On Saturday night, the annual Halloween dance was hosted in Borden Memorial Gym. Red strobe lights flashed through the windows as music pulsed across the steps, where students lingered over s’mores and drinks in the cool fall air. Inside, cobwebs stretched across the walls, skeletons hung from the bars, and a photo booth drew steady crowds. Despite the festive atmosphere, the dance floor remained surprisingly sparse.
A long-standing campus tradition, the Halloween dance is an anticipated Fall term event. From planning to setup, student leaders managed every detail, adding new touches to make the night feel lively while keeping the familiar Borden energy. Michael Huang ’26 attended the dance to support a friend and appreciated the event’s student-led approach.
“The Halloween dance has always been great throughout the years, and so I thought it would be fun to show up to see this great event that my friend, [Murathime Daisley ‘26], hosted… There’s many different ways in which this dance compares to the other dances. First of all, it’s interesting how this dance is hosted by student leaders. Students often have a lot of interesting insights that they add to the dance that faculty might not get. It’s also interesting how it’s hosted in the gym instead of commons or the den. It’s a different atmosphere that we rarely get,” said Huang.
Huang’s remarks described what greeted those who entered Borden: colored lights, themed props, and a well-planned layout transformed an ordinary gym into a Halloween-themed space. Similarly, Aishwarya Ananthakrishnan ’28 noted that the decorations and photo booth stood out as memorable parts of the night and showed effort and creativity from student organizers.
“Outside, there was a bonfire where people were roasting marshmallows and making s’mores, and there was cake as well,” said Ananthakrishnan. “The photobooth was definitely a highlight of the event. It was nice because my friends and I could take a lot of pictures, make great memories, and cherish them… I could feel that they put a lot of effort into it, and I was very appreciative of all their work… The lights were orange, purple, and black. They were playing Halloween music, and there were skeletons and other themed decorations.”
Even with vibrant lighting and upbeat music, the dance never reached full capacity. Many students recognized the strong effort behind the event but felt the low turnout affected the overall energy. Samantha Donovan ’28 shared that while the setup impressed her, the attendance was disappointing.
“The effort put in by the students was there. Everything was good in terms of the decorations and the effort put in, but the fact that students didn’t show up was what made [the Halloween dance] bad… It was too hyped up, and it doesn’t have a great reputation already,” said Donovan.
Many attendees echoed a desire for greater outreach next year to match the strong student effort. Juris Vitols Anzola ’27 agreed that stronger publicity could have boosted attendance.
“It would have been nice if there was a bit more promotion other than just appearing in the Weekender because I believe many more people would have turned up,” said Anzola.
