Stay safe around campus this Halloween weekend
This is the Our View, prepared for by the Editorial Board and should be considered the institutional voice of The Record.
This weekend is Halloween weekend, one of CSB+SJU students’ most anticipated weekends of the fall semester. Costumes—both good and bad, planned and spontaneous—bring a spooky spirit to campus, as students gather and compete for the best outfit.
While Halloween weekend should be fun, it can also be dangerous. Crime of all types increases on Halloween, particularly violent crime—twice the daily average. Costumes are a ton of fun, but worn by the wrong people, they can help to conceal identities.
An additional, extremely important point, is to behave respectfully if you choose to ride the Link this weekend. Our bus drivers deserve the utmost respect, and they certainly haven’t received it throughout the first two months of the school year. They work late weekend hours to ensure that our two campuses can build a community together. If respecting bus drivers isn’t enough to motivate you, a reduction in operational hours might get your attention.
This seems more and more like a legitimate possibility and none of us want that. Another thing to keep in mind this Halloween is to dress appropriately. Cultural appropriation seems to be a common theme every Halloween that is often not taken seriously and just pushed under the rug. Cultural appropriation is “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” There are hundreds of other costumes to choose from that do not make fun of other cultures and traditions.
There are plenty of other activities this weekend that don’t involve drinking that you can participate in while still having fun this weekend. The CSB+SJU Black Student Union will be putting on a Fright Night Halloween Costume Party and Contest this Friday at Brother Willie’s Pub. There will be a pumpkin carving contest put on by the CSB Culinary Services this Thursday in the Gorecki Dining Center.
Another event that you can check out this week is the Fear Fest Halloween Party put on by Student Activities and Leadership Development this Saturday at O’Connell’s. The movie “The Uninvited” will be shown. A trick or treat bar will be available, and a bell pepper carving and a costume contest will be held for a chance to win prizes.
If you do choose to go out this weekend, remember to keep your eyes open, travel with your friends, take care of the people around you, be smart and report any sketchy behavior.