With costume-wearing and candy-eating being popular during Halloween season, many also take it as a night of booze-downing at parties all across the state. To have fun with the seasonal festivities in a safe, sober manner, Stockton’s Wellness Center annually holds a booze and drug-free party, “Lolla No Booza,” the name playing on the Lollapalooza music festival. The event took place in the Campus Center Event Room, collaborating with organizations like Stockton’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, Stockton’s College Recovery Program, ACHIEVE Wellness and Recovery, drug and alcohol addiction recovery resources, and various mental health resources both on and off-campus.

The event was the perfect conclusion to the second annual Sober Week held by the Wellness Center and Stockton’s Recovery Program. The week included a Game Night and Cereal Bar on Monday, followed by a Taco Tuesday, then Narcan Tabling on Wednesday that educated students on how to use Naloxone as it can save someone from a critical opioid overdose, particularly Fentanyl, the most deadly opioid to date.

This year’s party was themed as “Back to the 90s” in accordance with the entire Sober Week theme, bringing nostalgic tunes and videos to the Event Room. Costumed guests were able to sign up for the annual Costume Contest, participate in a raffle, play games like Jenga, Giant Connect 4, jump rope, and cornhole, as well as engage in many other fun activities. Finger food was served with homemade mocktails while the DJ brought some of the guests out onto the dance floor to join in “Cha Cha Slide,” “Cupid Shuffle,” the “Wobble,” and other iconic dances. Guests each received a card with ten possible slots to fill in at different activities, which would earn them a prize if filled.

Aside from the festivities in the Event Room, the party was spilled outside to the Campus Center Grand Hall and Meeting Rooms. The Stockton College Panhellenic Council in association with Fraternity and Sorority Life had tie-dye tables set up with free white T-shirts and dye. A face-painting station and a photo shoot station were also available. Many of Stockton’s mental health resources as well as many recovery centers and mental health centers from off-campus tabled in the hallway, some offering games and prizes.

The meeting rooms were converted into different spaces, including the Costume Room—which offered free costumes, which guests could keep thanks to a Spirit Halloween sponsorship—and the Game Room, offering a myriad of board games to play.

At the Campus Center Coffeehouse, some of our beloved therapy dogs visited with adorable costumes. Eva and her owner, Nate, showed up as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse while Moose and his owner, Susan, were Cruella and a Dalmatian. The pairs brought in clusters of students.

Tara O’Keefe, the Addictions Counselor Supervisor at the Wellness Center, was in charge of planning this year’s event. She said, “The turnout’s been good. [Despite] the weather; we definitely had a slow roll, but we already had over 250 people coming over [in the first hour]!” O’Keefe explained, “The whole point of this started 20 years ago as an answer to a couple things: for one, in South Jersey, this is a really big drinking and partying night, and we want to give students an alternative. Also, the Greeks have Halloweek, so we wanted to do something in response to that—everything here is sober, wholesome fun. All the baskets and prizes you can win are sponsored by resources on and off campus.”

In regards to Sober Week, O’Keefe was satisfied with the success of the program: “Last year was the first Sober Week; it wasn’t as big and we were figuring things out, but the turnout this year for Sober Week has been great, so this is the first big one.”

For more information on Stockton’s Wellness resources, visit this link.