Decked out in retro ‘80s attire, party goers spent their Friday night roller skate-bound, while playing laser tag at Classic Fun Center in Layton.

During the business afterhours of 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Wildcats and their guests owned the space for two hours of nonstop fun.

“We needed to get more students to come out to our events, and we thought this would be a really fun one,” said Gabby Castellanos, Weber State University Event Program coordinator at the Davis campus and co-planner of the party.

With an estimated 211 people attending the party, Castellanos said she was pleased with the participation.

“I was really scared that we weren’t going to have enough people come out,” Castellanos said, “but we are having a great turnout so far.”

Paid for with student fees, the event was free for all participants. Castellanos encourages more people to take advantage of these opportunities.

“We care about the students,” Castellanos said. “We’re not just all about academics.”

Esperanza Brown, WSU Event Program coordinator at the Davis campus and co-planner of the party, said the night was a great way to take a break from school.

“Everyone just barely got back from spring break and school’s starting again,” Brown said. “They’re getting anxious; they want summer. So we were thinking of just having a fun night for everyone to relax and not have any worries about school at all.”

Brown said she also hopes the event helped more students meet each other.

“You can get in and hang out and meet other students who go to the same school as you that you probably would have never met in the first place without coming,” Brown said.

Brown and Castellanos worked together to coordinate the event. Once they came up with the idea of having a skate party, Castellanos suggested it should be ‘80s themed.

A costume contest was held and the winner was awarded a $20 Visa gift card and a Davis campus T-shirt. Runners up were also given T-shirts to take home. Votes were cast in the form of screams from onlookers.

The party’s participants glided around the rink to upbeat music on roller skates or formed alliances and aimed at their friends during bouts of laser tag.

Some skaters stayed on the sidelines trying to find their balance, while some showed off their moves in the center of the rink.

For NUAMES senior Megan Muhlestein, learning to roller skate was her favorite part.

“I suck at it, but it’s fun,” Muhlestein said. “I also love laser tag, so I’ve done that a few times.”

Muhlestein said she heard about the event through a group of friends, and she was glad she came.

“I say come interact with peers,” Muhlestein said. “This is how college students get that college experience. You’re not just going to sit at home doing nothing.”

To check out future events put on by the WSUSA Davis campus programming board, visit www.weber.edu/calendars.