By TRENTON JUDD
Student Writer
The Secular Student Alliance is taking the lead on running the annual haunted house out of the Vinson Hall basement.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s haunted house is an annual tradition. The Student Secular Alliance is sponsoring the event this year. “The SSA is a campus organization that promotes tolerance and diversity while respecting everyone’s right to practice his or her own faith.” said Gabriel Dunbar, President of the SSA. “We strive to remain secular and focus on community service projects that unite us all in a common goal regardless of whether you are irreligious or a devout Protestant.”
This is the first year that the SSA will be sponsoring the haunted house in the absence of REAL, a former student organization. “We decided about two weeks ago that we wanted to do the haunted house because it is our largest source of income for the group, but we couldn’t find anyone in REAL or GOLD. My vice president and I went to Calleb Mosburg to see if we could sponsor it and he gave us the green light.” said Dunbar.
The haunted house is used as a fundraiser by many of the participating clubs on campus. “All proceeds will be distributed fairly and evenly among the participating clubs.” said Dunbar. “The money the Secular Student Alliance earns will be used to buy supplies for local community service projects, such as painting a home for a disabled person and cleaning a yard for an elderly Alva resident. We also intend to install new bike racks and encourage students to ride their bicycles to campus not only to promote well-being, but to be environmentally responsible.”
The haunted house will be open from 8 p.m. to midnight starting Oct. 29 and ending Oct. 31. Admission for the haunted house will be $5, or $4 when you bring a canned food donation, which will be donated to a local food bank. The haunted house is an integral part of Northwestern’s Halloween festivities. “I went to Nightmare in the Country in Woodward, Okla. to see what a renowned haunted house looks like, and I can safely say what we have on the NWOSU campus is just as spooky when you consider the resources we have available to us and the short time span we’ved had to make it possible.” said Dunbar.