On October 31 Texas A&M University Texarkana (TAMUT) hosted two Halloween events. Trunk or Treat and a Haunted Trail. Trunk or Treat took place on the University Center lawn, while the Haunted Trail took place on the trail used by the cross-country team. 

Trunk or Treat was an opportunity for children of all ages from the surrounding areas to attend, and get candy in a safe and confined space. People dressed up and participated in games and various activities to get candy, as well as walked to the various booths put together by the different sports teams and organizations that participated in the event. 

“It was actually a rather large turnout,” Coordinator of Student Life Alana Briley said when talking about the Halloween events that took place on campus. “I think we weren’t fully prepared for it because we actually ran out of candy.”

Along with Trunk or Treat, TAMUT hosted its first-ever Haunted Trail. With only 3 weeks to plan the trail, Amber Galvan, Athletic Academic Coordinator, and Crosscountry Coach Natnael Amere worked together with various sports teams at TAMUT to put together the trail. 

“With this being the first time,” Galvan said when talking about future haunted trails. “Improvements can be made to make it better each year.”

This was not only an event to celebrate and have fun, but rather an event to help the TAMUT community connect better with the rest of Texarkana as a whole. Being on the outskirts of town sometimes feels a lot farther than we are. Events like these can help create a better connection within the communities. 

“There’s this huge disconnect a lot of times between the community and us [TAMUT],” Briley said. “We want to have that connection with the community so that they [Texarkana] know that we are out here.”