Halloween: distraction from stress for some but nuisance to others

For years, junior Selina Yang and her friends have dressed up for Halloween with whatever comes to their mind: last year, they came to school dressed as pineapple on pizza, and this year, they will be coming as boba.

With Halloween fast approaching, Yang came up with the idea of being boba, reflecting the craze for the sweet beverage. Wanting more people to participate, she gathered 16 of her friends on a Facebook chat, asking them if they would dress up with her as different brands and varieties of boba — from HappyLemon to ShareTea, and QQQ to 85°C.

“There are so many amazing boba brands around the Bay Area,” Yang said. “I want them all to be represented, which is why I want as many people as possible to join in.”

While many students and staff share Yang’s view of Halloween as a harmless way of enjoying themselves during school, others dub it as a distraction from academics.

Junior Shivam Mani, for instance, views the holiday as more of a nuisance than anything else.

“Halloween is really hyped up for some reason [despite] most high schoolers no longer participating [in it],” he said.

Traditional Halloween activities like crafting costumes and trick-or-treating can be facets of creativity and fun, but Mani said that by high school, those activities are too time-consuming if not outright childish, arguing that high schoolers “really should have better things to do.”

For Mani, just as self-realization about Santa not being real comes with age, growing out of Halloween should likewise come naturally.

“Asking for candy from adults when you are over 14 is embarrassing and almost depressing,” he said.

For senior Anuj Changavi the holiday is a way to blow off steam.

“Halloween is in the middle of the semester when it feels like the semester will never end,” Changavi said. “It’s cool to put your effort in something other than infinite school work or college applications.”

English teacher Ken Nguyen, who dresses up yearly with elaborate self-made costumes such as the hero Saitama and the monster Godzilla in recent years, thinks Halloween is a holiday to express himself and to have fun and sweets in the process.

“There is nothing ever wrong with candy,” Nguyen said. “A little sweetness in your day is never destructive — everything in moderation, of course.”

Nguyen identifies a “too cool” teenage sentiment and student self-consciousness as the two primary components behind some students’ distaste for Halloween. The holiday can be perceived as too flashy and attention-seeking, he said.

But ultimately, for Nguyen, Halloween is about spreading fun and joy across campus.

“When you come onto campus and see your teachers or friends dressed up, it brings a smile to your face because it’s hilarious or amusing or fun,” Nguyen said. “And there is nothing harmful about a custom or practice that reinforces that.”