Dancing Lights over College Campus

In 1974 I was in Walker dorm on the 7th floor where I went to school at Western Carolina University, in the little mountain village of Cullowhee, N.C. It was exam time and a few days before Christmas break. The dorm was full, but the halls quiet, because most of us were either studying or trying to catch up on sleep. It was about 8:30 pm in the evening and I had just lay down and turned out the light to catch a nap. Suddenly a brilliant light flashed into my room with a thunderous sound. The whole room shook. Frightened, I ran out of my room. Girls every where in the hall where screaming "did you hear that, what happened?" No alarm went off, but about 10 girls at the large window at the end of the hall, yelled for us to come and see what was in the sky. It was a typical winter night sky, I don't remember a moon, but I do remember thousands of beautiful stars. We looked in astonishment as a large star like object hovered distantly in the sky. It danced like a "Mitch Mitchell" music ball all over the horizon. Suddenly it lifted itself high above the distant mountain peaks and 5 smaller orbs seperated from the large one and just went crazy in the sky..ziggaging everywhere. Then all six orbs flashed into the sky and disappeared. I don't know if anyone called security or not or reported it. I told my family, but I think the authorities would have just accused us of playing a school prank or hoax. It was no hoax. I really heard that large boom in my room and looked out that window with the other girls and it was no jet plane. It was beautiful dancing orbs, and I am as sane as rain.
Date is approximate.  PD