What do a guy in a gorilla suit, a jouster and TCBY have in common? They were all part of the fanfare yesterday at the University’s annual Get on Board Day, sponsored by the Student Organization Resource Center for Extracurricular.

The 275 booths set out on the Crimson Promenade and Woods Quad led to a record amount of organization involvement and a great deal of creativity in attracting student interest.

“Get on Board Day can be very overwhelming,” lead organizer Alex Karagas said. “There’s always so many people and booths that it can be hard for students to find the organizations they are most interested in getting involved with. This year we really wanted to make it our goal to be more organized and user-friendly.”

In order to make things less chaotic, Karagas spread out the booths to provide more walking space and started a new program allowing for students to come to the SOURCE table to get a tour of all the booths with a student volunteer.

“We felt that, by having this program, students could get a more personal feel for the event and not feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of organizations being showcased,” Karagas said.

In addition to these changes, 75 booths were added to provide students with a wider variety of opportunities to get involved. Due to the larger number of organizations, departments and vendors, the College of Arts and Sciences allowed the SOURCE to use Woods Quad for additional space.

“In the past, it has been hard to navigate through the crowd, so by opening up the event into Woods Quad we’re hoping things will run much smoother; so far it seems to have been beneficial,” said Fiscal Affairs Chair Christy Boardman.

With so many organizations and departments represented each year, some groups have learned how to creatively attract students to their booth.

Collin McElvenny, a senior majoring in psychology and religious studies, wore a gorilla costume to promote the department of religious studies, handing out free hugs and taking pictures with passersby.

McElvenny said he volunteered to sport the costume.

“Someone said they had a gorilla suit and I said, ‘Hey, I’ll wear it.’”

Merinda Simmons, the faculty advisor for the department of religious studies, said the group pulled out all the stops this year in order to get students to really notice them.

“We really want people to know about us,” she said. “We’re a small department; we don’t have a graduate program, so we put all of our energy into the undergraduates. We have a cookout every year close to Get on Board Day and really use this event to get students interested in coming to hang out with us and learn about the major.”

Other sights included jousting demonstrations by the newly admitted student organization The Society for Creative Anachronism. The group is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research and recreation of the crafts, arts and experiences of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.

SCA President Jessica Lawrence, whose society name is Aela, said she first got involved with the organization after years of attending Renaissance Faires.

“At Renaissance Faires, there’s only so much you can do; everything is pretty much observation, but with SCA you can live it,” she said. “You get to create a persona and live the history.”

Lawrence said she is very excited SCA is now a recognized student organization and can’t wait to get more students involved.

In addition to the departmental and student organization booths, vendors were scattered strategically along the promenade, catching students on their way to and from class.

Keeping with the competitive spirit, Mellow Mushroom hand-tossed pizzas, while McAllister’s Deli gave out so much of their famous sweet tea that they ran out of ice, and TCBY stayed covered with students looking for relief from the afternoon heat.

Making her way through the crowd and booth workers handing out free items, Boardman summed up the event.

“Over the years, Get on Board Day seems to have almost turned into an exciting day of competition for vendors and organizations to get the most students involved on campus.”