It’s that time of year again; when the leaves begin to turn shades of copper and gold, and a crisp breeze greets you every time you walk outside. Along with this highly anticipated season comes aisles upon aisles of Halloween-themed cereals, energy drinks and candies. Pumpkins are being sold left and right. Mannequins behind glass displays are clad in seasonal sweaters and jeans. Hot apple cider and steamy lattes are in high demand at coffee shops. Skeletons, eerie lights and hay bales are strategically placed in front yards. And it’s difficult to walk through any store without picking up the faint scent of pumpkin spice.
Within Southeast, students have many opinions on this fall’s trends, and there are parts of the season that they look forward to each year. From fashion to sweet treats, student’s opinions are split on some matters, whereas there seems to be a consensus in other areas.
Best Parts of Fall
This spooky season has much to offer, but some of these events and items tend to gather a bit more of a crowd than others. In a survey taken by 54 LSE students, 47.2 percent believe that Halloween is the very best part of autumn, however, nights spent at the pumpkin patch (11.3 percent), weekends invested at the mall (11.3 percent), and baking and eating sweets (7.5 percent), are also key staples this fall.
LSE freshman, Mackenna Kroger’s favorite part of autumn is baking sweet treats.
“Baking brings me, my friends and my family together. We make messes and then we laugh and it’s fun to clean up,” Kroger said. “I don’t see my mom much during summer and spring and winter, so fall’s like our [season] together.”
Southeast junior Lillian Spilker believes that the best part of the season is Halloween.
“I really enjoy Halloween because it’s not something I get to do [all the time],” Spilker said. “I can go around with my friends and just have a bunch of fun. It may not be trick or treating, like when we were younger, but it’s still just having fun.”
Tastiest Treats This Season
Much of the excitement for the fall season can be traced back to the chocolate and gummies protruding from candy buckets and the caramel apples purchased at nearby pumpkin patches. Students at LSE agree that apple cider (20.4 percent), pumpkin spice flavored treats (22.4 percent) and Halloween candy (16.3 percent) are some of the best autumn sweets that make the season all the better.
What’s Trending?
Even though some students don’t participate in the trends themselves, they still have something to say on what aspects of the fall season are most popular this year. Students believe the trends this autumn include the aesthetics of the season, Halloween and an annual visit or two to the pumpkin patch.
LSE senior Sylena Morris claims that the most popular element of the fall season is going to the pumpkin patch and walking through haunted houses. She believes that the scary parts of the season are becoming more popular each year, and students tend to really enjoy getting a thrill.
