Not all costumes were following the stereotypical character or spooky disguise. On October 30th, the day of the halloween costume contest at Phoenix Military Academy, junior Frankie Franco wore a dress as his halloween costume and won 2nd place.

“The costume was both creating a stand on social issues and out of creativity.” Said Franco, “The idea came about when I was in Target and I was looking at the costumes the day before we dressed up,” The dress stirred up controversy amongst cadets and faculty, since cross dressing is not common. Students seemed to be more supportive of the dress, while some faculty members seemed to show disapproval of the costume.

“I received comments such as ‘OMG! You’re so funny.’ And, ‘OMG! Can we take a picture?’ I received a lot of negative attention predominantly from the older men at Phoenix. I was asked questions such as ‘Does your dad know you’re wearing that?’ and comments such as ‘You are so gay for wearing that’,” said Franco.

One costume was capable of  showing students true emotions on a current topic and highlighted the importance of our dress down days.

“I hope I gave at least one of my fellow firebirds a boost of courage to be able to express themselves in whatever way, shape, or form they please,” said Franco.

The first place winner was senior Javonte Hicks with a ninja turtles costume.

“It was from my brothers birthday party so I just wore it to win,” said Hicks.

The original costumes, such as horror and characters, were still creative. The horror makeup was common amongst the students as plenty of them had cuts or gashes that looked realistic and gruesome. Not everyone could have won this year, but the costumes did have a new look that caused controversy amongst the building.