Blue Pencil Chronicles

WARNING:  NSFW and R-18.  =P

Naked runners soon stole the show from the Vinzons UPgrade program when the host, Joaqui Valdez, suddenly announced the holding of a “great UP tradition.”  Of course, everybody instantly knew it’s the Oblation Run.

A hundred members of the Alpha Phi Omega reportedly ran naked through one half of the academic oval, from Vinzon’s Hall to the Oblation Statue.  But from what I’ve seen, I think there were only about 60 or 70 who ran.  In any case, APO didn’t want to be left out of the celebrations so they contributed their part to the Centennial gathering.

It was my first time to watch the Oblation Run (yes, after four years in College, finally!), one of the many UP traditions an Isko or Iska shouldn’t miss.  But just to give everyone a quick background on the nature of this rather controversial form of protest, here’s a backgrounder I’ve found through the net:

The Oblation Run is an annual tradition of the members of the Alpha Phi Omega, one of the prominent U.P. fraternities. Members of the fraternity run around the campus naked (a concept known as streaking) to protest their sentiments about a current political or economic situation. The run started in 1977 to protest the banning of the movie, “Hubad na Bayani,” which depicted human rights abuses in the martial law era.

Contrary to popular belief, neophytes are forbidden to run. “All those who run are full-fledged members who have volunteered” are allowed to run, explains Ojie Santillan, the fraternity’s Auxiliary Chancellor. “There is a misconception that the Oblation Run is something our neophytes have to undergo as part of their initiation. That’s not true. We never allow our applicants to join.(the Oblation Run)” Today, the Oblation Run is held on or about December 16th, in honor of the international founding of Alpha Phi Omega.

From Wikipedia

When they got to the Oblation Statue, the atmosphere suddenly grew unpleasant.  They were chanting “Apo, Guwapo” and appeared as though very proud of what they are doing.  Of course, the Oblation Run is a proud tradition, but the way they all carried themselves was more on the braggy side than on the proud -proud side.  Also, it was evident how the runners didn’t carry posters like they used to do, therefore losing the social relevance of this event.  I mean, that’s the point of the oblation run, right?  To drive attention towards pressing issues of the day?  I wonder what went wrong.

In any case, the pictures are all here.  These are the ones I managed to grab.  I apologize for the huge and ugly watermarks because, and thanks to Fritz for this, I don’t wanna run the risk of people stealing these pics for their personal use.  But don’t worry, I carefully placed the watermarks in strategic places for you to better appreciate the “view.”  Hehehe.  Also, sorry for scaling the thumbnails really small; it’s to avoid shock  and horrors from accidental viewing of this post.  Hehe.  Enjoy!

P.S.  There are at least 3 or 4 very funny pictures in this set (worthy of hilarious captions even).  Let’s see you find them!  =P