Monster Ball comes to campus for Halloween
By Amethyst Martinez and Adrianna Jaccoma
Greek life hosted its Monster Ball Halloween party for students to dress up in costume, eat food and participate in a range of activities on Oct. 28.
Monster Ball featured music from a live DJ, dancing, a 360-degree photo booth, treats and more in the Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla room.
As students entered the Cavalla room, colored lights and throwback music greeted them.
Students danced the night away with each other and were able to enjoy the company of others, and not have to worry about classes for a few hours.
Event goers were also able to take pictures in front of a spooky backdrop with Halloween props that were provided.
This event was a part of “Greektober,” a tradition in which Greek life hosts activities for students during October.
The Rider University Greek Council (RUGC) and Student Government Association put the event together for students on campus.
Gabriela Flis, a senior English major, RUGC vice president of Programming and Service and sister of Alpha Xi Delta said, “We wanted to create new events that would bring the community together and kind of bring holiday spirit for Halloween. … I thought that it’d be awesome to bring the whole community together and create a sense of unity regardless of where you’re from and what you do.”
Awards were also given to students for best costume, scariest costume and most creative costume.
Kayla Marie Plunto, a senior dance performance major, as well as sister of Alpha Xi Delta, dressed up as a cow for the party.
“I feel like the most satisfying part was setting everything up in an empty room with no one in it and now seeing everyone having fun and actually investing their time and energy into what we created,” said Plunto.
This event was the first Halloween party hosted by Rider since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Because of COVID[-19] last year, not everyone was able to have as much fun last Halloween because you had to be at home at a certain time and wear your mask out. … There were much more stricter rules, and we wanted to give everyone a great comeback,” said Plunto.
Many students wore costumes and danced on the dance floor, while food was also provided throughout the night for attendees.
Kate Harbison, a freshman acting major who dressed as Blueberry from Strawberry Shortcake said, “The food was really good and [I liked] getting to see everyone’s fun costumes.”
When asked why she attended, Harbison said, “partly because I wanted to show off my costume and also because dancing is fun.”
The night was filled with spooky fun for all of the attendees.
Flis said, “We all go to Rider, we’re all students, and we all work hard. … There’s nothing wrong with taking a little break to enjoy the holidays. … The most rewarding part to me is seeing everyone happy and enjoying themselves. It’s nice to see that all the work you put into things that people love to come to events, love to be happy and love to enjoy themselves.”
