Trick or treat! In just a few days, neighborhood driveways will be decorated with skeletons and pumpkins. Everyone from primary schoolers to young adults will create a neighborhood plan to get as much candy as possible.
Here at LFA, faculty are keeping this tradition alive, as it is a fun way for Caxys to relax from academics and recall their childhood memories. On Halloween, more than 20 faculty families on campus participate in the tradition by either doing traditional trick-or-treating or by putting out large baskets of candy outside their doors.
“It’s fun for students to see faculty having fun with a costume or school spirit, and I get an equal amount of joy from seeing students’ creativity and watching them just embrace being a kid,” Audrey McGrail ’20, assistant dean of admissions and English teacher, said. During Halloween, she mostly enjoys seeing the variety of costumes students create, especially those inspired by their cultures.
McGrail always puts treats out, and she says the candy that goes first is usually “anything king-size.” She is a big chocolate fan, so she loves packs of M&M’s and Reese’s.
Students don’t tend to take fruit, pretzels or any type of licorice. Grace Wang ‘27 said she’ll be going for Sour Patch Kids, as it is her favorite candy. Wang comes from China, where Halloween isn’t usually celebrated. Her family heard about the American tradition and decided to replicate it in their own apartment.
Wang and her brother dressed up and knocked on their parents’ doors to trick-or-treat as if it were a different household. Coming here to LFA, she was able to experience the tradition to its fullest.
“I love how welcoming the teachers are when we go to their houses,” Wang said.
This tradition of walking around with friends, knocking on strangers’ doors and waiting for a bowl of sweets makes a lot of people feel like a child again. Doing it on campus also helps students see a completely different side of teachers. Seeing them in daily life and having a chance to talk to them and their families brings the community closer.
The North Cottages always have the best candy, according to Wang. Even though it might be hard to get there, walking along the spooky road in the darkness will definitely bring the Halloween vibe. With new teachers joining the campus community, students will have even more candy options this year.