Summer has come to an end. As the days become shorter and the air begins to chill, anticipation for the coming autumn and winter holidays mount ever greater, starting with Halloween.

Both Christian Brothers High School and Saint Francis High School celebrate Halloween by allowing their students to come to school dressed in Halloween costumes. Jesuit High School, however, does not.

Jesuit does not allow Halloween costumes at school due to the concern that students may wear inappropriate costumes to school.

“[Halloween is] so wide open to what people could potentially wear that [it] was really hard to predict and try to give some guidelines about what is appropriate to wear,” said Activities Director Mr. Tim Kelly. “In the effort of trying to prevent a problem before it happens, it was easier to say, ‘No costumes.’”

Another dilemma presents itself with regards to the costumes themselves. Students can be distracted by all the wacky ideas  that make for a fun Halloween costume, thus leaving an inadequate learning environment.

“It does not necessarily contribute to student learning, since it can be quite distracting that day, and our job is to maximize student learning,” said Principal Michael Wood ’98. “Halloween costumes can certainly distract from that experience.”

While costumes may be distracting, many costumes also can hide a person’s identity and pose a possible threat to students and faculty.

“It’s normal for folks to walk around in disguise, whether that be masks or face paint or any other things that make it hard to identify someone,” said Dean of Students LaRoddric Theodule. “The concern is always how do we identify someone who’s supposed to be on campus in costume from someone who is not. A big part of our change in dress code is, if [one] notices, it is really easy to spot someone who is not a Jesuit student.”

Overall, with the current environment surrounding student safety and appropriateness, along with the recent implementation of the new dress code, it seems that Halloween costumes at school may never happen at Jesuit. So instead, enjoy the spooky season outside of school with family and friends. And also Happy Halloween!