Carla Coppi said she remembers when Halloween in Carbondale went from fabulous to nightmarish.
Coppi, interim director of International Programs and Services, attended the first Halloween bash given by the International Student Council Friday in the lower level of the Student Center, but said the party was low-key compared to past Halloween festivities.
Srikanth Uppalaunchi, vice president of International Student Council, said the council attempted to introduce a traditional, American Halloween to international students who aren’t familiar with the holiday.
Uppalaunchi said some international students have never seen any Halloween celebrations in Carbondale, and the U.S. has many different cultures international students aren’t aware of.
“This is a great opportunity for international students to (learn) about Halloween, and how it’s celebrated,” Uppalaunchi said.
Coppi said the mood of a traditional Halloween might be less apparent to international students because of Halloween celebrations in Carbondale the weekend before the actual holiday. She said Halloween used to be the most fun time of the year, and people from surrounding counties would bring their kids to see the magnificent costumes.
“You were odd if you weren’t in costume and then, at the end, you were odd if you were,” Coppi said.
Ron Dunkel, coordinator of the Craft Shop, offered face painting and Halloween-related crafts as part of the festivities. He said he remembered the best Halloween, which was back in 1978.
He said Carbondale attracted a large crowd of out-of-towners for both a Bob Dylan concert as well as Homecoming. From then on, Carbondale became know as the place to be on Halloween, Dunkel said.
But out-of-towners began swarming Carbondale—particularly the Strip—on Halloween, he said. Violence began to take over, and the holiday became the most dangerous time of year, Dunkel said.
“People were burning cars and jumping off roofs, and (Carbondale) was making the news all over the country,” Coppi said. “What was a really fabulous time of year became a nightmare.”
Carbondale put the traditional Halloween party on the Strip to an end, by shutting it down and banning the sale of kegs the week before Halloween. The weekend prior to Halloween became known as the “unofficial” Halloween, Coppi said.
Ali Chehade, a graduate student in media management from Lebanon, said he was surprised by the story because he heard Carbondale was a safe town. He said Halloween is celebrated in Lebanon but on a much lesser scale.
“You won’t see people move around the streets (of Lebanon) in costumes,” Chehade said. “People go to specific places to celebrate.”
Christina Spakousky can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 258.
