Photo courtesy of Jessica Vargas.
St. Ambrose University invites children to the campus every year to celebrate Halloween. An event called, “Halloween in the Halls,” invites faculty, staff, alumni, and students to engage in spooky festivities. Families, students, and staff are encouraged to dress up and trick or treat through the campus. The university invites student residents to hand out candy to the little kids.
Coordinator of residence life Haile Medina plans the event. Haile says, “We begin planning in August, when students and faculty first come back to campus.” Haile manages the budget. She also plans the route path the children take during the event. “Children get tired easily, so we try to limit exhaustion with a short and simple path for the kids!” A few halls, typically McCarthy and Davis, do not receive invitations to participate in Halloween in the Halls. This year, the organizers added Franklin and North to the list of uninvited. They aren’t invited due to the halls being out of the main path causing more walking for the kids.
SAU’s The Waggle Newsletter is a key component of advertising for this event. Along with a spot on the Waggle, Haile posts flyers around the campus. “We advertise the event to students, faculty, and staff.”
Senior Anna Veryhas participated for two years. She saw lots of children walk through, wearing very unique costumes. “My favorite costume was the Spiderman kids. It was actually the most popular costume I saw this year.”
Staff member Kimberly Raap brought her grandchildren to Halloween in the Halls. “My grandkids have attended the last several Halloween in the Halls events and had a great time! A special ‘shout out’ to the St. Ambrose Dance Team stationed in Rohlman. They cheered a little with my granddaughters and it made their day!”
Haile spoke about her experience, “We have been doing this event for years. When I was a student, I used to participate. We require students who wish to participate to provide their own candy to hand out to the kids.” “This year, they may have needed more than just a single bag of assorted candy with over 50 families participating in the event. In addition to students handing out candy, we added a hot chocolate station, games, and other surprises for the kids!” Haile adds, “I saw lots of staff, professors, and alumni bringing their children or grandchildren through the halls.”
Jessica Vargas is a staff writer for The Buzz.
