Updated May 5, 2009


Whatif College
Naturist Studies Institute
The Harrad Experiment



    What if there was a small clothing-optional college--say 100 students and a faculty of 10?  What if nudity was possible at any time and in any place on campus?

    What if the centerpiece of the college was an ancient Greek gymnasium: a shady park-like area where physical self-development and philosophical discussion intermingled?  What if no modern clothing were allowed in the gymnasium--only the Greek chlamys thrown over the shoulders, or nothing at all?

    It’s time to think outside the box.  Colleges spend much of their maintenance budget heating and cooling buildings.  What if this college were located in a warm climate?  What if the school year ran from mid-March through mid-November?  There would be no need for heating.  And no need for air conditioning when people can simply remove clothing or take a quick jump in the pond between classes.  For that matter, buildings need be little more than roofed pavilions.  Students can sit on the floor or benches like they have for thousands of years.  And the schedule would free students for winter jobs in Christmas sales or at ski resorts.  This is not just a dream.  This is possible.

    What if the core curriculum were interdisciplinary and organized around the great civilizations, as well as the periods of Western culture?  The courses might even be paired so that students begin to understand where influences came from:
          

Term	World	Western
1	Middle-eastern	Medieval
2	Greece & Rome	Renaissance
3	China & Japan	Baroque & Enlightenment
4	American Indian	Romanticism
5	Egypt	Realism
6	India	Existentialism

What if the courses were holistic, and students learned to understand Arab algebra and Greek geometry in the context of those cultures?  What if they learned music theory while studying the Enlightenment?  What if we revived the ancient goal of a well developed mind in a well developed body, and students participated for a term in Greek athletics or learned American Indian survival skills?  What if they developed ballet movement as a part of Romanticism?  Maybe they would practice yoga (or even Tantric sex) while studying India.  Life can be whole.

    Each of the core courses would be the equivalent of a four-credit class.  Students would be expected to take three big courses, and three little one-credit classes.  One-credit electives form an important part of the Whatif curriculum.  Teachers would be free to follow their interests in creating mini-courses of their choice.  How about a class on Emily Brontë?  Or birds in the arts?  Or genealogy?  Letting professors pursue their diverse interests is how we keep them willing to teach for fulfillment, rather than a competitive salary.

    Could such a full curriculum also provide students with the specific skills they need for careers or graduate study?  I’m not sure.  Perhaps Whatif College should be a two-year institution, with students picking up more traditional courses elsewhere.  But if so, which two years?  Should students move on to more specific study, or should they come in at the beginning of their Junior year with their basic science and language requirements behind them?  Squeezing the curriculum into two years would require a quarter--rather than semester--calendar.

    Or should Whatif College be spread over the traditional four years--then capped with a year-long Grand Tour of the world?

    Each of these ideas has been tried before, and each has worked very well.  But the best parts of each educational system have not yet been tried together.  Why shouldn’t we?

    Here’s another workable idea: the Indian guru system.  Each incoming student would pick (by mutual agreement) a professor he or she wants to work closely with.  Ten such students would live in five two-person cabins in a compound around the professor’s house.  These groups would prepare family-style meals in a community kitchen.  It would be necessary to locate in a county with relaxed building codes--where tiny cabins such as summer camp staffs live in would meet approval.  The cabins wouldn’t need plumbing--just electricity.

    Let’s talk money:  Except for the air-conditioned library and the professors’ houses, classroom pavilions and cabins could go up for less than $2,000 each.  And of course any building could be named after the donor who underwrote the cost.  Maybe house construction could be a credit course the first year--saving on labor costs.  Once the land and original buildings have been paid for, this college could run on tuition of $3,000 a year.  That’s $2,000 a year for the professors’ salaries, and the rest for library and upkeep. 

    Are there professors who would teach in a Garden of Eden for $20,000 a year plus free housing?  I think so.  These professors would divide up the administrative jobs; Each group of students would spend an hour or two each week maintaining the campus.  There is no need for administrative or janitorial staffs.

    The college should be kept small and intimate--being very selective in attracting only the brightest students.  Over the years, enrolment and faculty might double, but should not go much beyond that.

    Whatif College is not impossible.  Each of its main ideas has been tried successfully before.  The initial financial outlay is not entirely beyond our reach.  Who will do it?



    Paul LeValley's proposal for Whatif College is quite intriguing.  However, a number of issues would have to be resolved to determine even preliminary feasibility.  I offer the following questions, comments, criticisms and suggestions as a means of focusing discussion on some specific points.

Students
    Do we know for sure that students would be interested in attending a nude college?  Enough qualified people to fill the 100 student enrollment?  How would we recruit these students?

Accreditation
    How would accreditation be handled?   Would accreditation bodies even consider a nudist college?  Would you forego accreditation until the school is established?  If so, would students be willing to spend their money on a non-accredited school?  Would a degree (or 2 years of course work) from a non-accredited college "count" as education (e.g. could it qualify a student for law school)?

Funding
    Even a rudimentary level start-up would require well into the 5 figure range.  Are there any prospects of locating donors with deep enough pockets to support a social educational experiment? 

Library
    Books are expensive.  Professors making their personal libraries available for student use would help.  But such resources are out of date nearly as soon as they are shelved.  Additionally, professors would have a difficult time maintaining a professional library on a salary of $20K.  Assuming Whatif is located close to a larger college, would it be possible to make arrangements for Whatif students to use the neighboring school's library?

Science
    Offering either a major or minor concentration in a science is not feasible for at least a decade; laboratories, specialized equipment, etc. would be prohibitively expensive.    However, some science is usually required as part of the core education for most colleges.  A few introductory courses could be developed to satisfy general education considerations, without the need for costly gear. 

Suggestions
    Given the uncertainties perhaps some pilot projects, to get our feet wet, would be in order.  One-to-three-week short courses could be offered. 
    1. Could one of our colleagues be able to offer credit through their schools of employment?
    2. Possibly offer a course through or sponsored by the Naturist Society (NEF?) or AANR.  Students might be able to "sell this to parents" as a valid educational experience (which I believe it would be).  It might be possible for some students to petition their colleges for 1-3 credits. 
    3. Many/most public institutions would likely not want to open the nudist can of worms.  Private colleges might be more promising.  Some private schools have a 4-1-4 semester structure, with 4 courses in standard Fall/Spring terms, with a 1-month January pass/fail course, where students are encouraged to explore non-traditional or unconventional opportunities.  A college friend spent about 3 weeks living with an Amish family, to understand the community and life style.  I personally took a Jan plan entitled "Creative Writing in the Wilderness Experience" (one prof and 11 students canoed through the Everglades). 
    4. If living with the Amish or paddling through the Everglades has educational merit, visiting nudist clubs, beaches and families should be an equally valuable course of study.  Field trip courses seem to be fairly popular.  A variety of short courses might be developed such as nude art in Europe, visiting U.S. artists specializing in nudes, sociology of nudism, etc.  Perhaps several instructors could lead a Colorado River raft trip: nature and naturism. 

    Learning is not just for traditional college students anymore.  (A larger net could be cast to attract non-traditional students by targeting the Elderhostel crowd.)  We might even approach Elderhostel with a course such as, "Insights into Naturism and Social Nudism". 


Paul LeValley’s response:

    Though this is leading into a new topic, I like Bruce’s idea of supplemental three-week intensive inter-term courses.  January would be too cold for anywhere but the southernmost United States.  And January falls during those resorts’ high season, when they are already overcrowded and charging more expensive prices.  Three-week summer courses would be more practical in most of the country.  Students do travel around, picking up summer courses not offered at their own colleges; I have had a few such wandering scholars in my more specialized classes.

    The American Nudist Research Library or one of the new AANR regional libraries might make a respectable venue where an off-campus course could be offered through an accredited college offering transferable credit.  Classes would not necessarily have to meet in the library if there is a bigger hall available on the grounds.  The ANRL is on the grounds of Cypress Cove, where AANR has, in the last few summers, offered their week-long Nude U and Youth Ambassador programs.  We would certainly not want to detract from those successful programs.

    I have simply gotten too old to begin creating a whole new college.  But a single course is something I could handle.  Someday when I can afford to retire, I could see myself moving to Cypress Cove, becoming a librarian in my dotage, and once a year offering a course on the nude in art history.  Several of you have your own nudity-related specialties--and perhaps more immediate means of forging some academic connection.  This idea merits further exploration.


Bruce’s further response:

Paul, I think your summer suggestion might be a better way to offer short courses.  Students can also tent camp to save on lodging expenses; Cypress Cove has tent spaces by the lake.