Tell college students to “laissez les bon temps rouler” and they will obey.

Festivities for the 2015 Mardi Gras season began in at least early February for most ULM students.

Students in fancy attire flocked to ULM’s annual Mardi Gras Ball in the Student Union Building ballrooms on Feb. 12. SGA hosted the ball and offered food, beverage and king cake.

The Mardi Gras Court was announced at 10 p.m.  Ashley Hines and Bryson Belaire were named Mardi Gras Queen and King respectively.

Several students enjoyed their first Mardi Gras experiences at the event.

Khaled Zaier is a senior computer information systems major from Tunisia. Zaier said he was glad to experience the Louisiana celebration.

“Most people outside the U.S. don’t know that it exists. For instance, my family and my friends were asking me about it. So it’s a totally new celebration,” Zaier said.

Zaier called Mardi Gras “one of the perks of living here in Louisiana.”

Zinaida Osipova, a sophomore biology major from Russia, also said she liked its uniqueness.

“I like the fact that it’s a Louisiana thing,” Osipova said.

The revelry continued for students during ULM’s Mardi Gras break from Feb. 16-18.

The Mardi Gras celebrations transformed Louisiana cities such as New Orleans, Shreveport and Lafayette into week-long parties.

Savannah Robinson, a junior kinesiology major, celebrated over Mardi Gras break in famous New Orleans.

“I wanted to celebrate there because I had never been before and wanted to truly experience Mardi Gras,” Robinson said.

Robinson said she attended 3 parades and ate traditional New Orleans and Mardi Gras cuisine.

Rebecca Baudin, a junior biology major, celebrated an unsual Mardi Gras in the cities of Eunice and Mamou.

In Eunice, Baudin watched races in which runners begged for items to be used in gumbo, watched chicken races and listened to a band play Cajun music.

Baudin said men who are 18 years or older participate in a horseback race in Mamou.

These two experiences are part of a more traditional Mardi Gras compared the carnival Mardi Gras of New Orleans, according to Baudin.

Baudin said Mamou runners were actually banned from bringing beads on the route because they were “more carnival.”

“I think the Mardi Gras I observed was more unusual than the average person’s who just goes to watch parades,” Baudin said.

Monroe also had its own share of Mardi Gras activities including its children’s parade, Krewe of Paws pet parade and Krewe of Janus parade on Feb. 7.“It’s always fun celebrating with my family,” Brown said.