Halloween in the dorm

And the kids stay warm

By Luke Landgraf

Word count:643

The cold brisk night of Halloween brings chills and excitement to trick- or- treaters around the country, for those who go out to get candy.  The traditional Halloween is for kids to go from house to house to trick or treat but here in Bemidji things have been slightly different in the last decade or so.  The BSU residential hall’s open up their doors so young children can come to trick or treat in a warm and safe environment.  

“We have been opening the doors to the community for about seven years now,” said Ryan Pierre who is an RA in Oak Hall on 2A.”We usually get kids who are from an age range from 5-12,” said Pierre.  Residents have to sign up to have the kids who want to trick or treat come to their room. When the parents enter the building they receive a map to the building and which room is giving out candy.  “We have already filled out 3 sheets with availability for 16 residences on each sheet,” says Pierre.

Bemidji tends to be cold this time of year, so with opening the doors to the dorms it allows the kids to trick- or- treat in a heated building.  “When we allow the kids to come into the dorms its one of the small things we can do to give back to the community,” says Pierre.  The kids and their parents are allowed to come into the dorms at roughly 5 pm on Halloween and then the trick or treating ends about 7 pm. 

Many floors will that will be participating in the Halloween event, will be decorating their halls to fit the theme of the night.  In the lobbies of Birch and Linden halls they will be giving away prizes and playing games for children.  They will also be giving away hot chocolate, apple cider, and snacks to all the visiting families.

“I’m excited to see all the young children and their costumes on Halloween,” said Oak Hall resident Alyssa Marnich.  She will be passing out candy with her roommate on Halloween.  “This will be my first time participating in trick- or- treating like this,” says Alyssa Marnich“ I’m really excited to see all the variety of costumes there are nowadays, there are so many.”  For the first time residences the expectations from the trick-or-treaters are unknown. “ I really don’t know how many kids I will be expecting, so I hope I don’t run out of candy because I would feel really bad,” said Alyssa.

As I walked through the halls and saw the trick-or-treaters, there was a group that just kind of caught my eye.  As they walked from door to door dragging their bags of candy from L to R: Anthony, Jill, Emily, and Katie were filled with excitement. I asked them what their favorite part of Halloween was and they replied the same any 12 year old kid would“ CANDY!”  When I caught up to them around 6 o’clock they were on the third floor and were ready to go back outside to go to actual houses.

“I think trick or treating here in the dorms was a great idea,” said Shelly Branden a parent of a trick -or- treaters that came to the dorms.  “It keeps the kids warm and me warm, and when the kids are happy I’m happy.  There were a lot of rooms that we could go to get candy and the halls were nicely decorated.  This has been my first year doing thing and I will defiantly have to do this again next year.”

Along with a roster of room numbers that informs what rooms will be giving out candy, this hanging on the residences doors is another indicator that candy will be givin away.