Carving up a spooky good time

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By Hajin Yoo

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Instead of its usual old-fashioned decor, the Hilary Boone Center’s courtyard and Columbia Room were splattered with pumpkins and smiling cake pops and the occasional hot cider Wednesday afternoon. The official date for Halloween is in two days, but the celebration already began for those who went to “see BOO!”

In the center of the Boone courtyard, pumpkins surrounded the fountain until the enthusiastic carvers-to-be — students, children and faculty alike — prepared the gourds with their miniature saws and stencils.

According to Eric Skipworth, the Director of Events for the Student Government Association, “see BOO!” was a combined effort by Student Government and UK Public Relations to bring the faculty and students together.

“We hope to connect the student and faculty (on) a more personal level,” Skipworth said.

The clinical leadership and medicine junior hoped to not only create an environment that celebrated the traditional holiday of Halloween, but also give students an opportunity to take a break from everyday schooling.

The cost of the event was small as all the pumpkins around the fountain were donated by UK’s College of Agriculture, Skipworth said.

Surrounded by the colors and smells of autumn, the Halloween enthusiasts continued to poke and hack their way into the pumpkins, while others munched on ghoulish cake pops and chattered as popular music played in the yard.

The occasional thump from the waste bin rang across the yard as the pumpkins’ contents spilled into the container.

Rick Lewis, a doctorate student in the Integrated Plant and Soil Sciences program at UK, said that he loved “how the university still celebrates events like this. I think it’s cool how they have pumpkin carving.”

Lewis said he thinks that the culture of celebrating Halloween has started to shift from a kids’ event to a more accepted holiday for older participants.

“It seems like people are celebrating it into an older age than they might have used to … you’ll see thirty-year-olds dress up … and have a good time,” he said.