Claudia Mcintosh

‘Twas the night before Halloween, and in every residence hall, decorations were displayed in themes of ghoulishness and fall. The witches and pumpkins were hung on doors with great care, in hopes that young trick-or-treaters soon would be there!

Walking through the residence halls of SDSU, you can’t help but notice the colorful decorations adorning students’ doors. In Young Hall, leaf door signs direct visitors to the room that they want to visit, faraway from the chilly autumn winds.

To join in the fun of autumn, students have set up many unique Halloween displays. The witch figure crashing into a door is comic, while the urban legends display in Young Hall is downright spooky. The door of Courtney Mendelson and Christie Madson’s room in Binnewies is especially festive. They have transformed it with lifelike cobwebs and a banner that warns, “Caution: Enter If You Dare.”

“Our RA is having a door decorating contest. We got a lot of our decorations at Target or Wal-Mart,” says Mendelson, 18, a consumer affairs freshman from Sioux Falls.

A similar contest is being held on women’s first floor in Mathews. Bats and skulls, tinsel and Halloween cutouts garnish many doors there.

Megan Jamrozek chose to wrap her door in black and orange paper. She also hung an attention-grabbing cobweb light from her door. Jamrozek, 19, a interior design

sophomore from Carpentersville, Ill., says that she got her decorations from Wal-Mart before she found out about the contest.

“I like seeing all the little kids dressed up in their costumes. They are so cute when they trick-or-treat. I plan on handing out candy,” Jamrozek says, when asked what her favorite part of Halloween is.

“I like all the great decorations and candy at Halloween,” says Nicole Kjellsen, 18, a pharmacy freshman from Piedmont.

Many of the residence halls, like Jamrozek’s, are allowing community trick-or-treaters to stop by for goodies.

April Hansen, a 19-year-old horticulture freshman from Canova, says she’ll hand out candy, but also go try her own luck.

“I’m dressing up as Eowyn from Lord of the Rings to hand out candy. After that, some of us are going trick-or-treating around Brookings,” she says.

SDSU students agree that if you’d like to start the fun early and decorate your door and room, Wal-Mart is the place to go for cheap decorations. However, you can find some inexpensive ideas online as well.

For example, you can make a hanging ghost by simply blowing up a balloon and putting a white sheet over it. By using a black marker, you can make facial features. You should suspend the ghost using white string. For more ideas, see www.debsdomicile.com/grstones.htm.

#1.885759:4234691487.jpg:ra first floor hall door.jpg:The well-decorated door of Theresa Derienzo in Mathews Hall.:Jerry Smith