Maddie Hagood, vice president of risk management for Oregon State University Panhellenic Council sororities says that she has two main concerns when it comes to Halloween: “I wanna have fun and I wanna look good in my costume and feel confident.”

There are many repeated costumes for women each year, such as Playboy Bunnies, vampires, angel and devil duos, and fairies. Some women also choose to wear funny costumes, such as Elvis Presley.

Some women choose to purchase costumes they will wear multiple times or purchase items second-hand. Stella Harkness, vice president of judicial affairs for the OSU Panhellenic Council has seen her own costume re-worn multiple times.

“When I buy an outfit for any sorority event, like recruitment, bid day, or dances, I always make sure it’s general enough (that) I can reuse it for various events or that it’s pretty enough that I would want to wear it after college,” Harkness said. “This is something I think most sorority women value when it comes to Halloween costumes which is why you see such a repetition of costumes overall.”

Harkness shared that one of her own costumes for Elvis Presley has been re-worn by her sorority sisters as well.

The fun of Halloween for many women, sorority affiliated or not, is getting to choose a fun outfit. However, there is a strong sorority media presence that can add stereotypes and pressures on women.

“Scream Queens”, starring Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the most prevalent TV shows showing off a dramatized version of the sorority experience.

The show features a group of sorority women and pledges, all trying their best to represent their fictional sorority, Kappa Kappa Tau. Some of the women, referred to as “The Chanels”, do this by dressing in very preppy, expensive clothing and being mean to anyone in their path. Others try to change the sorority’s reputation by being all-around nice people.

In the end, all of the women come together in order to try and catch a killer on campus. This, however, is not without tension, betrayal and lies. In the show these women never go to class and their focus is on upholding a popular title amongst men on their fictional campus. This image the show paints is a dramatized version of sorority stereotypes.

As members of the Panhellenic’s executive board; Jocelyn Glover, president, Harkness and Hagood, vice president of risk management, these women are considered experts when it comes to sorority culture at OSU, and do not believe these statements are true about sorority women on OSU’s campus.

The Panhellenic Council values at OSU are identified as friendship, leadership and integrity, service, knowledge, and community. Hagood would consider academics to be one of these values as well.

Looking at the clothing in “Scream Queens”, the women are constantly dressed to the nines. Any time they go out, their hair is perfect, they are wearing a perfectly coordinated outfit, and they have perfect makeup on. They appear to have been pulled out of a Chanel magazine.

These stereotypical standards do not translate over to the Oregon State campus and with good reason.

“I think in my day-to-day life, I probably would never wear what they end up wearing,” Hagood said. “They are always very dressed up and I would say the majority of our Panhellenic chapters don’t dress like that just because that’s a lot of work.”

Molly Burles, a senior in Chi Omega sorority, explained that while she too enjoys a comfortable outfit on a day-to-day basis, “looking good to feel good can be a real thing for me.”

When it comes to Halloween specifically, some women do feel pressure due to the way Halloween is often celebrated for an entire weekend.

According to Glover, Harkness and Hagood, since the Panhellenic community is involved in many social events during this weekend, there is an unspoken expectation of having multiple costumes.

Burles agreed with that statement and added that there can be an expectation of showing more skin than usual.

“A lot of people want to be sexy and that slays (but) sometimes, I just want a comfy costume,” Burles said. “I’m there for the ironic and funny costumes, but sometimes I like being sexy too. I can understand the desire.”

Rosie Killelea is not affiliated with a sorority but still feels the same about the balance between expectation and fun in how women dress during the holiday.

“(Halloween is) just a time to be able to get dressed up and go all out without it (being seen as) over the top,” Killelea said. “Girls can wear more revealing stuff without (being judged) like how people would normally look at girls in that way for doing something like that.”

However, all five of these women agreed that one of the best parts of the Halloween experience for women is the process of getting ready.

Glover shared that some of her favorite memories were from her freshman and sophomore years when she was getting ready with her close friends and blasting music.

Harkness agreed that she finds so much joy in getting ready with her sorority sisters and helping each other choose costumes.

According to Killelea, the costumes make this time of year extra special because getting to dress up like this only happens once a year.

While “Scream Queens” views fashion as a battle, sorority women seem to see it more as a friendly competition.

“I think (sorority women) are all out here to show each other we are in a cool chapter but I know I also get the most joy out of getting compliments from other sorority women,” Burles said.

While the Panhellenic Council agrees that there is a bit of friendly competition when it comes to “best costume,” they also added that there is no tolerance for cultural insensitivity or appropriation when it comes to costume choices.

“In my experience, the community does not tolerate cultural insensitivity when it comes to costumes. There is a huge emphasis that Panhellenic, especially, puts on not doing that by educating the girls on not having costumes that appropriate someone’s culture,” Harkness said.

However, sorority women still find themselves being creative with new costumes each year. Some predictions for this year’s new costumes are Barbie, Taylor Swift Eras, and Beyonce.

“I think seeing someone do ‘Barbenheimer’ could be so fun,” says Burles.

These women believe that Halloween is a time to put on a fun outfit, express yourself, and enjoy time with your friends.

“We try to make Halloween such a positive experience and I really hope it’s that way for all girls and the Panhellenic Community,” Harkness sai