By Caroline Merck -

Police uniforms were by far the most fear-inspiring costumes that graced the Mods last Friday night on Halloween Eve. Surprisingly, these were donned by members of the Boston College Police Department rather than Boston College students. While ghouls, goblins and Lady Gagas roamed campus in search of treats, and otherwise enjoying All Hallows’ Eve festivities, police officers appeared to be lurking around every corner. Our campus police were out in force this weekend and seemed intent on cracking down on Halloween fun. Bicycle patrols of BCPD officers cruised through the Mods around 1:30 a.m. breaking up large and small gathering alike. Even parties that had dwindled in number were disbanded, and partygoers were sent packing.

I love BCPD, but their actions on last Friday seemed premature- Mod parties are normally tolerated until 2:00 AM- and often later. Party interventions on such a mass scale are rare. While individual gatherings are frequently squashed due to rowdy behavior, the systematic clear-out of Friday came as a surprise to many. This was especially disappointing to see on a holiday weekend so cherished by the student body.

Halloween weekend is always festive, and a certain amount of ruckus is to be expected. After a long week of midterms, many on campus anticipated a fun, long-lasting night of unwinding with friends. Unfortunately, too many BC students felt that their night of costumes and apple-bobbing has been cut short.

What disturbed many was not the fact that the night was short-lived, but that it ended so abruptly. Students were rushed out of individual Modular apartments by flashlight wielding officers demanding “everyone out!” The normally friendly BCPD was certainly acting out of character.

Loud music and rowdy crowds were not always to blame as many “parties” had whittled down to a mere ten or fifteen people- far below the supposed twenty-five person limit. Halloween-garbed students poured out of the Mods as officers systematically cleaned out the area and soon the paths through the Mods were full of bewildered princesses, vampires and “wild things.” That almost every party in the Mods ended before Late Night in Lower closed is ridiculous.

This was not the case everywhere however. Apparently, some off-campus shindigs raged late into the night. It’s too bad the same wasn’t permitted on campus.

Why the unusual Friday crackdown? Granted, Boston College does have rules that limit noise and large gatherings, but these don’t normally disrupt parties that are under control. Because events cannot be registered on game days, Saturday was clearly not going to be the only major celebratory night of the weekend. There was no reason not to let the parties of Friday night continue. BCPD was overzealous in its attempts to reign in partygoers and truly put a damper on some Friday’s Halloween merriment.