Record 55,000 attend Black College Spring Break job fair

ATLANTA - A record 55,000 people turned out for the annual Black College Spring Break National Job Fair - an event once known as a sideshow to the now defunct Freaknik. <br> <br> With the lingering economic effects of Sept. 11, people years out of college lined up and competed with the usual throng of college students who flocked to the Georgia World Congress Center Saturday to meet with employment recruiters. <br> <br> Glenn Forbes, a recruiter with Smyrna-based apparel manufacturer Russell Corp., said he noticed the change in the crowd. <br> <br> ``You&#39;ve got a lot of students trying to find jobs in a hard economy along with a lot more seasoned people, really over-qualified for entry-level jobs,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Nicole Daniel, a senior marketing major at Emory University, said she was disappointed in the fair. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s so crowded,&#39;&#39; she said. ``Most of the places I talked to are not hiring unless you have four or five years experience.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The fair, which started six years ago with about 8,000 job seekers, is all that&#39;s left of Freaknik, the raucous annual gathering of black college students in Atlanta.