Boo at MU Brings Halloween Fun and Community Spirit to Manhattan University

Manhattan University, or MU, buzzed with excitement Oct. 24 as costumed kids and their families poured in for Boo at MU, formerly known as Safe Halloween.

The annual celebration, hosted by Kappa Delta Pi, MU’s education honor society, invited hundreds of children to trick-or-treat through themed rooms and participate in hands-on activities offered by more than 40 student organizations.

“This event is really about showing that our campus is part of the neighborhood,” said Grace Nariani, a junior and one of Kappa Delta Pi’s co-community liaisons. “We just want people to know this is a place where everyone feels welcome, where families, students and faculty can come together and have fun.”

Inside Miguel and De La Salle Halls, students transformed classrooms into a network of Halloween adventures. The James Patterson Honors Program ran a “Create Your Own Creature” station, where kids pieced together monster faces using stickers of mummies, witches and pumpkins. 

“We found the stickers online and thought it’d be a fun and easy craft,” said program manager Ana McCabe. “The kids keep asking, ‘Can we do another one?’”

Nearby, MU’s marketing club put on a haunted maze, while TriBeta, the school’s biology honor society, helped children mold aliens from air-dry clay, pipe cleaners and googly eyes.

“They can make them any color or shape they want,” said senior biology major Angeline Pesta. “It gives them a lot of creativity, and it’s not too messy.”

To make the event more accessible, Kappa Delta Pi introduced sensory-friendly spaces for younger children and those who preferred quieter play. Among them were tubs filled with water beads and plastic creepy crawlies, designed to provide a tactile, calming experience.

“We wanted to make sure it’s inclusive to everybody,” Nariani said. “Kids who need that sensory experience can still have fun.”

This year also marked the first time community organizations were invited to participate. The Riverdale Kiwanis Club joined the festivities, setting up a selfie booth and craft table that quickly became a favorite among families. 

The evening also featured a special storytelling session with Brooklyn-based author Adam Gidwitz, creator of the award-winning “Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest” podcast, which retells classic Grimm fairy tales with humor and suspense. 

KDP Advisor and education instructor Kate Wheeler said his visit was a perfect fit for an event centered on creativity and learning.

“He takes Grimms’ fairy tales and retells them with all the scary bits that we took out when we originally translated them,” she said. “My kids have always listened to it, and I thought, how cool would it be if he came?”

Wheeler added that Boo at MU remains free to attend, thanks to student volunteers and fundraising. 

“Our students have to fundraise — they provide the candy, the decorations, and all the activities. It’s such a labor of love,” she said. “It’s all about imagination and connection. For a lot of kids, this is their first time on a college campus. We want them to remember that learning can be fun — and a little spooky, too.”