Undie Run 2011, Utah, United States

The quarterly Undie Run takes place during the Wednesday evening of Finals Week, when students run through the campus in their underwear or in skimpy costumes. The run first began in Fall of 2001 at University of California, Los Angeles, when a student, Eric Whitehead, wearing what he described as "really short shorts" walked around singing a song and playing a guitar to protest the Police restrictions on the Midnight Yell. With the increasing safety hazards and Police and Administration involvement, a student committee, in order to satisfy concerns but keep the event, changed the route. It was changed to a run through campus to the fountain in front of Powell Library. Now it ends with students cavorting in the fountains outside Powell Library. As attendance increased, committees in charge of organizing the event deemed it necessary to employ the UC Police during the event, to ward off vandalism and dangerous activity. In 2007, the route was changed again to begin at Strathmore and Gayley Avenues instead of Landfair and Gayley Avenues. Tired of the UCLA administration meddling in student-initiated spontaneous traditions, students have begun celebrating finals week in new ways. One way is the "Undie Ride," where students run a predetermined route in their underwear on Tuesday night of finals week. In the summer of 2009, the administration cancelled all future undie run events, citing safety concerns. The Undie Run concept has since spread to other college campuses around the United States, including the University of Texas at Austin, University of Utah or Syracuse University.