Illustration by Ren Rader.

For Mary France Lembke, senior political science major and president of Trinity Art Collective (TAC), costumes are part of how she gets in the holiday spirit. “Throughout college, I’ve enjoyed participating in group costumes, costume parties, and decorating my living space to make sure I have big Halloween energy. When setting up our calendar for the upcoming year, the officers and I all agreed that carrying on a Halloween tradition was important to us as a club.”

Trinity Coatney, one of TAC’s Events chairs, proposed mailing craft kits to students so that the tradition could be held virtually. The club sent pots and painting supplies to students so that everyone could make their pot look like a pumpkin, explained Lembke.

“That way, we could bring the Trinity community together regardless of whether you were on campus or not,” she said. The thirty students who signed up will gather virtually on October 29th to decorate their plant’s homes just in time for Halloween.

Lilian De La Rosa, assistant director for the Student Programming Board (SPB), explains that Halloween became an important holiday when she got to college.

“Since coming to college I’ve definitely been more involved in celebrating it, and me and my friends will dress up on Halloween. It’s gonna look a little bit different this year,” said De La Rosa.

SPB’s Traditions Team will safely host an in-person screening of Hocus Pocus on the Jim Potter Intramural Field to fill the gaps in our Halloween celebrations this year.

“It should be a big thing, it’ll be exciting to have a safe and socially distanced event on the intramural field” says De La Rosa.

De La Rosa, who also serves as a Resident Assistant in Herndon Hall, is also busy planning a memorable event for her first years, who have yet to experience a normal Trinity holiday.

RA’s from both Herndon and Beze are planning what De La Rosa calls a “spooky-fest,” where residents can pin the tail on the clown, participate in a costume contest, or be wrapped up in toilet paper at the party and go as a mummy instead!

“I’m honestly looking forward to spending Halloween with my residents,” said De La Rosa. “It’s kind of providing an alternative for unsafe partying.”

For English and communications double major Daniela Jahn ‘21, Halloween in college has always consisted of going out, dressing up with friends, and working on TigerTV’s Halloween special.

“I love Halloween, and it made me sad when I wasn’t allowed to trick or treat anymore as a kid but then I just started having Halloween parties. But now, alas, no more,” said Jahn regarding this year’s more ghostly tone.

After holding positions in all three of TigerTV’s shows, Jahn has become a pro in creating Halloween content in the studio. This year, Not So Late Show wants to bring the spooky vibe to your home, straight from theirs.

“Since it’s virtual, everybody who has videos for that day they’re gonna be filming in their homes or apartments or wherever they’re staying, it’s gonna be visually different from all at home. Lots of spooky, creepy, vibes,” Jahn says.

Jahn is also a video creator for TUPress, and is hoping to make a video about a lore written about in Mark Louis Rybczyk’s “San Antonio Uncovered: Fun Facts and Hidden Histories.”

“This school bus of kids got stuck on a railroad and they got hit by a train, so if you put your car on the railroad in neutral ghosts will show up and push your car. And if you put baby powder in the back of your car and then look afterwards you can see the fingerprints of the kids pushing your car over, which is a costume I wanna do,” said Jahn.

You can find Not So Late Show, along with the remaining TigerTV Halloween specials on Youtube and Vimeo (tigertv14), or on channel 14 on campus televisions at 5 p.m. central.

To carry festivities throughout Halloween week, SPB will also be hosting a virtual escape room and an October-themed give away including items like gift cards, a picnic kit, a hammock, Trinity mugs, and hot cocoa to bring the Texas fall (also known as other states’ summers) to wherever you may be studying this Halloween.

TAC will also continue their seasonal events into an upcoming winter-themed event and the spring semester’s annual Bob Ross painting night. To get involved with TAC, follow @trinityuart on Instagram or email [email protected].