October 31 saw various Halloween events going on around campus. However, the Student Government Association decided to celebrate the day from a different culture’s standpoint.

SGA’s University Program Council held its third annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Memorial Amphitheater.

The event allowed attendees to participate in different activities, including getting their faces painted, making flower crowns, eating churros, drinking hot chocolate and signing up for mane card benefits.

A mariachi band from Huntsville, Los Tres Amigos, also performed. The band invited some students from the university to join them on stage for their last few songs.

While Halloween ended two days ago, its Latin-American equivalent, Día de los Muertos (meaning ‘Day of the Dead’), ended just yesterday.

Lasting from October 31 to November 2, the holiday sees friends and families taking time to remember deceased loved ones through celebration.

Junior Jake Skinner said this event shows students that the university is open to different cultures.

“Being able to not only celebrate Halloween, which many universities across the country do not allow, but also being able to celebrate another country’s holiday, shows a lot of unity between our students and people across the country,” he said.

Sophomore Chloe Wheeler said she thinks the university does well in respecting cultural differences.

“The university even sent out an email about respecting cultures during the holiday season,” Wheeler said. “The email was stating the presence of the clown costumes and how that is a very sensitive Halloween costume topic for this particular season.”

The event was started two years ago by University Program Council Vice President Jose Victor Figueroa-Cifuentes.

Around 250 people attended the event, while over 150 participating students received a shirt.

“Hopefully, this event will stick around for many more years to come,” Figueroa-Cifuentes said.