PRINCETON, NJ—Going as the scariest thing he could imagine, philosophy professor Sean Irving, 52, dressed as he thought a nihilist philosophy professor might.
Giddy with the anticipation of displaying his costume to his students and colleagues at Princeton University, Irving smiled widely as he took another look at himself in the mirror. "See, a nihilist would not believe in the conventions of fashion, so probably wouldn't wear a tie, right?" said Irving, motioning toward his collar shirt with no tie.
"And because a nihilist believes in nothing, he probably wouldn't be married," Irving added, motioning toward his removed wedding ring. Considering himself more of a utilitarian than anything, Irving has actually been happily married for 28 years, during which time he has had 3 children with his wife.
"Oh man, this is going to be wild. I feel like I'm really getting into the part," he said. "I'm not even going to clean my glasses today, because who cares, right?"
Irving confidently paraded into his classroom, eager to see what the reactions would be from his students. "I think they got it," he said. "A lot of them seemed to mimic a nihilist, because they were just staring blankly forward, like there was no point in being there."
After his day was through, Irving said that he enjoyed the chance to get into someone else's shoes, but he looked forward to putting on a tie as soon as he got home. "Good thing Halloween is just one day a year, I say."
When asked to comment on their professor's costume, every student we reached responded, "What costume?"
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