Writing Center Halloween Celebration

Writing Center tutors in their Halloween costumes.

On October 31st, the Writing Center celebrated Halloween writing activities, costume contests, and trivia! 

Festivities started at 10 am with walk-in-tutoring for all students. Students met with tutors for short fifteen minutes sessions, allowing students to drop in and quickly resolve any questions or concerns. One of the walk-in-tutors during this time was Alex Geffard, a grad student in the Writing Arts Masters program and the Web Coordinator for the Writing Center. Alex said his sessions “were very productive”, and focused “mostly on grammar and sentence structure”. He said today was a great day to show we don’t have to be scared of writing! If you are interested in drop-in tutoring, First Year Writing students can drop in any day of the week, and all other students can drop by on Tuesdays and Thursdays to work with TJ Schreiber! 

In addition to the walk-in sessions, the Writing Center also held mini Halloween-themed workshops. There were Hai-boos (haikus), Horror Flash Fiction, and Terrifying True Tales. These sessions were led by Laura Kincaid, a second-year Writing Arts Masters student who has worked in the Writing Center for two years. Students and tutors in Laura’s workshop wrote Halloween themed haikus, such as these:

Girl
Know girls will be girls,
​She’ll paint her face with blood and
Devour the man


Midnight Stroll
Watching the shadows
you walk alone on the path
the trees watch you back

Bone-chilling
Close the freezer door,
it wastes electricity,
and the bones will thaw

Dysphoria
Another’s body
My own face possesses it
Syringe, surgery

Students in Laura’s group read each other’s Hai-boos and told Terrifying True Tales, spooky stories they made up on the spot. These activities allowed students to discuss the craft elements of great horror stories, as well as improve their creative writing skills in a social setting.

Throughout the day, tutors and students were encouraged to participate in the Writing Center Costume Contest. The contest had three categories: funniest, most creative, and best in show. Pictures were posted to the Writing Center instagram account along with a caption about why the student/tutor writes. Here were some of the contestants!

@alexgeffard_: “I write to stay sane”

@thealmightypencil: "I write to explore new worlds"

Cate Romano - “I write because someone’s talking is not enough”

@connorbuckmastr: "I write to connect with people”

@nicolemarie_tota: “I write to be at peace”

@charlickle: "I write because it's so hard not to" 

At the end of the day, the Writing Center held a game of Halloween Trivia Pizza Party. This event was hosted by Charlie Rickle, a junior Music Therapy major, who has worked for the Writing Center for two years. Tutors and students ate pizza and candy as they battled it out to be the winning team. Here were some of the trivia questions, see how well you’d do! (Answers provided at the bottom)

1. What is the most popular Halloween Candy?
   
2. What famous magician died on Halloween?
   
3. Name the country believed to be the origins of Halloween.

There were many more challenging questions like these, but in the end, my team won! Before the party was over, the winners for the costume contest were announced. The winner for the most creative costume was Laura Kincaid. The winner for best in show was Laura Fowley. And the winner for funniest costume...was me! 

The Writing Center’s Halloween celebration was a success! Tutors and students had a great time all day long. Activities like these bring our writing community closer together, and I was really honored to be apart of it. Beyond the celebrations, the Writing Center is a fantastic place to work with your peers at any stage of the writing process, for any class. Click here to register for an appointment. I hope to see you there! ​

(Trivia answers: M&Ms, Harry Houdini, Ireland)