By Max Bauman, news correspondent
Hundreds of students ditched their clothes to participate in Northeastern’s annual Underwear Run, which spanned from the West Village residence halls to the Prudential Center in downtown Boston Friday night.
This year marked the 12th Annual Underwear Run at Northeastern, an event that traditionally falls on Northeastern’s Parent and Family Weekend. The event was founded by former Northeastern student Story Wibby in 2006 as a way “to make parents’ weekend a little more fun,” according to the event’s Facebook page.
“Part of the reason I like it is because it’s super unique, no one else is doing it,” said Antrik, the event’s DJ and a 2016 Northeastern graduate. “It has become a Northeastern tradition that is not looked down on, but embraced.”
This year was the first time the event was not hosted on Parent and Family Weekend because of scheduling conflicts with organizers. According to the Facebook event page, 730 people marked they would attend the run, but it is likely the actual turnout was in the thousands.
The Underwear Run started outside the Stetson residence halls at Speare Place, where nearly-naked students started to amass around 8:30 p.m. to upbeat music coming from Antrik’s DJ booth.
The temperature was in the high 60s. As the clock ticked toward 9 p.m. — the run’s official start time — the number of students increased, as did the rowdiness. People danced, hollered and hoisted others up onto their shoulders. The crowd chanted “[expletive] BC” and “[expletive] BU” repeatedly at one point in a display of defiant school pride.
Most students were high in school spirit throughout the night. Anna Sparks, a third-year business major, said she ran the Underwear Run her first year and it was a great experience. She returned to the run again this year and said it is one of the few times Northeastern students showcases their spirit.
“I think it’s one of our most spirited events, just because sometimes Northeastern isn’t known for its school spirit,” Sparks said. “That’s why I like to be involved in this activity.”
The path of the Underwear Run consisted of two loops. The first loop went through campus, passing the Krentzman Quadrangle, Curry Student Center and Snell Library, and circled back to the Stetson Quad after reaching the West Village residence halls. After regrouping, runners set out for the Prudential Center, where they ran through the building. NUPD officers were present at locations throughout the run to manage traffic and ensure the safety of the runners.
In years past, runners have waded through the Reflecting Pool of the Christian Science Center, but have not for the past two years because the pool is currently under construction.
At the end, students ran back to the space outside of Speare Hall, where Antrik continued to DJ. The Underwear Run’s Facebook page advertised what it called the “official afterparty for the Underwear Run,” a 21-plus event at Royale Nightclub that offered free admission for Northeastern students who showed IDs before 11 p.m. on the Saturday following the run.
For Corey Watanabe, a second-year environmental science major, it was his first time participating in the Underwear Run. He said running around in underwear feels very liberating.
“I feel like this is the exact opposite of the culture at Northeastern, but it’s cool that they do something like this,” he said.
Others felt the Underwear Run did represent the culture of Northeastern. Kevin Dibona, a fourth-year biochemistry major, has done the run three times before.
“To me, [the Underwear Run] just epitomizes the Northeastern culture and people coming together,” Dibona said. “It’s a very good introductory thing for freshmen to be able come in and feel welcome in the community as a new face to Northeastern. It lets them know, ‘You’re here to study,’ but at the same time, at the end of the day, we know how to have a good time, too.”
