Packaged candy slid down a chute from the upper floors into the open hands and bags of children and adults at Hays Hall, starting the Halloween weekend.
Alumni, staff, faculty and friends could attend the outdoor Six Feet Trick or Treat event from 4-6 p.m. and current students could attend between 7-9 p.m. Joe Vandal made an appearance at the event for photos from 5-6 p.m. at the community event and 7-8 p.m. at the student event.
Jake Milleson, president of the Student Alumni Relations Board, said they originally planned to do one event from 12-5 p.m. for everyone on Oct. 30. They decided to have separate events that are special for the students with scarier decorations and spread out the traffic flow.
The Spring Easter Egg hunt for the community and students was canceled due to COVID-19, so they decided to do a Halloween event to get people involved.
Hays Hall, located on 1212 Blake Ave., was the perfect location away from the road with a beautiful courtyard and building for the event. Katie Dahlinger, UI Marketing and Communication manager for the Office of Alumni Relations, brought up the event idea to try and offer the community members and students some normalcy during COVID-19 Halloween.
The drain tile pipe chute started on the ADA accessible first-floor roof where an alumni relations member would slide down a handful of mini-sized candies into a person’s hand or goodie bag on the ground level, depending on the person’s preference. And to keep things sanitary, the chute end was placed on the ground floor was placed on a table.
People could not choose their candy, but staff members made sure those with allergies were accommodated.
Markers on the sidewalk, signs and alumni staff regulated the event to make sure people were adhering to the CDC guidelines. An hour between the community and student event allowed the staff to clean off the table and other items.
There was no food or drinks offered or any other activities at this event to adhere to COVID-19 protocols. Alumni relations hope to offer these things in the future if the event is successful this year. Seth Vieux, COVID-19 project manager, signed off on the event and said it fit with the Stage 3 protocols that Gov. Brad Little announced would go into effect in Idaho on Monday, Oct. 26.
“(The Student Alumni Relation Board) hope that it’s a big success and hope that it’s possibly something that we can do into the future but maybe with a little less restrictions next year,” Milleson said. “We’ll (continue to) work with the current recommendations and guidelines set by university, public, state and national health.”
For the past three years, UI has hosted a Vandals vs. Bengals Food Fight event. UI and ISU are tied with this year determining the tiebreaker. A box was placed at the beginning of the trick or treat event near the road so those with non-perishable items to donate could drop them off. This month-long instead of week-long homecoming event ended on Oct. 31.
Marie Duncan, director of Alumni Programs & Operations, said this event is partnered with the Idaho Food Bank that distributes the food to students on campus. She hoped putting a box out for the donations at the trick or treat event would bring awareness and give community members a chance to donate if they couldn’t during Homecoming Week.
“We’ll see the turnout and the interest in it, but I think we have the perfect building for (trick or treating), the perfect location with a parking lot close by so people don’t have to walk too far into campus to be a part of it,” Duncan said. “I hope it’s something that I’m talking about in 10 years saying, ‘we started it because of COVID-19, but it grew legs and it kept getting better and better.’”
Milleson and Duncan encouraged people to incorporate cloth masks into the costume, trick or treat indoors with family or places with well-regulated COVID-19 protocols, carve pumpkins and take hikes to enjoy the fall weather before it snows again.
The Vandals vs. Bengal Food Fight competition results are on the Student Alumni Relation Board and office’s social media sites.
Kim Stager can be reached at [email protected]