Taken from KTAR.com on March 19th, 2010:

May 4th is an important day for Arizona State University students. It marks the final day of regular classes and the beginning of many caffeine-induced cram sessions to survive finals. As of three years ago however, the 4th for students also means stripping down into their underwear and taking a lap around campus with thousands of other Sun Devils.

The ASU Undie Run is in its third year and has officially become a new campus tradition. The initial run, which took place in 2008, brought together roughly 5,000 students in the name of blowing off some post-semester steam, donating some clothes to charity and frankly, to better examine the student body. This year, the event, as advertised on Facebook, is looking to attract 20,000 people and possibly set a Guinness Book World Record for the “Largest Gathering of People in their Underwear.”

While the Undie Run occurs in the name of good clean fun, there are bound to be plenty of critics who look to condemn this sort of behavior. Perhaps these critics are relics from a past generation where college traditions resembled something other than stripping and going for a jog. Others may assert that this event reflects ASU’s notorious reputation of caring more about partying and lewd behavior than academics.

The critics need to realize that this event is merely an outlet for students to relax and take their minds off the looming, ever-present monster that is finals week. The pressure to perform well academically is almost comically overwhelming in this day and age, where jobs are scarce and only those with great grades and a lot of luck can eke out a decent living.

With that in mind, the critics and naysayers should kindly suspend their judgments and allow ASU’s student body to enjoy a brief moment of elation before they hit the books.

Original article by Adam Chaikin.