Without a doubt, this year’s Halloween was unlike past years. With positivity rates for COVID-19 climbing, students were encouraged to limit the number of people they were with and take precautions. Many students found ways to keep themselves and others safe, while still enjoying the festivities.
How did you celebrate Halloween this year?
Freshman Angelina Yeomans: “I went to my friend’s house. We carved pumpkins and hung out in the garage, so that we weren’t too close.”
Freshman Griffin Fowler: “I celebrated Halloween by having maybe 3 or 4 friends over to my house and we stayed outside the whole time.”
Sophomore Molly Hamrick: “I went over to my friend’s house and there was like 8 other people.”
Sophomore Samuel Petasnick: “This year I celebrated by going to my friend’s house, a haunted house, and then trick or treating around the block.”
Junior Elizabeth Rodriguez:“I celebrated Halloween this year by dressing up with 2 of my close friends and trick-or-treating (even though we’re juniors in high school) and watching movies.”
Senior Angela Perez: “This year I stayed home and handed out candy to kids with my family.”
Do you think the way you celebrated this year was safe and appropriate?
Angelina Yeomans: “We tried really hard to make sure that everybody was comfortable the whole time and it was a lot different than previous Halloweens, but it was still more normal than [the last few months.]”
Griffin Fowler: “I thought it was appropriate considering we usually have up to 15 people inside on a normal year.”
Molly Hamrick: “Yeah, because we all dance together, so we’ve been with each other before.”
Samuel Petasnick: “I do because I hung out with the same people that I have seen all summer and wore a mask at the haunted house and when trick or treating.”
Elizabeth Rodriguez:“I think it was, as I didn’t go to a party and the only houses we trick-or-treated at had candy outside their house. We also wore masks and separated ourselves from any other.”
Angela Perez: “Yes, because I wore a mask, distanced myself from the trick or treaters, and stayed home.”
How did COVID-19 impact your plans?
Angelina Yeomans: “There would’ve been more people and we could’ve celebrated more.”
Griffin Fowler: “COVID-19 definitely impacted our plans. It cut down the amount of people we celebrated with severely.”
Molly Hamrick: “Not really, because I still probably would’ve been with friends either way.”
Samuel Petasnick: “I do not think COVID-19 impacted my plans because I was not planning on going anywhere.”
Elizabeth Rodriguez: “It didn’t really impact my plans too much, since I celebrated the same way with the same two people last year. The only thing that was different was having to wear masks and separate ourselves from others.”
Angela Perez: “Normally I would have some friends over but I wanted to be safe so I spent the night with my family instead.”
How do you feel about the way the Oswego community celebrated Halloween?
Angelina Yeomans: “I was in a neighborhood with a lot of little kids, so on Halloween I’m used to like hundreds of kids trick-or-treating, but it was definitely a lot less. We had to take precautions in our neighborhood, like only walking in one direction. In my area, it was handled well.”
Griffin Fowler: “I think the community could have handled Halloween with Covid a lot better considering I saw a lot of people out in large groups with no masks. The village itself applied appropriate restrictions but the community didn’t follow them as well as they should’ve.”
Molly Hamrick: “My close friends stayed safe. I do know some people that went to extreme parties, that probably wasn’t a good idea.”
Samuel Petasnick: “I liked the way that Oswego celebrated because they became creative when it came to giving out candy and decorating masks to fit the halloween theme. I also think that our village’s actions to keep everyone safe worked well.”
Elizabeth Rodriguez: “I don’t know what actions the village took, but I think some of the Oswego community didn’t celebrate in an appropriate way. I heard about parties and was even invited to one that I didn’t attend.”
Angela Perez: “Although the village tried their hardest to keep everyone safe with the new rules they enforced, I feel there were still too many people that went to parties and did not take any precautions. It was definitely safer for the younger kids though, just not as fun.”
I’m Lizzy Sorensen, co-Editor-in-Chief for 42Fifty this year. This is my third year with the publication and I’m so excited to take on this leadership role.
Aside from journalism, I’m on the halftime and competitive dance teams and involved in several honor societies at OHS. Some of my favorite things are barbecue chicken pizza, working out, fantasy football/baseball teams, new sneakers, Target, iced coffee, and Criminal Minds.
