With Halloween fast approaching, there is no end to the Halloween themed social events available to students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

*One of the most popular of these events is the Halloween themed dance in the UC Down Under. This event was put on by UC Entertainment and took place Oct. 13, 9 p.m. – midnight. The dance was open to all students, and had all of the classic amenities of Halloween from candy to eerie decorations.

Within the dance party, there was also a costume contest. The contest was open to anyone who showed up in a costume, and the prizes for the winners ranged from gift cards to free movie passes for shows in the UC.

“I was really looking forward to the dance,” said John Mangold, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater. “It was supposedly one of the most popular dances at the Down Under last year, and over 100 people showed up.”

While last year the dance did bring out over 100 people, the numbers this year were not as impressive.

The dance floor was alive throughout the night with ghosts, goblins and superheroes, but the event itself lacked a real dance club atmosphere, as there were around only 40 people in attendance.

“It’s a shame that not many people came out,” said freshman Tyler Falk. “I was looking forward to strong competition in the costume contest.”

Falk attended the dance dressed as zombie, complete with tattered clothes and bloody face paint. Although Falk put in a great deal of time and effort into his costume, he fell short of the top five costumes by several places.

Although the attendance of this year’s dance fell short in comparison to last year, the event did accomplish its main goal of bringing students together.

Sophomore Brad Krc was one of many who walked away from the event feeling that it had brought him closer to several other students on campus.

“I hadn’t expected much from this dance,” Krc said. “But after being here for only a short time I had already made several friends that I’m sure I will be spending more of my time with.”

The main goal of UC Entertainment is to bring students closer together through campus social events like the Halloween dance. No matter the attendance, if students feel they have grown closer to their peers, the event was a success.

“I would say that UC Entertainment reached their goal,” said Tyler Falk. “I firmly believe that events like this are healthy for students, and it’s a good place to make friends you may have otherwise never met. I do plan to go next year as well.”

Falk’s plan to attend the next Halloween dance is shared by many of the other students who were in attendance this year. With better advertising and positive words from those who experienced the dance, the odds of the Halloween dance being more popular next year are high.