It’s 1:32 on Wednesday afternoon and I’m walking — no, running — to the Main Quad. In just 18 short minutes, the lawn outside of Foellinger Auditorium will be packed with students, ready to do the Harlem Shake.

Baauer’s song came out a little less than year ago, but the YouTube videos didn’t appear until this month. As of this week, tens of thousands of 30-second clips have been uploaded.

That’s a lot of shaking.

It’s a simple concept. Each video begins with an eerie screech: “Con los terroristas!” One person usually wears an outrageous costume and dances alone until the bass drops.

“Do the Harlem shake!”

Then, everyone and anyone is bumping, jamming, doing the worm, going absolutely all-out crazy until the half-minute is up. It’s madness. It’s hilarious.

This fine University added our own version to the mix, under the leadership of Aaqil Khan, junior in LAS. By the time I make it to the Quad on Wednesday, Khan is already there, arranging different camera angles (I counted four tripods) and assembling his cohorts.

I check my phone. They have 10 minutes till showtime. It is now 1:50 p.m. — classes are dismissed. In a span of 30 seconds, the Quad comes alive with students. A few of them are wearing creepy masks and superhero outfits, while some are simply clad in Illini gear.

Behind me, speakers are blasting the Baauer hit. 

All I want to do is dance, but I’ve got a recorder in one hand and a notebook in the other. I remain professional.

Rita Haber, sophomore in LAS, stands next to me. This day isn’t just any Wednesday, it’s Haber’s 20th birthday.

“Are you gonna dance?” I ask her, gesturing toward the giant group of people that is now forming on the grass.

She shrugs. There are a lot of people here, and Haber doesn’t seem to be with any friends. It’s your birthday, I say, you have to do the Harlem Shake on your birthday.

“Will you hold my bag?” she asks me sheepishly.

I’ve known Haber all of about 90 seconds, and she’s already entrusting me with her laptop and wallet and more.

“Of course!”

My interviewee grins and heads into the mass of students.

By now, the music is building, building, building, and there are hundreds of people out there. I take a moment to soak it all in: a “Don’t Stop Believin’” stop sign, animal prints, bare chests (note: it’s 25 degrees out), inflatable beach balls, a blue morphsuit, a red morphsuit, every color morphsuit, a cardboard cutout of Justin Bieber, a hula hoop. … These kids got creative.

“I love our school,” says someone standing beside me.

Khan, the mastermind, stands in front of the crowd. He’s wearing short shorts — orange spandex, to be precise — and a fluorescent orange vest. And then, to top it off, a very large sombrero.

The next time I look up from my notebook, everybody’s going insane. “Harlem Shake” is booming from the speakers. It’s wild.

For the next three minutes or so, the dancing continues, and Khan is grinning like a madman — rightfully so, this is his masterpiece. His Facebook event, created on Feb. 12, has 2,300 people promising to participate.

I’m smiling, too, perched on the concrete ledge outside of Foellinger. This is one of the greatest displays of Illinois unity and pride I’ve ever seen. The crowd soon begins chanting “I-L-L!” and “I-N-I!” as the Jimmy John’s delivery guy pelts sandwiches into the air.

At that very moment, I am so proud to be an Illini.

Onlookers line up on the sidewalk, holding up their phones for proof. The music plays on, but soon, the dancers begin to disperse, heading off to their 2 o’clock classes.

Haber emerges from the group, passing by Khan. He high-fives her.

“How was that?” I ask, handing over her bag.

“Oh, my gosh, crazy. Crazy fun.” Haber says. She’s beaming.

By 2:15 p.m., I’m alone. I’ve talked to Khan, I’ve talked to his camera crew, I’ve talked to the DJ, and I’m just about Harlem Shake’d out. In Khan’s words, “The Harlem Shake fever took over.”

I walk across the Quad slowly, surveying the aftermath. The grass is littered with confetti, orange cups, deflated beach balls and a few trampled Jimmy John’s sandwiches.

Bending down, I pick up a handful of silver confetti and toss it into the air, savoring the remaining magic of the Harlem Shake — UIUC style.

Melanie is a sophomore in Media. She can be reached at [email protected] and @mellystone.