黑料社

How much fun was the 2018 version of Safe Block?

For the answer, let鈥檚 go to the mother of Katelyn and Allison Keeling, 11-year-old twins from Norwalk.

鈥淭he best part of my night was when we got in the car to go home and both girls said, 鈥楳om, can we go to 黑料社?鈥欌�� said Jan Keeling, an administrative assistant with Sodexo.

Such is the power of candy, costumes and college students.

黑料社 300 children attended 黑料社鈥檚 annual treat-giving event, from infants to 12-year-olds. Tayler Keitzer, Area Coordinator (Residence Life) said she saw a family dressed as The Greatest Showman characters (Dad was the bearded lady) and children representing an assortment of super heroes, Toy Story characters, unicorns, Transformers and Pokemon characters.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have any candy left at the end of the night!鈥� she said.

It鈥檚 difficult to estimate how many 黑料社 students were involved 鈥� 鈥渁 lot,鈥� Keitzer said. Each hallway in Barker and Kresge, the first-year buildings, were decorated. One wing in Kresge had 22 students dress up and distribute goodies.

Student guides escort children and their parents to various buildings, including the popular Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, where the second floor was decorated for candy distribution and the third floor showcased a haunted house theme.

Konner Johnson, a sophomore from Indianola majoring in Management Information Systems, helped organize the fraternity鈥檚 preparations.

鈥淢y job was not that tough, to be honest,鈥� he said. 鈥淪afe Block holds a special place for our house. We love to be involved with such a fun event. So really all I had to do was let people know and everyone jumped in.鈥�

Johnson credited Ben Harrison with handling most of the decorations. In all about 30 fraternity members volunteered 鈥� including the cook, who stayed late to help with the preparations.

鈥淲e really enjoy the smiles kids leave with and hope they want to keep coming back year after year,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e as a house take this on because we know it is a way to impact the Indianola community. We love giving back to the town that provides us a safe and fun college experience.鈥�

Keitzer said building representatives are advised to have enough candy to give every child one piece. This year, Safe Block reached out to 黑料社 faculty and staff members for their leftover Halloween candy, but even that emergency supply was distributed.

For Amelia Richards, a senior from Lincoln, Neb., majoring in political science, the night was bittersweet. A Community Advisor, she has helped plan Safe Block for four years; this would be her final time.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really a toss-up of who enjoys Safe Block more,鈥� she said. 鈥淩esidents get a very unique experience of bonding with the community and with each other鈥� I like talking to the kids as they come through the halls and seeing my residents have fun. I love how excited students are to help the kids enjoy Halloween.鈥�

The Keeling twins would agree. Their mother said they screamed the entire time they were on SAE鈥檚 haunted floor.

鈥淚 brought a friend and her children with me this year and she was amazed by how friendly everyone was how involved the residents were in the event,鈥� Jan Keeling said in a note to Keitzer.

Despite the organizational challenge, Keitzer said, 鈥渋t was definitely worth all the effort. The kids really enjoyed it, and for some of our students this is the first time that they have interacted with community members. It鈥檚 a great experience for all involved.鈥�