Temperatures in the mid-50s and winds of around 30 mph didn't keep students from coming outside to the parties at Elliott Hall's back lawn and Noyer Bowl on Saturday.
A slip 'n slide and dunking booth were popular attractions at Elliott Hall's end of year bash. Despite the chill, some students were in bikinis and swim trunks.
Sophomores Michelle Subler and Brad Maushart were in charge of organizing the event. Subler said there's usually a cookout at the end of the year, but this year it was expanded to an all-day party with water games and appearances by Happy Friday Guy and Charlie Cardinal.
"I don't usually get out on Saturdays, but I'm making a special appearance," Happy Friday Guy said.
Subler said she and Maushart plan to live off campus next year, but they hope the residents will carry on the new tradition.
Subler, president of Elliott Hall Executive Board, said it's not uncommon to see people out playing volleyball almost every night.
"It's a great place to live," she said. "I know everyone's names, and everyone's always playing pranks on each other."
The actual cookout started around 5 p.m., and movies were shown on a projector screen outside.
Maushart said the event met his expectations with a community turnout around 50 to 100 people, but he wished the weather could have been warmer.
Elliott Hall is typically an upperclassman dorm, but this year it had mostly sophomore residents, Maushart said.
Freshman Trisha Venema said she likes living there because they other residents have helped her get acclimated to life on campus, and it's a fun place to be.
"We have picnics and water balloon fights," she said. "It's small and everyone knows everyone."
Holly Mittelmeier, residence hall director for Baker/ Klipple halls, said not a lot has changed in the Noyer Bash planning from year to year. It's just something that seems to come together and is a good way for students to have fun before finals.
"It's that last big thing before we've got to buckle down and study hard," she said.
Food and outdoor games are staples of the event. This year the menu had expanded from hot dogs and pop to include bratwurst, vegan burgers, hamburgers, potato salad and rice crispy treats. Attractions included an inflatable obstacle course and bungee run, as well as concessions and a prize drawing for Noyer students to use their Baker/ Klipple Bills and Howick/ Williams Bucks. A TV and iPod were the two biggest prizes.
Junior Alex March, who was manning the prize table, said students earn bills and bucks for attending hall functions and town hall meetings and by studying with their doors open.
"It's just another incentive for the community to come together and be social with each other," he said.
Freshman Dustin Gilmer, a Noyer resident, said he has about 100 HoWilly Bucks to spend, but he bummed about 25 of them off friends he knew weren't planning to come out to the bash.
Organizing Noyer Bash took months of preparation from the organizational committee and residence hall council. Sophomore Mike Rivera served popcorn at Noyer Bash, but for the past few months, he served on the "slash committee," the sub-committee that took care of everything not already assigned.
"It was the DJ, noise ordinance, advertising committee," he said. "[There are] a lot of upperclassmen here, and they usually come together for things like this."
Sophomore Jacob Cooper said being a Noyer resident is something he can take pride in.
"It's my bash," he said. "It feels good to be outside. I like it better than homework."
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