From dressing up to sweet treats, students shared their favorite, and least favorite, aspects of Halloween.

Zack Archey, a freshman political science major, said he enjoys Halloween for all the costumes.

“I love Halloween. I love being able to dress up and just be a weirdo with everyone else,” Archey said. “I’m dressing up as Tom Cruise from ‘Risky Business,’ so that’s my costume for this year.”

Jordyn Gour, a junior elementary education major, said she also loved Halloween costumes.

“I do tend to dress up, but I tend to do a funny costume. I don’t really like the scary costumes as much, but yes, I do love dressing up,” Gour said.

However, this year Gour is not dressing up herself. She has someone else to get readied up for the spooky holiday.

“I’m actually not dressing up this year, but my little boy is going to be the cat in the hat, so we’re going all out for his costume,” she said.

Leila Lawson, a sophomore pre-chiropractic major, said she likes adopting different personas while celebrating Halloween.

“I celebrate it. I think it’s a good time to be somebody else or just have a good time,” Lawson said.

Even though Lawson enjoys dressing up for the holiday, she said she was not sure about her costume this year.

“I don’t know; my problem is that it’s kind of last minute now, so I don’t know. We are going to a party tomorrow, so I’ll probably dress up,” Lawson said.

While some college students enjoy the aspect of dressing up for Halloween, others have gripes or do not celebrate it at all.

Samuel Augustin, a senior music performance major, said he does not really participate in Halloween festivities because of his religion.

“I tend not to celebrate it just for, like, religious reasons. I’m not against people who do celebrate it, but for me personally, I just don’t celebrate it,” Augustin said. “But I think it’s nice seeing your peers in costumes, and if that’s what makes them happy, in a way I’m like, ‘Yeah, go for it.’”

Gour said that she preferred the fun parts of Halloween more than the scary aspects.

“I cannot stand haunted houses. I went to a haunted house once and I closed my eyes and went through it the whole time holding onto someone in front of me,” Gour said.

Archey said he liked the treats more than the tricks. He especially does not care for the pranks people attempt.

Lawson said the only complaint she has about Halloween is the usually cold weather.

But the spirit of the holiday makes up for some of its less sweet aspects, students said.

Archey said his favorite part of Halloween was seeing how everyone was dressed up.

“Seeing all of the cool costumes, people just getting decked out, I like seeing all of the cool makeup they have, how much time and effort they put into their costumes, seeing how people’s houses are just decorated (and) seeing how they go all out,” Archey said.

Gour said she enjoyed the flavors of Halloween.

“For sure the candy. I consume a lot of that and I steal it from (my son),” Gour said. “Don’t tell him.”

Allison Little can be reached at 581-2812 or aclittle2@eiu.edu.