Campus freshman Cassidy Gilmore rode the bus through UC Berkeley’s fraternity row Thursday, and immediately noted the “lit” atmosphere — there appeared to be a fruitful sampling of Halloween parties and quite a few people having fun.
Halloween celebrations around the UC Berkeley campus saw haunted houses, parties and a myriad of creative costumes. Since Halloween was Thursday this year, most of the festivities were held Friday, according to ASUC Executive Vice President Andy Theocharous. While Friday saw the most parties, according to Theocharous, students and community members still celebrated in the days leading up to the weekend.
The ASUC, for instance, gathered at its Wednesday meeting in costumes. Theocharous remarked that this meeting was particularly humorous because ASUC members discussed and asked serious questions regarding emergency preparedness while dressed as “crocodiles, butterflies (and) mermaids.”
Theocharous noticed that this year’s Halloween seemed “colorful” compared to last year’s and that “students really embraced Halloween.” He noted successful parties, such as one held by the UC Berkeley International Students Association.
Another successful Halloween event was the Bowles Hall Haunted House. David Cook, campus sophomore and Bowles Hall social chair, explained the haunted house’s cult theme this year, inspired by a Reddit post.
“A person asked what people knew about Bowles and learned that people viewed us as a cult … (we) chose the theme to make fun of ourselves,” Cook said.
Cook added that the haunted house had a long line, extending all the way to Gayley Road. The haunted house facilitators were able to get everyone in line through the building.
Students celebrated in a variety of ways. Cook, for instance, ventured off campus to a midnight showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Thursday.
Some like Gilmore, however, celebrated Halloween differently. While Gilmore did homework for most of the day, she “did eat an entire pint of ice cream.” Gilmore added that she considered going to the Bowles Hall Haunted House, but the line was too long.
Despite not partaking in Halloween festivities, Gilmore did see quite a few memorable costumes.
“(There were) a lot of devils and angels, Harry Potter, Star Wars,” Gilmore explained. “All of them were all pretty sexy.”