Safety first for trick or treaters

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Halloween came early for local kids in Riverdale.

From cowboys and pirates to superheroes and princesses, children donned a variety of frightfully fun costumes in a pre-Halloween event at Manhattan College on Oct. 24.

“It’s a good excuse for them to wear their costumes twice,” said Manhattan College education major Giana Dente, 20, a student teacher at P.S. 81.

Six-year-old Ana Maria Florescu, dressed as Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, wore the character’s coveted long ice-blue and white princess gown gleefully on the first floor of De La Salle Hall, where a swarm of other trick-or-treaters were bursting with enthusiasm.

“There’s a lot of people,” said Ana, who attends Saint Gabriel School. Beaming alongside her mother, she entered a room filled with children waiting to get candy. “All of my friends are in there.”

Hendrix Guerino, 10, was ready for battle in his green jumpsuit and jetpack as Stars Wars’ most famous bounty hunter, Boba Fett, while his twin brother Spartacus came dressed as Boba Fett’s “father” Jango Fett.

“My favorite color is blue and his favorite color is green,” explained Spartacus.

Organized by education students from Manhattan College’s Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) chapter, an international education honor society, “Safe Halloween” is an annual Halloween event on campus that draws more than 100 kids from local schools like P.S. 37 and P.S. 86.

Instead of youngsters and their parents going from door to door in the neighborhoods for candy during Halloween, the students decorated the rooms of the first and second floors of Miguel and De La Salle Halls as trick-or-treat stops at creative themed rooms focused on subjects like sports and science. The goal is to provide a securer and more communal alternative to Halloween festivities.

“We try to create community by giving them a safe place to trick-or-treat,” said Dr. Lisa Rizopoulos, chair of the Education program at Manhattan College, who was dressed in a penguin costume. “It’s just a very symbiotic relationship.”

Tanisia Morris, Halloween, Safe Halloween, Manhattan College, KDP
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