sweetnpetite
Intellectual snob
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2003
- Posts
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BENNINGTON -- Baring almost nothing, about 200 Bennington College students protested for the right to be naked on their campus.
Two actually did stand naked on Wednesday, or at least partially. One student, chained to a friend, wore a high-cut white "pleather" dress, revealing her right breast and the top of her bottom.
Another went shirtless, hanging only a jacket over her right shoulder in what could hardly be accused as a cover-up.
The protesters moved en masse across campus in a show of force before a faculty meeting; it was the latest showdown against administrative actions that some students say are curtailing their freedom.
"Civil liberties czar" Wythe Marschall and the students who followed him are upset over a reprimand handed down last month to a male student mentor for walking the campus completely nude.
They're also upset that the decade-old tradition of the "porn tree," a tree decorated with lewd photographs by residents of an on-campus house, was banned this year.
"It's sort of a weird standoff," said Marschall, "because they don't see it as a big deal." He thinks the college's clamp-down on nudity is an effort to avoid sexual harassment charges.
"Sexual harassment is a big deal and if people were actually sexually harassed and complained, that would be one thing," Marschall said after the protest.
Protesters also maintain that Bennington College has traditionally been a clothing-optional campus and that Bennington itself has no ordinance against nudity.
Protest organizers delivered a letter two-page letter to campus administrators -- as a sort of official statement.
"Let it be known:" the letter reads, "We will never allow an entity or entities -- within the administration or outside it -- to revoke our most basic civil liberties, including but not limited to artistic expression, nudity, and household privacy."
The letter alleges that students are given a weak voice in campus decisions and do not have their rights and freedoms heeded by the administration.
"Bennington College, an institution that exists thanks to our money and interest and for our benefit, cannot ban nudity," it reads.
Allison Zoll, a sophomore, said she has participated in nude events, including picnics and games of Frisbee.
"There's sort of always been the status quo that this is a clothing-optional campus," added Johanna Neufeult, another student.
Yet, both Neufeult and Zoll opted for clothing on Wednesday. Endorsement of nudity does not make it an accepted campus policy, said Robert Graves, the college's new dean of students.
"Bennington is not a clothing-optional campus," said Graves. "We don't live in a clothing-optional society and this campus is not a haven from that."
Still, there was little animosity during the protest. Looking down from their faculty meeting, teachers waved to the students and smiled. Graves himself offered a wave from his office.
"I'm completely respectful of the open dialogue that exists on this campus," said Graves. "In some situations, I think it's not about what so many people think, it's about standards."
It was Graves who made the decision to have the "porn tree" stripped, a move he stands behind.
"It wasn't personally upsetting. In my role as dean of students, I thought it was inappropriate and interrupted the situation."
Protest organizers surveyed 438 of the 660 students on campus and waved their results in the air as proof of their credibility.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents, they said, were against banning nudity on campus. Ninety-three percent saw no reason to change the status quo and 88 percent said they did not feel harassed by the "porn tree."
The other 10-odd percent, Marschall said later, "either don't care or agree with the administration."
Phoebe Judge, a senior who fits more into the "don't care" category, said she passed on the protest not out of spite, but out of priority.
"I think there's a majority of the Bennington college population and community that feel we came to Bennington for our education," she said.
"They could be naked on the campus or not, I don't really care. If people want to protest and get things up in arms, then that's their priority or prerogative."
The protest itself was short and peaceful, with lots of waving, plenty of cigarettes and only two people causing anything that could be construed as trouble.
"Well, we should at least throw rocks at the window," one student said, before being chastised by the crowd.
Organizers were happy with the protest turnout and were looking forward to an administration response to their letter.
"I think they'll have to say something soon," said Lawson Wilson, a senior. "It will be student council's responsibility to dispense that information to the students."
Ultimately, the students have only advisory power to making decisions on campus, according to student body head Lindsey Gage.
That means administration will listen to student concerns, but are not required to necessarily heed any calls. There is nothing else, "other than mass loudness," Gage said, that students can use to make their point.
And even that may not be enough. Graves, who says he knows of no other colleges that allow nudity, said he isn't budging on this one.
"I hope to be around for a long time and I will work with students on all issues," he said. "I'm a community builder and I want to be. But there are certainly limits in all communities and somebody needs to draw the line. And I did."
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8860~2451263,00.html
Two actually did stand naked on Wednesday, or at least partially. One student, chained to a friend, wore a high-cut white "pleather" dress, revealing her right breast and the top of her bottom.
Another went shirtless, hanging only a jacket over her right shoulder in what could hardly be accused as a cover-up.
The protesters moved en masse across campus in a show of force before a faculty meeting; it was the latest showdown against administrative actions that some students say are curtailing their freedom.
"Civil liberties czar" Wythe Marschall and the students who followed him are upset over a reprimand handed down last month to a male student mentor for walking the campus completely nude.
They're also upset that the decade-old tradition of the "porn tree," a tree decorated with lewd photographs by residents of an on-campus house, was banned this year.
"It's sort of a weird standoff," said Marschall, "because they don't see it as a big deal." He thinks the college's clamp-down on nudity is an effort to avoid sexual harassment charges.
"Sexual harassment is a big deal and if people were actually sexually harassed and complained, that would be one thing," Marschall said after the protest.
Protesters also maintain that Bennington College has traditionally been a clothing-optional campus and that Bennington itself has no ordinance against nudity.
Protest organizers delivered a letter two-page letter to campus administrators -- as a sort of official statement.
"Let it be known:" the letter reads, "We will never allow an entity or entities -- within the administration or outside it -- to revoke our most basic civil liberties, including but not limited to artistic expression, nudity, and household privacy."
The letter alleges that students are given a weak voice in campus decisions and do not have their rights and freedoms heeded by the administration.
"Bennington College, an institution that exists thanks to our money and interest and for our benefit, cannot ban nudity," it reads.
Allison Zoll, a sophomore, said she has participated in nude events, including picnics and games of Frisbee.
"There's sort of always been the status quo that this is a clothing-optional campus," added Johanna Neufeult, another student.
Yet, both Neufeult and Zoll opted for clothing on Wednesday. Endorsement of nudity does not make it an accepted campus policy, said Robert Graves, the college's new dean of students.
"Bennington is not a clothing-optional campus," said Graves. "We don't live in a clothing-optional society and this campus is not a haven from that."
Still, there was little animosity during the protest. Looking down from their faculty meeting, teachers waved to the students and smiled. Graves himself offered a wave from his office.
"I'm completely respectful of the open dialogue that exists on this campus," said Graves. "In some situations, I think it's not about what so many people think, it's about standards."
It was Graves who made the decision to have the "porn tree" stripped, a move he stands behind.
"It wasn't personally upsetting. In my role as dean of students, I thought it was inappropriate and interrupted the situation."
Protest organizers surveyed 438 of the 660 students on campus and waved their results in the air as proof of their credibility.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents, they said, were against banning nudity on campus. Ninety-three percent saw no reason to change the status quo and 88 percent said they did not feel harassed by the "porn tree."
The other 10-odd percent, Marschall said later, "either don't care or agree with the administration."
Phoebe Judge, a senior who fits more into the "don't care" category, said she passed on the protest not out of spite, but out of priority.
"I think there's a majority of the Bennington college population and community that feel we came to Bennington for our education," she said.
"They could be naked on the campus or not, I don't really care. If people want to protest and get things up in arms, then that's their priority or prerogative."
The protest itself was short and peaceful, with lots of waving, plenty of cigarettes and only two people causing anything that could be construed as trouble.
"Well, we should at least throw rocks at the window," one student said, before being chastised by the crowd.
Organizers were happy with the protest turnout and were looking forward to an administration response to their letter.
"I think they'll have to say something soon," said Lawson Wilson, a senior. "It will be student council's responsibility to dispense that information to the students."
Ultimately, the students have only advisory power to making decisions on campus, according to student body head Lindsey Gage.
That means administration will listen to student concerns, but are not required to necessarily heed any calls. There is nothing else, "other than mass loudness," Gage said, that students can use to make their point.
And even that may not be enough. Graves, who says he knows of no other colleges that allow nudity, said he isn't budging on this one.
"I hope to be around for a long time and I will work with students on all issues," he said. "I'm a community builder and I want to be. But there are certainly limits in all communities and somebody needs to draw the line. And I did."
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8860~2451263,00.html
