CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN: Under Trump 2.0, colleges celebrate Halloween instead of warning against ‘offensive’ costumes.

Posters declaring “it’s a culture, not a costume” used to pepper quads nationwide, with special workshops hosted on campuses to hammer home the point.

For instance, Princeton University held its “Conversation Circles: Cultural Appropriation and Halloween” event in 2017, in which students learned about “the impact of cultural appropriation, Halloween, and why culture is not a costume.”

The University of South Indiana hosted a “Culture not Costumes” Halloween workshop that argued “clothing, symbols, music, art, religion, language, and social behavior” are all elements of cultural appropriation, warning students not to dress as “Pocahotties” and “sexy Indian Princesses” if they do not come from such cultures.

Furman University in South Carolina was put on the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s “Speech Code of the Month” in October 2019 after it threatened students with investigation if they “encourage people to wear costumes or act in ways that reinforce stereotypes or are otherwise demeaning.”

The University of Texas at Austin at one point even issued a 29-point checklist on offensive Halloween costumes and inappropriate party themes, telling students to avoid “exotic” or “unique” themes, warning against “Cowboys and Indians,” as well as “tropical” or “fiesta” concepts.

For 2025, The College Fix found one single university that chided students.

Nobody likes a scold.