By KaiQi Liang and Diya Vanjani, staff writers
Tomorrow, vampires will roam the halls and zombies will shuffle to class as Townsend Harris students and faculty celebrate Halloween.
As students make final preparations for tomorrow, the administration advises them to stay within dress code regulations. These include costumes that cover your midriff and shoulders and are at least knee length. Students should also avoid masks as everyone’s faces must be recognizable at all times.
Senior Phyllis Alinsao plans to dress up in a onesie along with her friends. She explains that their reason for doing so is to make the most of their last year in school, as well as their last chance to dress up. She also notes that changing into and out of costumes for gym may have been a factor in students’ decision to dress up.
However, significant influence comes from the dress code. “The dress code often interferes with some of my costume ideas since a lot of the costumes are sleeveless or don’t go down past my knees. I hope the dress code can be accommodated to allow for more freedom of dressing up,” says junior Amanda Vialva.
Nevertheless, she shares, “I am dressing up for Halloween and trick-or-treating because I really enjoy the experience of putting on a costume and makeup and dressing up.”
Some students have more optimistic views on the dress code policy.
“Even with all the dress codes and limitations, Halloween is a great time of the year to have fun and express yourself in creative ways,” agrees junior Leanna Sarfati.
“I think that the Townsend Harris faculty does a pretty good job at keeping up the spirit since they too dress up, as well as give out candy during class,” Phyllis comments. “It’s really interesting to see how some Townsend kids come up with pretty inimitable costume ideas with references to popular memes or other internet trends.”
Phyllis, who will be trick-or-treating, states, “I think at some point we need to give other smaller kids the chance to get more candy. I think everyone needs to stop trick-or-treating around 18. Perhaps a lot younger.”
Looking back, she remarks, “I think since my freshman year a lot of kids have seemed to lose interest in the whole idea of dressing up due to increase in workload and crammed schedules, but I’m hoping that we can all get in the spirit one last time for the sake of making some last memorable moments.”
