October is here, and with it comes the cold, costumes, and pumpkin flavored everything. Any seasoned Le Moyne student knows that October also brings about the infamous Halloween dance.

The dance has been the cause of much controversy over the past few years, and is now in jeopardy of becoming yet another canceled Le Moyne tradition. After last year’s dance, Campus Life and Leadership [CLL] has found itself in a difficult position. For those of you who do not remember[(for a variety of reasons] or are new to Le Moyne, let me sum up the night: there were 13 medical transports to the hospital and several less than tasteful costumes [Islamic State fighters, black face, etc.].

So from a Campus Life perspective, this upcoming Halloween dance is, in fact, something to fear. CLL has taken multiple steps to try and limit the alcohol abuse and costume insensitivity for this upcoming dance. The unfortunate fact about alcohol is that it is extremely hard to regulate. Don’t get me wrong, I was a freshman once, and I am in no way saying that people should not have fun at the Halloween dance. The goal, however, should be to have a good night with your friends at the dance and afterwards and not to have fun all over the bathroom floor and spend the night with the lovely nurses at Upstate. It is fine to have an exciting night, but don’t push the limits too far. Just because you are dressed like a pirate does not mean you can drink like one!

As I mentioned, there is also a major concern over the costumes people may be wearing to the dance. As always, we will see our fair share of cats, nurses, hulks, and everything in between. CLL is clearly worried about any less than appropriate costumes and therefore has some big regulation plans for the dance…some of which may be viewed as overreactions to last year’s incidents.

All that aside, what is important is that something is being done to make the dance safer and more inclusive for all Le Moyne students. The fact is we are at a critical point here, this Halloween dance is either going to make it or break it. Too many transports and any inappropriate costumes will give CLL the final excuse it needs to scrap the dance for good. And how this dance goes may also affect the future of other dances. We may start seeing Snowball and 100 Nights come into question.

So I ask the student body as a whole to keep an eye out for questionable decisions. If you think your costume might be offensive, ask someone, or use some common sense. It is on us to show CLL that the mistakes of a few are not a representation of everyone. If we do not make an active stand and work together there will be no Halloween dance, or any dance, to fight for.