Leonardo Barber — Edward Scissorhands
Leonardo Barber is a first-year at UVM.
THE CYNIC: Okay, so tell me your name and what grade you’re in and what you’re dressed as.
BARBER: My name is Leonardo Barber. I’m a freshman, but I was here last semester, and I’m the age of a sophomore. My costume is Edward Scissorhands.
THE CYNIC: Can you describe what you’re wearing a little bit? It looks like you made it yourself, tell me about it.
BARBER: Yeah, I’m wearing the pants that I made that I wear every day. And I’m wearing hands that I worked on for the past couple of weeks with my friend, Phoebe, while we were crafting and stuff.
THE CYNIC: So, what are the hands made out of? And how do they stay together?
BARBER: Foam and hot glue.
THE CYNIC: Why did you want to be Edward Scissorhands?
BARBER: Well, I saw the movie this summer, and I was like, “That looks pretty cool. I could do that.”
Sophie Borah — Patrick Bateman, “American Psycho”
Sophie Borah is a junior at UVM.
THE CYNIC: What is your name and your grade and what are you dressed as?
BORAH: My name is Sophie Borah. I am a junior and I am Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho.”
THE CYNIC: In a few words, what inspired you to wear this?
BORAH: Oh my gosh, okay, well, I bought some fake blood and I was like, “I need something that requires blood.” I had a list of other costumes, but then I remembered I gave Maggie this shirt that she was like, “Yeah, I don’t care if you get blood on it” so I was like, “I’m gonna be Patrick Bateman because I love that movie.” And I wanted to have an excuse to have my bra out and be slutty.
Maggie Swanborn — Dallas Cowboys cheerleader
Maggie Swaborn is a junior at UVM.
THE CYNIC: Tell me your name and the grade that you’re in. And what did you dress as?
SWANBORN: Okay, my name is Maggie Swanborn, I’m a junior and I am dressed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
THE CYNIC: Okay, period. And what inspired you to wear this or put together this look?
SWANBORN: The beauty of Halloween is that my coworker gave me this costume four hours ago and was like “I lowkey have this and it’s this really nice two-piece costume” and she came out with white cowgirl boots, which I have since swapped out for these boots for size and comfort purposes. But like, the fact that I’m swapping for white boots is crazy. Wow. But that’s how I acquired this outfit. I love it so much. And I feel really slay.
THE CYNIC: Okay, so what’s your name? And what grade are you in? And what are you dressed as?
WINNIE MAE: My name is Winnie Mae. I’m a senior and I’m dressed as Joan of Arc.
THE CYNIC: Was there anything that inspired you to dress as Joan of Arc?
WINNIE MAE: Yeah, I recently shaved my head and I’ve been growing it out and Joan of Arc is this Catholic saint. I was raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic all-girls school and Joan of Arc is famously queered, and I love to believe that they are non-binary. They were known for having short hair just like me. They were this army general and it was this incredible movement and then they were burned at the stake. I love the idea of queerness and Catholicism because that’s essentially my whole life. So yeah, I’m reclaiming that.
Spider-Man — Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a junior at UVM.
THE CYNIC: Okay, so what’s your name? What grade are you in? And what are you dressed as?
Spider-Man: I’m Spider-Man. I’m a junior and I’m Spider-Man.
THE CYNIC: Do you dress like this all the time?
Spider-Man: No, no. Just on Halloween. Every year. Here’s what happened. I was Spider-Man last year for Halloween with all my roommates and it was super fun. We ran around. We just talked with everybody. There’s something so fun about having a costume that’s anonymous, when you have a mask on no one knows who you are. And then I was like, “I just had to be Spider-Man for the rest of my life now.” I love it because it’s like 20 bucks one year and then you can wear it literally all three nights every Halloween because no one knows who you are. If you wear the mask it’s like endless attention. Wow, I think we figured something out about America actually tonight. Spider-Man is a great equalizer. Everybody loves Spider-Man.
Thomas Sutton and Avery Smith — Giraffe and “It’s 2008”
Thomas Sutton is a first-year and Avery Smith is a sophomore at UVM. They had just met an hour ago at the time of the interview. They are now best friends.
THE CYNIC: So, just tell me your names and what grade you’re in, and then whatever you want to say about your amazing construction.
SUTTON: I’m Thomas, I’m a giraffe and I like climbing trees.
THE CYNIC: Wow, a giraffe that climbs trees.
SUTTON: Yeah. Yeah, that’s me. I just love getting up there and being in trees.
THE CYNIC: All right, cool, and you are?
SMITH: Bonjour. I’m not French but my friend David is. Anyways, I am Avery and this is my third semester at the University of Vermont. I am, well, I am—It’s 2008. The stock market is in the worst recession it has been in forever. The housing market has crashed. I lost my wife. I lost my kids. They took the BMW from me. I don’t know what to do, but this, this is my costume.
