And the symptoms amounted to a display of bell bottoms, mustaches and beach ball-sized afros.
The event was sponsored by the University Activities Board.

The nearly 200 students who participated in Funkadellic Fever — most of whom sported clichéd ‘70s apparel unearthed from the back of a parent’s closet or snagged from thrift store racks — skated in endless circles to disco hits of the era such as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.”

Such songs have been favorites of biosystems engineering freshman Alex Bricco, who showed up wearing a multicolor sequined shirt. Ever since he first heard “Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale when he was in third grade, disco has remained his genre of choice.

“From then on, I’ve pretty much loved the style, the music and the dancing,” Bricco said.

As the night progressed, more modern hits echoed through the cavernous hall, such as LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.”

All was dark except for multicolor lights illuminating the floor, complementing tunes spun from authentic vinyl records.

Environmental biology and zoology freshman John Davis sported a pair of tiny turquoise shorts and a drawn-on beard as he struggled to keep balance on the rink.

“The glasses, they pull it all together,” he said, pointing to a pair of black sport sunglasses perched on his forehead.

Fake glue-on mustaches, disco ball necklaces and shutter shade sunglasses greeted participants at the door, egging on those who were brave enough to master the primitive skates.

Participants lined nearby benches, lacing their feet into tattered beige roller skates likely dating back to the ‘70s themselves, complete with four orange wheels that might have lost luster during the last four decades.

More than 130 pairs of the dated skates, not including rollerblades, were trucked in for the evening, aid UAB Films Director Hilary Young, who headed the event’s organization.

For some, the outlandish display was just what they had hoped.

“I was hoping for afros, bell bottoms, all that jazz,” Young, said. “We’ve got all that.”