Residence hall students were dressed to impress Friday at the first annual Buckeye Ball at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe. Sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government, more than 150 students attended.

“It was a fun and safe way to have fun,” said Amanda Scherz, a freshman in animal science, who attended the event to meet new people.

USG President Aftab Pureval said the Buckeye Ball is an attempt at building a strong sense of community in the residence halls. He said that providing alternative programming such as this shows one of the many ways USG will attempt to accomplish this task.

The cost for the event was $3, or $2 with a canned good, which went to the Columbus Soup Kitchen.

“This event has never been held, but it’s been in the making for over a year now,” said Liz Ghendakly, a member of the residence hall committee and co-director of the event.

Ghendakly, a junior in economics and political science, said the idea for this event was to give residence hall students a fun and creative way to meet each other and to bridge any possible gaps between students who live on opposite sides of campus.

“We invited all the residence halls,” Ghendakly said. “This also provides a way for students to learn more about USG and see exactly what kinds of things they do.”

The event allowed students to see the commitment USG has to students on campus first-hand, Ghendakly said.

CABS buses returned to campus every 15 minutes to bring students to the Ball. The first 400 students to arrive were to receive $7 gift cards to the Buckeye Cafe game room, and at 10 p.m., all attendees could participate in tango lessons.

There were looks of disappointment on the faces of committee members and attendees early in the evening because of the initial low attendance. That changed when students started pouring in after 10 p.m. Soon afterward, dancing, laughter, mixing and mingling ensued.

Committee member Agnes Igodan said she made a constant effort to inform students in her residence hall through numerous e-mails, as well as flyers.

“I wanted to see them have fun and take advantage of all the wonderful giveaways,” she said.

Igodan, a Morrison Tower resident and sophomore in economics said the giveaways included a raffle for Barnes & Noble merchandise, dinner and a movie for two, and gift certificates for Champps and Target.

Ghendakly said she was pleased with the overall turnout for the event and that earlier advertising or change of date may be the only changes necessary to increase attendance.

Freshman Aaron Bell said he would not hesitate to return again next year.

“My R.A. was a big influence on my being here,” Bell said. “It was free games and good times.”