Treat or Treat 2017
Treat or Treat is an annual Halloween program hosted by the Florida Tech Department of Residence Life (Reslife) that has been in existence for over a decade. Florida Tech’s diverse Reslife staff is composed of nearly sixty undergraduate resident assistants (RA’s) who are tasked with maintaining residence hall safety in all six of Florida Tech’s housing areas, performing educational programs, and serving as campus resources for the general student population. Treat or Treat though is unique among Reslife programs because it is the only one really catered to the general public.
At its core, Treat or Treat is meant to provide local families with the opportunity for a safe, fun, and free Halloween experience. The event, which is held in the Residence Quad, includes games, food, a costume contest, music, candy, inflatables for kids to play on, both on and off campus vendors, arts and crafts, and best of all five theatrical haunted houses built within five of Florida Tech’s residence halls. Each haunted house is themed after a movie or television show. This year’s themes were Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy, Wonder Woman, The Walking Dead, and a kid’s house for children five and under that was meant solely for trick or treating. Each house is scarier than the last but all ages are always welcome in each. RA’s from Reslife serve as actors and tour guides through each house.
Last year Treat or Treat garnered an attendance of over 1,400 people, the largest attendance of any Reslife program to date. This year however Residence Life doubled the amount of attendees to Treat or Treat, skyrocketing to nearly 3,000 people. People packed the Residence Quad lawn, enjoying cotton candy, free Florida Tech Trolley rides, a pumpkin patch in the new Ethos Community Garden, and amazing performances by students on a center stage. Within forty minutes of opening, a thousand people had already arrived.
In a comment left on the event’s official Facebook event page, Kim Lucinda shared her appreciation.
“Just want to tell each and everyone of you thank you for an awesome day,” Lucinda said. “We were treated with so much kindness and respect and my grandchildren were also you guys are awesome!”
Reslife would like to sincerely thank everyone involved for helping to make the event as successful as it was. Many thanks extend to all of the on and off campus vendors that came and helped on the Quad Lawn, to all of the student organizations that donated their time to the event, to all campus partners that helped with logistics, and to all of the hundred or so student volunteers that helped to manage the event. Finally, Reslife would like to thank all of the support shown in the local community towards Treat or Treat and to all those who attended.
Stay tuned for updates about next year’s Treat or Treat. For additional information, people are encouraged to like Treat or Treat on Facebook by searching Treat or Treat at Florida Tech. Or, visit its official website at: http://resquad.wixsite.com/treatortreat.
