Students decorate their own pumpkin at RHA’s Pumpkin Patch

By Adrianna Jaccoma

Students had the opportunity to decorate their very own pumpkins thanks to The Residence Hall Association’s (RHA) Pumpkin Patch event on Oct. 25.

Senior accounting major Athena Strippoli, who is a part of RHA, said that the association’s main goal for the event is to get students involved in the Rider community, which is also the main goal of RHA.

RHA’s pumpkin painting took place at the Campus Mall in front of Ziegler Hall and the Student Recreation Center (SRC). The event provided paint and pumpkins for students to decorate. The brisk fall air made the event feel even more festive as the days countdown to Halloween.

Freshman acting major Sophia Porter painted Snoopy on his doghouse practicing magic.

“Last year I painted Spongebob as a mattress on my pumpkin so I wanted to continue the fantasy,” said Porter.

The event allowed students to relax and use their artistic talents while also engaging with their friends.

Freshman acting major Aileen Pujols was painting the common Gen Z phrase ‘‘girl boss’’ on her pumpkin.

“I’m [Porter’s] roommate, so this is going to be our girlboss decoration for our window,” Pujols said.

Many participants took the route of painting characters, such as freshman acting major Emily Paruk, who was painting Sully from the movie “Monsters, Inc.” onto her pumpkin during the event.

Sophomore elementary education major Brooke Porco painted a variety of Halloween decorations such as webs and ghosts to stay on theme for the holiday.

Along with their pumpkin, students also received a pair of RHA sunglasses. The event had music playing and created an all around welcoming atmosphere for students to participate.