Erin McNemar
Managing Executive Editor
Pumpkin carving is a favorite fall tradition for many. There is something about the wonderful mess it makes that puts a smile on everyone’s face. Pumpkins filled the Fiske Quad on Friday, October 25 as students gathered for the second annual Pumpkin Lobotomy. The Keene State College tradition returned last year after taking a four-year hiatus.
The event was put on by student government and invited students to come to the quad to carve pumpkins provided by the organization. In addition to carving pumpkins, students were able to enjoy games, a costume contest, a photo booth for pets and festive snacks provided by the Zorn Dining Commons.
Class of 2021 Representative Caroline Morgan said while she was not on the planning committee for the event, there were a lot of moving parts that went into the planning throughout all of student government. “It has been a production for a couple of weeks now. Just ordering the pumpkins and the shirts, signing everyone up for tabling and all that,” Morgan said.
Around the perimeter of the quad, different student clubs and organizations were tabling the event. These groups offered candy, cookies and games for interested attendees. However, most people attended Pumpkin Lobotomy to spend the afternoon carving pumpkins with their friends.
Sophomore Olivia Lonardo said she attended the event to get into the spirit of the season. “We just love fall. It’s our favorite season,” Lonardo said.
While Lonardo had not been around to check out all the booths yet, she said she enjoyed the ones she did visit before starting to carve her pumpkin. “We got the free shirts. We’re gonna go around after to look at the rest of the booths because we wanted to get a pumpkin first. I do really want to get some apple cider though,” Lonardo said.
Also attending the event was sophomore Victoria Comerford. Comerford said why she decided to come to Pumpkin Lobotomy. “There are two reasons. I wanted to come because it’s fall and it’s a fun activity and it’s cheaper than going pumpkin picking,” Comerford said.
While some did not decide what design of pumpkin they wanted to carve until they got there, Comerford looked up some different styles on Pinterest prior to the event. Comerford carved her pumpkin featuring one eye as a star and the other one as a moon. The pumpkin also had a large smiling face.
Comerford had also not looked at all the booths yet, but was planning to after she finished carving her pumpkin. “A ton of people I’m friends with are going to be at their booths so I’m definitely going to go over and say ‘hi,’” Comerford said.
Overall, Morgan said student government was happy with the number of people at the event. “It’s actually a bigger turn out than we had expected at first. We have had so many people here and just more of a turn out than we could have expected for the first couple hours,” Morgan said.
Erin McNemar can be contacted at
Emcnemar@kscequinox.com
