Throwback Thursday: 2021 brings Halloweekend back from the dead

Halloween is back, and based on what past celebrations have looked like, it is safe to say this holiday is here to stay at UCLA.

In a 2005 Daily Bruin article, writer Derek Lipkin wrote about the various events that UCLA students could attend to celebrate Halloween. From Halloween GradBar to Zombie Survival Night, organizations like the Graduate Students Association and the student group Enigma sponsored spooky-themed activities on campus.

Off-campus, the Halloween festivities were even more lively. The University Cooperative Housing Association hosted a party named “Nightmare on Landfair,” with between 700 and 1000 students showing up in costume for a night (and early morning) of celebration.

With Halloween typically landing around week four or five of fall quarter, the decision to go out and party or stay in to study has remained a common debate for the past fifteen years. But that has not stopped Bruins from living up what has been dubbed as “Halloweekend” to the fullest.

In Max Flora’s 2019 Daily Bruin article “Students discuss the chilling thrill of having Halloween on the Hill”, Bruins discussed the festivity of costumes, parties and the common sight of people dressed up as anything from dinosaurs to ’90s rappers.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic signaled an abrupt shift in Halloween celebrations at UCLA. In the days leading up to Halloween 2020, the focus was on staying safe and avoiding large gatherings rather than dressing up and attending parties. What might traditionally have been been a joyful recounting of the hustle and bustle of Halloweekend activities was overshadowed by sobering Daily Bruin headlines like “At least 20 students test positive for COVID-19 after Halloween party.”

Though a virtual costume contest held by the UCLA Office of the Transfer Student Representative provided a safe and playful space for Halloween festivities in 2020, it has been over a year since the UCLA community has been fully alive with the Halloween spirit.

However, with this year’s return to campus, our Bruins were back at it.

Even days before the 31st, some Bruins could be seen roaming campus and nearby streets while decked out in costume. Beyond dressing up, UCLA students also had the opportunity to participate in various Halloween-themed activities.

Off Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards, Mr. Jack O’ Lanterns Pumpkin Patch provided Halloween fun with pumpkin patches, bowling and more. The Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights provided a healthy scare with haunted houses, mazes, thrilling rides and scare zones.

Halloween rooftop movie screenings at The Rooftop Cinema Club, The Montalban and the Melrose Rooftop Theatre ran from Oct. 28 through 31, giving people the opportunity to watch Halloween-themed movies like “American Psycho” and “Hocus Pocus” against the Los Angeles backdrop.

A little closer to home, the science fiction, fantasy and gaming club Enigma hosted another Halloween movie screening of the comedy horror film “Wild Zero,” an Enigma tradition for this October holiday.

For those who celebrated Halloween with a purpose, the 24th Annual LA Cancer Challenge 5K Walk/Run took place on the UCLA campus early the day of Halloween. This fundraiser raised money for pancreatic cancer research while also incorporating other fun fitness-themed Halloween activities like a “Fit Family Expo” and the “Candyland Kids Zone.”

Whether Bruins decided to celebrate in a classic costumed Halloweekend party or check out the variety of festive Los Angeles events, the Halloween spirit and festivities were back in full swing this year and will hopefully be here to stay.