Local Kids Haunt SUNY Oneonta Dorms for ‘Halloween in the Halls’ Event
By JAQUELYN CARLO
SUNY Institute for Local News
ONEONTA
Every fall for the past 30-plus years, a horde of zombies, witches, pirates, monsters, superheroes, princesses, vampires and other disguised youngsters has invaded the SUNY Oneonta campus a few days before Halloween. For the next few hours, the residence halls that are usually filled only with pajama-clad 18-to-22-year-olds are crowded with candy-craving local grade schoolers and their families. The reason? An annual community event called “Halloween in the Halls,” where local children and families go trick-or-treating in the college student dorms.
This year the event was held on the evening of Tuesday, October 28. It began at 5 p.m. with a carnival in the Hunt Union student union building. Then, starting at 6 p.m., student volunteers began guiding local families on trick-or-treating routes around SUNY Oneonta’s 15 different residence halls. Students in each building decorated their dorms, handed out candy and ran Halloween-themed activities for the kids.
The Halloween Carnival kicked off the festivities in Hunt Union’s International Lounge. Fraternities and sororities, organized by the Inter-Greek Council, entertained the arriving trick-or-treaters with spooky games and activities.
Sorority Alpha Kappa Phi was staged near the Starbucks coffee shop, presenting the kids with a festive cookie-decorating station. The sorority has tabled for this event in the past. Junior Brianna Ferguson said that she and her sorority sisters enjoy participating in the carnival because they love “seeing the kids smile and have fun while in their costumes.”
“It reminds us why community involvement matters so much. We love seeing their excitement and it’s a great opportunity for our members to connect with the community,” Ferguson added.
The carnival was the starting point for the main event, which was the guided trick-or-treating tours through the campus dorms. Children dressed in a diverse assortment of costumes began to gather in groups: a family of ghosts, cartoon characters like Scooby-Doo and Coraline, even the chicken from “Moana.” Each group was sectioned off and assigned a student tour guide, who then led them to select dormitories.
Group 18 headed down the hill from Hunt Union toward the freshman dorms. Looking around campus in the twilight, one could see big groups of children and their parents—and many grandparents, too—heading off in every direction.
The first stop for Group 18 was Wilber Hall. Families were led inside and immediately met by staff who directed them down hallways. The front lobby of the residence hall also had a candy station and other activities for the kids.
“In our building, we have cider donut holes, apple cider, candy, toys, and some fun little games and activities for them to do,” said Residence Hall Director Aidan Breese, who was stationed in Ford Hall.
Each residence hall collaboratively chose their theme and the attractions they created for the visiting children.
According to Christine Edwards, director of On Campus Housing and Residential Life, 470 residence hall students volunteered for the event this year.
Students and staff were dressed up in Halloween costumes, too. As Group 18 wound its way through the halls, there were college students in “Scream” Ghost Face masks and multiple Spider-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles handing out candy from their dorm rooms. Many of the dorm room doors were decorated with cobwebs, skeletons and pumpkins to celebrate the Halloween spirit.
The hallways were a tight squeeze, packed with costumed children and their families. It was an organized chaos, however. A “candy here” sign was hung above each dorm room that had signed up to participate in the event. Children knocked on those doors and were greeted by the residents, exactly like if they were trick-or-treating on Oneonta’s residential streets on Halloween day.
Each trick-or-treating group visited a total of three dormitories. Group 18 departed Wilber for Littell Hall, then stopped into Toby Hall for the conclusion of the tour. By the last stop, some families started peeling off early. It was a chilly evening and they had to walk back up the hill to Hunt Union.
Halloween in the Halls is an annual event that has been hosted on campus for more than three decades. It was briefly paused during the COVID pandemic and restarted in 2024. This year, more than 1,500 community members visited the SUNY Oneonta campus for the event, according to Edwards.
The supervised trick-or-treating route is a free public event. Children and their families from around the greater Oneonta area are invited to join. In addition to social media and online promotion, SUNY Oneonta staff distribute flyers for the event to local schools.
Halloween in the Halls is sponsored by SUNY Oneonta’s Residential Experience and Housing, also known as Residential Life or Res Life, along with the Office of Student Life and Leadership.
This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Service, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.
