Naked quad run may undergo changes

The administration is considering ways to improve safety at the Naked Quad Run after President Larry Bacow sent out a threatening e-mail last semester

Dean of Students Bruce Reitman has stated that he is "committed to finding a way for the tradition to continue," provided that it can be made safe.

In an e-mail sent the day after the run, Bacow wrote, "The combination of consumption of alcohol with a mad dash through an icy, hilly campus at night cannot continue." It was Bacow's first encounter with the run _ last year, he was away from campus when the event was held.

The e-mail caused many to question the future of the run and prompted a flurry of outcry from students and alumni.

''Death of [the] naked quad run?'' wrote senior Rasmus Figenschou in a call-to-arms e-mail to alumni. ''I say we revolt. You guys should come back to the campus and take it back _ naked!''

This year's run was more chaotic than usual because the fire alarm in West was pulled 15 minutes before the run was scheduled to start. Police officers responding to the alarm and the noise drove many students outside before the usual time.

"I was [in the lobby] for a few minutes and it was a madhouse of people running everywhere, out the back, in and out the front, up and down the stairs," said Samantha Diamond, a senior who lives in West.

Captain Mark Keith of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) reported that between 10:10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) treated five students for alcohol poisoning, a broken ankle, and a chin laceration. TEMS received three additional calls between 11 p.m. and 12:40 a.m., two of which were alcohol-related. All of the victims were taken to hospital.

One sophomore who suffered alcohol poisinging was unconsious when he was admitted to hospital,where he was put under anesthesia. He did not wake up until 7 a.m. Administrators called his parents during the ordeal and the student is now on Probation I.

In his e-mail, Bacow said that he "was sorely disappointed by what he saw and heard." "[Students] are far better than what was on display last night. I have higher expectations for you." Bacow was unavailable for comment over winter break and referred questions to Reitman.

Activities involving heavy alcohol drinking on college campuses became an issue after MIT student Scott Krueger died in 1997 due an alcohol overdose during a fraternity event. Bacow, who was an MIT administrator at the time, was involved in responding to the case. In 2000, MIT agreed to pay Krueger's family $6 million and issue an apology.

Alcohol was not the only problem with the event. This year, the run attracted a sizable non-Tufts audience. Students reported seeing older people among the spectators, many with cameras.

"Mostly what I think is trashy is the video recording and the large percentage of non-Tufts spectators," Diamond, the student in West, said.

Reitman, who thought the event had "a different tone" this year, said that it was possible to close the event to outsiders, although the staging and location of the event might have to be examined.

According to one TUPD officer's estimate, there were 200 runners and 2,000 spectators at this year's run.

Medford and Somerville residents have long attended Tufts events, including Spring Fling. Their attendance increased the chaos of Spring Fling and prompted Medford and Somerville to park paddy wagons outside of the event, Reitman said.

In that case, as with Greek Jam, students were charged with reorganizing the event to make it safer.

Although the administration is not yet sure how to address the issue of the Naked Quad Run, Reitman plans on calling an open forum to discuss possible solutions, then establishing working groups and "see what happens." He emphasized the importance of students working on the solutions, so that the event "remains theirs."

Possible safety measures could include salting the path before the run, and erecting barriers to keep the crowd away from the runners.

The Naked Quad Run, one of Tufts' more notorious traditions, takes place on the first night of the fall semester reading period. Beginning at 10 p.m. _ after many students have consumed alcohol _ students run naked from the back door of West Hall, around the Residential Quad, and return to West.

The run began in 1975, when male students streaked across campus in protest against plans to make Tufts housing coed. Females began running in 1987, when West Hall became the last dorm to be made coed.