A crowd gathers around in a circle.

The members of the group shout and cheer while limbs fly.

A movement on the rise, hacky sack crews are sprouting up all around campus.

“I think [playing hack sack] this year is a lot bigger, in fact I know it is,” security guard James Jenkins said.

The availability of the opportunity to play as well as the simple excitement are contributing factors to the rising popularity of the activity.

“It’s entertaining. It’s an easy way to pass the time. You can carry it around in your pocket so you can bring it everywhere and if you get bored you can just whip it out and start playing,” senior Christian Bates said. “There are no real obligations like [there are] in a sport. You’re not committed to a team.”

Senior Thomas Callanan adds to Bates’ sentiment.

“Hacky sack is easy to pick up. In basketball you have to try and train really hard at it but in hacky sack you can just join in and start playing,” Callanan said.

Taking up hacky sack is not all that hard either says Bates.

“A good month of playing it every day and you can get really good,” Bates said.

According to Bates, hacky sack is also a great way to create new companionships.

“You can meet new people… like you don’t even have to know people playing. If they’re playing hacky sack you can just walk up and join,” Bates said.

This opportunity to meet new people can present itself at any time says Bates.

“They can show up anywhere. There are big groups of them. There was a big group of them upstairs on the second floor. They come together and split apart like amoebas,” Jenkins said.

However, according to Jenkins, an important thing to remember is proper etiquette while playing. If one litter one’s group will be required to split up.

“There was a big group [of hacky sack players] upstairs on the second floor that were playing. I had to kick them out because they were littering,” Jenkins said.

Littering and loitering aside, hacky sack is a unique sport that draws many people in.

“Hacky sack is one of the few minor sports that you can play with your hands in your pockets. They all got their hands in their pockets… it’s almost like a lazy guy’s 2-D soccer,” Jenkins said.