All of the creatures, ghouls and commuters came out during the day to attend Montclair State University’s Commuter’s Worst Nightmare event on Thursday Oct. 26. Students who wore costumes were entered in a raffle to win an iPad, and many university organizations arranged activity tables throughout the Student Center Ballrooms.
The event was co-sponsored by organizations like Commuter Student Programs and Services (CSPS), Health Promotion, the Student Government Association, Residence Life and Campus Recreation.
“My assistant, Monica Morgan, had the idea during the late summer,” said Antonio Talamo, the coordinator for CSPS. “It took us a couple of months to figure out exactly what it was going to be. I would say that is typical for a large-scale event.”
Mahnoor Piracha, a freshman majoring in accounting at Montclair State stuffing her zombie bear.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Ruiz
The event started with a spooky version of Build-A-Buddy, which they called zombie bears. Students went straight to the table to stuff their bears and design them with paint, eye patches and bandages.
“To be honest, it was fun but I feel like there should’ve been a little more to do besides just the Build-A-Buddy,” said Mahnoor Piracha, a freshman accounting major. “It was still fun, but there wasn’t much to do.”
Students spinning the wheel at the Health Promotion table.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Ruiz
Weekends at Montclair’s table held a spin-the-wheel attraction that had many prizes, such as a free t-shirt, a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, lip balm and more.
Health Promotion also had a somewhat similar table that included another spin-the-wheel attraction. Students were asked a health-related question after spinning the wheel and could pick up free items from the table if they were correct.
Staff at the event handing out Halloween themed drinks to students.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Ruiz
Near the end of the line of tables, there was a chocolate fondue area which had marshmallows ready to be dipped. There was also a table full of creepy-named drinks, such as Spooky Tonic and Witch’s Brew that contained Sprite, gummies and Nerds within the mix.
Rocky the Red Hawk dancing the afternoon away with a student dressed as an Inflatable air dancer.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Ruiz
Rocky the Red Hawk made an appearance to participate in dancing and taking pictures with students that dressed up.
Talamo mentioned being unsure of what to expect in terms of student turnout, but he was satisfied with the results.
“We were confident we had a good event put together, but we didn’t know how many students would really show up,” Talamo said. “What felt amazing was that not only did we have a high attendance, but most of those students were commuters.”
