While they may not have gotten the classes they wanted, freshmen weren’t closed out of registering.

Yes, that’s right, freshmen registered Tuesday in computer labs across campus without any tears or major problems.

Some students even enjoyed the process.

“It took me 23 minutes to register,” said Alicia Pardo, a Weinberg freshman. “I got every class I wanted except for my foreign language.” And that was after a late registration time.

“Registration ran very smoothly,” said Bill Berry, assistant registrar for reporting and systems. “There were no unusual problems.”

Online registration was created to relieve students from the stress of the bubble-sheet registration process.

Freshmen used to wait in long lines at Blomquist Recreation Center to sign up for Fall Quarter classes, fill in the miniature bubbles, and then repeat the process all over again if they got closed out of a class. Then, students would trek to Parkes Hall, hand in their sheets and wait for a computer printout of their class schedule.

CAESAR was supposed to be the balm for everyone’s problems. But its shining armor was tarnished almost immediately when Winter Quarter registration was moved from students’ personal computers to the labs in Kresge Hall, where various crashes and glitches brought NU students to tears.

During Spring Quarter registration, some freshmen were able to register for classes a week before seniors, causing an uproar among upperclassmen.

So why have students started warming up to CAESAR?

“We’ve had two trial quarters to learn from,” said Emily Haite, Medill’s academic records assistant. “We know what problems to look for now.

“We also brought in student peer advisors who already know how to use CAESAR to help the freshmen.”

Jamie Sullivan, a Medill sophomore and peer adviser, was in the registration room from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. He said the mood in the rooms was frantic and frazzled but that freshmen seemed to have no serious problems registering.

“The only thing better about the old way was that it was much easier to see when classes were full,” he said.

Added Medill freshman Ryan Dombal: “It was frustrating to wait to get online and click on a class, only to find out it’s full. They should update CAESAR more often so that we know which classes we have a realistic shot at getting into.”

Still, the freshmen may not have much to complain about.

“Last year, people were telling us to go here, go there,” Sullivan said. “This is a much more calming experience.”