What is First Rain ("Naked Run", "Porter Run")?

First Rain is a campus tradition held by the students of UCSC for the past years. Students gather in the Porter College Quad and run free of clothing throughout campus, visiting each college along the way; detours are to be expected such as the occasional swim in the campus pool. Ending where it began, the event is not over; a drum circle is a common occurence near the iconic Porter Squiggle where the nakedness continues late into the night.

When is First Rain exactly?

Well that's kind of hard to say, however here are some general guidelines:

It must be raining consistently (not misting or periodic showers) from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
It must occur on a school night.
The run must start from Porter College.
Spectators are heavily discouraged from taking photographs.

Why?

Now that's a silly question. However I can tell you a little bit about its history. In 1989 the 6.9 Loma Prieta Earth Quake rattled the central coast and student's nerves. In an effort to relieve tension one student started a game of Simon Says in the Porter Dining Hall. It began with a simple act of raising a fork in the air but ended with taking off your shirt and then your pants. At this point the college students were kicked out of the dining hall for being improperly clothed. The game relocated to Porter Quad and talk of starting the first First Rain began. The rest is history.

→ Listen to an interview with Wayne Hendrickson, one of the students there during the makings of First Rain here.

Sources: http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/First_Rain, http://snapjudgment.org/first-first-rain-uc-santa-cruz, http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/quake, http://ucscmyths.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-rainporter-run.html