The Student Activities Board (SAB) and Housing and Residence Life (HRL) hosted the “Fall at the Hall” festival outside of Boland Hall on Oct. 16.
Jessica Proano, the associate director of Residential Education and Student Development said, “[Fall at the Hall] is always on the last day of the first 56 days…it is supposed to be the ‘end,’ a celebration that we made it this far.”
Students ate various fall foods, pet animals and played games at the Fall at the Hall festival.
At the event, various foods including pumpkin pie, apple pie, cookies, apples and pretzels with chocolate and caramel dipping sauce and apple cider were available for students. Students also danced to music provided by Ryan Fichsher of OliveOilMusic and interacted with numerous animals at the petting zoo.
Proano explained the planning process of this event. “What I really like about it is that sure, there is a lot of planning involved on our end, but it is really student-run,” Proano said. “Students and the organizations that show up and do the activities, they’re really the people that are facilitating it.”
Ruby Pasupuleti, a junior biology major, and Chris Russo, a senior visual and sound media major, explained their experience at the event.
Russo said, “I appreciate the free food. That’s mainly why I am here.”
“I got pumpkin pie, pecan pie and some munchkins,” Pasupuleti said.
The petting zoo was a major hit for some students. The animals hailed from Mountainside Stables in Sparta, New Jersey, and included in the attraction was a donkey, an alpaca, goats, sheep, rabbits and chicks that students could feed and pet.
“We’re a traveling petting zoo, pony party operation,” said Tammy Rutkowski, of Mountainside Stables and the person in charge of the animals. “We also do horse and carriage rides too in the wintertime.”
Jonathan Petiote, a senior graphic design major, was a big fan of the petting zoo and the event.
“I’m loving it, students get to see a petting zoo, they get to have some treats, play some games, take pictures,” Petiote said. “It’s a great stress-reliever for midterms.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Seton Hall has broken its applicant record and largest freshman class record.
Students got treats, played games and won prizes at the booths set up by the fraternities and sororities. Delta Upsilon hosted a bottle knockdown carnival game and Alpha Sigma Phi set up a pumpkin decorating station. Other activities, including cornhole, a doughnut-on-a-string eating contest, were set up.
For Kaylee Landry, a freshman biology major, it was a good opportunity to find out more information on all the sororities.
“I’ve been looking into rushing in the spring, although I’m not sure which one specifically yet,” Landry said.
Proano said HRL does not have any other events planned, but Proano said, “if students have ideas, email us because we want to have events that students want to go to.”
