cultures and people have come together this season and Muhlenberg has risen to the occasion in bringing the community together despite difficulties with COVID restrictions. Of course, this isn’t a part of the College that is going to fade with the Halloween season. This is only indicative of what the campus will be like in the future, welcoming people with open arms.
