Under the orange glow of the spooky McGraw Tower, this Halloweekend consisted of themed festivities and parties, ranging from student get-togethers to school-coordinated events.
Various clubs and organizations hosted events to celebrate the holiday to engage the greater Cornell community.
Last Thursday, the Cornell Guild of Visual Arts hosted a spooky face, decor and pumpkin painting event at Willard Straight Hall.
“Crafts and holidays have always been a source of joy for me,” said Samantha Yap ’23, president of the Cornell Guild of Visual Arts. “Without structured time to have fun, like holidays and events, I feel like people often forget that they have the ability to create things and relax.”
On Sunday evening, the Cornell Guild of Visual Arts collaborated with CU Tonight Commission and the Willard Straight Student Union Board for a haunted house event, featuring free face painting, caramel apples and pumpkin painting.
At the same time, the Tatkon Center for New Students hosted Terror at the Tatkon, where students participated in spooky activities and received themed-goodies.
Other events throughout the weekend consisted of club game nights and dorm hall celebrations, including costume contests, Halloween baking and trick-or-treating from residential advisor rooms.
The Cornell Film Club hosted Halloween fright nights, screening “Madgod” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” on Saturday and “The Call” and “Candyman” on Sunday.
Embracing the holiday of spookiness in Ithaca, the Humanities Scholars Program hosted an information session while touring the A.D. White House. West Campus residents partook in haunted history tours about Downtown Ithaca and archival History Center collections.
On Friday, Cornell Cinema screened horror-comedy “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” and on Halloween night, Japanese horror film “Ringu” will be shown. On Monday night at 10 p.m., Cornell Chimes will be putting on a Halloween-themed concert to emanate across campus.
The University vibrated in Halloween spirit as students showcased their creative costumes. Madeline Yeh ’24 flaunted Star Wars and Formula 1 inspired costumes for her club and project team get-togethers.
“My roommates and I are all fans of Formula 1, and thought that dressing up as pit crew would be a fun and comfortable costume,” Yeh said.
Yeh and her roommates purchased jumpsuits online and vinyled logos onto each outfit, personalizing the jumpsuits with their favorite inside jokes.
According to Yeh, many Cornellians chose to dress as construction workers this year in particular.
“Maybe it’s a funny reflection of all the construction going on in Collegetown this semester,” Yeh said.
Jacqueline Rangel ’26 received many compliments for her hot dog costume.
“I thought my costume would be a great conversation starter,” Rangel said, having attended Halloween-themed parties over the weekend. “Hot dogs are just so simple and effortlessly funny, so I guess I wanted to make it a special Halloweenie,” Rangel said.
Rangel also attended a Halloween event at the Latino Living Center, where she was able to carve and paint pumpkins.
“The event was really fun, there were great vibes and people,” Rangel said. “It was a fantastic way to kick off Halloweekend.”
Although the long weekend of festivities before the day of Halloween has now concluded, a wide array of activities are still planned for the coming week as Cornellians celebrate and embrace Halloween spirit.