Tutor and Proctor Families Ponder Halloween Plans

As Halloween weekend approaches and students finalize their plans, Harvard proctors and tutors with children are also considering their options for the weekend celebrations.

Many proctors and tutors plan on taking their children to community organized events, such as those in Inman Square and at the Cambridge YMCA, according to a senior resident tutor in Adams House Maleka Donaldson Gramling.

Donaldson Gramling also mentioned some of the difficulties associated with living in an area so dominated by a university campus.

“In past years we’ve gone trick or treating in and around the area, though it’s actually quite hard to trick-or-treat,” she said. “We don’t go to the dorms though we’ve tried in the neighborhood. Half of the buildings around here are Harvard offices so it’s difficult."

Harvard proctor families often find events in the neighborhood to attend together.

“The proctors who have families will often go together to various things,” said Alex P. Douglas, proctor of Lionel A entryway. “For example, the [Harvard] Coop, during the afternoon has ... something like a Halloween fair on Saturday. So there are various events around."

When asked about whether Cambridge as a city caters to residents with children eager to trick-or-treat, Donaldson Gramling responded positively.

“There’s plenty of access to candy: my daughter’s school is having a Halloween dress-up after school event, the ‘Inmanween’ and Cambridge YMCA are community held events, and there are certain blocks down Oxford Street that decorate the buildings, which people drive over to for trick-or-treating,” she said.

Children also participate in events organized by their school or daycare establishments and go trick-or-treating in cordoned-off surrounding areas like Beacon Hill and Oxford Street.

“I think [Boston] is one of the best places to live during Halloween,” said Tim Ahfeldt, a proctor in Canaday.

Despite a lack of Harvard-organized activities for proctor families, some proctors still find ways to interact with college students. Ahfeldt and his wife, April Cook, plan on “reverse trick-or-treating” with their son in freshman entryways.