Sunny weather was much on the minds of Slope Day goers May 1. More than 14,000 people attended, with 350 student, staff and faculty volunteers. But the rains and wind came late in the afternoon -- several songs into the featured group -- scattering hundreds of students across the campus.

Earlier in the day, high-spirited undergraduates, elated by the end of classes, dashed across the upper reaches of Libe Slope, dousing each other with bottled water -- a tractor trailer had delivered more than 35,000 bottles manufactured to reduce waste and packaging.

"It's really nice. I'm enjoying myself -- and there's free water," said Simone Parris '12 as she took in the multicultural Greek Letter Organization step show at the entrance to the Cornell Store while a giant inflatable blue windsock bobbed over Ho Plaza.

The opening act The Apples in Stereo was followed by rapper Asher Roth, whose lyrics focus on white upper-middle-class life in the suburbs. Headliners The Pussycat Dolls danced and sang over prerecorded music tracks, seemingly oblivious of the dark clouds moving in.

"I do look forward to Slope Day," said senior Kate Brewster, sporting a Day-Glo Slope Day T-shirt of her own design. "I think it's a day for the students to relax before finals. It's a nice break."

Fourth-year genetics doctoral student Ed Strong noted, "It's a good time. It's great because the weather came out. It's a lot of fun to just sit back here and see the mass of people. It's all about hanging out and not having classes for most people, I think."

Postdoctoral researcher Ewelina Bolcun-Filas contrasted Slope Day with the spring celebrations at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. "The atmosphere is the same, but the music is Polish," she said. "We start much later in the day and go all night."

Outgoing student-elected trustee Kate Duch '09 returned to the weather. "Such beautiful weather is the best part of the day. Last year, it rained, but everyone stayed. But having sun is the best part. Seniors really look forward to it. It's a last chance to connect with all their friends, and a lot of recent alumni come back. I know some people came from California."

But then came the rain.