Katie Gidlewski and Melanie Goering said they don’t believe in the portrayed stereotypes given to engineers. They said their peers think they never leave their rooms and can’t even enjoy a night out. They grimace when they hear someone joke about engineering students who can’t get a date, they said.

Gidlewski and Goering, both seniors in chemical engineering, were the co-chairwomen for this year’s Engineering Ball, a formal dance at the end of E-Week, they said.

After a week full of basketball games, golf tournaments and a career fair, an estimated 700 ISU students ended the 2005 E-Week festivities in style in the Great Hall at the Memorial Union.

Flashbulbs popped, jazz music from a live quartet blared and the attendees of “Red Carpet Revealed”- this year’s E-Ball theme – were treated to a Hollywood atmosphere.

All E-Week’s events were sponsored by the College of Engineering, ISU Career Management Services and 39 companies. The $12.50 per ticket fee covered the rest of the event’s costs.

Saturday night’s celebration brought rave reviews from many of the attendees.

“This is not like a high school prom at all – it’s the kind of party James Bond would be at,” said Greg Luecke, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

He tightened his bow tie, drew his jacket tightly around him, squinted and did his best Bond impersonation.

“I’ve gone to this event since [1999],” he said. “Since then, it’s been a formal affair and it’s always been a good one. When you get to college, you hardly get a chance to get dressed up for occasions like this.”

Craig Ramsey, freshman in computer engineering, said he was also impressed. He said the event shattered some ideas he had about his fellow students.

“I know that some people think all engineers do is be geeky and study … and I worried about it a little bit before I came here,” Ramsey said. “But this puts prom to shame.”

Some E-Ball attendees expressed excitement about their attire. Adam Petty, junior in electrical engineering, sported a yellow disco-era jacket and a set of large, flashing sunglasses. Petty’s date, Jessica Roettenbacher, junior in architecture, accompanied him in a sequined dress with broad, bulky frills and a giant flashing ring.

“We were bored one day and decided we’d do this,” Petty said.

Roettenbacher said the two had been attracting attention from other students.

“We’ve gotten some looks,” she said. “[They’re] looking at my ring.”

Following almost four hours of swing dances, slow dances, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and hip-hop, the dance began to wind down. The silver bowls of punch ran dry, the loud slamming noises of high heels on the wood floor grew less intense and the dancers started for the exits. With their red roses in hand, the couples left the Memorial Union for the free fireworks display that started at midnight.

Couples crammed between the building’s archways to kiss as the Campanile tolled midnight. And as they started, the fireworks began.

The Campanile dazzled a brilliant white under the explosions, sounds ricocheted off the buildings and colors leapt at the sky and faded from view.

Organizers said they believed one E-Ball attendee was proposing to his date at the time.

And when the last burst of cardinal and gold disappeared from the skies, so ended E-Week. The engineers and their dates disappeared into the night, walking hand in hand through the smoky haze of Central Campus.