A COVID-proof Howl
Every Halloween, Utah State University hosts the infamous Howl, attracting college students from all over the state. This year, USU’s event staff had to go above and beyond in planning a COVID-proof Howl, or there wouldn’t be one.
But here we are, with a week of Howl activities.
According to Alexis Needleman, USU’s activities director, events “are taking a little bit longer to get approved and settled. That’s why the graphics are coming out a little bit closer to events.”
This seems to be no problem for students at USU, who are attending events with short notice, proving their dedication to events even during the pandemic.
The Howl of 2020 consisted of six events: a drive-thru haunted house called Aggie Hollow on Tuesday, a comedy stunt show by Matt Baker on Wednesday, the HYPER Haunt on Thursday, a drive-in double feature of “Happy Death Day” and “Happy Death Day 2 U” on Friday, and a virtual Halloween costume contest and the Scotsman’s Quest throughout the week. There have been drive-in movies every Friday leading up to the double feature, all with lots of students attending.
Savannah Fisher, a volunteer coordinator for USU Blue Crew, dressed up as a vampire and scared people in their cars at Aggie Hollow. Tickets for the Aggie Hollow sold out in 24 hours.
Needleman is charged with planning the Howl, Mardi Gras and End of Year Bash. Each of those events generally gathers more people than permitted with COVID-19 state regulations, but Needleman and her committee are planning events so students can have fun while being safe.
One of the biggest hurdles in planning the Howl was getting ideas through, a process that requires approval from seven people. So, of course, not every idea was approved.
“One of our biggest ideas was to do some sort of carnival with food trucks,” Needleman said. “But that proved to be just a little bit more difficult. Because when you’re providing food to students they tend to want to take their masks off and eat and chat and that’s not something we’re looking to do.”
Even through all the paperwork and hoops to jump through, Student Events continues putting on fun activities for the Aggies.
“In the past, it’s normally the one day. The one Howl and everything,” Fisher said, “but I kind of like this year’s Howl because it’s spread throughout the week.”
Things are different, but perhaps the creativity put into planning COVID-proof events can help to create new traditions at USU.
“I just want people to know we’re doing what we can and we’re trying our best,” Needleman said. “We sit down so often and just think about the students and we’re doing all that we can to try to still make this year special for them.”
Students can find out more about events put on by the activities committee by following @ususaevents on Instagram.
Emily White is a junior studying English and broadcast journalism. She is currently serving as the senior writer for the Lifestyles section of the Statesman.
—emily.white@usu.edu