Quinnipiac University’s students hosted their first-ever “Spooky Night” at the Carl Hansen Student Center Thursday night.
The night was orchestrated by the International Students Association (ISA), along with the Latino Cultural Society (LCS) and the Black Student Union (BSU).
Quinnipiac hosts international students from 55 countries, who bring with them diverse cultures, perspectives and traditions, and help to create a more dynamic learning experience on campus, according to the university’s website.
The organizers often plan events for students to attend on campus, such as culture fairs, trivia nights, art fests, as well as raffle contests.
“Spooky Night” was a collaboration between ISA, LCS, and BSU to celebrate Halloween with a costume contest and food from all cultures.
There were different costume contest categories: most gory, the most original, decades, best duo, and a self-care raffle. Attendees could enter the contest by scanning the QR codes on the “Spooky Night” napkins or posters, directing them to a Google doc where they could pick their category and upload a photo of their costume.
The self-care raffle prize was a basket with items such as a diffuser, pillows and eye masks, and was available for all attendees, costume or no costume.
As for category winners, each winner of every category received a different prize box from an organization. Those who won the goriest costume received an LCS basket, which included an Instax camera, face masks, and crystals. The best decades costume received a BSU basket, containing a throw blanket and a mug. The best duo costume received the MSLC (Multicultural Student Leadership Council) basket, which had an escape room in a box, stickers, a bath bomb, and a bracelet.
During the event there were tables set up with food and drinks, along with candy baskets, and tables with spooky drawings for attendees to color.
BSU’s DJ Action was playing music, and many attendees joined in to dance with their friends, indulging in all that “Spooky Night” had to offer.
BSU’s DJ Action playing music in the Piazza of the Carl Hansen Student Center. Photo taken by Lianna Nela
Even the organizers of the event were having a great time.
“I’m having the best time,” said Marley Marston, the event coordinator for BSU and a senior psychology major. “I just love the music aspect, I’m personally really excited about this. I’m super hyped about the BSU DJ, DJ Action.”
Marston said that this event was made to bring other multicultural organizations together to meet each other, make friends and have a great time.
As for the future of LCS events, the organization hopes to host more events where students can come together and not only have a good time, but to insert themselves into the community and make new friends.
“I do think LCS should try and infiltrate themselves into campus life more because not enough people know about it, and they should,” said Kayla Montina, BSU’s director of community outreach and senior criminal justice major. “It would be good for them to branch out and have more engagement!”
The LCS’s mission is to educate the Quinnipiac community about the Latinx culture by fostering a variety of events throughout the year, according to Do You QU. They often focus on community outreach, and find themselves volunteering and hosting fundraisers in hopes to spread awareness about underrepresented groups on campus.
Similarly, the BSU aims to provide a home away from home for its members, and hopes that diversity will spark action and ignite change in the community, according to Do You QU.
Each organization hopes to take part in hosting more events across campus, bringing students and its members together.