Going out trick-or-treating has always been an annual tradition most of us look forward to. However, almost all annual traditions have been halted worldwide due to the spread of COVID-19. As Halloween closely approaches, many of us have the same question on our minds: should we go out trick-or-treating during a pandemic, and should it even be allowed in the first place? 

Mayor McCormac announced earlier this past week that kids in Woodbridge Township would be allowed to go trick-or-treating; however, not everyone seems to agree that this seemingly innocent tradition is safe. I reached out to several students to gather their opinions, and learn about what they were planning for the “holiday”. Madison Gill, a senior at JFK stated, “My family is buying candy but I don’t think anyone should go out this year, I think everyone should just buy and eat their own candy honestly.” Another senior, Isabella Pascale, had a different opinion, “I think we should be fine to go [trick-or-treating] because most people will put, like bags of candies out so I don’t really see a problem with it since, for the most part, we’ll be avoiding contact.” JFK senior Sarah Sarwar seems to agree, “I think that it’s not going to be as bad as a lot of people think it’ll be.”

Whether going trick-or-treating during a pandemic sounds like a terrible idea or a reasonable activity, it seems like students have differing opinions on the topic. In our current era of “the new normal”, we continuously seek out safer alternatives for almost anything in our daily lives. Will trick-or-treating be hauntingly different this year, or will it be the same? We have two more days to find out.