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‘Twas the week of Halloween, when all through campus, students anticipated the weekend to start. Bedazzled bodysuits, furry matching sets, fairy wings and more hung in students’ closets, preparing to be worn.

“I like seeing what everyone goes as, not even just my friends,” sophomore Matt Murak said. “I just love the creativity that everyone has, and it’s just all so different.”

This year, Halloween falls on a Friday night, and Syracuse University students are spending the whole weekend celebrating. Many have been preparing their costumes for months, sourcing materials from their own closets, craft and thrift stores and online shops.

For senior Marissa Hoinowski, the Halloween season begins the second October starts.

“On the first (of October) every year my handy dandy mannequin comes out, and my glue gun and everything, and I basically just turn my room into a craft studio,” Hoinowski said.

Hoinowski has been handmaking her costumes since high school, and it’s something she looks forward to every year. She keeps a running list of ideas in her notes app, and eventually narrows it down by October.

This year, Hoinowski’s using materials like rhinestones and resin to create her costumes, which include a Barbie, Victoria’s Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel and an aquarium — She “has a vision.”

“My room actually looks like a war zone right now, there’s just so many random things everywhere,” Hoinowski said.

Pop culture references are common sources of inspiration for students. Junior Ridley Thomas is going as Elvis Presley, but it isn’t just a nod to the ‘60s king of rock. It’s one part of a trio costume of influencer Trisha Paytas’ kids’ names: Elvis, Malibu Barbie and Aquaman.

Sophomore Katherine Feeney is dressing as a ladybug for one night of the Halloween weekend. As well as being trendy, the costume has nostalgic significance to her, she said. Dana Kim | Staff Photographer

One of sophomore Katherine Feeney’s costumes is Lana Del Rey during her brief stint working at a Waffle House. She’s also going as a ladybug, which holds a personal sentiment to her: she has a tattoo of one, and her parents called her their ladybug growing up. For Halloween, she loves to find ideas that reflect her personality.

“I feel like Halloween is exciting and is an expression of everyone’s creativity,” Feeney said. “It shows some people’s passions and interests that you wouldn’t already know about.”

Dressing up is a way to keep the fun of Halloween alive, Hoinowski said. It’s been her favorite holiday her whole life, and when she eventually grew out of trick-or-treating, making her own costumes became her new tradition. Crafting and adding flair to her clothing is something she loves to do, regardless of the season, she said.

“It feels like fun, it doesn’t feel like work,” Hoinowski said. “It’s rewarding and it’s fun to see it all come together and actually start to look like the costume.”

While students like Hoinowski are invested in crafting their own Halloween creations, others’ costumes don’t always have to break the bank, Murak said. Last year, he and his roommate went as Tim and Moby from BrainPOP. They sourced their costumes mainly from their own clothes and accessories from Michaels.

The holiday can become very wasteful, Murak said. He tries to stray away from buying expensive things that he’ll only wear once. Sophomore Maddie Fox also focused on elevating basic costumes in an affordable way. One of her costumes is roadkill, and she’s excited to execute it in her own way, she said.

“There’s a lot of ways you can wear clothing, not just for what it’s intended for,” Fox said. “I’m just going back to the basics.”

Sophomore Madeline Wolcott found most of the pieces for her snow angel costume secondhand. Over the summer, she visited the thrift store every day to source pieces for her vintage clothing market, and happened to find many items she could use for Halloween.

One of Marissa Hoinowski’s handmade costumes this year is Victoria Secret angel Candice Swanepoel’s fantasy bra. She works on the costume on a mannequin in her room.Dana Kim | Staff Photographer

Halloween in college is different from what it was at home, Thomas said. Many students like Feeney and Wolcott grew up trick-or-treating around their neighborhoods, decorating their houses and watching scary movies with their families. But those traditions didn’t completely end when they got to SU.

“I actually tried to go (trick-or-treating) my freshman year with my friends as a joke, but then everyone was judging us,” Feeney said. “And I was like, ‘This is embarrassing,’ but I got free candy, so that’s all that matters.”

Though Fox said she sometimes gets nostalgic for childhood Halloween days, celebrating the holiday in college has its perks. This year, she’s excited to explore different party scenes and see the variety of costumes people put together.

But for students who aren’t interested in going out, there are other ways to take part in the festivities. Last year, Fox and her roommate weren’t in the “party spirit,” so they made their way to Chipotle in their costumes for the Boorito entrée deal.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, Chipotle is doing that deal.’ So we went and got a bowl,” Fox said. “I was a magician, so I made a funny post, like, ‘I made this bowl appear.’”

Halloween is a time to be with friends, whether that be through carving pumpkins or getting ready to go out together, Wolcott said. The holiday is always a thrill, no matter what stage of life you’re in, Fox said.
SU’s campus is always more lively during Halloween, Hoinowski said. As a Halloween enthusiast, she’s been waiting all year for this weekend.

“I’ll probably never stop making my own Halloween costumes, and eventually, when I have my own kids, they’re going to be subjected to that as well,” Hoinowski said. “But I’m just excited to go all out and have one last Syracuse Halloween.”

Published on October 29, 2025 at 10:47 pm