The cold weather was no deterrent for the crowd of students who took to the streets Wednesday night to complete the quarterly tradition of Undie Run.
“The event is awesome. This is my fourth year doing it, and I wouldn’t miss it, even for an 8 a.m. final,” said Aaron Napples, a fourth-year history student.
Undie Run started in the spring of 2002 when Eric Whitehead, a student who was upset the Midnight Yell had been canceled, decided to run with a group of friends from the northern intersection of Landfair and Gayley avenues down Ophir Drive and back. The route has been changed multiple times to the present course, which starts at the Strathmore Tunnel and continues to Royce Quad.
Despite enthusiasm shown by participants, students studying in Powell Library were given a brief scare when an orange traffic cone thrown by a runner came through the window.
“I’m pretty sure the person who threw it didn’t know the damage it would do. … It ended up shattering the window and left glass on the ground and all over my books. The girl who was next to me had her toes cut up by it,” said Saba Riazati, a fourth-year psychobiology student and editor-in-chief of the Daily Bruin.
Incidents such as this, along with the prevalence of intoxicated students participating in the event, fuels administrative concerns that the event could get out of hand.
“I am concerned about the drinking because we had a larger than usual number of alcohol poisoning calls,” said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for UCPD.
Despite alcohol concerns, Greenstein believes that most students were well-behaved and followed the directions of facilitators.
“After students had been in Royce Quad for a reasonable amount of time and police told them to leave, they went quietly,” added Greenstein.
No arrests were made, and, though it is too early to be sure, it appears there was no significant property damage.
Though safety remains a key issue for the university, students believe the tradition is worth the potential risks.
“Whenever you have events this large the potential for accidents is definitely there, but I think that this is a tradition that a lot of students value and like to take part in. It is one of the few things I look forward to at the end of every quarter,” added Riazati.
Josh Rosenberg, a fourth-year history student, said he believes that Undie Run is the perfect way to finish after finals.
“It encapsulates the beauty of UCLA. Not only is it a social experience but an expression of our happiness as a rigorous quarter comes to an end,” Rosenberg said.
The rest of the night seemed to go by without too much trouble.