Hello Gauchos!

With the leaves of trees turning various shades of red and orange, the days getting shorter, and the temperature gradually beginning its downward trajectory, October is very rapidly setting in across Petaluma. Pumpkins adorn porches, seasonal Halloween stores have opened their doors, corn mazes have been cut and trimmed to perfection, and many students are looking forward to Halloween night.

Soon, the streets of Petaluma will be filled with masked entities, both in short and tall stature. Their costumes will brighten the night in whites and pinks and blues and yellows and greens and various other colors of the rainbow.

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Halloween myself — what’s not to love about dressing up in fun costumes, hanging out with friends, and collecting an insanely large quantity of free candy for your consumption?

But during this night of festivities and fun, of candy, costumes, and cacophony, people must remain aware of those that are out of sight. The entities that lurk in the shadows. The entities that knowingly prefer to remain unseen.

For on nights such as these, where bloodied shirts and fake weaponry adorn the costumes of many children and teens, it is quite easy to shrug off the notion of a bloody axe murderer-looking fellow running up behind another dressed as a bright yellow bumblebee, all while a procession of hooded figures with scythes and “Scream” masks walks by at the same time. On any ordinary day, this would be strange, and at night, it would be outright terrifying. But Halloween is the one exception.

And that is precisely why we all must remain vigilant in the face of this holiday. Criminals and individuals who wish to do harm know that many people will let their guard down, and they will take advantage of that for their own personal gain. Do not let them.

When trick-or-treating, or generally milling around outside at night, make sure that you travel in groups, or at the very least, in pairs. “Safety in numbers” is the motto to go by here; walking around alone at night is never a good idea, and attackers usually go after these kinds of people.

Additionally, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you remain aware of your surroundings — not just what is in front of you, but what is to the side of you, behind you, above you, and below you. Make sure you look up from your phone every once in a while; attackers often try to pounce when you are distracted in an attempt to catch you off guard.

I know I probably sound like a worried dad here — and trust me, I’ll be getting off my soap box in a moment — but I ask that you seriously and truly consider my advice. It will protect you and your friends so that you are able to have many absolutely wonderful nights without constantly worrying about something terrible happening.

As a fellow enjoyer of Halloween myself, I implore you all to fully partake in the festivities of the night — it wouldn’t be a holiday without the fun. But just remember to watch your back, keep an eye out for strange behaviors, and above all else, look out for each other. Because as I have stated previously and as I will continue to state:

We’re all in this together.

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Seize the Day,

Owen Davis

Head of Online Publications, 2022-2023