This Halloween saw Exeter students dressed to impress, with a wide variety of terrifying costumes. But at Chester University, two First Year students decided to shock not only their friends, but also the whole country with their inappropriate choice of Halloween dress up. Amber Langford and Annie Collinge chose 9/11 for their joint costume, dressing as the North Tower and the South Tower respectively. The costumes consisted of cardboard boxes crudely drawn to resemble the towers, adorned with coloured plastic to represent smoke and fire, even including miniature models of the hijacked planes.
Perhaps what is even more disturbing, is the fact that these two girls won a ‘Best Dressed’ competition with their horrifying get-up and even received a cash prize of £150 at Rosie’s nightclub. The girls have since come forward and apologised for any offence they had caused, claiming it was completely unintentional. The costumes and the photos that have since come to light have been condemned by the University of Chester, although they were unable to say what course of action would be taken to reprimand the girls. Amber’s father, a pilot, has spoken to the press over the situation and assured them that he will “be having a little chat” with his daughter. Other students who attended the event have also expressed disgust at the insensitive nature of the costumes and the vulgarity of their ‘Best Dressed’ victory. Stonegate Pub Company, who own Rosie’s Nightclub, have expressed their concern and displeasure over the decision for the girls to win the competition and have begun an investigation into the judgement that took place.
It is completely beyond my comprehension why these girls thought that this was an acceptable event to replicate as a costume, even if they did it without the intention to offend. The 9/11 attacks in 2001 saw more than 2,700 people lose their lives and the devastating attack has had repercussions that still reverberate all over the globe, felt most poignantly by the American people. This scandal only raises more questions over the idea of ‘dress up’, not just at Halloween, but also at University in general. HCX would love to hear some of your opinions on this matter in the comments below.
Photo credits: www.metro.co.uk, www.beforeitsnews.com,