Blakeley Gets Spooky for Halloween

by Raphael Trotman ('03)

Putting aside fears of anthrax and Bin Laden, Fletcherites and their friends brought Halloween to Blakeley Hall last Friday night. After several hours of hard work by Bill Lawrence (Ph.D) and his Blakeley apprentices, the ordinarily tranquil atmosphere in the Blakeley lounge was transformed into a ghoulish den hardly recognizable to its own residents. A spooky atmosphere prevailed on Friday and fun and excitement were had by all.

At 9:30 in the evening, the advertised time for commencement of the Halloween bash, there was not a phantom in sight. Shifan Wu ('03) and others could be seen making hurried last minute adjustments to decorations while listening to Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera". Luckily for the party-goers, by the time our guests arrived, the music had been appropriately changed. We don't want people to think that Blakeley residents are a sophisticated, serious and studious group that listens to opera while it works!

The costumes on display ranged from the very best to the absurd! It was hard to resist the temptation to call a few people aside and ask them what exactly they were thinking by showing up without disguises. This was, after all, a Halloween party. Next year, the organizers should post entrance requirements and rules foremost of which would be that coming as you are is just not good enough -  even if you feel that you are frightening without make-up.   

Use of imagination was highly valued last Friday night. It was no surprise therefore that the Dick Cheney heart ensemble won the coveted prize for best costume. A nice touch was having the doctor hover within resuscitation distance of the Vice Prez. - bribed, of course, by a few cervanzas (aka beers for the uneducated).

It is only fair to mention some other costumes and get-ups, which were outstanding whether or not they were elaborate. Sebastian Knoke's ('02) basketball player get-up was great. What else could he have fitted into with such ease? Obaida El-Dandarawy's ('03) costume was fantastic and would have received best prize were it not for the requirement of originality. Good stuff. Peter Bronsen (Ph.D) Middle Eastern costume was also a hit. The only problem was that several people asked whether they could pretend he was Bin Laden and invite him outside for a belligerent encounter. Fletcher style. The moral of the story is that one should always dress appropriately for the prevailing environment.

We were especially impressed with Andrii Pivovarsky's ('03) portrayal of a Chernobyl victim. Simple but impressive. The ladies costumes were great and the two that stood out were Ronnie Olesker's ('03) and Deborah Ruiz-Verduzco's ('03). The Devil and the Zorro! What a combination! There was no doubt that their costumes fitted the ladies perfectly well, exactly as the manufactures intended. The men kept remarking that these were great costumes. Yeah! Come on guys- who were you fooling?        No party is complete without two things: music and drinks. What would we have done without our celebratory D.J. Bonny Ling ('02), who kept the tunes flowing like a champ? She kept spinning hit after hit and thanks to the cold beers, few of us realized that Bonny was playing the same songs over and over and over.... Fletcher has indeed made us versatile! Bonny deserves a special "thank you" for keeping the mood and temperature at peak level.

Halloween has passed, the sweets have been shared and the masks put away. We have managed to have fun while celebrating the passing of midterms. One thing is for certain and that is that for those who have never experienced a Halloween party before, you don't know what you have been missing. Thank you to all those who organized the bash and worked to keep fun and laughter alive especially at such a time. Recent events have reminded us that we live in a time when darkness threatens the light of freedom. The very freedom that guarantees the things we cherish so dearly as citizens of a free world. Long live freedom, Fletcher, and partying!       

BTW, one wonders what became of the late night romantics and insomniacs who make the lounge their home. Word has it that the former group adjourned to the laundry room. At the time of writing this article, we were still checking our sources for confirmation.......

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