UD welcomes 3,400 freshmen

New students were treated to live music, laser tag and comedy acts Saturday night at Campus Breakout, an annual event designed to welcome freshmen to the university after a long day of moving in.

The Student Centers Programming Advisory Board hosted various activities specifically for freshmen and transfer students in the Perkins Student Center, Trabant University Center and on the North Green.

On the Perkins patio, students sat for portraits by a caricaturist and listened to bands presented by WVUD. The Trabant patio offered laser tag, body art and balloon animals. On the North Green, students gathered on the grass to watch "Iron Man 2."

SCPAB member Corissa Reilly said the turnout exceeded her expectations, and she was glad there was enough room in and around the tent to accommodate new students.

"We have capacity for two-thirds of the freshman class," Reilly said.

This year's freshman class has approximately 3,400 students.

New students gathered under the tent at on the Green for a performance by comedian Daniel Tosh of Comedy Central's show Tosh.0. A hypnotist and two other stand-up acts by comedians Matt Fulchrion and Jasper Redd provided students with more entertainment after Tosh's show.

Freshmen roommates Rose Cantlin and Katie Dispenziere said Campus Breakout was a major success.

"We're having fun, but in Trabant we couldn't participate in anything because the lines were really long," Cantlin said. "But they did have balloon animals, face painting and tie-dye activities."

She and Dispenziere said they were also excited to see Tosh perform, as were students Mike Norman and Nathan Schoffstall, who arrived early to reserve their seats for the event.

"We haven't done anything else yet—no one was in our dorm, so we came here," Schoffstall, a sophomore transfer student from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said. "I'm just looking forward to seeing Daniel Tosh."

In an interview before the show, Tosh said he decided to perform at Campus Breakout for a specific reason.

"I think it was the dollar amount," Tosh said. "But it also worked on a weekend where the show isn't on the air, and I was doing shows in Philly, so it was very convenient."

Tosh explained his act at the university would be different than what airs on his television show.

"The two are separate," he said. "The good news is if people like the TV show then the things I say tonight won't be too offensive, but it's probably a little dirtier than the TV show, minus the videos. I will not be playing videos tonight, but that could be neat."

Reilly said SCPAB hosts the breakout event each year to get freshmen excited about the university and give them a preview of what events are offered.

"We're showing them everything we have to offer at UD and it's something they can remember when they think about their freshman year," she said. "It's a fun first day to start school."