UCLA..."erotic" run of the undies! Half-naked students run amok on campus at the witching hour!

If you're a student attending UCLA, end of each term when finals rear their ugly head, you no doubt look forward to blowing off a little steam.

Three glorious nights a year, just about midnight - the bold and the beautiful hitting the books on campus in Westwood - strip down to their skivvies, howl at the moon, and trot off on the notorious "undies run"

A few weeks ago, I breezed around a corner of the student union building, and unexpectedly ran smack dab into a mob of slightly-tipsy (mostly naked) high-spirited youths wildly "running like the bulls" through the normally-staid hallowed grounds of the prestigious University.

Suddenly, I was caught up in the moment, and thrust into the zombie-like mob mentality, as I whipped out my HD Video camera and with bated breath excitedly began to log the "tribal ritual".

Once I posted the video clip on YouTube (and here @ the Tattler and Pop Culture sites) the hits started to roll in.

Surfers on the net were just as intrigued by the unique bonding phenomenon as I was.

Sadly, the axe came down on the titillating "undies run" this past week.

UCLA Administrators have announced after a closed-door meeting on the issue that the "undies run" will go by way of the dinosaur.

Was it the sight of scantily-clad sophomores in frilly-silk things or the homoerotic buffed-muscled torsos of a dozen or so Bruins Football studs that scandalized the old prudes?

According to press reports, an accusing finger fell in the direction of student "body" conduct (not the actual nudity, per se).

A spokesperson for UCLA alleged that at the last "undies run" I was up-close and personal to, suffered an increase in injuries, fights, and property damage.

From where I stood, the night revellers were - for the most part - free-spirited (yes, they whooped it up, but were orderly nonetheless), within the bounds of decency in respect to "costuming" for the event, and inclined to bond with each other in a tribal sort-of ritual beyond the scope of the kind-of interaction the Administrators alleged prevailed.

Jason Tengco (Political Science major) said it best, perhaps, when he depicted the cultural happening this way:

"There's something liberating about being able to run free with a bunch of friends half-naked at the end of a long ten weeks of studying,"

Amen!

Some hinted that the UCLA staff deliberately held off announcing their edict until classmates trundled off campus at the end of semester to stave off protest until at least September when students return to resume their studies.

Others vow that the "undies run" won't be derailed (or halted in its mischievous tracks) by a pack of old farts with no sense of humor or tradition

I expect at least one disgruntled individual will be organizing a petition to overturn the University decision so he can participate in an "undies run" in the fall - on campus - in the right spirit of things,

"It was something I wanted to experience just once," lamented one book thumper who is entering his Senior year.

Perhaps come fall, UCLA administrators may relent.

To every thing, there is a season.

HD Video captured by Julian Ayrs @ the Tattler.

http://www.julianayrs.com