Fell’s Point shut down the streets to traffic and welcomed crowds of pedestrians dressed up in a wide array of costumes for Halloween last Thursday evening. The streets were adorned with port-o-potties, and the numerous bars and clubs opened their doors to the masses. About 390 to 480 students took SGA-sponsored buses to Fell’s Point to partake in the festivities, according to Executive Vice President Janice Bonsu.
With such a large-scale outdoor party taking place, the SGA wanted to ensure that students were able to safely make it to Fell’s Point and back by providing buses for students. Three buses departed from Mason Hall beginning at 10 p.m. and returned back to Homewood from midnight to 1 a.m. Each bus made two trips down to Fell’s Point and back to Homewood. Students who planned to remain in Fell’s Point past 1 a.m. were informed to make other arrangements for their transportation home.
“We fulfilled a student need and our job to provide services to the students. Buses to Fell’s were important because students, who might have been drinking, were all transported together to and from campus. This encourages everyone to return home at a safe time, 1 a.m., which many people did. In addition, the JHMIs were a safer mode of transportation and was more convenient to students than hailing taxis and paying money to get down there,” Bonsu wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
However, many students felt that the SGA could have utilized more buses as there was inadequate space for the number of people who showed up.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve nearly gotten trampled trying to get to a Hopkins bus. It happens every year at Fell’s, and it happened at Ke$ha,” junior Becky Marcus wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Other students shared her sentiment.
“Hopkins’ cut-throat nature only overcomes students when competing for limited space on free transportation,” freshman Jamie Chan wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Nevertheless, the SGA wholeheartedly encouraged students to take advantage of the free transportation so that they could partake in a truly unique Baltimore tradition.
“We hold events all the time. We want to encourage students to reach out into the Baltimore community and explore. We all love and appreciate Hopkins, and have to give students the opportunity to explore Baltimore to love it as well,” Bonsu wrote.
Halloween at Fell’s Point is seen as a quintessential part of the Hopkins experience. Students can take the opportunity to not only interact with the local community as a whole but also with each other in a downtown setting.
Many of the bars stayed open late and offered promotions. Events independent of the locales also took place. The 98 Rock Radio Station put on their Annual Costume Contest in Fell’s Point Square from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Prizes included a trip to Las Vegas, lift passes for Ski Liberty, Roundtop and Whitetail, as well as a gift card to Alexander’s Tavern.
“There’s nothing quite like Halloween at Fell’s. It’s a rite of passage for students and part of Baltimore’s charming culture,” senior Daniel Lasman said.
The evening in Fell’s Point is highly anticipated by the student body and even preferred to on-campus events by some students.
“I think it’s better than on-campus events because you get to actually go out into the city and experience the ‘real world’ in a sense, not just go to some party in the recreation center. You get to interact with people from all over the city, not just Hopkins students,” senior Nicolette Hatzidimitriou said.
Junior Yue Cao felt similarly.
“Fell’s Point is more fun than on campus events because it is bigger and more diverse,” Cao wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Students not only took the opportunity to explore and enjoy the city but also to admire the unique costumes.
“While there are many things going on, you can also see all kinds of fancy costumes,” Cao wrote.
Students also used the occasion to dress up themselves. Whether that meant elaborately planned costumes or last minute creations as a result of too many midterms, costumes ranged greatly, from cats to smurfs to zombies.
“Award for best group costume of 2013 goes to the Jamaican bobsled team,” Lasman said.
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