The University of Idaho Argonaut

 Club gives students opportunity to (nearly) streak for charity

There may be a little more flesh on campus than one is used to seeing in February next week, but don’t worry — it’s all for a good cause.
Students will have the opportunity to strip off most of their clothes and run for charity during Thursday’s Nearly Naked Dash, sponsored by the Vandal REPS.
Vandal REPS, formerly the UI Ambassadors, are a group of students that work with New Student Services giving tours to potential students and their families. The name stands for Reaching Every Potential Student.
The group got the idea for the event from the annual Association for Student Advancement Programs conference in Ohio this summer, said Scott Smith, one of the leaders of Vandal REPS. The Colorado Student Alumni Association does an annual Nearly Naked Mile, and Smith said the idea sounded intriguing.

UI’s first attempt at the event will be less than half a mile long. Students will run from the Student Union Building up to the Idaho Commons and back. The event runs from 8-10 p.m. Thursday.
The free event requires participants to donate at least one item of clothing, which will be given to the Moscow Sojourners’ Alliance. The Alliance offers long-term housing for men, women and families fighting to come out of the cycle of poverty and homelessness.
Nudity is not allowed and all runners must have as much clothing on as a swimsuit would cover.
“We might have the Moscow Police Department there to watch people,” Smith said, ensuring that no one attempts to streak through the event.

There are more than 100 students signed up for the event on Facebook.
“So far, it’s been received fairly well,” Smith said. “(We’re hoping) for a pretty big turn out.”
Runners have the opportunity to win a free T-shirt or a $50 gas card, and there will be pizza and hot chocolate available after the run. The first 60 students to sign up at the race will also get a T-shirt.
Sojourners’ Alliance Executive Director Steve Bonnar said it’s great that the students want to help the charity and has some preferences for donations.

“We rarely have any petite sizes here,” Bonnar said of the Alliance’s residents. “It’s kind of one of those misnomers — but when people are in poverty and the types of food that they eat, it’s mostly carbohydrates. … There’s a tendency to be overweight because of the diet.”
Bonnar said the transitional shelter is most in need of adult clothing in at least size medium. Students interested in participating in the Nearly Naked Dash can sign up on the Facebook group, at New Student Services or at the race, Smith said. A pre-registration form is available online at www.students.uidaho.edu/VandalREPS/nearlynakeddash.