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Elle Ferguson, Bwog staff writer, covers the most important events during finals season. AAHHHH!!!!

If you were around Butler last night at 9 pm, you may have heard students emphatically yelling “NARUTO!!!! SASUKE!!” until their voices turned hoarse. Last night was Columbia’s first (at least that we know of) Naruto Run event across low grass.

About fifteen people showed up to partake in the event. Stan Liao, a sophomore at SEAS, created the event as a way to destress from the strain of finals season. He was partially inspired by Butler’s “T-Pose” event from last year and by the fake Naruto Run event floating around Facebook. “I expected a bunch of people to say they were interested, but I thought it would be maybe me and two other people running down this f****ing lawn,” says Stan, describing his surprise that the event gained traction on Facebook and led to a modest turnout.

A few minutes after nine, students lined up in front of the stairs to Butler and then took off across the lawn, backs flattened and arms stretched backward.

Taia Fagerstrom (SEAS ‘21) says “doing ridiculous things in front of Butler Library, which is this monolith of seriousness and studying, is a good way to destress and just be at Columbia.” Many students at the event seemed to agree with Fagerstrom. Dylan Burns ‘22 stated, “this is doing more for my mental health than CPS ever did.”

Indeed, the energy of the students provided much-needed exuberance and joy amidst the tense atmosphere created by end-of-semester exams and projects. However such vitality may have dissolved too quickly after the run took place. Among the shouts and cheers, one student said: “Your life is meaningless after this glorious event.”

Watch a short video of the runners here: Naruto Run Video

im pretty sure this is the Naruto logo via Wikimedia Commons