The spirit of Halloween fell on Chatham University on Friday, October 31 in Anderson Dining Hall at 5 p.m., as many people from all over campus gathered among spooky decorations for their chance to show off their costumes. This year’s dinner was themed as “Dungeons, Dragons, and Drinks,” and featured a juicing bar for the students as well as the traditional Mocktails.
Laughing and picture-taking characters filled Anderson and replaced the usual crowd of students studying for their upcoming test or finishing the paper that should have been completed the night before.
Soon, the entire hall was packed with dressed up students one could hardly recognize. There was a celebratory and lively atmosphere to the dining hall as everyone gathered in their costumes. The hall was decorated for the occasion; everything from the dining area itself all the way to the salad bar was decked out in eerie and creepy Halloween decorations, adding to the overall spooky feeling that had taken over Anderson for the evening.
Those who came to the Halloween dinner were treated with foods made with the ghoulish holiday in mind. There were mummy dogs, spaghetti and meatballs masquerading as eyes, and roast beef with blood. The desserts were especially themed and delicious, featuring dirt pudding with gummy worms and vampire bite cookies.
Students dressed in their Halloween best for the evening, providing a display of various characters. Anderson was filled with everything, including the cast of Frozen, butterflies stuck in spider webs, Sharknado, Audrey Hepburn, cats, and penguins. Anywhere you turned to look, there was another Chatham student showing off their wit and creativity when it came to their Halloween costumes for this year.
Students competed in a costume contest, parading through Anderson and stopping at the judging table to have their costumes looked over and ranked. Those who wanted to be considered for the competition lined up. Taking home the top prize for the evening was senior Shannon Ward, whose dragon costume was among the most unique and amazing ones seen throughout the Halloween event.
Her costume also fit exceedingly well in the night’s theme of “Dungeons and Dragons,” making it all too fitting that she took home the highest award for her efforts.
Meanwhile, the Chatham University tradition of Mocktails was going on in the PCW room. Various clubs and organizations from across campus put forward their best and tastiest mixed drinks for the student body to try.
Her Campus, student government groups, the Beyond the Page Book Club, and the Criminology Club were among those represented for this year’s presentation of Mocktails.
This year’s options were definitely worth checking out and tasting. There were Mocktails that included Pop Rocks, gummy bears, and real fruit. For many students it was hard to pick a favorite. It was clear to anyone who sampled the drinks that each organization put in extra effort this year to make their contribution the best over all of the others.