NOV 7, 2024 | OPINION | By Lily Ljiljanich
As snow fell around campus just in time for its annual Halloween debut, students traded their textbooks for costumes, embracing one of the most anticipated weekends of the year. The Halloweekend festivities soft-launched on Wednesday for a handful of eager students, who ventured to Cowboys and other downtown spots, looking to get a headstart on their inevitable days-long bender. The real celebrations began on Thursday, featuring one of CC’s most reliable weekend spots, the infamous Lax House.
Attendees boasted mixed feelings, ranging from drunken excitement and bliss to over-congested annoyance. The common denominator amongst the not-so-satisfied party-goers: the overabundance of first-years. While the event wasn’t invite-only, it hosted copious amounts of first-years, evidently lacking in general party etiquette. From body-slamming upperclassmen off their designated elevated platforms to elbowing their way into bathrooms and up closed-off staircases, the consensus amongst the seasoned partygoers was far from shining for the new class of Tigers.
This begs the question, is the Class of ‘28 uniquely unadapted to college parties, or is this simply a right of passage for all newcomers to be looked down upon by their veteran peers?
Beyond the average dance scene, the best part of the night was the costumes. Everyone was prepped and ready to show out in their favorite getups for the first official night of Halloweekend, leading to an early peak in costume performance in the multi-night bender.
Nonetheless, partying prevailed, and Sigma Chi’s annual Jelloween made its return after a disappointing 2023 hiatus due to an alleged all-too-wet shower incident. A first time event for sophomores and first-years alike, Jelloween produced an extensive line out the door with zealous attendees elbowing their way to the front. There, to stop the drunken onslaught of black cats and famous movie rats, were frat pledges to man the doors. Their biggest mistake of the evening was crowd control; once inside, the only movement one could make was reliant on the pack surge, inducing total relinquishment of bodily control to the masses of Sig Chi. The congestion looked like a contemporary fraternity take on trench warfare.
Longing arms protruded above the crowd, desperately grasping for their drunken friends. Trains of girls frantically tried to move about the dance floor. Two pledges valiantly held firm at their post on the stairs, turning away urgent restroom refugees, even having to physically stop onslaughts of drunken men vehemently demanding access to the balcony. Fear swept across the faces of most attendees under 5’5’’, where the oxygen was limited and visibility was null. Losing a friend to the crowd meant certain death for any possibility of dancing together for at least two songs.
Jelloween was a battle for physical autonomy in an overcrowded house, hinging on the strength of pledges and their veteran Sig Chi leaders. The true party-goers outlasted the weak into the late night hours when space finally opened up beyond the distance of one’s shoulder.
Attendees could look to the light for hope in the shuttering display of Halloween-induced human hostility, the light being a fire song remix and getting too drunk to care about the 6’5’’ first-year men throwing their shoulder blades into your face. The general vibe was high, unusual from Sig Chi’s typical chill dancing and balcony-level conversation. The brothers went above and beyond to secure their house against belligerent attackers and reimagine their space into a haunted house. The night’s success was contingent on personal preference for tight spaces and the number of sweaty men interrupting your stellar dance moves.
To cap off Halloweekend, another proven performer on the party scene stepped up to host a final costume bash: Craig’s. Their down-the-street neighbors also opened as a second option for students on the prowl for culminating their benders on Saturday night. This evening featured fewer and less creative costumes, possibly due to the frigid cold or maybe just a lack of effort in the Halloweekend home stretch.
The onslaught of male alumni was a surprising twist to the relatively mundane finale. Anyone with decent vision and moderate sobriety could spot the out-of-place senior citizens under the string lights. Their gray beards, Patagonia jackets and local craft brewery IPAs did not go unnoticed as they lingered in small groups, surveying the crowd of mostly underage students. The small talk proved them harmless, but their lingering hands and questionable comments were enough to spook anyone on Halloween. It begs the question, who among us will return as them in 25 years?