Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year!! The end of summer brings changing leaves, pumpkin pies, and sweater weather; however, for many hardworking QUEST students, this also means midterms, team projects, and job hunting is in full swing. The QUESTPress team has compiled some QUEST fall favorites in order to help you relax and enjoy the spooky season to its full potential. 

Things to Do 

College Park is a fantastic place to be during Halloween. There are tons of fun things to do on campus and in the local area that will make you not want to leave for Fall Break!

Spice up your weekend trip to Washington D.C. and try a ghost tour! Only a short Metro Ride away, there are lots of services such as D.C. Ghosts that offer creepy ghost tours of downtown meant to entertain tourists groups of all ages. This is a spooky yet safe way to learn about our nation’s capital in a way they do not teach in textbooks – if you are up for the scare. 

However, no need to fear Halloween plans if horror is not your favorite. Luckily enough, Emmy Award-winning comedian, John Mulaney, is making a visit to campus on Oct. 30th! The QUESTPress team highly recommends going to see his show as a great way to share some light-hearted laughs with friends. Grab your tickets before they are gone! 

Hot Topics of Halloween

We asked for your opinion on a spicy Halloween controversy – the pumpkin spice latte (PSL). 

An overwhelming majority of responses to the QUEST Lab poll reveal that QUEST is NOT the biggest fan of this “famous” drink. Results came in with 8 people deeming the PSL “Worth It” and a whopping 20 saying “Nah!” Madison Spiotta and some of her fellow Cohort 33 classmates chimed in that if given an option, they would always “rather have a chai.” Jessica Roffe, QUEST assistant director, admits to loving pumpkin, but “just not the spice.” Even the financials of the fall drink have fallen under scrutiny. Daniel Ben-Or, also of Cohort 33, proposes the question: “Why would I pay $5.00 for a latte when I could get a meal instead?”

An equally important, but surprisingly even less controversial topic, was crowning the best Halloween movie. Front runners clearly emerged from proposing this question in the QUEST Lab:

Hocus Pocus (1993) and Halloweentown (1998). These two classics led in popularity while a few outliers remained such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (1966). No matter which of these movies is your go-to, they all pair great with making cookies and eating candy with friends on Halloween! 

We hope you all stay busy and have a fantastic Halloween with your fellow QUESTees. Try a nice, hot pumpkin spice chai latte too! Happy Fall!