Students flooded the second floor terrace of the Student Center while enjoying apple cider and caramel apples, dancing to music provided by the DJ club and painting pumpkins with friends.
Over 90 students attended the Student Programming Board’s Pumpkin Pop-Up, the first of many Halloween-themed events at Columbia.
Junior acting for stage and screen major Nizair Acree said this event is a good way to kick off the fall season.
“I think it’s definitely boosting our vibe,” Acree said. “This is the first time I’ve seen fall-related stuff at Columbia this year, so it’s definitely setting the bar high right now.”
Amelia LaRocca, SPB communications director, wanted the event to be a new way to celebrate fall while collaborating with other clubs.
“We thought that it would be really cool to bring the fall spirit to Columbia,” said LaRocca, a senior film and television major. “We had a lot of really cool clubs that we thought could contribute to this, and all the pieces just kind of fell into place.”
The DJ Club, Bingo Club and Call of the Cauldron were all featured at the pop-up, providing background music, giving tarot card readings and creating fall-themed bingo cards, making the event a collaborative effort.
Stephanie Haro, president of SPB, wanted the E-board to “stretch their legs” and host a different type of event than what they’ve done in the past.
“We just wanted to shake things up a bit,” said Haro, a senior radio major. “This is mainly an event to just have fun and chill out, bring your friends or meet new people. We don’t do a lot of activities or mingle-based events, so this is just something different for us.”
Adelynn Nieto, a first-year animation and computer graphics and film and television double major, said the event helped remind her of home, letting her experience some of the fall festivities that aren’t typically offered in the city.
“I come from a really small town, and I’ve grown up really experiencing the changing of the seasons and going to pumpkin patches and whatnot. And I think this is the closest I’ll get to that,” Nieto said.
Acree said the student events this year have been more unique compared to previous years, allowing for more opportunities to meet new people.
“When I was a freshman, our events were kind of the same monthly events over and over again,” Acree said. “I feel like we’re getting to experience new stuff this year.”
Copy edited by Venus Tapang
