Nearly 200 people were leid at the doors of the Knapp-Storms commons Sunday night for the Last Blast Luau.

Students and staff of Knapp Hall, which will close at the end of this semester, planned the party as a finale to the 37 years Knapp has housed students.

“Knapp is closing at the end of the semester, so we wanted to throw one last shindig,” said Amy Kafer, senior in animal science.

While the reason for throwing the party may have been a somber issue, the atmosphere of the event was all smiles. Many people attending the party even chose to dress in costume with grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts and bikinis.

“We were going to do coconut bras as a group, so I said I’d make mine authentic,” Chris Poutre, RA in Knapp, said as he adjusted his coconut bra. “These things are killing me.”

Poutre, junior in chemical engineering, said he will be sad to see the hall close, but was glad to be able to have had one last party in the building.

“Everyone seems to come in kicking and screaming, but never wants to leave,” he said about life in Knapp.

The party was hosted by Knapp Hall with funding from both the Inter-Residence Hall Association and the Towers Residence Association.

“Once we started going it just sort of came together,” Kafer said. “The biggest thing was getting funding for it.”

The money donated was used to purchase decorations and food for the luau.

The Lone Strangers band offered their music as entertainment for the luau, free of charge.

“Most of the members of the band have lived in Knapp,” Kafer said.

Residents from any hall on campus were invited to join the party for games, food and music.

“We were walking by and decided to come,” said Ethan Tews, Wallace Hall resident. “We were going to go get Chinese food and then we did and I was still hungry.”

Tews, sophomore in exercise and sport science, said he has lived in Wallace for three years and would prefer that no more towers were shut down.

“I wouldn’t want to see the Towers go away completely,” he said. “It’s not just the individual towers, it’s the whole atmosphere. We’d hate to lose another.”

Bobbie Delaney, Knapp Hall director, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event.

“This is awesome. I’m very happy,” she said. “We’ve got people from all over campus here which is what we wanted.”