Many of us enjoy the festivities we’ve come to associate with Halloween, including donning costumes and going to parties. However, what’s meant to be fun can sometimes unfortunately end in unintended injury and/or insult.
Here are some things you need to know about Halloween:
- College students who choose to dress up in costumes for Halloween are more likely to drink.
- Lack of rules and oversight makes off-campus parties more likely to foster excessive drinking.
- Halloween-themed drink promotions and high-profile parties can cause students to feel pressured to drink heavily, and to engage in unsafe sexual behavior.
- When someone dresses up as a member of a culture/religion/race (etc.) that isn't their own, particularly in an exaggerated or "humorous" way, it can be very hurtful to those who do belong to that group. Most students don’t really want to cause pain to fellow students and harm to the campus community they are so eager to be part of—but it happens. And the effects can linger.
Please consider talking to your student before Halloween to make sure they’ll have a fun holiday without hurting themselves or others. Here are some conversation starters:
- “What are you and your friends planning for Halloween?
- “I hear that there may be Halloween parties off-campus all weekend. Are you planning to go to any of them? Have you thought about your limit if you plan to drink?”
- "Hanging around with drunk people all weekend can get old pretty fast. Do you and your friends have any ideas for other fun ways to celebrate? Is there an Orange After Dark event or other campus program with a Halloween theme?”
- "Have you picked your costume already?”
- “Tell me about your costume and why you decided to dress like that. Who might laugh and who might cringe? Would you be OK with a picture of you in that costume going viral on the internet?”
There are many ways to celebrate Halloween without getting hurt or doing harm. Having a conversation with your student can encourage them to make better decisions, consider the impact their behavior has on others, and drive them to find alternative plans for fun.