ADMINISTRATOR’S CORNER: Spiros Dimolitsas’ Halloween Safety Tips

Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Spiros Dimolitsas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Spiros Dimolitsas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Spiros Dimolitsas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Halloween is a fun holiday at Georgetown for many students.  Personally, I don’t get what all the fuss is about.  I never dress up, despite people I run into on the Metro thinking I’m wearing a vampire costume.  But I’m not one to get in the way of revelry.  I can remember my college days back in Eastern Europe, throwing wild parties and drinking… drinking liquids.  Enjoy it while you can, students!  And be safe when doing so.  Here are some safety tips to keep in mind while you’re drunkenly running from party to party in the dark of night as your stiff, nubile necks ache from some unknown pain!

  • Don’t buy imitation blood.  Not only is it demeaning to people who drink blood for daily sustenance, it can seriously injure any of these people who show up to your party and think it’s real.
  • Don’t buy garlic-flavored candy.  It may be the hip, cosmopolitan thing to pick up some garlic-flavored candy at the local Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but many children and adults these days are allergic to garlic, and this candy will clear these people out of sight very quickly.  Try Reese’s peanut-butter cups instead.  I’ve found everybody loves those!
  • Don’t run around with a cross and shove it in people’s faces, even if it is part of your costume.  Crosses have sharp edges that can puncture the skin.  If you really have to carry around a religious symbol, why not a nice, round Daoist yin-yang?

  • While you’re at it, don’t run around with a wooden stake either.  Setting aside the fact that someone could trip and fall on it and sue you for millions, it’s almost sure to give you some nasty splinters of your own.
  • Clearly mark your fake decoration coffins as such.  You don’t want a disorientated student to spend the night in it accidentally.
  • You discuss Twilight at your own peril.  Certain people may be offended by how a certain ethnic group is depicted in that series.
  • If you go trick-or-treating, carefully sort through your candy to make sure there aren’t any opened wrappers.  If there are, check to make sure a wooden stake hasn’t been stuck in there.  There are some malicious people out there trying to hurt trick-or-treaters.  People like the Romanian Embassy.

And you know students, when you think about it, these are really rules to live by every day.  Have fun out there.  Be safe.  As always, don’t get swine flu.  And if you have HIV, have the courtesy to mark that somewhere on your neck.