Despite the controversy over the City of Keene’s cancellation of this year’s Pumpkin Festival, Keene State College has planned to stick to tradition and hold the annual Pumpkin Lobotomy event on campus.
Coordinator of Student Leadership Brandon Mathieu said it was a lengthy process in coming to the decision on whether or not Pumpkin Lobotomy should be held on account of last year’s incidents during the annual Pumpkin Festival. “The Student Assembly Events Committee met with a variety of folks across campus, including college administration, some folks from the city of Keene and city college commission members to weigh out some ideas for the event. It was really the events committee taking feedback it has gotten from a bunch of constituencies and gearing it towards restructuring this year’s event to not look like it ever has in the past,” Mathieu said.
He continued, “It was also important to take into account some of the feelings about the things that went on last year and how we could still keep tradition, but also how we could put a different spin on it so it does not have the same connotation it might’ve had in the past.”
File photo / Tim Smith / Photo Editor
Student Body President Bobby Graham added, “A lot of passion went into this decision. Lobotomy is an event that was really important to the student body and that was our main focus in going through that lengthy process. That was the reason why it was so lengthy because we wanted to make sure that we did get all of it right to make sure that we were prepared to have a great event this year.”
“Lobotomy is now being held on November first, which is a Sunday. The idea is to give a much more fall festival-type feel rather than having a lot of the significance of the event surround the whole idea of the pumpkin. There will be a lot more apple-type food and a lot less pumpkins, but participants will have the option to either carve them or paint small sugar pumpkins,” Graham said. Prior to reaching the decision to hold Lobotomy, Mathieu said that there was some fear regarding whether or not that they would be able to hold the event. “Our original proposal for the event over the summer was to either hold Lobotomy on the weekend of October twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth, which is the Monadnock Pumpkin Festival, or the following weekend which would be Halloween. I think the events committee thought that would possibly leave the door open for anything to happen on either of those dates just because they are both high-profile weekends. We had to weigh the pros and cons for both of those weekends as well as take into consideration the concerns that folks had both on and off campus, which brought us back to the drawing board,” Mathieu said.
Mathieu said that taking all of the angles into consideration was really the key factor in making sure that Lobotomy did happen this year because there were a lot of concerns about the “what ifs” of what could happen during the month of October.
“The Student Assembly and the Events Committee did a good job at educating folks both on and off campus about how Pumpkin Lobotomy is and has always been an independent event from the Pumpkin Festival. Last year during Lobotomy there were no issues and we do not expect to have any this year,” Mathieu said. Graham added that Lobotomy has been a longer standing tradition at the college than the Pumpkin Festival has been with the town, which was a major reason why they felt Lobotomy needed to happen this year.
“We are not trying to pretend that what happened last year didn’t happen. We are still very cautious of the incidents that took place but we are willing to look it in the face and say we’re going to own up and have a great event this year that really evokes the kind of pride and tradition that we are looking for instead of having a repeat of what happened,” Graham said.
File photo / Tim Smith / Photo Editor
In terms of restructuring the event, Graham said that some significant changes were made in order to give Lobotomy a more fall-festival type feel so that it could be a day where students, faculty and community members don’t just stumble into it to get free things and leave, but rather spend quite a bit of time there.
He continued, “There will also be student organization tables that are going to have pumpkin displays. The idea is that participants can sign up for these from basically whenever the event starts to whenever the event finishes and those organizations have that time to set up a pumpkin display of some sort, kind of like a toned down version of a float that you would see in a parade. We are still talking about prizes but the winners will get some sort of significant prize.”
Mathieu added that one of the major changes that were made for Lobotomy was the limiting the amount of student organizations that could set up a table while the event was going on. “Student organizations’ participation is limited to a first-come-first-serve basis. They will not be able to set up shop like they have in the past to give out food, do activities or give out free items. Their involvement would be their participation in the carving contest,” Mathieu said. Although a few major changes have been made to the overall significance of Lobotomy, Mathieu said that there would still be opportunities for carvers to show off their work just as they have done in the past.
“We will have the judging piece that will take place towards the end of the event that will identify the top three winning teams and then individuals who came and carved or painted a pumpkin can take that home with them for their own personal enjoyment. The Dining Commons and the Student Center have also offered to display the pumpkins for a set time period after the event either in the windows or somewhere throughout the buildings to just kind of showcase the work,” Mathieu said.
With Lobotomy being reconstructed to address all the concerns students, faculty and community members may have had, both Mathieu and Graham said that they are confident in having a great event this year.
“One of the major changes to the event was to sort of downscale with the hope of course that should this event be successful, which we expect it to be, so that we can get back on to that historical piece that has always been, for next year,” Mathieu said.
File photo / Tim Smith / Photo Editor
Graham added, “Honestly from my perspective and where we sit with Student Government, we hope to have a large event that is really able to encapsulate everything that Pumpkin Lobotomy has always been to the school, to the student body and to alumni even. We are aiming to just harness that energy in a way where we can all come together in a very civil way that fosters community peacefully and spreads joy and energy. So everything that lobotomy has always been.”
From the student perspective, senior Kiera Bisenius said a few rumors circulated around campus about how they would still be having Pumpkin Lobotomy this year, but she was not sure if they were true or not.
“I had heard a few times that Pumpkin Lobotomy was still going to happen this year but I honestly just assumed it was not going to actually happen because of everything that went on with Pumpkin Fest. I figured that all activities tied to it would thus be cancelled too,” Bisenius said. Like Bisenius, junior Gabriella Pace said that she also assumed that Lobotomy was going to be cancelled. “I did not know that Lobotomy was happening this year. At first, I thought that lobotomy would be cancelled since Pumpkin Fest was cancelled. Then, when I heard they were doing Pumpkin Fest in a different town, I thought they would keep it and we could donate those pumpkins to Swanzey,” Pace said.
Both Bisenius and Pace said that they are in favor for the event to continue with the confirmation that Pumpkin Lobotomy is indeed happening this year.
“I think it is a good thing that Lobotomy is still going on. It is an event that has continued to bring our school community together as one regardless of who you hang out with, what sports you play, or the classes you take. For that single event each fall the school is together on the Fiske Quad making crazy pumpkins and simultaneously making memories. It strengthen our bonds, our school spirit and the community as a whole,” Bisenius said. Bisenius added that she thinks the decision to continue to hold Pumpkin Lobotomy is good for the school’s image as a whole because she feels that it is important for people to see all the good that the KSC student body does on campus.
Pace said that she also thinks that it is a good idea to keep Lobotomy because it has always been a fun thing to do that has stayed cordial.
File photo / Tim Smith / Photo Editor
“I think that it keeps a good image and good spirit to continue doing the lobotomy. Keene holds a special tradition and although students ruined it, this small aspect is something that can remain the same,” Pace said. Bisenius said that she is a regular attendant of the Pumpkin Lobotomy event and plans on enjoying her last Lobotomy at KSC this year.
“I have been attending Lobotomy since freshmen year. My friends and I all get together on the quad and we make a bunch of ridiculous looking pumpkins. We have a great time filled with great people and it is moments like these that really bring us all together,” Bisenius said.
Pace added, “I have attended this event every year and I hope for it to stay the same as it always has; a good time.”
In terms of her expectations for the upcoming event, Bisenius said that she is eager to take part in her final Lobotomy with the hope that she will still be able to display her pumpkin to the public.
“I hope that they display our pumpkins still because it is always so much fun trying to find where your pumpkin is so you can show it off to everyone. I think it is a great thing that they are still having this event. My senior year at KSC would not be the same without one last Pumpkin Lobotomy to take part in with all my friends I’ve made over the past four years,” Bisenius said.
Brogan can be contacted at bwessell@kscequinox.com