Skydivers. Jugglers. Pirates. College students clad in cow costumes. It sounds like the main attraction at some bizarre circus, but all of these and more strange sights were present at one of the University’s biggest campus traditions­: Quad Day.

Now in its 39th year, Quad Day targets freshmen recruits to join Registered Student Organization, or RSOs. The student leaders of these groups spent the day calling out for e-mail addresses, handing out flyers and passing out bags of free stuff.

Mary Beth Versaci, communications director for Illinois Student Senate and former Illini Media employee, said it is an opportunity for freshmen to get to know the school.

“I think it’s a cool way to say to freshmen, ‘Welcome to college,’” Versaci said.

Versaci said she found many more students interested in student government than freeloaders.

“We told people, ‘It’s the voice of the student body,’” Versaci said. “They asked about interning and being on the committee, and not just for the free stuff.”

Apart from the intensity of the heat, Versaci said working the ISS booth at Quad Day was a success.

Many students who attended Quad Day said it was well worth it. Maggie Kealy, freshman in LAS, said there was a “cool variety” of organizations being represented on the Quad. She added that the event facilitated joining organizations and learning information for students.

“It was easier to sign up with people being there in person,” she said.

Kealy, an enrollee in the ROTC, said she walked around the Quad without signing up for too much to avoid conflicting with commitment to the program.

Katie Burin, freshman in LAS, said she thought more students would benefit with the event than without.

“People would not be able to so easily register for these different clubs if there wasn’t something like Quad Day,” she said.

Collen Ward, junior in Business, and Hannah Deterding, junior in Social Work, said they had to miss out on the festivities due to a meeting with their volleyball team.

Both are transfers at the University and said they felt they had missed out.

“As a transfer, I feel like I missed a great opportunity and campus tradition,” Deterding said.

She added that she didn’t think her volleyball team purposely tried to schedule the meeting during the campus-wide event.

“They try to keep up involved with large campus activities,” Deterding said.

Among the RSOs students signed up with included groups for yoga, ROTC and volunteer organizations.

“It was crowded, but it was good to have,” said Sarah Gavin, freshman in DGS.

Gavin said she joined Kuk Sool Won, a martial arts group, and learned more about studying abroad with the Study Abroad Office.

Even students who do not attend the University heard of the hype on campus.

“I work, so I didn’t get to go check it out,” said Zakiyyah Ahmad, Parkland College student. “But there was so much talk about it!”

Freshmen who felt as if they were lost in a crowd of thousands don’t have to wait long before the spotlight is turned back on them­­ — their Illinois e-mail accounts will soon remind them of the 20 RSOs now fighting for their allegiance.