Halloween is right around the corner again, and we all know what that means.

Ghastly decorations are filling dorm halls, not-so-scary low-budget movies are invading movie theaters, and a spirit of trick-or-treating is in the air.

Ah, yes. Halloween. A time to act a fool and be someone else for a night.

But who to be? The perennial question that persists in any college student’s mind when Halloween approaches is the simple yet perplexing, “What will I go as?”

This year, there are more options than ever. But a popular costume seen on the shelves of Toys “R” Us and Target will take the cake for attracting attention — and scorn — from your fellow partygoers.

Dying to know? It’s the illegal alien adult costume, which comes fully equipped with an orange jump suit, a green card, an alien (as in, otherworldly) mask and a large, bushy mustache.

I can only imagine the advertising for this costume in department stores around Arizona. “Dress up as an illegal alien this year — just don’t be caught by Sheriff Joe!”

The real product description is almost as bad: “He didn’t just cross a border, he crossed a galaxy! He’s got his green card, but it’s from another planet! Sure to get some laughs, the Illegal Alien Adult Costume includes an orange prison-style jumpsuit with ‘Illegal Alien’ printed on the front, an alien mask and a ‘green card.’”

In an online petition from the United Farm Workers, the Halloween costume is summarized as “dehumanizing.”

It’s not only dehumanizing, it’s downright stupid.

Due to the petition and the costume receiving media attention, Target and Toys “R” Us have removed the item from their online catalog, while Walgreens lists it as a out of stock on its Web site.

It’s still hard to fathom how these mega-chain retailers could be so stupid in the first place. But I guess that’s what dressing up as someone else is all about. The Nazi outfit Prince William sported was said to be in “bad taste,” but let’s not mince words — it was stupid.

I used to think corporate entities still had some small grain of dignity, even if they took out life insurance on their dying employees to make money (Wal-Mart) or ignored concern when dumping toxic waste into landfills (Target). But when did they get the idea that stereotyping an entire group of people — and relating them to extraterrestrial beings — was a good or ethical idea?

When money is involved, any idea, no matter how insensitive, exploitative or demeaning, can seem like a good one.

But Halloween, like other commercialized holidays, is a blanketed excuse for retailers to get away with things they normally wouldn’t dream of trying. Think the illegal alien costume is the only insensitive one on shelves this season? How about the Michael Jackson costumes? Jackson’s been in the ground less than three months, but that won’t stop costume makers from profiting from his death.

It’s not just businesses that let common sense and ethical sensitivity slip behind a mask. Customers do it all the same.

Oh, Halloween. A night to dress up as stupidity.

Dustin is racing to find a Halloween costume. Send him ideas at dustin.volz@asu.edu.