Lauren Russell
News Reporter

“On your mark, get set…strip!”
At 7:30 p.m. on March 24, the typical Thursday night campus quiet was broken by the cheers and catcalls of eager onlookers as a herd of students stampeded around the campus, wearing nothing but their underwear. This display of dress-code disregard was not an example of spring fever shenanigans or drunken juvenile delinquency, but rather a school sanctioned event.
The Undie Run, as the lewd lap was called, was a fundraiser by the Residence Hall Association. But the funds they were raising were not monetary. All the clothing that students removed for their raunchy race was donated to Goodwill as part of RHA’s National Service Program.
Although students were required to remain appropriately covered for the race, this event still drew a significantly larger crowd than previous, fully-clothed RHA events have attracted. RHA program coordinator James Hoover said 30 students actually stripped down and participated in the run, with even more acting as “excessively motivated cheerers on the sidelines.”
Autumn Mallet, national communications coordinator for RHA, said the enthusiastic onlookers added an extra element of student involvement, which they hadn’t expected. “I liked the different levels of participation. We had runners and we had cheerleaders,” Mallet said.
Some students heard about the lap for the first time as they left the dining hall, and decided to join at the last minute, donating whatever they happened to be wearing. Others planned ahead, and wore outlandish outfits composed largely of past theme-party trappings that had come from Goodwill in the first place.
“We just went with something completely outrageous,” freshman Jordan Heggen said regarding how he chose his pre-run outfit.
Altogether, students stripped off enough clothing to fill 4 kitchen-sized garbage bags and one large plastic tub. RHA members estimated they collected around 200 articles of clothing.
While most students planned ahead about what to wear walking to the event, almost none of them thought about what to wear leaving it. Participants and onlookers were further amused as the charitable students finished the lap, and had to walk back to their dorms in their undies.
According to Mallet, RHA chose to put on this event because students suggested it during the general assembly meetings. “We’re putting on what the students want,” Mallet said.
RHA advertised the event with posters around campus, as well as by placing mannequins dressed in their undergarments in various dorm hallways. This increased advertisement, as well as the crowd-drawing quality of the event itself, contributed to the high turnout and enthusiasm.
“I think it went spectacularly. I’m so pleased with the turnout,” Mallet said.
Based on the success of this year, regarding both student participation and donations collected, RHA will most likely make the Undie Run an annual event.
“It went really well, everyone seemed enthusiastic about it and willing to donate clothes. Hopefully it can continue,” RHA president Andrea Nieto said.

lrrussell@mesastate.edu