Newswise — TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2012, 5 p.m. --- It’s almost official. Just over 1,000 Ryerson students, faculty and staff made history by unofficially breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest cow-bell ensemble today at the university.

For two straight minutes, 1,003 people rang their cow bells in the university’s quad, smashing the previous record of 640 participants set in Boswil, Switzerland, in September 2009.

Members of Ryerson’s orientation team, university staff and Ryerson Students’ Union greeted the enthusiastic crowd of mostly first-year students who gathered on the campus quad before the challenge got underway.

Band members from local rock band SEAM, along with the university’s orientation team, then got the crowd pumped up and taught them the musical rhythm they were to play for the Guinness World Record challenge.

After a few test runs, the crowd attempted the challenge by ringing their cow bells, painted blue and yellow, for two minutes while the band played the hit song, Don’t Fear the Reaper by American blues band, Blue Öyster Cult, which features a cow bell in the background.

Ryerson’s sixth annual Guinness World Record Challenge is a highlight of orientation week for many first-year students. Previous challenges have included the largest beat-box ensemble, the biggest dance class, the largest maracas ensemble and the largest plastic sword fight.

Guinness World Record officials will confirm Ryerson’s unofficial record in the coming weeks. The challenge was sponsored by the Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens.

To download the press photos, please visit: http://bit.ly/Q2dk2e

To find more back-to-school news, including expert tips on avoiding first-year jitters, protecting online privacy and student budgeting, visit: http://bit.ly/ReRZU0

Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to more than 30,000 students, including 2,300 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and more than 140,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca

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Suelan Toye Public Affairs| Ryerson University Office: 416-979-5000 x 7161| [email protected] @RyersonNews

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