Although Thursday, Sept. 22 is the official start of instruction for the 2022-23 academic year at UC Irvine, many first-year Anteaters started their collegiate careers by participating in world record-breaking activities a day prior.

Irvine World Record

More than 1,400 UC Irvine freshmen played the world’s largest game of Red Light Green Light to date, setting a new Guinness world record (Steve Zylius / UCI)

As part of UC Irvine’s Welcome Week more than 1,400 UC Irvine freshmen helped the university claim a Guinness World Record by participating in the world’s largest game of Red Light, Green Light.

Hosted by ASUCI, Associated Students of the University of California in Irvine, a total of 1,415 students literally came to play in Aldrich Park on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

The festivities were held in support of UC Irvine’s Welcome Week, during which more than 6,000 students moved into their on-campus housing — many for the first time.

This year, the 1,400-person crowd was able to break the previous Red Light, Green Light record by 212 players. The previous record was held by Salem-based Willamette University in 2015.

That same year, UC Irvine set a world record by hosting the world’s largest dodgeball game with more than 6,000 players.

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