‘A bonding experience’: Students share their Halloween costume plans

From Jacob Elordi to Pete the Cat, Halloweekend is the holiday when students let loose and show off their creativity.

“This is pretty much the one time of the year that even people who usually surround themselves with work 24/7 actually come out and have fun,” Kamal Imaya, sophomore biology major, said. 

Situated in the middle of the fall semester, Halloween and “Halloweekend” is often a time for students to let loose and enjoy the fun of college. Abby Bradley, a sophomore rehabilitation science major, appreciates the break in the busy semester.

“I feel this time of year can get very stressful with classes and stuff, so it’s just, like, an excuse for people to dress up and have fun,” Bradley said. 

Sahaan Shyam, sophomore neuroscience major, is looking forward to participating in “Halloweekend” this year because of the potential to meet new people and connect based on similar costumes and interests.

“During Halloween, people meet people that they end up being friends or future significant others with,” Shyam said. “Overall, it’s very important for Pitt’s culture. I’ve made friends [during Halloween] that I’m still really good friends with.”

Many students are dressing up as characters from Saltburn and other popular movie characters. Grace Heimbach, sophomore public health major, is amongst the students dressing up as a character from Saltburn. She is also dressing up as Tashi from “Challengers,” a movie that was released and gained popularity over the summer.

“Next weekend I’m going to be Jacob Elordi from Saltburn,” Heimbach said. “I’ve seen a lot of Jacob Elordi this year.”

With the 2024 Presidential Election next week, some students have chosen to dress as politicians or other political symbols. Online political memes have influenced these costumes.

“I have a friend going as a couple where she’s Kamala Harris and [her boyfriend] is the coconut tree,” Mia Marchesani, a first-year nursing major, said. 

Jordan Lee, senior psychology major, is going as half of a patriotic couples costume. 

“I’m going to be a tourist and [my girlfriend] is going to be the Statue of Liberty,” Lee said. 

Other students are dressing up as characters from nostalgic media, including the popular television show, South Park. Katie Procell, a senior law and criminal justice major, noted that people are “just running around with the hats on.”

In 2024, a number of top-charting pop albums were released by various artists. Taking inspiration from these celebrities, lots of students plan to dress up like their favorite pop singers. 

“I’m being Olivia Rodrigo,” Bella Campo, a senior film major, said. “A lot of girls are definitely being pop stars. There’s a lot of Charli XCX costumes I’ve seen.” 

Lucy Link, a junior studio arts major, said students are getting inspiration from movies like “Inside Out” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” 

“My one friend’s being Disgust from Inside Out,” Link said. “My sister and her friends are doing the Chipettes [from Alvin and the Chipmunks]. I feel like we’re going to see a few of those.”

Following Link’s prediction, Amelia Milza, a senior English writing and political science major, is going as Alvin and the Chipmunks with her friend group this weekend. Emily Petco, a sophomore psychology major, is getting her costume from “American Psycho.”

Another place people found inspiration for this year’s Halloween costumes were childhood favorites, including book characters. Procell is dressing up as another book character, “Fancy Nancy.” 

“My friend’s dressing up as Pete the Cat,” Skye Wyckoff, first-year biochemistry major said. “That’s the most interesting costume I’ve seen so far.”

Finding affordable pieces for a costume is often difficult for college students, who often look for the cheapest option on websites like Amazon and Shein. 

“I think we’re gonna see a lot of Disney princesses that are just Amazon corsets,” Link said.

Some students decided to go in a more comedic direction with their costume choices.

“My friend this week dressed up as Wicked Pie, like the pizza place on campus,” Heimbach said. ”I thought that was hilarious. I like when people do weird stuff like that.”

Anica Guo, first-year public health major is excited for Halloween night and seeing what other students have chosen to dress up as. 

“I’m just excited to see everyone walking around in costume, especially, like, later tonight. I cannot wait to see all of them get posted,” Guo said.