By Sydney Nauman
The University of Maryland’s Department of Transportation hosted its 9th annual Ghosts in the Garage Costume Contest in Regents Drive Garage on Friday, Oct. 28 and Monday, Oct. 31.
Students, faculty and staff dressed up for the chance to win their choice of a free parking prize. The event ran from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. and required participants to get their photo taken in the DOTS office, which a panel of judges used to choose the winners.
“The panel of judges is composed of DOTS leadership staff. They’ll be taking into account creativity and overall execution of the costume,” said Emily Hunter Cosci, Assistant Director for DOTS Communications and Marketing.
According to the DOTS website, winners could choose from a free annual parking permit, an upgraded all-campus parking permit for faculty and staff participants, or $300 worth of Smart Commute credits, which can be used for Veo, Metro SmartTrip cards and ZipCar. Students who already purchased a parking pass for the year would receive a refund upon winning.
DOTS announced the contest winners and runners-up on Thursday. The winners included individuals dressed as a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto and Shrek. The judges also chose two runners-up, whose costumes included a Kyoshi Warrior from Avatar, and Casey Becker from the movie Scream. DOTS was unable to disclose the names of the participants due to privacy protections.
“Scream is one of my favorite classic horror movies and I was also dressing up with my friend who was Ghostface,” said Emma Curley, a senior Technology and Information Design major. Curley received $100 in gear from the University Book Center for being a runner-up in the contest.
Another participant, senior Computer Science major Chris Emm, dressed as Heisenberg, the alias used by Walter White in the show “Breaking Bad.”
“I also purchased a bald cap to apply, but I didn’t want to put it on so early in the day, since it was a one-time use cap, so unfortunately my costume wasn’t complete for the contest,” Emm said.
The event had a few dozen contestants, but the department was hoping to see more students, faculty and staff participate, Cosci said. Emm suggested that the contest could use more advertising in the future.
“I knew about it from an email, but I didn’t see anything else about it,” Emm said.
Posters advertising the event were placed on buses and around campus, in addition to it being advertised to students through email and on the UMD DOTS Twitter page.
Students who dressed up to compete said they are excited for more fun holiday event opportunities in the future and, of course, the free prizes.
“The prizes were a really good incentive,” Curley said, “I think many college students would love the opportunity to experience trick-or-treating again…It’s fun at any age!”
This was the first Ghosts in the Garage Costume Contest held in two years.
“The contest was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic,” said Cosci, so the department was excited to bring it back this Halloween.
Featured Image: Students Emma Curley and Chris Emm prepare to have their picture taken for the contest outside the Regents Drive Garage DOTS office. Photo by Sydney Nauman.