Several hundred party-hearty first years put on their best duds and got down with President Neil L. Rudenstine at the President's Ball Saturday night.

While the DJ didn't meet the standards of every Yard resident, most were glad to have a word with Mass. Hall's most famous occupant.

"It was sort of comforting to know that he exists," Ellen J. Gulgi '00 said.

Rudenstine and his wife, Angelica, arrived early and marveled many first-years with their prowess on the dance floor.

Until the president left at about a quarter of ten, Annenberg Hall was grooving to the sound of swing.

After Harvard's first couple departed, the music switched from modern-day classics to the beloved volumes of MTV's Party-To-Go.

"It definitely picked up after Rudenstine left. They changed the music and people started dancing," Franklin J. Leonard '00 said.

But even when Annenberg was in full dance-club mode, some still felt the music was unsatisfactory.

"The music was really bad, like they had three CDs or something," Kitrinka B. Herdy '00 said.

In addition to Rudenstine, several first-year deans strutted their stuff at the event.

Many party-goers were impressed by the extravagant food and decoration that transformed Annenberg.

On one table, a highly eclectic cornucopia of cheeses, pastries, cakes and punches surrounded an eye-catching ice-sculpture for first-years to ponder.

"It looked like a man with big pecs, but I think that might have been the way it was carved," Elizabeth S. Grossman '00 said.

While first-years were clad mostly in traditional black, brown and white, some of Annenberg's dining hall employees donned their own "semi-formal" attire.

Amidst the normal tux-like dining hall dress-up attire, some dancers spotted Princess Leia, Darth Vader and a cow.

Although Lord Vader seem to have a male voice, some first-years speculated that famed card-swiper, Domna--who was noticeably absent from the event--was behind the black veil