For spontaneous unofficial nudity on many campuses,
see the streaking page. Here are
student nudist organizations officially recognized by their colleges:
The first college nudist club in the country was at
Cal State Northridge started in 1973. I know, I was there, one of
its charter members. This preceded the campus clubs in
Pennsylvania and Toronto by a full decade. The CSUN group stayed
together for about 10 years, through the 1970s and into the
mid-80s. Many of us remained active even after graduation as a
non-landed club and some of us are still friends 35 years later.
The full story: We were officially recognized and
registered with the college. The 70s were the heyday of free
beaches, so it wasn’t as tough as today.
Even so, we went through quite a number of student
government committee meetings as I recall, and our faculty sponsor had
tenure and that helped. We had to have all meetings
off-campus. Luckily one of the students lived only a mile from
campus and had a large back yard and pool, so we met there and had
monthly pool parties. I remember each Halloween we had a body
painting party at the home of one member who didn’t mind the
paint splatters.
After we all graduated we continued to use each
other’s back yards for pool parties, plus there were a couple of
houseboat trips. Once we took over a motel in Palm Springs and
had it nude just for us for a weekend. Elysium Fields, which was
about 10 miles away, gave us a “club day” once a month, so
that is how many in the group were introduced to that nudist park.
The club’s name was Au Natural. Our
downfall was we stopped finding new members and leaders on
campus. We were still going strong but eventually CSUN closed us
for inactivity at the college. After Elysium closed in 2000 many
of us organized our current club, Southern California Naturist
Association, and there are about 6-7 of us old timers from Au Natural
still active in it today. Somewhere there is a photo album of all
of us VERY young in a hot tub [attached separately] and also on a
houseboat I think, if you are interested. Fun times.
This corrects an
old oversight. The University of Pennsylvania Naturist Student
Association claimed to be the first in the nation in 1994. Unlike
other groups, they staged a one-hour nude recruiting drive on campus,
claiming freedom of speech protection. The group fell apart when
Gons Nachman, the founder, graduated.
The University of
Toronto Naturists claimed (probably accurately) in 1998 to be the first
campus nude organization officially recognized in Canada.
Unfortunately, their swims at an off-campus rented pool attracted some
community members, but few students. The group faded away when
Thomas Lundy, the founder, graduated.
And so, Naturally
FSU, founded in 2009 at Florida State University, is the fourth known
officially recognized student naturist group in North America.
Unlike the other groups, it is affiliated with a longstanding nudist
organization in the community.
U Penn Nudists Bare All at Rally
by Daniel Gingiss
Daily Pennsylvanian
May 13, 1994
Due to the near-90-degree temperatures at the end of
last month, most students were scantily dressed in T-shirts and
shorts. But for members of the newly-formed University of
Pennsylvania Naturist Student Association, the day was an occasion to
not dress at all. The Association--the first of its kind in the
United States, according to president, second year Law student Gons
Nachman--held a one-hour demonstration at the Peace Symbol on College
Green to show that "nude is not lewd." As wide-eyed students,
faculty and Open Expression Monitors alike looked on, the group of
about eight stripped down to complete nakedness.
According to the Association's Basic Principles and
Philosophy document, the group believes that nudity is "natural,
wholesome, and positive," and should not be equated with sexuality.
"I started this organization because I wanted to
take advantage of the intelligent environment of a college campus to
make the philosophy of naturism visible in the community," Nachman
announced to a group of about 50 passersby. "We want to show, as
you can see, that we feel comfortable with nudity."
The event consisted of five brief speeches by
Association members, plus a few videos on the naturist movement.
Nachman, who said he has studied constitutional and criminal law,
maintains "that our behavior is lawful and is protected by the First
Amendment of the Constitution because we are trying to communicate a
message."
Nachman and company have defended that message
several times in the past. In April, 1993, after being denied
permission to appear nude in a law class because a student was
uncomfortable, Nachman stood naked outside the Law School on Sansom
Street in silent protest. And last summer, the Association
performed in a nude run across campus--in broad daylight.
Pierce College freshman Monica Obiols, who was one
of two women to appear nude April 25, said she does not understand why
nudity is considered more of a taboo for women than for men. "I
guess it's because it's an issue that has been around for many years,
so women don't think about it anymore," she said. "They just do
what society wants them to do and just follow the rules."
First-year Education graduate student Phillip
Tromovitch said he is pleased not only with the turnout of people to
watch the event, but with their attitudes as well. "Most of the
people here that are in the audience aren't really paying attention,"
he said. "It's not a big deal--there's a bunch of naked people up
here and people don't really care." Tromovitch, who spends most of his
time at home in the nude, said the apparent apathy toward the nude
students is good because it means people are accepting of it and that
it is seemingly natural.
College senior David Abramson, the only University
undergraduate to appear in the demonstration, said it is important to
differentiate between nudity and sexuality. "Nudity and sexuality
are not inextricably intertwined," he said. "They are separable,
and this should, if nothing else, demonstrate that."
The event continued peacefully for more than an
hour, and the once wide-eyed students on College Green went back to
eating their lunches.
"I think it's great--I don't think I could do it,
but more power to them and I enjoy watching," said first-year Medical
student Bill Resnick, who was dining on the Green. "I think the
people are actually pretty brave to do what they're doing, and act on
their principles."
FSU Campus Group Officially
Recognized
For just the fourth time in history, a North
American college has officially recognized a student nudist
organization. (The first three were California State
University at Northwood in the 1970s, the University of Pennsylvania
and the University of Toronto in the 1990s. The last two groups
didn't last long.) Now Florida State University has recognized
Naturally FSU, a subsidiary of Tallahassee Naturally. Richard
Bertram of our SIG serves as the faculty advisor.
Tallahassee Naturally has for decades maintained
about a 15% student membership--better than any other club is
doing. So why would they bother with a campus organization--given
the short-lived history of such groups, and the fact that Tallahassee
Naturally draws its students from three or four different
colleges? The answer is growing xenophobia on the FSU campus that
was making it impossible to let students know about nudist
opportunities. (The latest xenophobic manifestation is actual
barriers in the streets, preventing cars from getting within several
blocks of the library.) As reported in this newsletter, community
organizations or people with outside ideas are increasingly barred from
display tables, speaking opportunities, and bulletin board use. A
student nudist organization is probably not what bureaucrats had in
mind, but that is what their restrictive policies have produced.
So far, the news has not traveled through the entire bureaucracy; there
could be trouble yet.
There have been no problems at historically black
Florida A & M University, Tallahassee Community College, or nearby
Valdosta State University. Also nearby, tiny Thomas University
has always censored its student newspaper, so their students are
unaware of nudist opportunities in the area.
Some FSU professors see the new organization as
entirely appropriate. After all, the college streaking movement
of the 1970s largely began at Florida State.
Trevor Woods, a senior at FSU, seized the
initiative, and steered the new group through the bureaucratic
hurdles. His next job is to find a successor. That is where
previous student nudist organizations have faltered. But they did
not have the support of a thriving nudist group in the community.
The hope is that if and when a leadership vacuum occurs, Tallahassee
Naturally can step in and find new leadership. The model here is
FSU’s Center for Participant Education--the last survivor of the
“free universities” of the 70s. Several times, the
center has nearly collapsed during periods of weak leadership, but each
time, alumni and teachers of non-credit classes in the community have
stepped in to keep it going.
Naturally FSU’s constitution promises no
nudity on campus. Instead, the group will encourage participation
in Tallahassee Naturally’s student-oriented events: the annual
College Greek Athletic Meet, and monthly Full-Moon Skinny-Dips during
the warmer months. There have also been independent student-only
skinny-dipping excursions to sinkholes in the nearby national forest.