UPDATED: Unofficial Undie Run at UCLA will face consequences with police
By Sarah Ravani
Dec. 6, 2009 10:51 p.m.
Students participating in an unapproved Undie Run this week will have to deal with repercussions from UCPD and LAPD, and possible punishment from the dean of students.
Undie Run was a tradition for UCLA students to relieve stress over finals by running in their underwear, but it was canceled last June by UCLA due to safety issues.
“The campus is going to be especially sensitive the entire week,” said Timothy Mullins, USAC facilities commissioner.
Although being in underwear on the sidewalk is not specifically illegal, citations can include unlawful assembly, disturbance of peace, pedestrian in the roadway, traffic impediment and drunk in public, said Addison Huddy, general representative for the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
“UCPD is going full force on this,” Huddy said. “It’s really a zero tolerance policy that police are taking. The real message I want to send is don’t run.”
Students with no identification cards run the risk of being detained until police can identify them. Names of those who receive a citation or an arrest will be forwarded to the dean of students for student judicial action, said Nancy Greenstein, UCPD spokeswoman.
Since a number of crimes were committed during the last Undie Run, including injuries, property damage and robberies, the threat of infractions is meant to deter students from participating this year and to ensure their safety. There will be no closed-off streets or designated routes, as there have been in the past, that would allow for Undie Run to proceed safely.
Students need to be especially careful this week since they could potentially be unable to graduate if confronted by police, Mullins said.
He added that police have been monitoring public information, such as Facebook, regarding any side runs, including an “underground Undie Run” event, which currently has more than 2,500 people registered as attending.
Although Undie Run is officially canceled this quarter, administrators are working with the USAC representatives to find an event that will take place in the spring. Possibilities include a giant game of tag, water balloon fights or an Undie Run obstacle course with bounce houses.
Students’ actions this quarter can halt negotiations with administration for a future event to replace Undie Run, Huddy said.
Huddy and Mullins said they hope to work with the students as a team to come up with a solution that makes both the students and the administration happy. They are working to hold a forum during winter quarter to hear student feedback and get any possible ideas for a new event.
“There’s a perfect idea out there, we have to find it. I hope our fellow Bruins will help us do that,” Mullins said.
Matthew Austin, creator of Underground Undie Run, said he believes the administration is not allowing students to celebrate their tradition by canceling Undie Run.
Austin said he hopes to have a peaceful and law-abiding Undie Run this quarter.
Austin plans to have 434-321-UCLA text message the over-3,000 members of his Facebook group the location of the route Wednesday night. This is to ensure that outside students won’t interfere with this UCLA tradition, Austin said.
“I really hope it will prove that students can come up with creative solutions on their own, and it’s not fair to cancel a student event just because they can’t figure out a solution for it,” Austin said.
Austin said that he has also been in touch with the National Lawyers Guild, who has told him that students have a right to participate in their own Undie Run.
“Ultimately, I wish the administration had taken a more open stance to what the students want to do with Undie Run,” Austin said. “I think that rather than trying to compromise with us, they have tried to completely ban the event.”
