On Oct. 30, from 12 to 2 p.m., the South Annex on the west side of the College of the Desert campus hosted a block party celebrating Halloween and the Day of the Dead. The event featured tons of fun booths with activities such as pottery painting, pumpkin painting, and corn hole. They even had their own ofrenda with pictures of loved ones and offerings.
The event ended with a costume contest, with many of the students and faculty participating.
It was recommended that everyone come in costume for the Halloween festivities and enjoy delicious treats, but that’s not all that was happening. Cody Mccabe, the director of international education and the advisor of COD Pride, states that the block party took over a month and a half to plan and that the physical setup took about a week.
“This event is to feature the south annex programs and services,” Mccabe said. He also said this is the third year the South Annex has hosted the block party.
Everyone who attended left with a fun experience and information on the programs and how they can utilize these services.
Pluto Rodriguez, a second-year student, enjoyed the event—particularly the presence of monsters, including a new guayaba monster. “I’m here today because I am a pride student leader, and we are volunteering our time to help out and get everyone to have fun,” he said.
Students worked the event and were very passionate about making everyone feel included and welcomed. They made sure to participate in the block party events.
Jessica Collins, a third-year student, and Rose Butts, a second-year student here at COD, performed at the event with their group Dance Dy’Nasty, a dance club here at COD. They mention seeing creative Halloween costumes such as sorcerers and plague doctors.
The event had students from the programs helping, which was nice because you were connecting with not only the advisers but also the students.
Christopher Martinez, an independent senator for the Student Senate and a student worker at the Basic Needs Center, discussed setting up a block party at College of the Desert. The event aimed to highlight various student resources, such as the Pride Center, Dreamers Resource Center, and more.
“This is a great way to bring our college students and community together to show off these resources that are available to help support all students at College of the Desert to be successful with their academic goals,” Martinez said.
To end the block party, all of the students and faculty members came together for a Halloween Costume Contest. All participants were given numbers, and each had to walk and model their costumes. There were three costume judges, including Interim Superintendent/President Laura Hope.
Lots of students and faculty members were in attendance to help set up for the event, such as the Gender & Sexual Diversity Pride Center, Dreamer Resource Center, Basic Needs Center, Foster Youth Center, Roadrunner Makers, ASCOD, Black Student Success Center, TRIO-Upward Bound, Trio Veterans, Non-Credit Programs, CalWORKs program, EOPS, CARE, Rising Scholars, and Public Saftey Department.
