Most students at Tufts remember celebrating Halloween as children, dressed up by their parents as ghosts, clowns or vampires. They ran giggling from door to door in their costumes with a simple "trick-or-treat," hoping to score a few Snickers bars or Pixie Sticks.
But when they get to college, Jumbos aren't kids anymore. Students are in charge of their own costumes, and the candy has been exchanged for treats intended for a decidedly older audience.
And the difference, students say, is striking.
"[Halloween at college] is definitely centered around parties and drinking," sophomore Courtney Hsieh said.
Junior Sean Keegan agreed. "I threw a party [at my house]," he said. "Halloween is different when you're older ... Your parents aren't there."
This year, beyond the typical Halloween parties, students had other options. Many attended Senior Pub Night last week in costume. Professor Nalini Ambady threw a pumpkin carving party at her house, and others decorated pumpkins in their dorms and houses.
Students also tended to be more expressive with their costumes without parents to censor them. Some dressed up as traditional witches and black cats, but others were more creative.
Wandering down Professors Row on Friday and Saturday night, Tufts students referenced pop culture, mimicked storybook characters and even materialized their favorite puns.
But along with increased creativity comes increasingly edgy costumes. According to students, Halloween at college is, for many, an excuse to wear revealing or overtly sexual clothing without breaking social norms.
O'Laughlin described a Halloween party he attended at MIT this weekend in which a girl wore only "those leggings that strap on to your underwear" and a bra.
"Another girl came up to her and said, 'Just curious, but what are you supposed to be?' She said she didn't know, but suggested a go-go dancer after looking down," he said.
Students debated the oft-cited mantra from the 2004 movie "Mean Girls," in which Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan) states that "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."
Sophomore Stephanie Balitzer, who is currently working on a paper about Halloween for an anthropology class, said the nature of the holiday allows people to escape normal societal conventions.
"Dressing up is kind of a way for people to express themselves in a way they can't on a daily basis [because of] social rules," Balitzer said.
Balitzer added that she believes wearing a revealing costume is a personal decision, though she said she would not.
"It's somewhat demeaning," she said.
Junior Udy Onyeador had a different interpretation.
"It gives girls a good excuse to get attention," she said. "It's not demeaning as much as eye-opening to how girls see themselves."
Freshman Shabazz Stuart said there is a double-standard on how women are judged by their costumes: While men can get away with wearing next to nothing, equally revealing women's costumes are viewed with more scrutiny.
"I saw a guy dressed up as Adam from [the story of] Adam and Eve," he said. "He was just wearing a few flowers [below his waist] ... That's less clothing than a lot of women were wearing."
Other students disagreed.
"[Women are] trying to do it as a turn-on, but I feel like it's more of a turn-off, because she's 'that kind of girl,'" freshman Jay Clark said.
Some Jumbos thought that showing a little skin was acceptable - within reason. "There's a fine line between taste and being ridiculous," sophomore Joe Pikowski said.
Halloween weekend may be over, but it doesn't mean those nurse costumes or bunny ears won't be making one last appearance before next year. For those who aren't occupied with exams this week, Halloween plans on Wednesday night will likely consist of more parties and even some traditional trick-or-treating.
"Going around to houses for candy is a little old for college students," senior Dan Greenwald said. But others disagreed.
"I want to go trick-or-treating really badly ... especially at Bacow's," Stuart said.
