Giving back this Halloween with safe outdoor activities
Across USU, students are coming up with creative, new ways to celebrate Halloween. Below are just a couple ways to spend this Halloween weekend as well as tips from the USU Police for having a fun and safe Halloween.
Reverse trick-or-treating
Perhaps one of the most surprising of these events is reverse trick-or-treating. On Halloween night children — and college students who are still children at heart — will hand candy back to the adults that answer the door at over 100,000 households across the U.S.
It’s not that they dislike candy; rather, the kids will be giving out fair-trade chocolate attached to an informative card to raise awareness of the child labor, forced labor, trafficking, poverty and environmental degradation allegedly widespread on cocoa farms.
The idea was created by Equal Exchange, an organization dedicated to halting unfair trade practices.
According to its website, in September 2011 Global Exchange, Green America and the International Labor Rights Forum released the article “Still Time to Raise the Bar: The Real Corporate Social Responsibility Report for the Hershey Company.” This report dissented the practices of Hershey’s, which has reportedly been the least involved of the leading chocolate companies in adopting changes to its sourcing practices.
USU students have joined the cause and plan to take part in reverse trick-or-treating.
“I think it’s such a good idea,” said Melissa Richards, an elementary education major and prospective reverse trick-or-treater. “I mean, like, it’s good to raise awareness about bad issues.”
Pumpkin Toss
For those who think they’re too cool for trick-or-treating, or any variation thereof, there are more passive activities, such as the Pumpkin Walk and subsequent Pumpkin Toss.
“My Favorite Things,” was the theme for the 28th annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk, which started Thursday, Oct. 20 and ended Tuesday.
Committee member Gina Worthen said more than 500 carved pumpkins lined the walking path through the scenes, which were put together by volunteers.
Now that the walk is over, USU engineering students get to have some fun by launching the pumpkins in catapults and trebuchets they’ve designed.
“That’s going to be Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at Elk Ridge Park,” Worthen said. “It’s going to be on the soccer fields, and also people can come and watch that. They can come and toss pumpkins by hand. I understand that we have some sponsors, so there will be prizes for whoever comes and tosses their pumpkin by hand.”
Halloween Safety
Safety is key, no matter what Halloween activities students choose to participate in, Capt. Steve Milne of USU Police said.
He said little kids should worry about getting run over by cars or getting razor blades in their candy, reverse trick-or-treaters should worry about getting strange looks by refusing candy, engineers should wear safety goggles and follow other normal catapult precautions and those going to the Howl drunk should worry about getting arrested.
USU police will not be available on Halloween to provide their normal safety escorts to those who feel unsafe, Millen said. If you are a reverse trick-or-treater, you cannot have a police officer follow you around town. He said the cops will be busy Oct. 31 checking for pupil dilation.
“If you’re going to drink, don’t come on campus,” Milne said. “We have two-dozen officers employed that night that are going to be checking the sobriety of students.”
To enhance classic Halloween fun this year, USU students only have to decide which activity they take part in: whether it’s distributing conflict-free candies and refusing to accept blood chocolates, smashing pumpkins or spending the night sober or behind bars.
– evan.millsap@aggiemail.usu.edu