swiloween is swil's annual halloween party. for many years, it was scheduled to coincide with the ml halloween party, since a lot of swilfolk live in ml, and the halloween party is usually a good time to be elsewhere. the ml party didn't happen this year, and may not again, but, if it does, swiloween should be the same night. if not, swiloween should be an appropriate weekend night (usually saturday) on the weekend before or after halloween.
swiloween usually takes place in sharples iii, starting at 8pm and continuing until we get kicked out. lindsay herron '00, who coordinated the 1998 party, made the useful discovery that it is possible to reserve sharples iii until 11am, so people can be encouraged to bring sleeping bags, and we don't have to worry about the alarm, which is really grepping loud.
in fall 1999, the art association was put in charge of sharples iii by campus, so it is unclear whether we will be able to continue to hold events there. we should try at some point, since we made a strong case for our right to do so at the time. however, we have since then reserved the wrc for a couple of events. it is a very nice space, so this is a good option as long as we are allowed to do so. e-mail wrc@sccs to make a reservation, and let them know well in advance of the event. you will have to put down a $50 deposit to use the wrc.
someone needs to be in charge of swiloween. the basic responsibilities of the swiloween coordinator are food and accessories. food is usually dessert-type things, but people can bring whatever they want. people should be encouraged to bake, and some effort should be made to reimburse bakers for ingredients. at any rate, everyone who attends the party and doesn't bake should give some amount of money to the coordinator, depending on how far in the hole the coordinator is (usually $2-$5.) swiloween is not an all-campus event, so we don't get sac funding for it, but anyone who wants to come is welcome, provided they give us some money if they eat anything. the coordinator should also either go shopping, or make sure that other people are in charge of bringing plates, cups, cutlery (people often bring cakes and brownies and things), and napkins.
in general, lots of gaming and socializing happens at swiloween. gaming is primarily parlour-style, since there are a large group of people and they're all in costume, so why not. there are four activities which are currently considered quasi-traditional: mafia, the m&m game, snort, and truth or dare.
the only props needed for mafia are a deck of cards, a narrator, and someone who's willing to explain the rules. someone will almost definitely have a deck of cards, but the coordinator may want to bring one just in case.
to prepare for the m&m game, the coordinator should get a large bag of m&ms and wrap in it several layers of duct tape, newspaper, and masking tape. more layers is generally better, up to a limit. the coordinator should also bring mittens (try to make them big enough to fit everyone -- i think there's actually a pair in george currently), a hat, a scarf, and a pair of dice.
no specific props are needed for snort or truth or dare (we hope). good things to have around sharples iii are candles and flashlights (so you can turn the lights out at some point) and large pillows.
By: chaos golubitsky '00 -- Last revised: 18 January 2000