Tim Danger Ramos
Photo Editor
An impostor from “Among Us” got candy from a “Star Wars” Jedi while Michael Myers from “Halloween” walked alongside a giant inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex toward a trunk with the theme of “Ghostbusters.”
To get students and their families in the Halloween spirit, Texas A&M University-San Antonio held its fourth annual Trunk or Treat on Oct. 28 at Lot 1 and Patriots’ Casa, where attendees’ costumes ranged from video game characters and galactic heroes to slasher movie killers, celebrating the spooky holiday with candy and activities.
The Office of Transfer Student Engagement, the Office of the Vice President of Student Success and Engagement Dean of Students, Tau Sigma, and the Transfer Student Mentorship Program hosted the event.
“We hosted this in hopes of giving student parents an opportunity to bring their children, bring their family onto campus and experience something like Trunk or Treat on a larger scale,” said Juan Espinoza, the assistant director for Transfer Student Engagement. “This year, we will be at a capacity of about 40 trunks, so it does provide quite a bit of snacks and candy for anyone who attends.”
All the organizations participating in Trunk or Treat gave candy from trunks of various themes, including “Spongebob,” “Star Wars” and “Stranger Things.” Some provided activities such as receiving temporary tattoos of cartoon jack-o-lanterns or letting attendees toss bean bags through Stormtrooper cutouts.
“What’s neat about this is it’s a combination of campus departments … and what we do is we look for certain campus departments who are willing and able to sponsor student organizations,” Espinoza said. “We know that sometimes hosting a trunk can come with a cost of buying the treats and decorations and stuff like that. Several departments that are present here hosting a trunk are also sponsoring student organizations.”
Espinoza said he expected this year’s Trunk or Treat to have the largest turnout yet, estimating attendance to reach 2,500 to 3,000 people because of rising popularity and people becoming “more and more comfortable going out.”
While the event started with only a few dozen attendees spread across Lot 1, after the first 30 minutes, a long line had wrapped along the perimeter of the lot. Soon, every organization’s trunk was visited by masked adults and children alike.
In addition, Trunk or Treat also hosted a movie in the auditorium, where the first 350 families received a free hotdog, bag of chips and a drink.
“Beetlejuice” — a film about a couple who die in a car accident, become trapped in their home as ghosts and are then forced to deal with new unbearable residents — was this year’s screening.
While this year’s Trunk or Treat did not differ greatly from past years, Espinoza said he is thinking of adding more to future Trunk or Treats.
“Could this grow and continue to bring other things? Yeah,” he said. “We can maybe get inflatables for the kids; we can get different things like that; but right now, the same thing that happened last year is happening this year.”
For more information on Trunk or Treat, go here or email Espinoza at juan.espinoza@tamusa.edu.
