by Laura Knudson

The more people ask me what I’m going to be for Halloween this year, the more I cringe.

Although there must be others who, like me, wait until the last minute to make a decision about their costume, I doubt they are losing sleep over it like I am.

After all, why fret when we live in an age where fish nets and a corset, coupled with a pair of ears can transform you into a multitude of things, i.e., mouse, bunny, cat, etc.

In this way, we’ve gotten lazy with our costumes. And it seems intentional. We’ve all heard that Halloween is an excuse for girls to dress like…well I won’t use the S word, but you get the picture. Now in no way am I saying this is the case, but perhaps there is some truth to it.

I mean, call me crazy but I don’t believe merely clipping on a pair of glittery wings to go with your gold spandex and cleavage bearing top constitutes a fairy costume.

And then there’s everyone’s go-to: the superhero costume. Calling all girls with leggings and little-boy whitey tighties with the Superman logo stamped in a place no one needs to be looking at. Throw on a cape and you’re good to go!

Then of course there are those who justify spending $60 on a cheaply-made rendition of a sexy police officer or cute Indian. Forget the fact that every other girl at the party will be wearing the same costume.

Halloween seems to go hand-in-hand with promiscuity when it comes to college females. But, while you may think you look completely adorbs in your tinker-bell get-up, the rest of us don’t want to see you stumbling in heels the whole night or adjusting your bra every five seconds. And no, it’s not the same thing as wearing a bathing suit. It’s just not.

This year we should strive for a little more originality. Some of the best costumes I saw when I first arrived at Western were the homemade kind. For an army man costume one guy duck taped a wheel less skateboard to his feet and a toy gun to his hands, painted himself green and hopped around all night in a G.I. Joe like fashion. It was original. It was awesome. Another year, one girl even bought khaki shorts, a bandana and a green vest from Good Will for a Girl Scout costume. She added a hat and canteen to spruce it up. There was also a group who purchased Hawaiian shirts and straw hats to go as tourists.

The point is, this year I’d like to see more authenticity. Show us something totally spooktacular. Those are the costumes people remember. Those are the costumes people come up and ask you about.

So, ditch the tiresome parodies and do the monster mash in something more comfortable next week.

And while I still don’t know what I am going to be this year, I can assure you it won’t include ears of any kind.