Halloween is a time for celebrating, but with the current pandemic, many won’t be celebrating in the ways that they are used to. 

Many people do not feel comfortable inviting friends over, although it may be tempting at times. 

Junior Sara Culp felt like having any kind of celebration is too much of a risk for her to take.

“My dad is super high risk for COVID, so I don’t feel safe being around too many people. I’m living in an apartment off campus at the moment but I do go home occasionally,” said Culp. 

“If I were to have people over to my apartment for a party or something I would probably keep it to just me and my roommates,” said Culp. “We have all been living together for about a month and none of us have gotten sick. One of my roommates got tested recently and was negative. We don’t go anywhere and are super careful. We take precautions and wash our hands a lot,” said Culp.

“It’s definitely sad that we can’t have a big party with a lot of friends because I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday. But I know that it isn’t worth the risk of passing COVID on to someone like my dad who may not be able to fight it,” said Culp. 

This seemed to be the sentiment from several students. Even if they are not living at home, the fact that they may go home and visit their family members is enough of a motivator to keep the holiday celebrations to a minimum. 

“I live off campus and don’t go home very much because I don’t want to risk passing COVID onto my family members,” senior Veronica Villar said. 

When asked if the risk of COVID-19 would stop her from having any type of Halloween party this year, Villar said, “Absolutely. My family and I have been very safe throughout the pandemic. We haven’t had people over other than close family members that we know have quarantined for at least two weeks and none of them are sick. We don’t go anywhere other than the grocery store and we get the shopping done as soon as possible. And we’re constantly washing our hands.”

COVID may have put a bit of a damper on the spooky festivities this year but students found other ways to celebrate the holiday despite the pandemic. 

“I think I’m going to have a little celebration with my roommates that I’ve lived with through the pandemic and then maybe watch a scary movie with them and some other friends over Zoom or something,” said sophomore Karen Alvarez. 

However you choose to celebrate Halloween this year, do it safely. For more tips on how to celebrate in a safe manner, check out the article Tips for a Safe Halloween.