The Wednesday before Halloween, the Class of 2029 Council put on their most ambitious event of the semester, the spooktacular Halloween Masquerade. Wednesday night may seem to be an odd choice at first, but this was no accident. In an interview with The Polytechnic about the planning experience, Class of 2029 President Winston Hewitt explained that “it's always cool to have something to do in the middle of the week…no one’s going to something on a Friday, [but] people come to something on a Wednesday.” Clearly, a lot of thought was put into even the smallest details, and the effort could be felt by every attendee.
As students trickled into the McNeil Room, they could warm up to the event while grabbing some food and drinks then chatting while snacking. They could choose from a selection of pizzas, chips, Shirley Temples, and cups of apple cider. Across the room, there was a table full of supplies to make a customized masquerade mask. The council provided everything one could need—including a cardboard mask, patterned ribbons, gems, glitter glue, markers, hot glue, feathers, felt, and more. There were honestly more options to decorate with than anyone would even ask for.
All the while, participants could enjoy amazing performances put on by Pseudosky and Totally Confused. Pseudosky, a group of sophomores who met at NRB, brought an electric energy to the start of the event. “The biggest thing is I'm allowed to do dumb things like I did out there… because it's like, we're all kids here… I'm not sure any other place would appreciate me jumping off [the stage],” said Pseudosky Guitarist Ryan Ferrer ’29. The audience did indeed appreciate his energy, bouncing up and down along to the beat.
The highlight of the event was a costume contest put on by the council. Their attention to detail could once again be seen clearly here as each contestant received a handmade fall-themed felt badge with their contestant number on it. Anyone who wanted to participate could have signed up beforehand via QR codes on their posters and social media or at the designated table during the event itself. The costume contest was the brainchild of the publicity director and class representative of 2029 Trinity Luiz. She let The Poly know that the turnout for the contest ended up being more than they expected based on the sign ups before the event, which led to them increasing the number of categories to give everyone a better chance to win something. The competition's categories included overall best, funniest, scariest, and most creative. After every participant strutted their stuff on stage, the audience could vote on their favorite for each category. The funniest costume was a catboy maid, the scariest costume was a Bojak Horseman cosplay, and the most creative costume was armor made out of white Monster cans. Best overall had three winning costumes: King Xavier, a Helldiver, and Marvel’s Cyclops.
Right outside the McNeil Room, there was a row of different clubs with assortments of candy and merchandise, giving students an opportunity to chat with them while participating in more Halloween cheer. Hewitt let The Poly know that trick or treating with the clubs was not originally part of the event; however, when he predicted that the Halloween Masquerade would generate a decent amount of attention, Hewitt informed several clubs that it would be a great opportunity to conduct more outreach, inviting them to table in the Union at the same time. There was a lot for the Class of 2029 council to plan as is, but their thoughtfulness had no end.
Halloween Masquerade was a carefully planned event with lots of passionate people behind it, and those who attended could certainly tell. It brought much needed joy to the middle of week and set a new standard for class council events. One definitely wants to be on the lookout for their next event Hockey Night, which will be happening early next year.
