Minutemen Youth Wrestling

Halloween is a holiday most students at Ohio University have grown up celebrating. But for international students, Halloween is a new concept. As the weekend celebration draws near, the international community is buzzing with curiosity. India does not have any holidays similar to Halloween. Mechanical engineering graduate student Altaf Rasyani, who is from India, said he is very excited about Halloween weekend. This is his first year at OU, and has never seen what the holiday is like here. “I heard people in weird costumes come to Court Street to make conversation and that Halloween in Athens is famous and unique,” he said. Rasyani said he will not be dressing up for the weekend celebration, though, because he is not familiar with the tradition and does not know what would be a customary costume. Another Indian student, Mohammed Qadeer Ahmed, was here for Halloween two years ago. He said he liked the Halloween celebration because people get together and have lots of parties. However, he was less impressed with activities late in the evening. He said, “At the end it gets a bit weird because people are drunk and do weird things. I didn’t like that part.” Qadeer Ahmed, also a graduate student in mechanical engineering, said he is not sure whether his friends and he will go out on Halloween, but he would like to see the variety of costumes on display. Peter Otiato, an African studies graduate, is interested in what will happen this weekend from a cultural standpoint. He said he has not heard much about Athens Halloween traditions, but is curious about whether the original significance of the holiday is still revered. Also, Otiato, a native of Kenya, said students here presume Halloween is more global than it actually is. “There’s an assumption that international students know exactly what happens,” he said. “People are culturally biased.” by Karlie Dunsky Staff Writer