Safe Halloween events bring together town and gown
Participants at the University of Pacific's 14th annual safe trick-or-treat event on campus.
Halloween is a holiday known for little goblins, ghouls and even Iron Man running through the neighborhood begging for candy. However, with parents’ concerns regarding safety being added to the mix, college campuses have often provided a solution.
Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., has been hosting Halloween trick-or-treat events for the past 15 years for three different communities near campus.
“We provide the community an opportunity to come and enjoy the campus and strengthen the bond between Franklin Pierce and the surrounding community,” said Christopher Johnson, the senior experience director for Residential Life.
Planned completely by students, over 76 different student residences are a part of the Halloween celebration; 190 student tour guides lead children and their families to the next house. As a result, the event attracts more than 20% of the community and about 800 people.
“We are primarily a rural community and so kids don’t go door to door like they do in the suburbs, and this is one way for families to be together,” said Lisa Murray, director of university relations and creative services at Franklin Pierce University.
Johnson said the event also provides an outlet for younger, possibly less fortunate children to experience the college world.
“With the economy and everything, I think it’s a great opportunity for children of the community to experience some facet of college and get excited for it, to know college is an opportunity,” he said. “It shows kids what it's like to be a college student and what college is like and what it can be.”
In relation, Murray pointed out that the university has similar community-focused events throughout the year.
“Often times you don’t have a child start thinking about college until their junior or senior year in high school. This allows kids to visit a campus and have it implanted in their mind and say, ‘Oh, this is something I could be part of,’” she said. “So we have other programs throughout the year. We do that because we want families to see that college is attainable.”
Student volunteers at the University of Pacific's 14th annual safe trick-or-treat event on campus.
Though Franklin Pierce was forced to reschedule the event for Nov. 1 due to bad weather, University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., was able to continue the trick-or-treat party as planned this past week.
Pacific’s tradition began 14 years ago and has expanded to over 29 stops on campus, hosting over 4,000 people and a carnival at the end of the tour. This year, the event attracted more than 5,000 people.
“This is about the time of year where students start to get homesick and really start to miss home and some of the traditions that they have,” said Patrick Giblin, the university’s media relations manager. “By hosting an event, we can bring a little bit of home on the campus.”
Event Director Jennifer Low said that the safe trick-or-treat program is the university’s largest, run by student organizations. Each building or carnival booth is decorated and operated by students and their organizations. Attractions include games, rides, candy, haunted houses and even life-size Candy Land board games. The university’s president has even been known to join the fun.
“This is really student driven and it’s amazing how much hard work and effort the students put into it,” said Torry Brouillard, who oversees the residence halls and Greek life at Pacific. “The students go out of their way to transform campus into the most amazing and decorated event.”
Giblin said that the event reminds him of similar experiences he has had in the past.
“Every time [safe trick-or-treat] comes around it reminds me of kindergarten,” he said. “I had a teacher who took us to a college class and I have to wonder if that’s why I was the first person in my family to get a college degree.
“Plus, our students really look forward to this event," Giblin said. "I just a had a student of mine graduate and her parting words to me really were, ‘I’m going to miss safe trick-or-treat.'"
Lindsay Friedman is a Fall 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.
This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.