In falls past, the word “mask” conjured up images of spooky skeletons, creepy clowns, and a variety of other disguises worn to costume parties or out trick-or-treating. When we hear the word mask now—even on Halloween—we most likely think of the face shields worn in public to guard against the spread of COVID-19. As the world adapts to life in a pandemic, one question remains on many students’ minds: What will a safe yet festive Halloween look like?

While the large gatherings typical of “Halloweekend” are a clear COVID risk, students are not discouraged from one of the most popular aspects of Halloween: dressing up. Because students are permitted to interact with their family units (small groups with safety rules varying based on the residence), many have decided to plan group costumes with the members of their “family.” This allows students to enjoy the costume experience typical of Halloween, while keeping themselves and others safe.

The Argus spoke with on-campus students to hear how they and their housemates are planning to dress up and enjoy the holiday while remaining COVID-safe.

Verónica Socorro ’21, who’s living in a wood-frame house, said inspiration struck her and her housemates when they were watching “The Cheetah Girls 2.”

“My house and I are going to be the Cheetah Girls,” Socorro said.“I’m not obsessed with cheetahs or anything. I just happen to have a bunch of cheetah themed clothes, and I’m going to share them with them.”

Socorro’s second costume is a surprise—although it does feature a blow-up costume—but she detailed her excitement, as well as how the unprecedented pandemic helped her step out of her comfort zone.

“[Our first costume idea] didn’t work, but we were still like, ‘Oh, let’s do something crazy with the pink wigs.’ Maybe in a normal year, I wouldn’t have bought a blow-up costume, but I just thought it would be really fun to do it this year,” Socorro said.

Socorro explained that her first costume is with her entire house, while this second costume is a bit wackier and only with one of her housemates. Because Halloween falls on a Saturday, she is excited to have more than one costume for each day of Halloweekend, even if she can’t go out. 

Even though Halloween parties are a thing of the past (at least for 2020), Socorro and her housemates are glad to be able to spend the holiday together.

“Last year I was abroad, so I didn’t do anything for Halloween,”  Socorro said “I’m really excited to still be able to do something fun with my friends, and I know we’re going to have the best time. Since there’s not much to do, it’s kind of like… Oh, it’s Halloween, let’s just make the best out of it and have as much fun as possible.”

Socorro also mentioned that the Woodframes of Wes Instagram page (@woodframes_of_wes) is hosting a costume contest, as well as a house decorating contest. This makes for some friendly competition between seniors living on campus amidst the difficulties of senior responsibilities and pandemic stress.

This sense of community isn’t exclusive to senior houses, though. Frankie Morales ’23, who’s living in Music House, feels lucky to be living with a group of people this semester.

“I live in Music House, it’s very tight-knit, ” Morales explained. “There’s a bunch of friend groups there, but we’re all still really meshing well with each other. It’s really sweet—it’s always a party.”

Morales is planning two separate costumes with her housemates as well.

“On Friday night, a bunch of our friends [in the house] are being Scooby-Doo characters,” Morales said.“I’m Velma, but like, alt-Velma.”

As for the other members of the Mystery Gang, her roommate Cleo Kromelow ’23 plans to be Shaggy and Annika Shiffer-Delegard ’23, and Sophie Gilbert ’23, another pair of roommates in the house, plan to be Fred and Daphne, respectively.

Morales also shared the details of her second costume. Even though Scooby-Doo is a classic, and popular with groups on Halloween, her second costume fits more with the theme of the program house and her love of music.

“Saturday night, Cleo and I are [doing another costume],” Morales said. “I’m going to be Phoebe Bridgers, I’m going to have the skeleton-thing that she wears, and I have a wig. And then she’s going to be Marshall [Vore], the drummer.”

Morales and her roommate aren’t the only ones doing a partner costume. Beatrix Roberts ’22 and her friend Eve Crandall ’22, who live in a Low Rise, are planning on making their own unique costumes.

“It’s only me and my friend Eve who are doing the costume,” Roberts explained.“In fact, it’s just a couple’s costume if you will. We’re dressing up as Jane Austen characters, but with Euphoria eye makeup—that’s the vision.”

Roberts said the idea came to Crandall when the two were watching Euphoria.

“Eve came up with [the idea], she’s a creative genius,” Roberts said. “This just came to her. We had been watching Euphoria, and we were like ‘We want to do something for Halloween with this eye makeup, but we didn’t want to be Euphoria characters, and we were trying to think of what would be an interesting juxtaposition.”

This isn’t the first time the duo has done a partner costume.

“Eve and I have a shared love for Halloween, and we always spend a lot of time thinking about what we’re going to dress up as,” Roberts said.“Last year, we dressed up as Candace and Vanessa from Phineas and Ferb.”

Roberts is excited to have something to look forward to amidst all the pandemic stress, even if Halloween is going to look different this year.

“Last night we were hanging out in my room and watching the movie Emma, while I was sewing our costumes, so it’s fun to have something to look forward to that we’re building up to,” Roberts said. “We’re probably just going to end up hanging out in our Low Rise and watching a scary movie.”

Like Socorro and Morales, Roberts is glad that the sense of community in her Low Rise has helped ease the stress of life during COVID.

“I live in a Low Rise, and I think that there’s a lot of community because I’m living with three of my best friends,” Roberts said. “It’s a lot of fun, and we all get along super well.”

Although group costumes are not a new trend, especially on the University’s campus, this year, they present a new way for students to bond and spend time with their housemates and closest friends. It’s heartening to see the ways students are adapting to life during a pandemic, while still celebrating their favorite holiday. If you’re feeling conflicted about Halloween plans, it’s not too late to gather up your housemates (or roommate) and plan a simple group costume!

 

Stephanie Monard can be reached at smonard@wesleyan.edu.