On Oct. 26 many of MSU’s fraternities and sororities teamed up with the Spartan Housing Cooperative houses and other university clubs to host Safe Halloween.
Safe Halloween occurs every year to provide Halloween festivities such as games, candy and activities. It aims to create a safe environment for the children of East Lansing to enjoy the holiday.
“Safe Halloween is a great opportunity for all members of Greek life to participate in teaming up with the community in offering a safe place for kids to go trick or treating and have a fun and safe Halloween,” said the Panhellenic Council’s community relations vice president, Erin Martino.
“The event is a great collaboration among like all team members in the Greek community,” said Martino. The four Greek councils begin planning in August and create a committee to oversee the event. It is this committee’s job to encourage participation from chapters and spread the word to other student organizations across campus.
For local parents, the event is a great opportunity for their children to attend more holiday festivities and meet up with friends from school.
“I like to maximize Halloween trick or treating. So I’m like, let’s go out on the 31st, and let’s go to the pumpkin walk and let’s go to Safe Halloween because I think they have a lot of fun just dressing up,” said East Lansing resident Iza De Barbaro, who has been attending the event for the past six years.
She said events like Safe Halloween also provide an opportunity for families to enjoy Halloween in the daytime as well as the nice weather it provides while it is available. According to her, as a parent, you never know what the weather will be like on Halloween. So when the weather cooperates, it is important to get out and celebrate.
“The kids just love it. It’s usually cold at night on Halloween, which is cool too, but it’s different. And I guess here, they are more free to do things and to play with friends. When it’s Halloween day, we have to be really close to them all the time and pay attention where they’re going, so here it’s freer,” said East Lansing parent Marialina Antolini, who has been attending the event for the past three years.
Aside from candy, some of the participating organizations provided activities like music, mummy wrapping using toilet paper, apple bobbing and bounce houses. M.A.C Ave. was closed to street traffic during the event providing ample space for children, parents and pets to gather and play.
