With 150th anniversary specialties such as a gigantic strawberry shortcake paired with Maryland Day standbys such as the wind tunnel and Elsie the rumen-fistulated cow, the university’s eighth annual Maryland Day brought a record number of about 75,000 guests to the campus Saturday.
“This is the best one we’ve ever had,” said Director of Conference and Visitor Services Pat Perfetto, who was in charge of Maryland Day logistics. Perfetto attributed the high turnout to the anniversary celebration, the event’s growing reputation as an annual tradition and the ideal weather, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.
But even with the optimal conditions, turnout fell short of administrators’ optimistic projection of 80,000 guests, possibly because of competing events such as the Baltimore Waterfront Festival, Bay Bridge Boat Show and Bethesda Literary Festival.
“People’s expectations were pretty high, but this is a festival weekend,” said Terry Flannery, assistant vice president of university marketing and communications.
Public safety aides and officials stationed in command central in the Main Administration Building agreed the day went smoothly, with only a handful of missing children, all of whom were reunited with their parents quickly.
“We’ve been doing it for several years, so people know how to get around and what to expect,” University Police spokesman Maj. Cathy Atwell said.
At an information booth on Hornbake Plaza, junior elementary education major Aly Voign rambled off the most popular events guests had asked about.
“Moon bounce, climbing wall – stuff for kids,” she said, as a graduate student approached, asking, “I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times, but – where’s the cake?”
“Oh yeah, and that,” Voign added, directing the student to the large tent on the plaza behind them.
For alumni such as 1988 graduate Jackie Johnson, who lives an hour away in New Market, another big draw was seeing the campus itself.
“It’s fun for alums to meet up with other alums,” Johnson said as she relaxed on the grass outside of Hornbake Library, where she said she had worked for about five years in the general studies department.
Johnson said she also took advantage of the opportunity to put her hand through the hole into Elsie the cow’s stomach at the popular exhibit on Ag Day Avenue.
“It’s the strangest feeling,” she said. “But they say you don’t hurt it. If you push way down you can feel where the fluids are sloshing up.”
Meanwhile, on the mall, academic departments, student groups and city agencies showcased their accomplishments and tried to lure guests to their tents with giveaways and creative interactive activities.
“I can give you a scholarship,” philosophy graduate student Ryan Fanselow told freshman education major Shira Engelhart when she complained she didn’t have a nickel for his department’s Charlie Brown-style stand advertising “Philosophical Advice – 5â.”
“We want to know why bad things happen to good people,” Engelhart asked, launching a debate with Fanselow about why anyone should attempt to be good.
The question was much deeper than many Fanselow said he got during his two-hour shift.
“A lot of people ask if they should break up with their boyfriends,” he said. “I always tell them they should.”
Overall, undergraduate student participation in the day’s events, both as guests and as hosts, was higher than in previous years, Flannery said. Many on-campus residents were not included in the final count, which was calculated by multiplying the number of cars that entered the gates by an estimated 2.5 people per car, she said.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase the campus,” Atwell said. “People come from all over the metropolitan area, and people who go here or work here bring their families and experience the broader campus, beyond just the office or building they go to every day.”
The benefits of the event are numerous and include both immediate and long-term effects on admissions, fundraising and community relations, Flannery said. With today being the deadline for admitted students to decide whether to attend, the impact of the day on recruiting students is especially significant, she said.
“This is our eighth Maryland day, so we’re just getting to the point where kids who remember coming to Maryland Day when they were small are old enough to think about coming here, and they’re telling folks like [university President Dan] Mote, ‘I always came on Maryland Day,'” Flannery said.
James Grunig, a university professor and public relations expert, has told administrators he can think of no better public relations tactic than this event, Flannery said.
Though the university’s Maryland Day website included a “Plan Your Day” feature to generate customized agendas for children, prospective students and alumni, Perfetto said with almost 400 events to choose from, the best advice he can give to visitors is not to plan, but to do what they feel like and come back again next year to do the things they miss.
“We don’t want people to break any records,” he said. “Just, once a year, come out and have a good time, whatever that means to you, whether that’s listening to lectures or floating plastic ducks in the fountain all day. It’s our way to let people know we appreciate them.”
Contact reporter Heather Keels at keelsdbk@gmail.com.
