Students Celebrate Halloweekend with Liquor Treat

For each night of Halloweekend, members of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association hosted OSCAns for a festive Oberlin tradition: Liquor Treat. Tank Hall hosted their event Friday, followed by Harkness House on Saturday and Keep Cottage on Sunday. On their respective nights, students living in the co-ops brewed alcoholic and non-alcoholic concoctions to serve to their costumed guests, chatted, and danced the night away.

For College second-year Ruby Martinez, the event showcased OSCA’s broad reach across campus. In addition to seeing everyone in Keep co-op, she enjoyed seeing students from the other co-ops come together. Each of the co- ops has created a community within their halls, so this event was a joint celebration of their work.

“We all live together and do this thing where we all cook and take care of each other and live in cooperation,” Martinez said. “This is a chance to all get together to have fun and celebrate each other.”

College second-year Leela Miller appreciated how creative everyone got with their costumes and drinks. She believes Liquor Treat was an opportunity for everyone to express their kookiest selves.

“I loved seeing everyone dressed up in bizarre costumes and getting to try the occasionally weird, occasionally gross, occasionally delicious drinks that they made,” she said. “It was such a great opportunity for people to put their creativity on display!”

OSCA’s welcoming attitude and tight-knit environment allowed Liquor Treat participants to lean into their quirkiness. In true OSCA fashion, Miller dressed up as a bulb of garlic.

“I just wanted a large, ridiculous, vegetable-shaped costume,” she said. “So that’s what I made. The muses compelled me!”

Among others, Martinez served as a “vibes watcher,” continuously checking in to make sure attendees were safe and having a good time. Through this work, Martinez realized how much everyone in a co-op values one another.

“All night, everyone was looking out for each other and taking care of each other,” she said.

Miller did not take on any specific role this past weekend, but she still felt involved in the whole process.

“We discussed all of our party policies beforehand,” she said. “We voted on how many people would be invited, how we would label and serve our drinks, and when we would start asking people to leave. We tried to plan out the night in a way that made every co-op member feel comfortable, and we all cleaned up our gross, sticky hallways together the next day. Very cooperative of us!”

Martinez and Miller both say they had fantastic Halloweekends. They loved the originality and community warmth that came with Liquor Treat and appreciated the safety and comfort of knowing who they were living, eating, and dancing with.