This past weekend, campus transformed as students donned their Halloween costumes and attended a wide array of performances and events, culminating in the Vassar Student Association (VSA)-organized tent party on Noyes Circle.
VSA’s Director of Student Events Ulysses Bergel ’26 has been helping to conceptualize and put into motion Halloweekend plans since classes started, meeting regularly with the VSA, Dining Services, the Office of Health Promotion and Education, Campus Safety and Security and Director of Student Activities Will Rush. When thinking about his goals for planning this year’s events, Bergel said, “I want it to live up to the excitement, essentially, while also keeping everyone safe and healthy.”
Two weeks out from Halloweekend, Bergel held a meeting with all the offices he and Rush had been talking to, finally able to bring everything together. “Seeing it come together as a product and going, okay, this is our diagram, this is what it’s going to look like, was really exciting for me,” Bergel reflected.
On Thursday, the events kicked off in the Aula with Flypeople and Hype’s combined dance show, which was themed after the “Monster High” TV show. Every piece had performers from both dance organizations, and the finale included everyone. Flypeople’s Artistic Director Kathryn Carvel ’26 [Disclaimer: Carvel is a Copy Editor for The Miscellany News] said in a written correspondence with The Miscellany News, “Each piece is only one to two minutes long, and each dancer in the show is encouraged to pick a choreographer from the other group to allow for more mixing between the groups.” The room was packed, with screams filling the air as people cheered on the performers. Carvel added, “The show is also low stakes and just really fun. It is always one of the best nights of the year!”
After the “Flype” show, students could either head over to the Comedy Normative (Com Nom) show, “Com Nom Takes Manhattan,” in Taylor Hall or a joint acapella show in Rockefeller Hall. Collaboration continued with the acapella show as the Axies, Vassar Devils and the Night Owls swapped soloists for various numbers, concluding with all three groups performing the “Monster Mash.”
On Friday night, students also had the option of attending The Limit’s comedy show, “This Knife Life,” in Sanders Classroom.
Throughout Vassar Halloweekend, students also attended the Vassar Theater Department’s production of William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” in the Powerhouse Theater. Directed by Professor and Chair of Drama Christopher Grabowski, the production was a senior thesis for eight of the 15 members of the show.
Saturday afternoon included hayrides, pumpkin carving and apple cider snacks on the Library Lawn. Yet the culmination of Halloweekend came on Saturday night with the party tent on Noyes Circle. The event was DJed by three student acts, DJ Burgers, DJ Nure and Pearl. The event was coordinated by Vassar College Soundsystem, a club devoted to supporting student DJs and led by co-presidents Kwabena Adae ’26 and Madison Yeon ’27.
Adae noted that this was a good opportunity since getting the club back up and running this year. Reflecting on the night, Adae said, “I thought the night went really well. I enjoyed my set.” They added, “I was excited by people’s willingness to dance, and the layout of the tent seemed great. I think the entertainment on the way to the line seemed like a great addition.”
Senior Zack Garipoli noted that part of the tent’s allure is the fact that so much of the student body turns up: “I like the tent because you just run into everybody… And I’ve, honestly, I’ve had fun every year.” They added that there is an egalitarian approach to tent partying, saying, “No one acts like they’re too cool for the tent.”
On the other end of their Vassar career, first-year Summer McTigue appreciated how the College promoted safe alcohol consumption. “They’re not obviously promoting it, but they’re making sure that everyone’s being safe, which I really appreciate,” she said. “I feel like it’s just very different from, obviously, like, what I’ve experienced in high school.”
This communal aspect of the tent that Garipoli noted spilled over into Late Night snacking at Gordon Commons. Olivia Powell ’26 wondered, “Why is the Deece hosting the party?… It’s just a super brightly lit club.”
Irene Chun ’27 said of the tent experience, “I had so much fun. I was dancing so much, and the beats were good.” Yet she still felt there was something left to be desired, asking, “Because what about Ke$ha? What about these, like, mainstream pop hits?… Where was the Halloween music? Like, what about a trap remix of Spooky Scary Skeletons?”
Chun described it as a part of the larger trend of DJs shying away from pop, saying, “I don’t think there’s anything embarrassing about pop music and I think people should be leaning into that more.” McTigue also hoped for some more popular hits, saying, “I feel like it’s more of like a community than when it’s everyone singing along to a song together.”
This Halloween was a busy weekend involving student spirit and talent. Reflecting on the process, Bergel expressed his gratitude, saying, “Seriously, to every single office and organization involved…Halloweekend would not be possible without all of these people coordinating and working together.”