As Halloween draws closer, Tufts and the city of Boston are in full swing with preparations. Whether its volunteering with the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), getting spooked at an a cappella show, enjoying a cupcake decorating class or exploring Boston on a pub crawl anything goes this week.
On campus
On Saturday, the Global Health Network and the Pre-Med Society will host Spook-Appella a concert and performance benefitting the Sharewood Project.
[The project] is a free health clinic run weekly by undergraduates and the medical students at Tufts Medical School to provide medical services of all sorts, like general checkups, sophomore Aparna Dasaraju, fundraiser coordinator for the Sharewood Project, said. [It covers] Malden, Mass., which has a large number of people who dont have access to healthcare.
The event will feature a cappella groups S-Factor, Anchord and Essence, as well as the dance group Spirit of Color, all performing in the spirit of Halloween. The event will also feature a debut performance from Enchanted, a brand new all-Disney a cappella group on campus.
Like the new a cappella group, it is Sharewoods first time participating, according to junior Carrie Zimmerman, public health coordinator of the Sharewood Project.
Its our first year doing Spook-Appella, and we think its going to be a great way to raise money for the clinic and to make campus more aware of Sharewood, Zimmerman said. The $5 that someone spends on a ticket will go a long way in improving the infrastructure of the clinic, as well as buying new medical equipment for the clinic.
Anywhere from four to six Tufts students attend the clinic each week to volunteer, but the Sharewood Project has between 150 and 200 trained undergraduate volunteers and serves an e-list of at least 400 students.
Dasaraju pointed out that attending the event will help those involved in Sharewood to continue gaining experience in the medical field.
Students get exposure with working with patients themselves. We take vitals, help patients feel comfortable and keep the process going, she said.
The coordinators hope that the evening of Halloween-themed performances will bring fun for all in support of a common cause.
We hope that people will learn more about the Sharewood Project and get involved with our committees or the Sharewood Project, Dasaruju said. Costumes are encouraged.
The event will be held in the Alumnae Lounge with catering from Daves Fresh Pasta and other local restaurants. Tickets can be purchased at the Mayer Campus Center and on Tufts Tickets.
For students who would like to incorporate community service into this upcoming holiday, LCS will be hosting one of their annual events on Saturday, too: Halloween on the Hill. The event is centered on celebrating Halloween with children from Medford and Somerville schools with games, costumes, trick-or-treating and other activities.
In the past its been about 100 to 150 kids, junior Shoshana Oppenheim, co-coordinator of the event, said. We hand out permission slips to the Medford/Somerville elementary schools, they get distributed through newsletters and they can register online.
Undergraduates will pair up to lead small groups of children around campus for Halloween festivities, such as trick-or-treating in resident halls.
Its really enjoyable leading the kids around to different arts and crafts activities and thinking how exciting it would have been to do this as a kid and get to go around a college campus, Oppenheim said.
She explained that the event aims to connect students with the local community.
One thing thats really important to Tufts is not having students be in the Tufts bubble, Oppenheim said. We want the students to get out in the community, but this is our chance to bring the community to Tufts and give back as Tufts students, being members of the Somerville and Medford community.12
