Blinding snow and bitter winds could not dampen spirits inside the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design Wednesday evening as juniors and seniors gathered together for the School of Engineering’s “Hoodie Day.”

In previous years, juniors received the traditional blue engineering sweaters from their department secretaries with little fanfare. But seniors Adam Goone ’13 and Lidiya Dervisheva ’13 said they wanted to turn the errand into a social event.

“I don’t know a lot of junior chemical engineers, for example, so it’s a good opportunity for people to get together,” Goone said.

“Gangnam Style” pulsed through the Center as dozens of juniors donned their new swag and chatted with seniors wearing their better-worn counterparts. Attendees also feasted on massive piles of falafel and baklava from Mamoun’s.

Goone said part of the motivation for the event was to bring students from different majors and different extracurricular interests together. While engineering students often know their classmates, they might not know those in other departments, he said.

Deputy Dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science Vincent Wilczynski, who attended the event, said the Center has helped contribute to a growing engineering culture at Yale.

“It’s fitting that we could do [Hoodie Day] in the Center because the Center is really now the magnet for engineering,” Wilczynski said. “And part of that is community.”

The Center for Engineering Innovation and Design opened in August.