When Hurricane Sandy hit Port Washington, it put a stop to Halloween celebrations. Although many kids went trick-or-treating, peers had no chance to see their costumes. In light of this, some students took to Facebook to organize a day to wear their costumes to school on Nov. 9. Many students either didn’t know about this plan or ignored it, as only a small number of students wore their costumes.
“I wanted people to dress up because it would be a lighthearted way to spring back from such widespread devastation,” said senior Elana Galassi. “I was disappointed that we didn’t have Halloween in school because it’s always so much fun to see what everyone dresses up as and the funny costumes are spectacular.”
Galassi and a number of her friends started organizing the costume day using social media, but it was hard for them to spread the news to other grades with such short notice and so many power failures.
“I asked Mr. Weiss about an announcement, but no proceedings were made,” said Galassi.
The entire event was student-organized; the staff and administration were not involved.
“I dressed up because I was told it was a designated day to dress up but then when I got to school no one else was,” said senior Arianna Kosloff. “It was a fun day and I got lots of confused looks in the hallway. I just didn’t want all the money I spent on my constume to go to waste.”
Kosloff and seniors Ellie Zolotarev and Erin Condon dressed up as ducks.
The word did not get out past the upperclassmen, so few people dressed up. The majority of costumed students were juniors and seniors. Teachers and most underclassmen didn’t hear about the event. Some expressed regret over not having a chance to wear their costumes.
“I love Halloween, especially dressing up. I had big plans for this year but didn’t have a chance to wear my costume,” said Earth Science teacher Ms. Jennifer Paradis. With many on Long Island still without power, students and staff faced much more pressing issues than Halloween costumes.
“No one really dressed up,” said sophomore Adam Harris, who dressed up as Christina Aguilera. “It was awkward to be the only one in costume in a class.”
Costumes ranged from Pac-Man and his ghosts to the Power Rangers. Another group costume was Thing 1, Thing 2, and also 3, 4, and so forth. All 50 Dr. Seuss characters were not able to roam the hallways, as the storm prevented many from receiving their costumes on time.
“I had a trio of ducks in class,” said physics teacher Mr. Don Fish. “They were pretty well-behaved, not distracting in the least. Problems we did in class on that day featured ducks.”
The turnout of costumed students was not as large as in ordinary situations.
“I wish the turnout could have been better, but there’s always next year,” said Galassi.
“I look forward to seeing some marsupials in the future,” said Mr. Fish.