In a spooky calendar fluke, three notorious fall events and two frat parties will all be taking place this long Halloween weekend.
Because Halloween is so late in the week, the extravaganza, starting tonight with Pierson College’s Inferno and ending Saturday with a duel between DKE’s Mortician’s Ball and Casino Night, sponsored by Morse and Ezra Stiles colleges, will mean a prolific amount of dress-up and overly taxed wallets. In between, Silliman College’s Safety Dance will share Friday evening with Sigma Chi’s Crime and Punishment.
In the past, the Yale College Council has tried to create a council of student activities committee, or SAC, presidents, so that the residential colleges could better coordinate major events and maximize profits. But SAC leaders and party organizers said this weekend’s packed party schedule is the result of Halloween falling on a Thursday, not a lack of planning.
Before the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s annual Halloween concert tonight, Pierson will host its own Halloween tradition, Inferno, which starts at 10 p.m. There has been no outside publicity of the event because of safety concerns.
For the event, only one Pierson gate will be open and students will only be able to get in if they live in Pierson or have a ticket, Piersonite Pavlo Chikosh ’05 said.
Friday, the ’80s will stage its regular November comeback earlier than usual, with Silliman’s annual Safety Dance, an hour earlier than Sigma Chi’s free Crime and Punishment.
Jason Farago ’05, Silliman SAC president, said that Safety Dance and Saturday’s Casino Night were scheduled a long time ago, and the conflicts with Halloween events were not really considered.
“It just wasn’t the first thing we thought about,” Farago said. “We’ve had this day reserved for a year.”
Farago said he did not think that three nights in a row was “too crazy.” But with Halloween and the fraternity parties, he said he was slightly anxious.
“We’re a little worried,” Farago said, “but we’re not incredibly nervous. We just hope people remember how great Safety Dance has been in the past.”
Farago said Sigma Chi’s party bothered him more than anything.
“They [Sigma Chi] put their banner over ours on the Porter Gate, and I’m not happy about that,” Farago said.
While Farago said Silliman did not support the YCC’s past proposal for a SAC council, he said the different college SACs need to work together more efficiently.
“More communication couldn’t hurt,” Farago said.
Chikosh said he did not think students would have a problem shelling out extra cash for the multiple events. Sigma Chi’s Crime and Punishment is the only party that isn’t charging admission.
“The real purpose isn’t to make money,” said Chikosh, who is also a member of Sigma Chi. “But I don’t think $3, [the price of Inferno tickets] is really a big deal.”
Saturday, however, the posh and prominent Casino Night will break gamblers’ wallets at the door for $10 a person. Later than usual, DKE’s Mortician’s Ball will challenge Stiles’ and Morse’s profit potential with a lower cover charge and a less formal atmosphere.
And for those who don’t think there are enough options to really party this long Halloween weekend, Yale President Richard Levin and his wife, Jane, are holding a get-together tonight at their house from 10 until 11:30 p.m. Like the invitations sent to everyone on campus say, “Costumes will be welcomed.”