We are dawning on spooky season at Point Park, and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) is organizing a crafty, fall-themed event for every week of October.
On Oct. 2, CAB hosted its first event of October, Trick or Treats, a cookie decorating event. At 7:30 p.m., a line of students had already formed across Lawrence Hall’s lobby, each waiting for their turn at the decorating bar.
At the decorating bar, each attendee got to pick their cookie shape, icing color and whatever variation of Halloween-themed sprinkles and candy of their choosing.
With Halloween anthems playing in the background, students got into the spooky-season spirit, making their own Frankenstein cookie creations with countless amalgamations of sugary sweet goods.
Students were able to let their creative imaginations flow free, from icing concoctions to recreations of zombie graveyards.
“It’s three different kinds of sprinkles, and then green and blue colors,” sophomore Emma Jurado said while describing her creation. “That’s how I decorated my pumpkin.”
Across the table from her, junior Marianna Oyola used her baking knowledge to perfectly ice her pumpkin cookie with measured back and forth strokes. “It’s just a simple pumpkin,” she said, “I have a technique, though. I watch a lot of baking TikToks for decoration.”
Comically, freshman Raegan Goulding held up her pumpkin cookie which she had transformed into a face. “This is my current mood.” She smiled, showing the horizontal line of M&Ms along the bottom-center. “Meh.”
Next to her, First-year student Shay LaVelle presented a carefully-crafted classic pumpkin with multiple shades of orange and green.
“So, the first color I mixed was the orange dye with some of the frosting. Then, I take that same, orange-dyed frosting and add a bit of red to it,” LaVelle said. “This darkens it up and makes more of a red hue.”
“Finally, I have a classic green stem.”
Some student cookie artists just wanted to imitate the colors and festive decorations that come with the season. Hayley Kryziak, a first-year student, pointed to her bat with orange icing covered in black and white M&Ms. She gave it a short and sweet description: “Halloween.”
Sophia Smith and Madelyn Crowl, both first-year students, made their cookies into terrifying horror scenes. “I did a zombie graveyard,” Smith said, showing off her colorful icing swirl. Purple and orange Sour Patch Kids acted as the zombies.
Trick or Treats, inspired by a fun idea found by Pioneer Series Coordinator Neveah Cary on her Pinterest, was supplied by CulinArt’s bakery. They provided the event with their fun-shaped sugar cookies and icing.
“I was not expecting this many people,” Cary, who planned and organized the event two months ahead, said. “Sometimes it gets a little bit overwhelming, but I have fun. I like being in my community.”
As students sat talking around tables in the lobby, icing spoon in hand and sprinkles in another, Cary reflected on the uniting purpose of Trick or Treats.
“To bring people together,” she said with a smile, “I like that people have a chance to sit down and decorate. You’re kind of forced to sit down and be around people.”
Trick or Treats was a hit with students, who even migrated to chairs along the sides of the lobby and on the floor to get in the Halloween spirit with friends and new acquaintances. At the end of the event, Cary gave a message for students who are looking to meet new people and participate in campus events. “Come to more events. There’s going to be a lot more,” she said.
Some more CAB events you can look forward to this month if you’re looking to get involved include Haunted Arts & Apples, Trivia After Dark, Jelly-Mallow Bingo and more.
