It’s Halloween, the time of the year when America comes together as a community to dress up and eat candy. People can spend thousands of dollars on extravagant costumes or just $10 at a Wal-Mart. Either way, children can be heard all around the neighborhood.

As a person with three younger siblings, I can attest to the fact that Halloween is a time of great excitement. Not only is it a major part of childhood, but it is a time when people can be whatever they want. Some of my favorite memories are on Halloween with the excitement of wearing makeup and a costume to school.

Unfortunately, the CHS  administration decided that this year students could not dress up for Halloween. According to Principal Mairi Scott-Aguirre, this is because the high school wanted to support the elementary schools in their no-costumes rule.  The elementary schools determined this, in part, due to religious reasons.

Scott-Aguirre said that the Halloween dress code was not a big problem at the high school last year, which was her first at Centennial.

If you think back to Homecoming Week, you will remember Dynamic Duo Day. You will remember Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and others.

So what is the difference between Halloween and Homecoming?  Why couldn’t CHS administration treat the two with the same understanding?

Students at CHS should have been allowed to wear Halloween costumes as freedom of expression, and as the right to celebrate a holiday.

If students did not agree with dressing up, they were not required to do so. But those who love Halloween and celebrate it religiously should be allowed to celebrate.

Administration should obviously create boundaries, but there should not be a problem with wearing a costume to school.