Halloween Costume Bowl to hold four contests in Student Center Bowling and Billiards Thursday night

Earlier this semester, Undergraduate Student Government opened the opportunity for Registered Student Organizations to arrange an on-campus Halloween event.

The International Student Council and Saluki Rainbow Network took on the challenge and are co-sponsoring the Halloween Costume Bowl from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday in the Student Center Bowling and Billiards.

All students are welcome to dress in costume and partake in a variety of festive contests. Four contests will take place:costume, bring your own carved pumpkin, karaoke and bowling.

Ana Velitchkova, International Student Council president, and Mike Gary, co-director of the Saluki Rainbow Network, had talked about a month earlier in wanting to organize an activity for students on Halloween.

They started to organize what the event would include, following the limitations set by USG in planning a Halloween event. The activity could not be a party or a dance that would attract a large crowd of people.

During a Sept. 9 USG meeting, members discussed they would not have time to facilitate their own alternative Halloween activity this year. However, they proposed three possible actions to help smooth Halloween festivities.

The ideas included provided a form of mass transit to move students to activities from the city’s center, a request to block off certain streets that will have a high concentration of pedestrian traffic to avoid accidents and to encourage small events that will take place away from the center of the city.

The Inter-Greek Council is hosting a face painting and costume contest from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Student Center Ballrooms B and C. Although this event is open to college students as well as the community, the Halloween Costume Bowl is an example of an event USG anticipated for Thursday night.

Co-sponsored by SPACE (Special Programs and Center Events) and the Student Center Bowling and Billiards, ISC and SRN had most of the expense for the event covered. But in hopes to attract more students, they wanted to offer the bowling for free to guests at the Bowl.

Velitchkova said she had talked with USG about the constituency group helping to fund $150 for bowling shoe rental and game prices. She said USG said they needed proof the event would take place and Velitchkova returned with evidence to present in front of the USG finance committee.

Gary and Velitchkova met with the USG finance committee on Monday night, where the committee passed the $150 request for funding of the Halloween Costume Bowl.

Rob Hobson, USG finance committee chair and West Side senator, said the request will go in front of USG at its meeting tonight. If the $150 request passes, free admission will include one game of bowling, snacks and karaoke.

Hobson said the event is logical and meets standards set by USG.

“It is reasonable and on campus,” he said. “Students who don’t want to go out and get drunk, they can go out and bowl.”

Gary said he hopes students will come to the event, and he expects about 90 students to attend. He said the two organizations wanted to have an event on campus that would be alcohol and problem free, and he said he believes this small gathering could be the solution.

“People should be able to celebrate on Halloween,” Gary said. “Have something festive where students can celebrate that doesn’t go until four in the morning and is on campus so students who are stuck on campus can go to the event.”

Reporter Samantha Edmondson can be reached at [email protected]