To kick off the spooky season, events are being hosted around campus in anticipation of Halloween. Halloween is an event that happens every year, and when Guilford does it, they do it big. 

One of those events was hosted by the Black Student Union (BSU) on Tuesday, Oct. 15. In Founders lobby, there was a huge pumpkin painting for students to come and paint their own pumpkin however they wanted. 

For the last few years, when BSU has hosted the event, it has been a huge success. With music playing, people talking and people smiling and having fun, this time was no different. 

Painting pumpkins was not the only attraction, as there was also a raffle. The prize was a pumpkin that the winner could carve out to keep with the Halloween spirit. 

Maya Walfall, a member of the Black Student Union, played a large role in making the event happen. 

“We wanted to do at least three activities in October and wanted them to be very interactive,” said Walfall. “The original plan was pumpkin carving, but that takes a while. So, we switched to painting so that we were adding to everyone’s Halloween experience.”

BSU had arranged for 50 pumpkins to be brought in to Founders, and all 50 left painted by the end. After attendees were done painting their pumpkins, they were all able to take their crafty art work with them.

“A lot of work went into this event,” said KJ Brown, another member of BSU. “It goes beyond what you saw in Founders. There was a lot of planning that went into this for getting the pumpkins and the paint and brushes for the event.”

Especially due to the timing of the event around midterms, the turnout was great. Attendees found painting to be a good stress reliever, and a good way to forget about the study guides that they just got handed. 

“It was fun to see the happy looks on people’s faces,” said sophomore Jaylen Lloyd. “It was also a good event for us to unwind and not worry about school.”

Some say you will outgrow Halloween, but at Guilford this doesn’t seem to be the case. 

“We want all of our events to be fun and hope you will see more events like this in the future,” said KJ Brown, signaling that BSU has plenty more in store.

Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 4 of The Guilfordian on Nov. 1 2019.