The floor of the M.A.C. Center rumbled Thursday night as Kent State mascot Flash stood before a face-painted crowd.

It wasn’t the first time Flash led a blue-and-gold mob but something seemed different. Was it Cleopatra shaking it in the background? Was it the unicorn or the chicken-headed man in the front? With beach balls flying, mohawks head-banging, and spandex jamming as far as the eye could see, this could only be the Harlem Shake.

“The goal is to make this big,” said Vincent Slomsky, assistant director of New Media Communications with the office of alumni relations. Students gathered by the dozens, filling the center with several hundred neon and costume-clad figures at 6 p.m.

Handing out pennants, pom-poms, and other props to enhance the look of chaos, Slomsky said the main goal of the event was to expose Kent State students to the resources available with the Alumni Association.

Another goal of the event was “to have a lot of fun,” said Slomsky, who said he might leave the tripod and join in.

“We had to go all out,” said a student dressed as Darth Vader. Behind the mask was Luis Atala, sophomore business management major and a member of the newly founded Phi Iota Alpha fraternity. Atala said he decided to join the “Shake” video to represent his fraternity brothers in the campus-wide event.

“Gold Flashes don’t stop!” said Carrie Circosta, assistant director of Alumni Relations, as students danced their way through three full runs of the now famed “Harlem Shake.”

Cameras from Channel 3 and 8, along with other media outlets, swooped in to capture the highlights, which included an appearance of the famed “Coney” and a dunk from basketball star Chris Evans.

“It was Golden Flashtastic,” said Circosta, when the collection of unicorns and superheroes finally filed out of the M.A.C. Center doors.

Contact Hannah Kelling at [email protected].

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As the Facebook event said, if you haven’t heard of this latest YouTube trend, you must be living under the rock on front campus.

The Harlem Shake is the latest YouTube sensation, and last night, Kent State students, faculty, alumni and community members got together to get their Harlem Shake on at the MAC Center.

Although the Harlem Shake is from the 1980’s, it’s taking Kent State and other college campuses by storm.

Contact Michelle Hennon at [email protected].