If you live in the dorms, today is your last day to register a Halloween guest. But make sure to bring a $25 registration fee, because this year people will have to pay for their guest wristbands. This year, out-of-towners have to pay for their right to party.
The Halloween fee has received some criticism, but it's a good idea. The university drops more than $90,000 a year on the event, and that doesn't include all the extra OUPD officers watching the streets. This is the first attempt to make some of that money back by charging the students and all their friends who visit for the weekend.
The debate on 'who owns Halloween?' has been going on for years now. The city doesn't want it, and neither does the university. The answer seems clear.
Halloween belongs to the students. It's not unreasonable to ask us to take on some of the financial burden from it. It's not a perfect system by a long shot. For one thing, it is the OU student actually paying the $25, not the guests that are coming to visit, which makes it seem more like paying for the privilege of having guests over.
There is also the valid complaint that, because students already pay boarding costs, they should be able to have guests over as much as they please. This is a good point. I doubt many people living off campus would appreciate it if their landlord started charging them for every person visiting.
The university isn't a landlord and students aren't tenants, so the rules don't exactly apply. But the same argument holds for registering guests in the first place, and no one has protested that. Nor the idea that the buildings are locked and not even students can get in on their own.
When it comes to Halloween safety, students haven't minded university interference in their lives and dorm rooms. The guest fee is just a way for the university to recoup enough money to afford those Halloween safety measures.
That might not be fair for me to say, considering that when I was living in the dorms, we didn't have to pay for guests. But even so, I don't think that $25 is enough to keep anyone's friends from visiting, especially considering how much most people are going to be spending on costumes and alcohol for Halloween.
Of course, there's always the option of saving yourself the hassle and not registering your guest. Might not be a good idea if you guys are planning on actually leaving the dorm, as there are going to be RAs lurking at every entrance. If you live on the first floor, you might be able to boost your friend in through the window. It wouldn't be very effective, though it would be exceedingly hilarious.
You should pay the fee, but make sure to force your friend to pay you back as soon as he or she arrives. Whether you realize it or not, the campus is safer on Halloween thanks to OU's efforts. It won't kill you to pay them back for their efforts.
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Catie Coleman
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