A big weekend is upon us in DeKalb.

Kids will be dressing up as everything under the sun, knocking on doors and shamelessly asking for something sweet.

This year’s Halloween weekend is officially under way.

But what does Halloween mean to college students? There are mixed opinions on the subject.

Some still enjoy dressing up and going out to celebrate the one night of the year they can actually get away with looking absolutely ridiculous.

Others haven’t even acknowledged the so-called holiday since they were in middle school.

From what I found, the amount of people who enjoy and celebrate Halloween is on the decline. I was wondering why.

Senior English major Matt Mulcahy says, “I haven’t even noticed [Halloween] since I was in eighth grade. I’m not dressing up. I don’t really care about it. I don’t see it as a holiday.”

Chrissy Majerowicz, a senior geology and environmental sciences major, said, “Personally, I haven’t dressed up since freshman year of high school. And I am more than OK with that.”

Why does all this negative hype surround this tradition in the college world?

I remember dressing up my senior year of high school and going out to trick-or-treat with my friend for a little bit because I wanted some candy and I didn’t want to let go of my childhood.

As the doors opened following our persistent knocking and doorbell ringing, there often came the comment, “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?”

Needless to say, I think I’m one of the few who still enjoys celebrating this day for the simple reason of having fun. I haven’t gone trick-or-treating since that sad episode, but I have dressed up since then. I don’t have a problem with dressing up and celebrating the day; why do others?

A common cause of this anti-Halloween vibe among those I questioned seemed to be an annoyance about how some students just use Halloween as an excuse to throw another party, dress provocatively and drink.

Those who don’t enjoy these types of parties are obviously not into that idea and don’t agree with it.

Senior accountancy major Kristen Hines is one of those people. She said, “I generally think college students are excited about the holiday mostly because it provides another opportunity to go out and party and get wasted. It also allows people to dress up as skanky as they want without receiving comments from anyone.”

It seems a lot of those students who do participate in the celebration take advantage of being able to get away with more than society would accept on other days, and dress rather disrespectable for the occasion. This seems to be another common annoyance among those who don’t enjoy Halloween.

Majerowicz commented on a friend she had when she lived in the residence halls a couple years ago: “[She] dressed up in a cute little devil outfit with huge red heels for a party and got so drunk that she fell down the stairs coming out since she was wearing such big heels.”

This incorporates two aspects of the reasons why some students seem to not like Halloween: wardrobe issues and alcohol.

It’s no wonder many college students don’t enjoy celebrating Halloween any longer. It’s not just that it’s a childish tradition that ended for most of us in high school, if not before.

It has also been abused by those who use it as an excuse for poor behavior. A lot of students just don’t want any part of it.

Then again, maybe there are others like me out there who enjoy releasing the inner child every once in a while to make sure it’s still alive and well.

I know I don’t ever want to lose that part of me. I would hope most of you wouldn’t either.

I would like for the college world to get over the negativity that’s haunted such a fun holiday and celebrate it in a positive way and embrace that inner child.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.