As we come up on the verge of another weekend, we are also on the verge of one the most popular holidays of the year: Halloween.

Halloween is a time of craziness, candy, costumes– and at times controversy.

While Halloween is a great way to step outside yourself and pretend to be someone (or something) you’re not, it is possible to take things too far.

 Like when people decide to use different ethnicities for costume ideas.

For instance, when people use blackface or wear what they think is Native American dress, or use stereotypes to act like the ethnicity they want to be.

These are usually, at best, a poor representation of the race, and at worst downright insulting.

While it may seem like no big deal to be a person wearing the costume, to the person whose race is essentially being made fun of, it is a mockery of who they are, or of who their family is.

Another controversial “trend” that seems to have come about in the last few years has been using viral news stories to create Halloween costumes.

 For instance, some people decided to dress up as Ray Rice, the football player who was arrested for punching his then-fiancée in the face.

To complete their sick excuse for a “costume,” some people also included a woman either dressed up to look like the fiancée, with bruises on her face, or just carried around a doll to look like her.

Other costumes included a woman who pretended to be a Boston Marathon bombing victim, complete with blood and wounds she had all over her body.

The fact that others make fun of people’s pain is disgusting and inexcusable, especially in the name of a holiday that should be fun and games.

These costumes may seem like they’re all in good fun, and people argue that it really isn’t anyone’s place to tell anyone else what to wear or what to do.

But insulting costumes aren’t the only option this year.

There are a myriad of costumes that don’t poke fun at anyone or are poor caricatures of someone else’s culture that are still fun and in the Halloween spirit.

You could be your favorite movie character, your favorite monster, literally anything you put your mind to.

You can have fun without throwing anyone else under the bus or making fun of what they’ve been through.

It’s Halloween, and your celebration shouldn’t come at the expense of someone else’s lifestyle, race or personal experience.

Your costume for one day is not more important than someone else’s entire life experience.

Halloween, and every holiday really, should be an occasion for everyone to celebrate scaring others and being scared by fun, spooky things.

Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].