Newsom proposes charity to be associated with Naked Quad Run

Senior Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Randy Newsom announced at Sunday that he had developed a unique fundraising idea to go with an old school tradition: streaking for charity.

Newsom's plan, detailed at this week's senate meeting, will benefit the Special Olympics of Massachusetts through donation pledges for the Naked Quad Run (NQR).

"I wanted to find a way to help increase the substance behind the Naked Quad Run besides just fun, and really have some type of purpose other than pure enjoyment," Newsom said.

The run -- which occurs the first night of reading period before final exams -- has come under increasing scrutiny by the administration after several alcohol-related accidents during last year's event. The senate is currently in the process of negotiating and planning out the details of the event with the administration for this year.

Over the last few weeks, Newsom spoke with representatives from the Special Olympics and with the Tufts administration about his proposal and both parties have been receptive to his idea.

Dean of Students Bruce Reitman has taken to the idea. "It's heartening for me to see students' genuine concern for safety during the NQR," he said. "Any way to see it other than just as a means to get drunk is a good thing."

Newsom has already finalized the majority of the details for the NQR's fundraising aspect. "I have a quick and easy form, and people can go to their friends, parents,

grandparents -- that ought to be a fun explanation -- and whomever else they can to get a few dollars here and there to support them running for such a worthy cause," Newsom said.

"I talked to my director at SO [Special Olympics], Jackie Burkhart, to make sure they were okay with the whole idea," Newsom said, "and so far so good, there hasn't been any negative feedback."

Newsom has already raised $50 in donations, and his goal is for Tufts students to contribute over $1,000 for the Special Olympics this year.

"Basically, I want to get a bunch of people who like to streak, get them to take 15 minutes out of their lives to get donations, run in the NQR and have a lot of fun, and in the process make money for a fantastic organization," Newsom said.

About half a dozen of the TCU senators have already shown a strong interest in joining him in the fundraising.

Sophomore Senator Jason Bauer is fairly certain that he will be running alongside Newsom. "The question I've been asking myself is, 'why not'? If I'm going to be running around in a naked frenzy, it might as well have a positive outcome for the community at large," Bauer said.

Newsom expressed confidence that a sort of grassroots campaign on campus --largely via word of mouth and postering -- will encourage enough students to participate and raise $1,000 for the organization.

He views his concept of streaking for charity as an example of the "new face" of fun at Tufts. "I think it really expresses the spirit of Tufts by combining fun with philanthropy and makes for not only a great idea, but a program I hope that will be hand in hand with the tradition of the Naked Quad Run," Newsom said.