 "Photo: Liana Bandziulis | Loyolan")
Cloaked by the darkness of a cool LMU evening, students and volunteers gathered in Sunken Garden this past Friday and stripped down to their skivvies for LMU’s first Iggy Run.
In the hour before their lively sprint around campus at 9 p.m., an estimated 400 half-naked participants managed to fill about 30 large garbage bags with their donated clothes, according to event creator and sophomore marketing and film production major Phil Benavides, who began planning the run in the summer of 2009. Donated clothing will go to St. Joseph Center, a homeless and needy family non-profit in Venice.
The event started off small with only about 60 people in attendance at 8 p.m. and grew rapidly as sponsors started handing out giveaways and sophomore electrical engineering major Sean DesMarteau disc jockied house music.
Bar Melody, a popular sports bar in the LAX area, handed out special deal coupons and promotional goodies. A Rockstar truck set up between Malone and St. Rob’s featured a couple of Rockstar girls giving out the energy drink from the bed. Volunteers from LMU rugby, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and ASLMU distributed glow sticks and glowing glasses.
While the number of participants did not meet even half of the projected estimate of 1,000 that Benavides gave the Loyolan in a previous interview, he said, “I don’t think that it could have gone any better. Everyone had a good time. Everything just worked out right.”
Junior accounting major and Vice President of SAAC Carolyn Pasque was similarly pleased with the outcome, despite the numbers. “I think we were expecting a little more, but I’m really happy with how many people came out,” she said.
Some runners showed up prepared, already donning their matching undergarments; others were ready and willing to take their clothes off once they got there. Some students were a little more reserved, like junior English major Katie Garcia, who said, “Maybe my jacket; that’s all that’s going to come off right now,” when asked what she would be taking off for the run.
Giving the shirt off her back also had a less-than-literal meaning for clothed dance major Heather Ursulum. “I donated a bunch of my clothes,” she said, “[I’m here] just to have fun, you know? It’s the first Iggy Run, and I’m a senior, so why not?”
Proudly sporting a two-piece striped Victoria’s Secret getup, sophomore natural science major Kelia McDonald was drawn to Iggy Run for a unique opportunity, “because we get to go out in our underwear! It’s usually not socially acceptable.”
As clothes came off, students and reporters alike took out their cameras to capture the first of what may become LMU’s racy new philanthropic tradition. Among them was TMZ, a Los Angeles based entertainment reporting team. Along with reporter Max Hodges, a TMZ cameraman conducted brightly lit interviews asking questions that often made participants collapse into laughter. The cameraman said he “just came to help out.”
The scanty attire ranged from traditional lingerie and everyday underwear, to various costumes. Benavides himself wore a tie with his boxer briefs. When asked if she would be donating the sailor-like outfit she was wearing, freshman theatre major Domadom Harrold said, “Yeah, I guess I could! It only cost four dollars, but I’d have to walk back to the dorms naked.”
Sophomore recording arts major James Dey wore a flag as a cape in addition to his underwear. After traversing the 1.25 mile course around Ignatian Circle, up LMU Drive, back down between Rains and McCarthy Hall and along the path in front of the Hilton School of Business, and finishing where he started at the crimson, blue and white balloon arch in front of Sacred Heart Chapel, Dey stopped at a water station and said through labored breathing, “The best part was when it was over! I hate running.”
Sophomore English major Amanda Zeitler said that the run was not about being serious. Zeitler strode into Sunken Garden in a white men’s dress shirt, socks and sunglasses with a group that called themselves “Team Risky Business,” apparently themed on the 1983 film starring Tom Cruise. Zeitler encouraged future Iggy runners to “group together. It’s much more fun, unless you are a serious runner, but even then, you shouldn’t take it so seriously. It’s supposed to be fun.”
Those in attendance strongly believed that Iggy Run will become an LMU tradition. “There are too many people having fun for it not to be a tradition,” said Zeitler. McDonald agreed. “I would do this every single year,” she said.
Junior English and Spanish major Keiry Munoz feared that timing may have been the reason for the smaller turnout, pointing out, “I’m in a sorority and some people have their formals and can’t come.” However, Garcia held that the timing was right for an event like Iggy Run. “So close to finals, you know, it’s liberating,” she said.
At 10 p.m., Benavides told the dancing participants that they had to play the last song of the evening, to which the crowd replied in resounding discontent. DesMarteau played the Dubstep “I Remember” remix. When asked about future Iggy Runs, Benavides replied, “We are definitely adding a dance afterwards.”
1 comments