Cedar Goslin

The Broadside

Juniper Hall will be getting a spooky make-over as residents prepare to be raided by costume-clad, plastic sword wielding, candy craving children on Oct. 28.

Central Oregon Community College’s residence hall will be opening its doors at 6:00pm to children ages 12 and under, and parents, so children will have a condensed and safe place to go trick-or-treating.

The projected is headed by Paul Amar, COCC’s resident director, and the funding for candy and decoration comes from the Associated Students of Central Oregon Community College, taking nothing out of the pocket of participating Juniper Hall residents.

Parents can expect a safe and warm place for their children to trick-or-treat, tables of refreshments and colorful educational booths provided by some of COCC’s clubs– all for free.
The Latino club at COCC is preparing a booth to be displayed at the event; it will give trick-or-treaters a colorful glimpse into the Day of The Dead.The booth will not  be the only form of decoration– the residents of Juniper hall will be holding a door decorating contest, aiming to give the kids a thoroughly impressive Halloween experience.

“The big emphasis is community service,” said Amar, who wanted to find a way for COCC to give back to the community.

There are over 100 volunteers working to make this project a success, and the goal is to get at least 100 trick-or-treaters.

Parents have a lot of incentive to make this goal a reality, as it dulls down some of the typical fears that come with sending children out on Halloween.
“It’s compact, enclosed, it’s inside so they’re not exposed to the elements, and they won’t get cold for not walking around without wearing a jacket,” said Nora Dragoon Williams, COCC student and mother of two children, when asked what she considered to be the biggest appeal of the program.

Though this is COCC’s first time setting up an area for trick-or-treaters, the same program has seen success at other colleges, according to Paul Amar who was inspired by their results–all others involved are putting forth an effort to see that COCC follows the example, so that the program can be repeated in following years.

“We’re all really excited to see the kids,” said Allison Olson, resident of Juniper Hall, and then added, “If it goes well, I think it will (continue).”

You may contact Cedar Goslin at [email protected]