RADFORD -- Thousands of drunken college students will stumble their way from house party to house party this Saturday in search of a good time, as the off-campus celebration of Quadfest begins.

But this year, for the first time in a decade, no formal on-campus Quadfest events will take place at Radford University. Gone are the afternoon concerts, cheap food and games. Several other on-campus events will take place, though.

Saturday is Highlander Day, when prospective students and their parents can visit campus before deciding to put down their deposits for fall 2006. It is also the annual Special Olympics Spring Games. A group of campus ministries will also host an afternoon of fellowship featuring musical performances that day.

And, of course, there's the complication that it might rain. (The National Weather Service reports an 80 percent chance of heavy rain.)

So, what does this year's Quadfest hold in store for the community and university?

"It's kind of a guessing game," said Michael Mardis, RU's dean of students. "We've had years where there has been very little activity in comparison with the number of citations that occurred last year in the city."

Sponsors pulled support

University officials are not exactly sure when Quadfest began, but they believe it is about 10 years old.

But Mardis and Deborah Brown, the associate vice president for university relations, both dispelled the myth that the event was the brainchild of former university president Douglas Covington, as many students believe.

The on-campus event -- complete with musical acts, carnival games and hot dogs -- was jointly sponsored and paid for by the Campus Activities Board and the Black Awareness Programming Board.

The groups decided in February to cancel this year's event because they believe it no longer meets the groups' missions to provide large-scale nonalcoholic, on-campus events, said Joanna Bonilla, president of the Campus Activities Board.

Instead of spending roughly $25,000 on Quadfest, the groups decided to host two concerts this spring as well as planning senior week activities.

"Throughout the years, we saw that attendance didn't improve," Bonilla said. "The off-campus activities were being confused with what was happening on campus."

Off campus, students host private parties where friends, acquaintances and strangers roam from house to house as the kegs dry out. The party-hopping can lead to throngs of young people pouring out into the city's streets.

During last year's Quadfest weekend, about 2,000 students and other partyers filled the intersection near Fairfax Street and Second Avenue and surrounded Radford City police officers, causing what an officer termed a "near-riot." Officers issued more than 400 citations and arrested 26 people. The department reports that it issued 91 charges during Quadfest 2004, down from 185 for the 2003 event. The smallest number of citations handed out since 2000 was in 2001. Only 25 were issued.

Mardis made sure to point out that the majority of the people causing the biggest problems are not Radford students. College students and other visitors from Southwest Virginia and beyond flock to Radford for the annual event.

Police: Business as usual

When students learned of the cancellation of this year's on-campus event, they showed their determination to party.

Several Facebook.com groups sprung up, promising an even wilder time than last year. Postings on MySpace.com have announced performances by local bands.

Rick Snee, who wrote a satirical "lamentation" for Quadfest in the April 12 issue of The Tartan, the student newspaper, said he has heard many people talking on campus about what will happen.

"There's a lot of conjecture that it's going to be crazy," said Snee, a 24-year-old English major. "Nobody's really sure how quite good or bad it's going to be."

Capt. Jim Lawson, a spokesman for the city's police department, said officers are treating this weekend as "business as usual."

"We're going to do this like we do every other Saturday, enforce the laws like we have been," Lawson said.

The Radford University Police Department, which has jurisdiction only over Radford property, will offer assistance to the city police department if needed, just like any other time, said Lt. Micheal Baker of the campus police.

Snee said that last year's violence was situational and that the intensity of the event has varied from year to year.

Whatever happens, Snee will begin his Quadfest celebrations this evening with Radford alumni who are returning to town to relive their college days.

"Nothing brings the community together like Quadfest," Snee said.

Campus groups to overlap

The raucous goings-on of the off-campus set will be a stark contrast to three large events taking place on campus Saturday.

Roughly 700 parents and prospective students are expected to be on campus between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday to determine whether to commit to Radford or another college. The event, the last and largest of six this spring, was planned last fall before the date for Quadfest was set, said David Kraus, director of RU admissions.

What happens if students or parents ask questions about the intoxicated undergraduates they might see?

"If families ask us questions, having heard about it, we'll address that in individual conversations," Kraus said. "But it won't be part of a presentation."

About eight campus ministries are sponsoring a musical festival with food called the Explosion from noon to 6 p.m. The groups chose the date without regard for when Quadfest would be.

"This is a time to get together, to get to know new people," said Philip Buttery of Burning Bush Ministries, one of the sponsoring groups. "It's a process to build up our campus and win souls for Jesus Christ."

Buttery said they have planned for 500 people. If students from the off-campus parties come to get free food, he said he hopes they will see the good that Christian groups are doing for the university.

Also, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, more than 200 Southwest Virginia Special Olympians will compete for medals in RU's Cupp Stadium. Last year's event was also held the same weekend as Quadfest.

"It turned out fine," said Nancy Morehouse of Special Olympics Virginia. "Parking we thought could be a problem, but it wasn't. Our biggest problem was that we lost volunteers earlier in the day."

Morehouse said many of the volunteers who come out for the games are students, including varsity athletes and members of fraternities and sororities.

"We're hoping that people will have a conscience and say, 'Let's go to Special Olympics before we go party,' " Morehouse said.