From sporting events to campus group insignias to student’s own Princeton merchandise, orange and black are visible throughout campus year-round. This color combination has been a part of Princeton’s look since the 19th century, when students worked with a local ribbon manufacturer to block Rutgers from claiming the colors. However, these colors are especially noticeable in October, as students, faculty, and staff gear up for Halloween.
With dark gothic stone buildings such as the Rockefeller and Mathey residential halls, East Pyne Hall, and Murray-Dodge Hall, the campus is already tinged with a haunting feeling. But many members of Princeton’s community have taken things one step further and put together a spooky array of decorations in dining halls across campus — and during the past few weeks, I toured them all.
A spokesperson for Campus Dining shared that “each dining hall puts effort into decorating its servery and dining spaces to create a welcoming and festive atmosphere. While there isn't a specific staff role dedicated to holiday decorating, many dining halls have team members who enjoy adding seasonal touches to their spaces.”
A few weeks ago, when I went to grab a plate in Choi Dining Hall, I almost jumped out of my skin when I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a life-size werewolf dressed in a kitchen uniform, its face frozen in a snarl. The staff at Yeh and NCW’s dining hall put together a creative and on-theme display, with bountiful Halloween decor including color-coordinated kitchen mixers and witch hats strung from the ceiling. They’re also known for jokes such as a label placed near decorative rocks in one of the serving areas reading, “Rocks. Allergens: none.” Out of all of the dining halls, Yeh had my favorite decorations, standing out for dedication to theme and shock factor.
The Rocky-Mathey Dining Hall dining hall was a close second, following a similar vein to Yeh with its decor. A huge blowup orange dragon watches over Rocky and Mathey diners, each of its two heads reared in anger.
Head of College Clancy Rowley and Dean Justine Hernandez-Levine credited front of house manager Kenneth Fonseca with spearheading seasonal decoration efforts. In an interview, Dean Levine recalled how Fonseca turned the RoMa private dining room into a “fall wonderland” last autumn, and he and the rest of the staff didn’t disappoint this year.
Halloween decor in RoMa dining hall.
Lily Hutcheson / The Daily Princetonian
“Rocky College Council, with some other volunteers from Mathey College's Council, put up the hay bales and scarecrows that are beneath the arch between Holder and Campbell Hall,” Rockefeller Council co-chair MC McCoy wrote to The Daily Princetonian in an email. “They were left over from our photo-op at Roma Fall Fest last Saturday, October 26, so we just reused them.”
McCoy is a staff constructor and staff photographer for the ‘Prince.’
Forbes dining hall is similarly minimal, but festive, with pumpkins and other autumn plants throughout.
Fall decor in Forbes dining hall.
Lily Hutcheson / The Daily Princetonian
Although some people gripe about Princeton’s orange and black, I was glad to see resentment didn’t keep everyone from getting into the spirit of the holiday. Each residential college and area of campus put its own, unique spin on decorating — and I will continue to live in fear of the Choi Dining Hall Werewolf until Christmas.
Lily Hutcheson is a member of the Class of 2028 and a contributing writer for The Prospect and a contributing constructor for the Puzzles Section.
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