Chico State’s American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-Pacific teams traveled back in time to the ’70s for their semiannual roller disco fundraiser held at Cal Skate on Nov. 14. Participants were given unlimited time to crack the bat in the batting cages, play a friend in mini golf and get their boogie on at the roller disco.

Many civil engineering students, along with other Chico State students, participated in the event from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. For the first hour and a half, participants were allowed to use the batting cages and the mini-golf course an unlimited amount. Around 11:00 p.m., everyone went to the roller rink where they could either Rollerblade or roller skate to some funky ’70s jams.

Kymberly Laubach, the society’s coordinator and fifth-year civil engineering and environmental science major, said proceeds for the event went toward funding the Mid-Pacific Conference. Wristbands for the roller disco cost $10, and the $300 raised went toward shirts, travel, registration and materials for each of the teams.

Every year, the civil engineering program participates in the conference, where engineering students demonstrate their knowledge and leadership skills with projects.

Chico State has four teams that participate in the conference: the steel bridge team, the water treatment team, the concrete canoe team and the geo-tech challenge team. This year, the conference will be held at UC Davis.

Chris Low, junior civil engineering major, is a part of the steel bridge competition, where they must construct a bridge on-site.

“For this competition, you go down there with all of your parts and your design, and then you are given a certain amount of time to construct your bridge on-site,” Low said. “If you don’t have it built on time, then you’re out. But if you do, then they load the bridges with different things and whoever’s holds the best wins.”

A lot of time and effort goes into these projects and competitions, so the funding is important, he said. To support these funding attempts, many engineering students attended the roller disco, some even in costume.

“There was one guy who showed up in bell bottoms and a ’70s shirt and the wig and everything,” Low said. “I was jelly.”

The event is geared more toward the engineering students because they know how important the funding is for their projects, Laubach said. However, as much student support is encouraged and that is why they choose a fun theme like roller disco.

“We have had better turnouts in the past but we still had a good turnout,” she said. “However, I believe everyone that went was glad that they did and happy that they were supporting fellow students. I always have a blast going and this was my fourth roller disco that I have attended.”

Stephanie Schmieding can be reached at [email protected] or @stephbottt on Twitter.