By Cole Strzelecki
On October 27, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) held its annual Trick Or Treat Event. Within the Evergreen living complex, the event was scheduled to run from 7 to 10 p.m. Residents living in the Evergreen dorms were asked to pass out candy to any trick-or-treaters who came up to their doorstep.
“The Trick Or Treat event is our community outreach event,” Patrick Riley, the National Communications Coordinator of RHA, stated, “We invite the elementary children of Springfield to trick-or-treat at our Evergreen Village and participate in activities.” Some of the schools that were contacted for the event included Warner School, Boland School, Balliet School, and Milton Bradley School.
The event started with a huge attendance. Ten minutes before it began, a large crowd had gathered at the entrance to the trick-or-treat zone. “For an expected turnout, we anticipated between 150 and 200 children and families. To my knowledge, that’s how many we’ve had in past years,” Riley explained.
Once it hit seven, the group was released to enjoy the event. Groups of children and accompanying parents traveled between the participating dorms, collecting as much candy as possible. Others entered the Evergreen Commons to participate in games and activities such as a Halloween-themed bean bag toss, face painting, and sand art.
As far as preparations for the event went, RHA planned accordingly for the event. “We ordered roughly $1500 worth of candy and received a lot of donations to our event,” Hudson Guilmartin, the President of RHA, said. The club also collaborated with Public Safety and the Commuter Council, who host Trunk or Treat in the parking lot behind the Golden Bear Pavilion for this event. Commuters and Public Safety decorated the trunks of their vehicles to hand out candy to the children.
By nine o’clock, the event had settled down. Most of the participating families had gone home stocked with candy, and many Evergreen residents had begun to return to their dorms, closing their doors for the night. With only a little candy left over, RHA decided to end the event there, feeling it to be as successful, if not more, than years prior.
The Residence Hall Association does a lot for the Springfield community and the Western New England University campus. While this event may be one of their larger events of the year, they still have plenty more to come.
“One event that I would like to mention is the RHA Bed Race, which will be happening on the Saturday of family and friends’ weekend at 4 p.m.,” Guilmartin explained. For this event, student groups race against each other in a constructed wooden bed, and the winner has their group/club name engraved on a trophy. Other than that, RHA will be hosting their semesterly Grilled Cheese fundraiser during finals week, where they make grilled cheese and tomato soup to be delivered to students on campus as they study.
All in all, RHA works hard to make everyone’s semester a little more enjoyable, and their Trick Or Treat event certainly accomplishes that task. If you are considering living in Evergreen Village next year, keep this event in mind. By participating in it, you can help give a fun experience to families from the Springfield area, all while having a great time hanging out with your roommates.
