DePauw Student Government organized a Halloween event on East College Lawn, complete with music, corn hole, pumpkin painting, face painting and a costume contest on Wednesday.
The event, which was for DePauw students and community members alike, was an attempt to garner donations for United Way, the organization that DePauw has chosen for its fundraising competition against Wabash College. The competition will culminate in the Monon Bell Classic game in two weeks.
DePauw held its first fundraising event, Dine on the Square, shortly before Fall Break, which featured food from Greencastle restaurants and music provided by DePauw students in the town square. Between the two events, DePauw has now raised approximately $1,353 for the United Way fund, while Wabash has now raised $3,000 for their organization, Montgomery United Fund For You (MUFFY). Similar to United Way, MUFFY is a humanitarian organization that raises funds for not-for-profit organizations within the community.
Senior Walker Chance, the student body president, hopes that the Dine on the Square event allowed the Greencastle community to see that DePauw is open to interaction with the community outside of DePauw's campus. Chance hopes that this event has shown Greencastle community members that the opposite is true as well: the community is always welcome on DePauw's campus.
"Community members responded very positively [to Dine on the Square]. The mayor enjoyed it, people who were in attendance enjoyed it a lot, and I think they really appreciated the aspect of us reaching out," Chance said. "I think the idea that that was for community engagement, hopefully, will help them respond positively for anything we do for [the Halloween event], as well as any other events that might come up."
Dutches Lowe, who has lived in Putnam County for five years now, brought her four-year-old son Brody to this Halloween event as a way to introduce him to giving back to the community, as well as to show him the college life that, after watching "Monster's University," he had become so curious about.
"He was asking me what fraternities were, and this is a perfect opportunity for me to show him what college is," Lowe said. "I'm always trying to show him what it's like to give back, to try to teach him that, and plus, show him what college is like."
Lowe also recognizes the community engagement aspect of it, and thinks that events such as these shed a positive light on the university.
"This community, it feels really separated, like there's the university, and then there are people who are in the community. So when I heard about [this event], I was really excited because this gives the community a chance to understand what's so great about DePauw," Lowe said.
Chance added that, since children were trick-or-treating through the sorority houses on Wednesday anyway for the Greek Street Trick-or-Treat event, this was a good opportunity to immerse community members in DePauw's campus as well as in the fundraising competition in a way that was convenient for everyone.
"Because it's for children, it's more or less this idea that, if families are already out and about in DePauw, they'll be more willing to donate to a cause that they support," Chance said.
Junior Jake Weeks, who played a large role in coordinating the event along with juniors Demar Ayee and Savon Jackson, believes strongly that the United Way's commitment to helping the community makes it a great organization to give to.
"It just seems to make sense to raise money for an organization that would benefit and impact our very own community here in Greencastle as well as DePauw, making it a cause close to home and more impactful and meaningful to all of us who call this city our home, even if it is not our residence all year long," Weeks said.
DePauw can look forward to more fundraisers in the upcoming weeks, including a 50/50 raffle, and Chance hopes that DePauw students will continue to be involved.
"Keep your eyes out for other small events," he said. "The more student involvement, the better."