Reasons to resist this Undie Run

If you are one of the over 1,700 confirmed guests of the Facebook event “UCLA’s Winter 2010 Underground Undie Run!” you should really rethink your Wednesday night plans. Here are a few reasons why.

First of all, you do not want to drunkenly get arrested in your underwear for jaywalking and not having any identification on you. That would be awkward. It would be even more awkward to pull out an ID from your underwear when an officer asks for it.

While I think it was and in the future will be a great tradition, Undie Run is not worth getting arrested for. This is not a protest against war, for human rights or even against fee hikes; it is just a break from finals week.

Second of all, an underground Undie Run cannot be as exciting as the Undie Runs of years past. There’s something inherently dull about waiting at a crosswalk in your underwear, which you will have to in order to avoid jaywalking because the street intersection will not be blocked off as it was during past Undie Runs.

This waiting is only to be followed by careful running on sidewalks without disturbing the peace, the opposite of what Undie Run is all about. This is even more tame and unexciting than waiting at a crosswalk.

Undie Run started as a rebellion against the university’s actions to shut down Midnight Yell. The rebellious nature of Undie Run was really lost in 2006 when the university moved the route from the Westwood apartments area to campus locations. Since then, it has just been a big campus celebration and stress reliever for thousands.

The underground Undie Run will hardly be a celebration with everyone trying to avoid breaking jaywalking laws and running like headless chickens on campus because the unofficial group likely will not have organization or an agreed upon route.

Furthermore, the 200-300 people who attended the last Underground Undie Run pale in comparison to the 10,000 who participated in the last event before the university canceled it. There’s no way those few hundred people from the underground event can do past Undie Run events any justice.

Third of all and most importantly, if you do this unofficial Undie Run, you could ruin the future of Undie Run for everyone.

Addison Huddy, Undergraduate Students Association Council general representative, and Tim Mullins, USAC’s facilities commissioner, have been meeting with administrators to make sure there is an official event during finals week next quarter. But these plans hinge on how many arrests and damages occur on Wednesday.

“If too much happens Wednesday, the administration won’t talk to us” Huddy said.

Undie Run was canceled in the summer because it cost the university tens of thousands of dollars in damages and because non-students were committing acts of violence. Even though it has taken USAC months to even get plans together with the administration, Huddy has assured me that these plans will be worth the wait and will “build a sustainable campus tradition.” He hinted at a possibility of working with corporate sponsors, such as Victoria’s Secret, and restricting the event to UCLA students only, in a fashion similar to that of Bruin Bash.

One of the people the USAC members have been working with is Matthew Austin, the creator of the Underground Undie Run Facebook events and group. Austin has been involved in the planning efforts and said this new spring quarter plan “feels like it’s true to the idea of Undie Run.”

In regards to the Underground Undie Run event he created, Austin said that “you shouldn’t run if you’re going to do things against the law. Don’t come drunk. Don’t pick fights.”

I would say don’t run at all this Wednesday night. It won’t be a fun time, and you could ruin next quarter’s planned Undie Run for everyone. Huddy offered up an alternative: have a St. Patrick’s Day party instead on Wednesday this finals week and look forward to Undie Run next quarter.

If you enjoy being drunkenly arrested while in your underwear, e-mail Ramzanali at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected]