UMass is limiting the number of out-of-town guests in the dorms this Halloween weekend.
AMHERST -- With the Halloween weekend here, the University of Massachusetts is altering its guest policy and UMass police will be at "optimum" levels, said spokeswoman Mary Dettloff.
While students will still be allowed to have four guests in their residence halls, only two may be non-UMass students. The policy goes into effect Friday at 4 p.m. and ends at 8 a.m. Sunday.
Hours for student security and police cadets have also been extended, Dettloff said.
The Amherst Police Department will have extra officers on duty, as it does every weekend in September and October, Police Chief Scott P. Livingstone said in an email. He also said there will be four state police officers complementing the shift, which he said is standard for Halloween weekend.
Sgt. Mitchell Kuc said the Hadley Police Department has seen a number of Halloween parties in town in the past and will have an increased presence in those busy neighborhoods.
The Amherst Fire Department will be at its weekend staffing levels and will have a triage unit at Hampshire College for that campus's festivities Friday night, said Chief Tim Nelson.
The campus is hosting its annual celebration beginning with trick or treating in the afternoon, a cappella groups on the library lawn, music at night under the solar canopy, movies, a costume contest and a midnight breakfast.