ASCE and SOSA created a sculpture out of campus waste.
FITV // Quang Dinh
After being pushed back a day due to heavy rain, Halloween came early at Florida Tech and for the whole community with Treat or Treat.
With a large turnout in the hundreds, Florida Tech’s ResLife hosted the annual event on Sunday, Oct.20 with attractions ranging from haunted houses based on popular movies, bounce houses, a pumpkin patch and a costume contest.
With the previous day having a downpour of rain during the event’s time from 2:00–6:00, the last-minute decision to send out an email detailing the delay on Friday, Oct. 18 proved to be the right call.
Compared to the dour and dreary Saturday, the event itself benefitted with a sunny day and nice breeze as attendees stood in lines for the haunted houses.
Five haunted houses were set-up in the residential quads with the following themes: Enchanted Forest, Blue Genie, Men in Black Suits, Jurassic Land, and Scary Clown.
While the houses went by other names, they followed themes of popular movies such as “Aladin,” “Men in Black,” “Jurassic Park,” and Stephen King’s “It.”
“We’ve actually been working on all of this for the last two months,” said Alex Smith, a student volunteer. “With the logistics phase, designing, planning and getting the volunteers all together, it took about two months.”
Smith said that all of the RAs on campus volunteered during the event, helping out with every component of Treat or Treat.
“We were looking out for the safety of the people in the community,” Smith said when asked about the delay. “We wanted to make sure that it was nice, safe and fun for everyone by pushing it back a day.”
All of the houses were set up over the course of the week prior while the day of the event drew closer and closer.
“When it comes down to that last week of setting up, it’s all hands on deck with everyone running around,” said McKenzie Stack, residence life coordinator.
Stack said that with how much work it takes to get the event up and running, there were many last-minute trips to Walmart and decisions made to ensure the event’s success.
She also said that this was the first time Treat or Treat utilized the SUB area for the event and included food trucks, both of which worked out great in her opinion.
“It was a whole lot better than I thought it would be,” said Yajing Liu, a graduate student. “The settings were incredibly amazing. I can see the efforts and the students trying their best to present a good show.”
Liu said his favorite haunted house was the one in Evans Hall, called “Scary Clown.”
This house was based on “It” and was Liu’s favorite mainly for its scares.
The “Scary Clown” house was also the favorite for Kendall Willwerth, a freshman studying genomics and molecular genetics.
“There was actually a person standing in a yellow coat that I thought was a mannequin and when I walked by, they started following me and I was really scared,” Willwerth said. “The clowns were also very creepy.”
She said it was a lot of fun and she had a great time attending.
Despite the setback due to weather, many attended Treat or Treat and inspired Liu to celebrate in the future.
“Maybe next time I’ll try to put a costume on for the very first time and celebrate Halloween,” Liu said.