Halloween is coming up soon and that’s a big deal here in Athens. It means you get to dress up with all your friends, go to parties, see bands play on Court Street and so much more. I love HallOUween as much as the next person, but it can be a little overrated. As a senior, I’ve been through HallOUween multiple times so here is what really goes down during HallOUween weekend.
- Having People Stay With You is a Pain
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A lot of people will ask to come and stay with you. You can only have 1 person stay with you in the dorms and you have to pay $50 to let them stay. When I lived in the dorms, my friends and I split the $50, so we each paid $25. You have to get wristbands and you can only enter the dorms with a wristband and with the person you’re staying with. If you’re a guest and not with your friend then no entry is granted. You also can’t sign them in until a certain time on Friday, which can also be a pain because a lot of events go on the Friday night of HallOUween, so trying to get them signed in can also be really annoying. I had my friends come down Thursday that way they were already here so we didn’t have to deal with traffic and a long-line when signing people in because I could sign them in later at night.
If you live in an apartment or house then you can have as many people as you want to come and stay with you, but it can also be a real pain. You might want to have 3 of your friends down, but so might your roommates. It can get pretty crowded and will make you end up with a really full house. As much fun as it might seem to have this many people come and stay, it gets pretty annoying when you’re sharing a bathroom with 10 people for the whole weekend.
- Parking is a Mess
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If having 10 people come and stay with you for the weekend isn’t annoying enough, it gets worse with parking. You can’t park anywhere on campus without getting towed on a regular weekend, and during HallOUween weekend it just gets worse. They do have free parking on the fairgrounds, but if you don’t have a car to go and pick up your friends it can be a huge pain trying to get their bags back to wherever you’re staying. Some off-campus apartment complexes do offer a HallOUween weekend parking pass, but there are only a certain amount which means you have to stand in a long line and wake up early just to ensure you get one.
- Parties
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The parties are super fun, but not as crazy as everyone makes them seem. Some parties you have to pay for because the fraternities make girls pay $5 for a wristband just to drink and others charge guys $10. The parties also get super crowded, but it is super fun seeing people you know out and dancing with all your friends.
The parties also start early which is great, but it also means everything starts getting shut down around 3 or 4 and if you have nowhere to go after that, you’re basically stuck texting people looking for parties until something comes up or you decide to get food and go walk around on Court Street until you and your friends decide you’re finally tired and want to call it a night.
HallOUween can be a pain, but it is also one of the best weekends of the school year. Yes, parking can be a mess and having a bunch of people stay with you for the weekend can get pretty annoying, but it is also an experience you’ll never forget and look forward to every year. It may not be as crazy as people make it out to be, but what’s better than dressing up with your friends and running around Athens all day?