For college students, Halloween can present a conflict. How old is too old to celebrate Halloween? And for most students, is it just another excuse to party?’
College-aged students can fall into one or more categories on Halloween. Let’s break them down.
First you have girls and sometimes guys who use Halloween as an excuse to wear little to nothing. To quote the movie Mean Girls, ‘Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.’
I can recount numerous time I have run into a girl who was wearing a miniskirt, heels and tank top who could not recall what their costume actually was. I understand that it can be fun dressing up as something you’re not for the night. However, as a concerned citizen, I ask you girls, please don’t make us look at parts that we don’t want to see, or at least put a jacket on so you don’t catch a cold walking up to the townhouses.’
These girls tend to collide with another category: guys who don’t dress up in costume, but participate by appreciating the girls’ costumes. This doesn’t seem fair to me, because if girls have to dress up for attention, guys should have to do more than just stand there. Has Susan B. Anthony accomplished nothing?
Then there’ are the people who use Halloween as an excuse to have a party. But seriously, do we really need an excuse anymore? This is usually my way of celebrating Halloween, complete with costume of course. Costumes are optional of course, although they do make things more interesting. The parties do involve tricks and treats, just maybe not the kind you used to get in your plastic pumpkin when you were seven.
Next you have the kids at heart group, who still faithfully dress in full costume every year, which begs the question: How old is too old? Whether it’s just to get a kick out of it, or because you enjoy getting free candy I have one piece of advice for you. If you ARE planning on going trick-or-treating, take a younger sibling or cousin with you as an excuse. No one wants to open their door and give away free stuff to an 18-year-old college kid wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and a mask, or even worse, a full-on character costume. And please be considerate of the younger kids who are actually trying to enjoy the holiday.
In college, there is also the possibility of staying in for the night and ignoring the holiday altogether. This approach can be especially useful when Halloween falls on a Monday night with a midterm the next day. But as Halloween’s on a Friday this year, I say get out! And if you must stay in, at least get in the spirit and watch a scary movie or eat some candy corn.
The great thing about Halloween is that when you wake up the next morning it’s November, and that means a new month and a new start. So enjoy the last night of October and no matter how you choose to celebrate it, have an awesome Halloween!
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