By: ALICIA FLORES
Staff Writer
aaflores@umail.iu.edu
Cold, brisk evenings, fall boots, pumpkin spiced everything—yes, fall is definitely in the air, which means planning for the annual Boo To You is underway.
The Student Government Association’s (SGA) Boo to You committee has been officially planning for about a month, but committee chair and SGA president Stephen Salisbury has been making plans since the beginning of summer.
Boo to you is an annual Halloween event that takes place during the week of Halloween on IU South Bend campus. The event provides a safe place for children in the community to Trick or Treat and participate in activities
Finding the appropriate facility to host an event of any kind can be tricky but every year the SGA has managed to find a prime location. However, concerns over location, time and staff have come up during the planning process.
Over the years Boo to You has taken place in Riverside Hall or the campus mall, but this year it will take over the Grill.
The organizers must take several things into consideration when planning any event, especially when kids and other students will be involved, said senior Stuart Settle. Settle is a senator for the SGA and part of the Boo to You committee.
“There are fire codes that must be kept in mind and logistics,” he said. “Whenever there is liability and a possibility of someone getting hurt, you have to watch out for all that.”
Organizers had considered the basement of the Administration Building for the haunted house. But due to classes and offices being held there, they determined it could not be used, said Salisbury.
Organizers also determined that two separate locations for Boo to You in the Administration Building could not be staffed appropriately during the event to be successful, added IUSB spokesperson Ken Baierl.
Along with these factors came the loss of other location options due to the ongoing renovations around campus and the flooding in Northside Hall. Although they are working with much smaller space, Salisbury said, “We are going to do the absolute best we can with what we have.”
“Last year we had the whole Riverside Building and two people working nearly non-stop for two weeks to build up the space. We don’t have nearly those types of resources both in space and personnel at our disposal this year, which is why I have been working tirelessly to reach out to as many clubs and organizations as possible to make this the best possible event we can,” Salisbury said.
This year the committee only has two days to prepare Fireside and the Grill rather than the weeks they had in past years.
With loss of resources, the Boo to You committee is looking for organizations to step up and be a part of the festivities.
“We are hoping to get a lot of club engagement,” said Settle. “It is a great opportunity for IUSB students to reach out to the community and also reach out and engage one another on campus.”
Currently the SGA has commitments from two of the fraternities on campus, QSA, the Japanese Club and Titan Pro, said Salisbury. “This a great way for clubs to illustrate community engagement which has always been the motivator for this event— to reach out to our community and give them something fun to do on our campus.”
“It is neat to see during the meetings how the various branches of campus come together to put things on,” said Settle.
Boo to You will include trick-or-treating down at River Crossing Student Housing and Igor’s Haunted Maze and Freaky Fun House.
The Boo to You committee also plans on reaching out to elementary schools in South Bend and Mishawaka in an effort to promote the event in the community, said Settle.
“This will be a good opportunity for the kids to come do something during the evening,” said Settle.
This year. Boo to You will take place in during spirit week.
Students or organizations interested in volunteering can contact the chair of the SGA Boo to You committee, Stephen Salisbury, at stugov@iusb.edu by the end of this week.
