Take off your pants. Donate them. Run around.
Let it all hang loose, if you will, just make sure to remember why you’re there in the first place: for charity.
Of course, we’re speaking a language fluent only to you, Sun Devils. We’re talking about the Undie Run — an ASU tradition that is perhaps more revered than Presidents Day and, well, we actually observe it.
Skeptics have referred to the ASU Undie Run as another excuse for thousands of party-fueled students to strip down to their bare essentials and sprint across campus as if they were warriors being led by Genghis Khan in a pair of Fruit of the Looms.
But(t) jokes aside, good intentions find residence within the heart of the Undie Run, and unfortunately this year, those looking to strip down for charity may not get their chance as the ASU Undie Run struggles to secure funding for increased security after past episodes of violence (Certainly there is no lack of fun).
Like all good things that invariably meet some tragic end, it is almost always an outcome of the actions of not the whole group, but a “few bad apples,” as they say in Clichés 101.
After fighting among runners broke out in 2011, acts of vandalism in the Memorial Union and a realization of the sheer size and magnitude of the ASU Undie Run, University administration and the City of Tempe require increased security, staff and fencing. This costs money.
According to the group’s Facebook page, the Undie Run needs an additional $10,000 to put on the event in 2012.
We all love the Undie Run and would like to see this light-hearted tradition continue for future Sun Devils as a great way to give back to the community and blow off some steam on the last day of classes. This can only happen if you stay cool. Your shirts and pants are already off, just leave the gloves on. Don’t fight. Don’t vandalize the MU. Don’t come with a camera or at all unless you’re an ASU student. Who knows where you’d keep your Sun Card if administration required an ID checkpoint in order to participate, so don’t let it get to that point.
Do your part.
Donations can be made via the group’s Facebook page. However, good vibes can also be spread by not punching someone while wearing your underwear.
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