The yearly Campus Craze, now officially held on the Oval, went as well as expected this year with an estimated 500 attendees according to Natalie Bruce, coordinator of the First-Year Experience.

“Campus Craze has been a long-standing tradition at Missouri Southern,” Bruce said. “It’s just a way for the students to kick off the new school year and hang out with friends. Some returning students who have been away can meet up with friends, and for the first year students, it’s a way to connect with our campus and some of the things we have to offer.”

Among those freshmen in attendance was Caitlyn Alterman, freshman dental hygiene major. She said it was her first time away from home and that she was enjoying the college experience.

“This is the first time I’ve really been anywhere and made some really good friends,” Alterman said. “It’s really nice just being around everybody because I wasn’t around too many people in Kansas City, so it’s good to make friends and have people from all different types of places.”

Alterman said she was interested in the sororities on campus, but was still browsing the event.

Campus Craze hosted close to 30 clubs, which Bruce said was one of the largest club turnouts she has seen for the event. Clubs varied from the Respiratory Care Club to the CIS Club, which showcased a list of speakers, past and upcoming, and people hired from the club.

“We have several corporations coming in such as this semester,” said Dan Testerman, senior computer information science major. “We’re going to have eBay…we’ve gotten people hired through the police of Springfield and through eBay, as well as Leggett & Platt and Wal-Mart.”

The event was filled with other attractions such as food, photos with the helmet car and the President’s ice cream social, tee shirts, campus tours and live entertainment from the Mark Chapman band.