Motorists took alternative traffic routes within the university campus. Corridors were cordoned off. Major television networks positioned their cameras in strategic posts to vividly capture the moment. Young girls and boys, lesbians and gays readied their digital cameras, video cameras and mobile phone cameras. Marshals were stationed in anticipation of an unruly crowd.  Everybody was raring to see the much-awaited event at the University of the Philippines.

            Shortly before noon, exhilarating shouts were heard as one hundred naked men came dashing in from the Student Affairs building to the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and finally to the administration building where the Oblation statue stood.   Their heads were covered and golden masks hid their faces. The young girls giggled as they were handed red roses by the naked participants.

             This is the annual Oblation Run by the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity of the University of the Philippines. It began in 1977 as a promotional strategy for the fraternity-sponsored play entitled “Hubad na Bayani” (”Naked Hero”). Some fraternity members ran naked around the campus for which they were chased by the university police and school authorities. They, however, eluded arrest.

             Since that time,  the Oblation Run has evolved into a tradition of social and political relevance extending beyond the confines of the university.  Students maximized the opportunity to publicize their stand on issues such as opposition to tuition fee hikes, charter change,  corruption in government and environmental destruction.

             The annual event has received diverse reactions from the public. It has been criticized for its vulgarity and the moral disgrace it has caused its citizens particularly the young. Others have applauded its boldness in advocating militant action against the social ills plaguing the nation. First-time spectators have seen it as an outing of sorts, something to break the monotony of a humdrum existence. Convent-bred girls have reacted with a quiet blush  but  have taken adroit shots of the boys. Public school graduates have dismissed it as nothing new since they’ve had a lot of sex stuff back in high school. Gays have sent earsplitting shrieks upon seeing the naked boys in the flesh.

             Even the elderly have been roused from apathy and disengagement. A 60-year old woman amusingly exclaimed, “It has been quite a while since I saw something like this.”

Well mama, there’s more to these boys than just running naked. Find out in One Hundred Years of Excellence.