Spooky season tends to be taken a bit too far, especially among college students, with the rate of drunk driving and alcohol poisoning increasing exponentially during “Halloweekend.” To promote a culture where students can have a wonderful time without the need for drugs and alcohol, the Wellness Center hosts an annual party called “Lolla No Booza” in the Campus Center Event Room to provide booze-free Halloween fun. This year marked the 19th annual party, and the theme was “Fright Fest,” which brought a lot of games, costumes, and prizes to students. Food and drinks were provided along with informative brochures on the impact that excessive alcohol and drug consumption has on the body, both short-term and long-term.

All guests were provided with a card full of different games to choose from: Mummy Wrap, the Haunted Walk hosted by the Stockton Theatre Club, Escape Rooms, Sack Race, and more. With each game played, the guests’ cards would be stamped and they would earn tickets to put into the many prize baskets offered by the hosts. Some of the baskets included a Stockton Merchandise bundle, a Book Lover bundle that included the entire Hunger Games series, a Game Night basket full of fun board games, and many others. There was also a Photo Booth set up outside the Event Room and a Monster Match game on a touchscreen. Aside from the raffle baskets, there was the annual Costume Contest that featured the different creative costumes on Polaroids.

Students enjoyed a night of fun and dancing with many nostalgic and fun tunes, including the iconic Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The DJ hyped the crowd up with a glowing Marshmello mask and high energy to keep the event fun and exciting for all. Alyssa Bernstein commented, “It was the best time of my life! The food was good, the gift baskets were cool, the games were fun, and I loved the face painting; it was so unique.” At the end of the night, the raffle baskets were given out to lucky guests and Costume Contest winners were announced. One of the most memorable winners were the “Best Duo” and “Funniest” category winners, which were from the same group: “Best Duo” went to Mario and Yoshi while the “Funniest” prize went to the entire Mario Bros. family of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and Yoshi.

Edwin Feria-Serna, who was dressed as Mario, stated, “This was my third year going to Lolla No Booza, and it was so much fun. We wanted to go out with a bang.” He expressed that he “loved all the mini games, running around trying to fill out the punch card. The prizes were amazing! Overall, the Costume Contest was amazing, seeing everyone dress up and have fun was phenomenal. I would do it again, and I would recommend it to all my friends!” As a prize for winning the Costume Contest, each member of the team was awarded a $25 Wawa gift card. Edwin and his friend, Alexander Mendoza, who dressed as Yoshi, won two gift cards each for winning in two categories. “It was a night to remember,” Feria-Serna concluded.