Wabash takes a hayride

Wabash resident assistants Weston Lee and Teri Deel led a group of 38 residents for a Friday night full of fun and Halloween festivities to the Odyssey Fun Farm in Tinley Park, Ill.

Students were able to watch The Walking Dead, choose the perfect pumpkin to take home and carve, indulge in warm beverages and seasonal snacks, find their way through a corn maze and, most importantly, fend off the horrors of the Zombie Safari Hayride.

The Zombie Safari Hayride is a traditional tractor-pulled wagon which weaves through a massive cornfield filled with mounted targets and moving zombies that riders are able to shoot with mounted paintball guns.

“The turnout was awesome,” Lee said.

The RAs were originally only expecting a group of about 18 students for the hayride, but the turnout more than doubled through advertising and word of mouth.

RAs attended training earlier this year, before move-in day, where they learned how different programs have different meanings. Lee said events like this engage students socially and  give them an outlet to participate in seasonal recreation.

“When I was younger, Halloween was not my favorite because I didn’t really like all the scary stuff, but once I learned it was all fake, Halloween went up on my list,” Lee said. “It’s a time to be bad, dress up, and go out to have fun.”

“The bus ride was kind of long, but the paintballing was really fun, and the guy leading it was really exciting,” Roosevelt student Ahissa Bustos said.

Another student, Ava Gordy, agreed that the hayride was fun.

“I think the wait wasn’t worth the ride, but it was okay. I think it could have been scarier,” Gordy said.

The ride from Wabash to the Odyssey Fun Farm was approximately 45 minutes, plus an hour in frigid temperatures for the Safari Hayride. Students participated, overall, for nearly three hours.

“The event went great, and I think everybody had a great time,” Lee said.

Despite a little wait, a little cold, and the occasional rebound of paintball ammo, the general consensus was that the event was a hit for residents.

Have fun on the hayride? Plan on visiting a haunted house or some other terror filled fun to celebrate Halloween? Tweet us all about it @RUTORCH