By: William Hayes
Greater Halloween Options for Safe Trick-or-Treating, or GHOST, has been on the APSU campus since 2003. At GHOST, children can get candy and participate in a variety of games that APSU students set up for them.
Two days before Halloween, the APSU football field is surrounded in a circle of ghosts, goblins, witches, and all sorts of characters, ranging from the terrifying to the fan-based. Many parents joined in on the fun as they watched their children collect candy.
“It is good for the community to come out, support one another and a good interactive event for the children,” sophomore history major Tommy Underwood said.
“It opens up the Clarksville community and in return, the students of APSU interact with Clarksville,” senior communications major Ben Goodman said. His group represented the Baptist Collegiate Ministries. His group handed out candy, and had a Wizard of Oz theme. They set up shop for the kids to play “Witch Hat Ring-toss”.
GHOST is not just about giving out free candy and playing games but providing a safe event for all. Visiting parents and their children are surrounded by students, security, and faculty and staff members to make sure all is good.
“It is a good event and it is a safe event,” junior automotive-engineering major and captain of the APSU fishing team Jordan Brandt said. “It is a safe place to go trick-or-treating, it is well-organized, and it gathers a lot of support, which is a requirement for doing this. It is where the community supports APSU and APSU supports the community.”
GHOST is a chance for many to take a jump at the free goodies and entertainment. It unleashes a lot of creativity among its participants.
The APSU student body sets up games for the children. This year, a large-scale Super Mario Bros set was created by the DEL Square Psi astronomy club. Senior physics and applied-math major Jonathan Bunton headed the construction team.
“Last year,” Bunton said, “we made a fake Mars set for the kids to mess around on, and before that, it was Jurassic Park. Basically, we like to make something where the kids can interact on.” The Super Mario Bros set came complete with trampoline, sliding pole and sound effects.
There was not only plenty of candy, games and costumes but plenty of smiles and laughs as people united to have a good time and enjoy a pre-Halloween celebration.
