Running Baker 13 requires good judgment

By Staff Editorial     11/6/08 6:00pm

While participating in the Halloween edition of the twice-monthly Baker 13 run last Friday, Martel College sophomore Will Meyers won a fight with a Fondren Library window, shattering the entire pane in an enthusiastic effort to make his mark (see story, page 1).While we lament the ordeal Mr. Meyers had to endure while partaking in one of Rice's more notorious traditions, and we cringe at the thought of what his injuries could have been had he jumped facing forwards instead of sideways, we feel we must issue a word of caution to all of those who aim to emulate Meyers in the future.

Specifically, we ask that students exercise discretion and think things through before they decide to act. This principle is simple, elementary, yet the euphoria of nudity possessing the numerous runners of Baker 13 often clouds the judgment they would generally exercise otherwise. Of course, one might question what sort of judgment would initially drive students to jog naked around campus in the first place, but we will leave that to a future columnist in the opinion section.

Baker 13 runners should acknowledge that their freedom to run is a privilege, and students should not endanger the long-running tradition by doing things that could get them (and therefore the tradition) trouble. We enjoy the humor and tradition of Baker 13 (it is somehow comforting to realize that new Rice students and buildings will be branded with shaving cream imprints well into the future), and we encourage anyone thinking about joining to play his or her part in keeping the institution alive. But, we also ask that runners keep the tradition where it belongs - on the other side of the glass. Having a cream-covered derri?re pressed against the window three inches from our faces ranges from entertaining to mildly annoying, but flying shards of glass and a bleeding cream-covered rear definitely crosses the line into the realm of the terrifying and obscene.

---

---

Anyway, before the image above becomes too implanted in our readers' minds, we must sum up. To all Baker 13 runners: It is possible to be both naked and intelligent at the same time. Please acknowledge this, and run safely.

---