This Halloween, trick-or-treating begins at dusk and ends at 8 p.m. – for kids. Virginia Beach code states that “If any person over the age of twelve years shall engage in the activity commonly known as “trick or treat” or any other activity of similar character or nature under any name whatsoever, he shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor” although teenagers are allowed to accompany under-12’s “for the purpose of caring for, looking after or protecting such child.”

Kempsville students, however, don’t agree with this policy.

Gabby Mills, senior, cites experience in saying that she finds this code to be “ridiculous,” and that it creates issues for kids who don’t look their age.

“By the time I was 8 years old I was really tall, and I had a woman try to get me arrested for trick-or-treating. I was 8. Sometimes you can’t tell how old someone is, and you’re making a inference off of their appearance. It causes a lot of unnecessary things to happen.”

She also believes that the age limit is too narrow.

“I think that they should be able to trick-or-treat because – teenagers don’t like to admit it –  they’re still kids at heart. Let them be a kid for a little bit longer. They’re not an adult.”

Cut off age? Mills says 18.

Autumn Ferguson, senior, says that she feels the punishment of a class 4 misdemeanor is too extreme, but that she agrees that people on the older end of their teenage years shouldn’t be trick-or-treating.

“You shouldn’t have that harsh of a punishment. It should be more like: “Dude, go home”, [and] a police escort back to your own house.”

Ferguson feels that a good age range would be 5 to 16, saying that “a lot of people that are older than 17 usually go to parties.”

Junior Matt Sherry says that he feels Virginia Beach’s code is effective in keeping people from trick-or-treating – but that “the age should be a little bit higher.”

“I think we should be allowed to do it because I didn’t trick-or-treat when I was 14 and younger, so I missed out.”

He agrees with Mills that the cut-off age should be 18, because “they should be the ones that go out and trick or treat with their younger siblings.”

But when it comes down to it: “I think if they’re outside trick-or-treating there’s less of a chance of them doing other stuff that’s worse than trick-or-treating, such as defacing property,” Sherry says. “I think if they’re going around trick-or-treating with their younger sibling, cause its legal, there are going to be a lot less illegal things happening  – other than trick or treating.”

And the root of the problem?

It’s simple, Sherry says: “High school students want candy, and to have fun with their friends.”