Some students are used to having Halloween fall on the, which allows them to celebrate without worrying about how this will affect their school performance. This year, they may have to change plans as the holiday falls on a Monday. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE.

Halloween, for many of the children growing up in this country, is an exciting time to look forward to. They can dress up, trick-or-treat and eat candy by the fistful. 

While most children stop trick-or-treating in their preteen years, for some, the passion for the holiday never goes away, it simply evolves.

Students in college have found different, yet equally enthusiastic, ways to celebrate the day. There are house parties, themed events nearby or, for those over 21: bars and clubs with special prices. This year, however, the holiday falls on a Monday. For many students, this makes it hard to celebrate the day.

“Honestly, I’ll probably be studying. Halloween was never my favorite holiday just because I get scared so easily,” Thi Doan, a junior majoring in biomedical sciences, said. “(My favorite part about Halloween) is just being able to hang out with my family, but this year I won’t be able to do that. And just getting the candy, but I’m kind of too old for that now.”

In fact, with a student body consisting of 11 percent international students on the Tampa Campus, according to the USF System Facts 2016-2017, more than a few students are ambivalent to the holiday.

“I actually don’t celebrate Halloween. I’m from Brazil,” Yasmin Martins, a senior majoring in finance, said. “It’s not a big thing in Brazil. (In the U.S.), everybody decorates their house and so on. (Brazilians) don’t do anything.”

However, not everyone is letting the fact that it falls on a Monday cramp their celebration.

“Considering it’s a Monday, and I have class the next day, I was thinking about going out but I haven’t decided if I’m going to yet,” said Jason Cardarelli, a junior majoring in physics. “Last year, me and my girlfriend went to a party for Halloween so we might do that again.”

For costume-enthusiast party-goers, off-campus apartments on 42nd Street, 46 Street and 50 Street are usually the places to be. Customarily, there are several parties going on throughout the night, giving interested students a variety of options.

Rachel Lerner, a sophomore majoring in marketing, said that last year she party hopped in the area with friends and was planning on doing it again next week. She recommended it to other students who have not made plans yet.

“It’s nice,” Lerner said. “You get to meet different people, and everyone’s really friendly here on campus, so it just makes it even more fun.”

For some students, Halloween was never much of a staple. The holiday was just always an opportunity to spend more time with friends and family.

“I never really celebrated it growing up,” said Micah Rate, a senior majoring in political science and psychology. “I never really did trick-or-treating. [I’d] always go out to dinner with the family.”

For these students, the day will pass by just like any other, not ruining any previously made plans.