Members of the Minority Mentorship Program brought Halloween to town a bit earlier than anticipated with a Halloween fest. 

The Oct. 15 program, held in the McCastlain Ballroom, was the second event of four monthly programs to be hosted throughout the remainder of the fall and spring semesters. 

When participants walked into the room, they were greeted with decor and scattered sweet treats, but the adorned ballroom and a box of sweets were not all the event had to offer. 

Students spent the night bouncing from one table to the next, playing the games that awaited them on each countertop. 

Madyson Solee, a sophomore nursing student, decided to join the fun because she did not “get out” in the spring semester.

“I was tired of looking at the walls,” Solee said. “With being off campus, it’s harder for me to get involved in stuff.” 

The immense advertising of the event, along with her desire to network, brought her to MMP’s Halloween Fest, but the stations — along with a few impromptu games — are what compelled her to stay. 

One of the featured games was “Hungry, Hungry Mentee.” 

At this table, participants were put into pairs. With a spoon and marshmallow in hand, one person of each pair flung marshmallow after marshmallow in their partner’s direction, holding onto hope that it would land in their mouth as it flew through the air. 

Another table, termed “the mystery box,” held up a container with an unknown substance in its center. Students stuck their hands in and using only two of their five senses, took turns guessing what lay inside. 

One of the most anticipated games was unnamed. 

Mentees and mentors alike were challenged with wrapping their peers in toilet paper from head to toe. Whichever participant was able to walk across the room and back while maintaining the integrity of the toilet paper was declared the victor. 

The event also featured an impromptu game of musical chairs and Black Jeopardy – your regular game of Jeopardy complete with questions on all things Black culture.

Krista Lee, a junior elementary education major, said, “My favorite part about the event were the Black trivia questions. Everyone was competitive and really trying to win so it made it fun.” 

Lee said, “It also made you think back on all of the things you’ve heard, learned, or seen growing up.” 

PJ Denkins, the leader of the team who supervised and organized the event, saw a need for students to “unwind a bit from school and work” and to “spend time with people.” 

This, along with the holiday that happens to fall in October, gave rise to the Halloween-themed event. 

MMP’s next program will take place Nov. 19.