Bands, costumes highlight the Howl

Rebekah Bradway

November 2, 2006 | Surrounded by bands, games, magic tricks and flashing lights, party-goers had plenty of activities to choose from Saturday night at USU's annual Halloween party, the Howl.

"The bands and all the variety were good," junior Suzanne Swenson, dressed as Superman at the Howl, said.

"I really liked the bands," sophomore Mike Hinckley agreed. "And the air toys, like the obstacle course, were really cool -- especially when they started to deflate."

Other Howl activities, held in the Taggart Student Center and Nelson Fieldhouse, included a techno/hip hop dancing room, a magician and carnival-type games.

In between and during the planned activities, one standard activity at every Howl is people-watching, or costume-rating. A few of the favorite costumes this year were Hulk Hogan, complete with a "Hulkamania" yellow tank top and mustache; a kissing booth; Big Foot and a manly pink unicorn.

"Compared to when I last went, four years ago, it was relatively tame with costumes. They weren't as skanky. I liked that," Hinckley said.

On advertisements for the Howl, there was a note that no one wearing obscene apparel would be allowed into the party. Yet the definition of "obscene" had no precise restrictions, so body-baring was still present in costumes of both genders.

"I didn't like how all the guys were naked this year. I could tell the Chippendale dancers went tanning that day because they were bright red," Swenson said.

And while some students spent many and late hours enjoying the planned activities and just checking out the attire, others' fun was cut short because of misbehavior or violations of rules.

"The biggest problems, as in years past, were alcohol-related," Lt. Shane Sessions of the USU police said.

Sessions listed all the arrests and citations at the Howl, which included:
-- 8 minor in possession of alcohol citations
-- 2 people booked into jail for having warrants out for their arrests from previous charges in other courts that had not been taken care of
-- 1 intoxication citation
-- 1 citation for allowing a minor to consume alcohol
-- 1 incident of lewdness

Nine of the incidents dealt with non-USU students, Sessions said.

"I didn't see anything alcohol-related, but I always hear about it the weekend of the Howl," Swenson said.

Swenson (Superman), as well as the Ninja Turtles, Wonder Woman and other superheroes attending the Howl, seemed to focus more on spending their time with the other fantastic people and animals. And as fairies danced, the homeless begged and pirates swindled, the real Halloween was still yet to come.

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