When students attending this quarter’s Undie Run gather at
the corner of Gayley and Landfair avenues in three weeks, they will
find the tradition a little different than usual.
Instead of running down Landfair Avenue to the corner of
Glenrock and Levering avenues, runners clad in their underwear will
be directed through De Neve Plaza, down Bruin Walk and into Bruin
Plaza in the middle of campus.
The route change comes in response to the administration’s
increasing concerns about the safety of the event. A committee
comprised of student leaders, administrators and members of student
groups met Thursday to discuss the concerns and the proposed new
route.
The Undie Run occurs at midnight on the Wednesday night of
finals week each quarter. It is not organized by any particular
student group, but out of tradition, runners congregate at the
corner of Gayley and Landfair and proceed to run the predetermined
route.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bob Naples, who
did not attend the meeting, said the administration’s biggest
concern is safety-related.
“Our main concern is that students could get hurt,”
he said. “Each quarter, the numbers (of people attending the
Undie Run) are increasing. As there are more and more people in the
streets, the potential for injury is higher.”
Committee members said because the new route takes runners off
the streets for the most part, the possibility of auto-related
injuries will be lower.
Naples added that the safety risks of this quarter’s Undie
Run may be higher than usual given the string of recent sexual
batteries in Westwood.
Undergraduate Students Association Council Facilities
Commissioner Joe Vardner said bringing the event onto campus will
alleviate many of the administration’s concerns.
“The reason why the new route is a lot better is that
it’s a lot shorter along the street,” he said. The new
route will only follow Gayley from the corner of Landfair to the De
Neve Plaza entrance ““ a distance of a few hundred feet.
“It gets it on campus, which the administration has a lot
more control over,” Vardner added.
While Vardner admitted that ideally the run would stay off the
streets entirely, the committee decided it would be too difficult
at this point to move the starting location of the run, and that
runners would likely show up to the traditional spot anyway.
One student said that UCLA changing the route would harm the
fun, spontaneous nature of the event.
“The reason for participating in the Undie Run is the
thrill it provides. I don’t think that same thrill can be
found if the route is redirected through campus,” said
first-year business economics student Henri Domange.
There was also some concern about what effect the new route
might have on De Neve Plaza residents.
“We’ve got roughly 2,000 residents in De Neve Plaza
who will be affected,” said Rick Wan, assistant director in
the Office of Residential Life. “It will end up contradicting
what the university has set as our policies.”
However, others said they thought an on-campus Undie Run could
help curb some concerns administrators and university police have
raised about the event, including public intoxication and
vandalism.
“There’s a different atmosphere when you’re in
the apartments, because it’s like a big outside block
party,” said USAC Internal Vice President Kristina Doan.
“That’s when you get the projectiles thrown off
balconies. That’s when you get hoses being sprayed at
students.”
The committee hopes to publicize the new route beforehand, so
students are aware of the intended changes before they arrive and
understand the possible repercussions of continuing to run through
the streets.
Naples said if students refuse to stay off the streets, they
could face possible police citations and arrests.
“We might see more involvement from municipality police,
which means LAPD,” he said.
However, members of the committee did stress the importance of
at least some police involvement in controlling the Undie Run.
“(Police) are effective because people aren’t
willing to take that risk,” Doan said. “UCLA students
are logical and if they see flashing lights and sirens coming at
them, they will go away.”
Director of police community services Nancy Greenstein said
completely blocking off the street would require a permit from the
Los Angeles City Council, which would likely be difficult to
obtain.
However, UCPD has been present at past Undie Runs to help
disperse crowds once the event ended.
Doan said there will not be anything at the end, so there will
be no incentive to stay in Bruin Plaza.
“When you’re down by the bear, and it’s pretty
isolated and it’s cold. It’s time to go home,”
Doan said.
With reports from Anthony Pesce, Bruin contributor.