Decorating doorways, front lawns and businesses with pumpkins is an autumn staple, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, is creating a way to connect with Boston University students across the world.
While many traditional Halloween events were out of the question this year, some organizations used the season’s popular orange squash to interact with the student body through contests and more.
The University’s Community Service Center held one such event: a pumpkin painting contest, complete with a virtual decorating party held via Zoom on Thursday.
The CSC handed out hundreds of free pumpkins and paint kits for its “Pumpkin Bash,” with more than 80 percent of its inventory gone before the first pick-up day ended at Marsh Chapel Plaza Monday. About 250 pumpkins were gone within a matter of hours, according to organizers.
Aisha Sheikh, CSC’s campus partnerships program manager, said she could tell students were looking for something to do. A senior in the College of Communication, Sheikh said she spoke with a number of students, including freshmen at the CSC, who viewed painting a pumpkin with friends as a fun change of pace.
“I was really happy to see … how many people approached our table on the first day,” Sheikh said. “They were like ‘What’s going on? What are you guys doing?’ because there has been nothing on Marsh Chapel Plaza for this entire semester due to [COVID-19].”
She added the participants seemed equally excited.
“I think it was cool for them to see some friendly faces,” Sheikh said. “They were also all really shocked. They were like, ‘Oh my God, it’s free.’”
CSC intern Noah Smith, a senior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said the pumpkins came from Wilson Farm in Lexington. By the end of the day, he said, he and others were scrambling to confirm they had pumpkins left. Due to popular demand, the group reserved the remaining 50 for those who registered online.
Smith, a campus partnerships program manager, said the event first came about when CSC Director Orpheo Speer said he wanted to do something pumpkin-themed. Speer challenged Smith and Sheikh to consider how they could reach out to the student body.
The end result, Smith said, was the contest, which offered a chance to “boost morale” and spread awareness of the CSC’s presence on campus.
“I think we have a really strong mission and it’s really hidden on the fourth floor of the [George Sherman Union],” Smith said. “Some people are like, ‘I didn’t even know there was a fourth floor to the GSU.’”
For Olivia Bené, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, the CSC event showcased an effort to reach out to students who are concerned about COVID-19 safety yet fearful they are missing out on a traditional college experience.
“It’s obviously not the same as going out with your friends … but it’s a good start,” Bené said. “It’s nice to know that, ‘Okay, I’m doing something with a bunch of other people and I’m not putting anybody at risk.’”
Aside from the CSC, Kilachand Honors College’s Leadership Advisory Board began organizing its own pumpkin painting competition in September. It handed out dozens of pumpkins with plans to have a patch of submissions displayed at Kilachand Hall.
KLAB co-chair Francesca Davy-Falconi, a senior in CAS, said the event started as a pumpkin-carving contest, but evolved into groups of three to five students each decorating a pumpkin, with the Kilachand community voting on the submissions. Students competed for categories such as “spookiest,” “most creative” and “best overall.”
These types of events, according to fellow co-chair and CAS senior Noelle Wojciechowski, are essential to Kilachand’s student body. Organizing them has become more challenging due to the pandemic, she added, but giving students a chance to group up safely and bond as a community has always been part of the experience.
“These non-academic events are really central to who we are because we’re a living-learning community,” Wojciechowski said. “We’re not just a college. We’re more than that.”
Planning them, though, has required more innovation, KLAB representative and CAS sophomore Max Brown said, with factors such as social distancing and mask-wearing to account for.
Despite the difficulties, Brown and his colleagues expect around 25 pumpkins to adorn Kilachand in the coming days.
“I think a lot of people are holding back on putting them in, just because they don’t want to give others ideas,” Brown said. “But so far, it seems to be going great.”
Pumpkins will be assessed over the coming days as images roll in, and CSC will review its submissions Wednesday while KLAB will announce its winners Nov. 9.
