Remember the thrill of trick-or-treating as a child? The excitement of going door-to-door on Oct. 31? Here’s your chance to relive that treasured childhood tradition — 2013 style.
It’s called Trick or Tweet, and the treat at the end could be an iPad Mini for an Arts & Sciences undergrad.
Arts & Sciences Communications and the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis are hosting the Thursday, Oct. 31, event, which will take place throughout the Danforth Campus.
While designed as a daylong social media contest for Arts & Sciences undergraduates, Trick or Tweet is open to any WUSTL community member interested in exploring Arts & Sciences’ breadth by visiting its numerous departments and centers.
And because it is Halloween, visitors to the 31 participating Arts & Sciences departments can expect to encounter ghosts, goblins and ghouls along the way.
“Everyone — all students, faculty and staff from across campus — will be welcome to drop in and visit the departments’ Halloween-themed stations, take pictures, pick up candy, follow our fun tweets and explore Arts & Sciences,” said Ebba Segerberg, PhD, director of communications for Arts & Sciences.
The associated contest and drawing for the iPad mini and cash prizes, however, is open only to A&S undergrads.
The contest is simple, and the rules are spelled out in the video below. Arts & Sciences undergraduate students are encouraged to visit as many of the participating departments (see list and map here) as possible between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Oct. 31.
Once students find a department’s Halloween-themed station, they are to take a photograph of themselves posing at the station and upload the photo to any or all of Arts & Sciences social media channels: Twitter (#WUBoo13), Facebook or Instagram.
Each visit to a department that is documented by a photo posted to an A&S social media channel is entered in the Trick or Tweet contest. The more departments a student visits, the more chances he or she has to win an iPad Mini or cash prizes.
The departments are getting into the “spirit” of the contest with plans for such photo props as two skeletons dressed in flight suits next to the Mars Rover in Rudolph Hall, a bubbling cauldron in Louderman Hall and a giant ghoul in Seigle Hall.
“Because Arts & Sciences is so big — we have 50 departments and centers — we wanted a community-building event that would encourage students to visit our academic departments and see the breadth of study opportunities available to them,” said Jennifer R. Smith, PhD, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and associate professor of earth and planetary sciences.
“We also want to increase our social media following to help keep students — and the rest of the university community — better informed about news and events in Arts & Sciences,” she added. “So come visit us, either in person or online!”