This Wednesday night marks the quarterly tradition where thousands of Bruins ditch their clothes and anxieties in a mad dash from Strathmore Tunnel to Royce Quad.
“It’s a fun way to get rid of stress and celebrate the end of finals. … It’s Mardi Gras meets Bay to Breakers meets Halloween,” said Gabe Rose, president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Robert Naples, associate vice chancellor and dean of students, said he wants students to remember that the event is not a license to break the law.
“This is a program that the students do that continues to exist on a thread,” said Naples.
The most important issue for the administration is ensuring that everyone involved is safe.
“This is one activity that the university can’t do anything about managing other than ending it. The first time we get a sense (it is unsafe or out of control), it will be shut down,” Naples added.
Damage to property has been a problem in the past, with the university forced to pay upwards of $10,000 to fix the Shapiro fountain and various sprinkler systems. With university finances already tight from state cutbacks, every dollar in damage means a loss of funding to other areas.
Naples said that students should not drink or invite people unaffiliated with the school, since those behaviors increase the likelihood of injury and damage. Advertising the event online, such as by making Facebook groups, is also discouraged.
Rose has been working with administrators but said he believes Undie Run’s success is in the hands of individuals.
“It all comes down to students being responsible,” Rose said.
In the past, students have shown an ability to work with the administration, such as when they moved the starting point from the northern corner of Gayley and Landfair avenues to its present location.
While the fashion police may not be on the scene, officers will be out to ensure students are following the law. The student code of conduct is still in effect, meaning that on top of legal action, students involved in illicit behavior face academic repercussions ranging from warnings to dismissal from the university.
Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services, said that to avoid trouble, students should be “paying attention to individual safety, not drinking, (and) when officers ask them to leave … go quietly.”