Despite pleas, CSU 'Undie Run' might go on
Despite the university's plea for students to skip Friday's annual "Undie Run," more than a thousand say they're committed to stripping down and continuing what many deem a Colorado State University tradition.
By Wednesday afternoon more than 1,400 people indicated on a Facebook page that they were going to the Friday night affair. Planners for the student-organized, non-university-sanctioned event encouraged attendees to leave their clothes at home rather than stripping down at the starting line in an effort to alleviate CSU's concerns about collecting clothing discarded along the course — it will all be trashed this year, CSU said Tuesday in a letter denouncing the event.
Anonymous planners who have apparently taken over after formal organizers backed out due to logistical concerns even laid out a list of disclaimers for the revived effort, The 2016 BARE Run:
"This is NOT hosted by anyone."
"As per the law there will be no sexual misconduct, non-consensual touching, or nudity."
"Participants assume all risks of injury, property loss/damage, misconduct, or death."
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Participants could also risk police intervention. CSU's dean of students and the university's public safety team on Tuesday criticized the annual event that started as an end-of-semester clothing donation drive but has devolved over six years into a raucous gathering that university officials say costs approximately $15,000 per year for cleanup and security.
"CSU police will disperse any crowd that assembles on campus following BARE. Students who are dressed inappropriately and who are off campus, including on Laurel Street or any other streets surrounding campus, will be subject to interactions with Fort Collins police," officials wrote on Tuesday.
University brass added on Wednesday that their warning was issued because of concerns about possible auto-pedestrian crashes. The route being floated by current organizers was created by students last year.
"CSUPD and the university continue to firmly recommend to students that they not participate," CSU Spokesman Mike Hooker said Wednesday. "The safety of our students is our top priority. Extra security and police support will be present on campus this weekend."
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Recently dubbed the Body Acceptance Run Extravaganza (BARE), the event is typically held the weekend before spring semester final exams. It started as a stress-relieving opportunity to collect donated clothing for charity. But most of the donations in recent years have been trashed because they were either either soaked during a rain storm or weren't nice enough to go to a thrift store.
The anonymous lead organizer from the 2014 and 2015 runs has graduated. He took to Facebook Wednesday and reiterated the university's request for folks to steer clear of the event altogether.
"The first several events were small and did a great job donating to people in need, having many students de-stress before finals, and have simple plain fun. As the event grew though it has simply become chaos," the message reads, outlining how the event has ballooned from a few hundred to several thousand attendees. "... I openly admit there are some large issues associated with this event and the pros no longer outweigh the cons, if they really ever did."
Reporter Jason Pohl covers public safety for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.