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Hey, USG! Let us BB Run

For charities that rely on these clothes to get by, it’s going to be a problem when those in need are left in the dark.

The 2011 Undie Run drew more than 20,000 attendees, who donated 4.2 tons of clothing.

The 2011 Undie Run drew more than 20,000 attendees, who donated 4.2 tons of clothing.


The popular BB Run on the Tempe campus was recently cancelled by organizers as they couldn’t gain the needed funds from the USG. The reason, according to president Cassidy Possehl, was, “Having this party paid for by the University and seeing those photos on the Internet cheapens the value of our degrees.

“We cannot continue to unethically represent students for community service benefit.”

There are quite a few things troubling with that statement.

To begin with, I can understand the angle of Possehl’s sentiment. Seeing a large group of half-nude students party to what is essentially a mini-Coachella can look troubling against the fiercely educational image the school represents. The school carries a graduation rate above the U.S. average and a freshman retention rate of 80 percent (versus the national 69.4 average), which is definitely respectable.

Additionally, we’ve just recently fallen off multiple top party school lists as the school continues to expand and tout graduation rates and student’s innovative ideas, and maintaining that drop (whatever the reason) is likely a main priority. Speaking for myself, I don’t attend ASU for the parties — I’m here to get my degree.

That said, I can’t help but feel as if this is a matter of keeping up appearances more than letting students have some fun at the end of the semester. How does a single night of concerts and off-the-back clothing donations “cheapen” the value of the school’s degrees?

It’d be more understandable if this were some sort of festival taking place over the course of the weekend, as per Possehl’s “Internet” comment. But it’s one night that has fallen near or after finals since its induction in 2008. Have there been reports of science or business graduates not able to find work on account of them stripping down to donate their clothes for a good cause?

Digging deeper still is the supposed lack of ethics involved with supporting the BB Run, which is an ironic statement in itself. Supporting the run is apparently unethical, but ignoring the fact that the event donates literal tons of clothes to charities is not. 4.52 tons of clothing and 1.67 tons of food were given to charities at the 2013 event — nearly twice the amount donated in 2010.

If the case is appearances, it’s not going to look great when news that the fun run, which is the biggest of it's kind, by the way, was cancelled spreads. For charities that rely on these clothes to get by, it’s going to be a problem when those in need are left in the dark.

The director of André House, a charity that the Run aids, is quoted on the BB Run website as saying, "It is safe to say that the ASU BB Run helped more than 500 people at André House alone get a full set of clothes that fit — people who would otherwise not have been able to find good clothes their size."

And now, that’s not happening this year. Because it was deemed “unethical," students couldn’t run around in their underwear for a bit for a good cause.

Reach the columnist at damionjrohman@gmail.com, or on Twitter @legendpenguin

Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.

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