In the spirit of candy and costumes, N.C . State held its annual Halloween Carnival on Monday. The event, hosted by the Scholars Council, had, as guests, the Boys and Girls Club of Raleigh.
Some students used this event as an opportunity to do volunteer work on Halloween instead of partying.
Kathryn Hornaday , a junior in biology, has been a part of the Scholars Council for two years, and has been continually involved with its activities.
“It’s a tradition. The Boys and Girls club are great kids and really fun to work with,” Hornaday said.
Caitlin Melvin, chair of the Scholars Council, said the University has endeavored to build a strong relationship with the club.
“Traditionally, we have hosted the Boys and Girls Club, and when we brought the event back two years ago, we wanted to continue to build a relationship with this organization and give children, who otherwise may not have an opportunity to safely trick-or-treat, a chance to have some fun and celebrate Halloween,” Melvin said.
The carnival was held in the West Campus amphitheater and surrounding residence halls.
“Lee Hall [collaborated] by doing a Haunted House. Sullivan Hall [was] set up to have the kids trick-or-treat. We [did] games,” Hornaday said.
“The event definitely [was] open to the entire campus, and indeed, we welcome anyone who wants to volunteer [in the future]…We recruited SHAC [Sullivan Hall Activities Council] to buy candy, which is distributed to suites in Sullivan who signed up to pass out candy,” Melvin said.
Many of the youngsters from the Boys and Girls club didn’t disappoint with their costumes. Ghouls, monsters and princesses were seen at the carnival.
“In addition, SHAC hosted a suite decorating contest so that the suites [were] all ready to go for the trick-or-treaters,” Melvin said.
Being at a university as large as N.C . State raised questions about the necessary safety precautions for the children.
However, the kids at the carnival were all with at least one chaperone or volunteer, which made sure they wouldn’t stray away from the group or the activities.
“As far as safety goes,” Melvin said, “the more volunteers the better. Of course, we [had] the chaperones from the B&G club, but making sure we have enough volunteers to the ratio of children is essential.”
