TEMPE, Ariz. – On Tuesday night, tens of thousands of students stripped to their underwear to run through the Arizona State University campus.

The Undie Run takes place on the last day of class, and there are bands playing along with other entertainment.

It’s a way for students to unwind before they start cramming for finals – and it also benefits a good cause.

The students donated the clothing they took off to run to benefit charities, including: Arizona Helping Hands, STANDUP FOR KIDS, Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), and André House.

Diane Ryan has more from ASU.

Undie Run at ASU Collects Clothes for Needy: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Photo by Michael Arellano for The State Press

Here is a link to the article with more information:

http://www.statepress.com/2010/11/30/campus-wide-scream-planned-to-relieve-finals-stress/

Wherever you are at 10 p.m., let out your biggest scream for as long as possible! Good luck on finals Sun Devils.

TEMPE, AZ – The final results are in and Arizona State University is the winner of the 2010 AXE Undie Run Challenge.

The competition brought guys and girls together to run in their skivvies, to help the homeless.

At each of 10 college campuses across the country, students literally took the clothes off their backs to support a local charity.

The Undie Run Challenge lasted from April 30 to June 9. The marketing firm that represents AXE, the sponsor, reported 19,340 pounds of clothing and $50,000 donated to various organizations that help the homeless.

Out of the 10 participating schools, ASU came in first place with 5,300 pounds of clothing. University of Texas at Austin came in second place with 3,200 pounds. San Diego State University was third with 2,600 pounds.

Thousands showed up for the third annual “Undie Run” at Arizona State University. The event benefits four local charities that give the clothing away to the needy.

Note: The above video were created by a fan of the ASU Undie Run and do not necessarily share the same views as Arizona State University or the ASU Undie Run Coalition,

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.

ASU Undie Run has been awarded “Best Excuse To Get (Nearly) Naked” by New Times’ Best of Phoenix 2009

A few thousand college kids high on wrapping up their semester and an endorsement to take their clothes off — what could go wrong? Turns out it’s a lot less than you may think. In the past two years, ASU has celebrated the semester’s end with a massive on-campus party during which students strip down to their undies. Their discarded clothing goes to charity and the students take a run around the campus. In 2009, so many clothes were taken off that ASU was able to fill a U-Haul truck with the donated clothing. Of course, how the generous students get dressed again is completely up to them.

Thanks New Times!

We’ll let the video speak for itself: http://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/undie-run-at-asu/862147086

In celebration of the end of classes, the Official Undie Run Coalition at ASU is hoping for 12,000 people to show up, strip down and jog around ASU’s Tempe campus to bare all on Tuesday night. Biological sciences junior Rubin Green, founder of the club, said the big push of the event is to establish a tradition at ASU and donate to
local charities. Green transferred to ASU last spring and also transferred the nearly-naked-running-for-charity tradition. Club public-relations manager Brian Ortiz, a political science and sociology junior, said the group hopes people will show up and donate the clothing off their backs. “That’s the main difference between [ASU’s event] and other events,” Ortiz said. “We’re trying to give back to the community. This was always intended to be a clothing drive.”

Last year, more than 5,000 people participated in the nighttime run. This year’s event has been upgraded to include live music. After last year’s event, the coalition was charged more than $1,880 by ASU Student Life for trampled plants and other damage by runners. After worry that the event wouldn’t be able to continue because of a lack of funding, the coalition got funding from Undergraduate Student Government, the Residence Hall Association and several outside businesses. “We’re expecting as many clothing donations as people, at least,” Ortiz said.

Central Arizona Shelter Services, Arizona Helping Hands and the Andre House will receive donations from the event. USG president-elect Brendan O’Kelly said he hopes to attend the event to thank the group for supporting the local community. “[USG] supported the run financially, and we want to say thank you for such a big effort to support local shelters and banks,” O’Kelly said. Ortiz said students aren’t required to run in just underwear or donate, but it is highly encouraged. “You can run in clothing or you can run without donating [clothing], but the whole idea is to give back.”

The group hopes it will become an official ASU tradition. Currently, it is an ASU-sanctioned event and recognized by the Student Organization Resource Center. “It’s going to be one step above incredible,” Green said. “I brought this tradition with me, except I made it bigger and better in every way.”

Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu