According to CBC News, the Toronto-based university had hoped for 950 students to help break the previous record set by 640 people in Switzerland in 2009. Exceeding expectations, however, a total of 1,003 students packed the school's downtown quad during the stunt.
However, school officials warned it may take up to three weeks for the paperwork to be verified and the record to become official with the Guinness World Record team.
The students, waving blue and yellow cowbells, performed a rousing rendition of the 1976 Blue Oyster Cult hit “Don’t Fear the Reaper, led by local folk-rock band SEAM, according to the Toronto Star.
After two minutes, confetti erupted and cheers began as the record was unofficially broken.
This is the sixth time in a row that orientation week festivities have included successful record-breaking stunts. Previously, Ryerson students have created the largest beat-box ensemble, the biggest dance class, the largest maracas ensemble and the largest plastic sword fight, according to a press release from the university.
