The quad during the Boo at MU event. SARAH ROLKA / THE QUADRANGLE
Sarah Rolka, Staff Writer
Boo at MU, previously called “Safe Halloween”, is an annual event at Manhattan University hosted by the education department’s honor society, Kappa Delta Pi (KDP). Each year, children and their families from the Riverdale area are invited to trick-or-treat and partake in other games and activities in a safe environment around campus.
On Oct. 24, KDP hosted Boo at MU once again. Kendall Tullino, senior childhood education major and co-president of KDP, spoke to The Quadrangle on why it matters for KDP to host this event each year.
“I think it’s a great way to bring the community together in a safe and fun environment,” Tullino said. “We are very welcoming and we love to host this event every year…It’s good to know that we have a welcoming environment where families and children can come to have fun with the college community.”
Tullino also commented on how she personally felt hosting the event with KDP.
“I love this, I’m having a great time,” Tullino said. “It’s great to see the families loving it, it’s great to see the kids loving it. And I think as an education major, it’s nice to see that what we are doing is making an impact in the community.”
Scarlett DeMasi, an education major and secretary of KDP, added her thoughts on why the event matters and why it’s hosted every year.
“This is one of the most popular events that KDP hosts, and we have such a great time doing it because it’s a great way to get the community involved,” DeMasi said. “And this is the best way for all the clubs to be together at once. It’s a great charity event.”
Activities held by clubs and sports teams on campus included trick-or-treating, coloring activities and much more.
MU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), hosted an activity called “Media Monster Mash.” Kara Horne, secretary of PRSSA and senior communication major with a concentration in public relations, spoke to The Quadrangle about what their activity entailed.
“We’ve been having the kids decorate blank stickers, telling them they can draw whatever they want and tying it into PRSSA by [calling it] ‘designing their own logos’,” Horne said. “And also we’ve been giving out lollipops.”
Horne also touched on how the club came up with the idea of decorating the stickers and making them into logos.
“Mia Porritt thought of it, our president, and we did this two years ago and it was a hit, so we wanted to do it again,” Horne said.
MU’s chapter of Her Campus chapter was also holding activities for the kids during the event. Irene Papakanakis, a junior adolescent education major and the creative and editorial director for the chapter, was helping out in the club’s room. She spoke to The Quadrangle about what activities they were hosting, and why she thinks Boo at MU is important to host each year.
“We have some coloring sheets for the kids, but also since we are in the Her Campus room, we do have some writing activities for the older kids,” Papakanakis said. “I think it’s important because MU focuses so much on community and interacting with it and this is a wonderful way to do that. Also, it brings so much joy to our community and the kids here.”
Lauren Ahern, junior marketing major and a member of the women’s soccer team, also spoke to The Quadrangle about what activity her team was facilitating for the event, and how she felt loaning a helping hand.
“We’re having coloring pages and we also have candy for the little kids,” Ahern said. “It’s awesome that us older kids get to interact with little kids…learning how to interact with those types of kids, it’s really cool.”
A parent and the assistant director of operations and special projects in health services at MU, Michele Reyes, spoke to The Quadrangle about her thoughts on Boo at MU as a whole. She mentioned how she and her daughter were enjoying the event, and whether or not they would be back next year.
“It’s good…she enjoys it,” Reyes said. “It’s something for the neighborhood. It’s something safe and good for the kids.”