Pitzer College (Cal. USA) Senate Debates Proposed Nudity Resolution

[Danee]

About Pitzer:

http://www.pitzer.edu/about/index.asp




Pitzer Senate Debates Proposed Nudity Resolution

Would impressionable prospective students be put off if they caught a glimpse of naked Pitzer College students lounging in the grass? Could a clothing-optional campus create an uncomfortable workplace for staff members? These are some of the questions the Pitzer Student Senate must grapple with as it further debates a resolution, proposed March 9, that would allow for clothing-optional spaces on campus.

Braden Holstege PZ '14, a senator who opposes the policy recommendation, expressed concerns about how public nudity could affect college staff.

"If you look at the demographics of the staff at Pitzer, they’re likely to be older, more conservative, and more religious, and for all of those reasons, be much less comfortable with nudity," he said.

He emphasized the asymmetry of power dynamics between students and staff members.

"If you are a staff member, particularly a staff member who may be a little lower on the pay grade, the idea that you would then be able to affirmatively ask a group of students to put on clothing? I just don’t see that realistically being something that would occur," he said.

"You’re taking people who have been at the college longer than most students and making them uncomfortable.”

Harry Johnson PZ '14, the senator who proposed the resolution, said that staff members and visitors to the campus could remain “comfortable at all times” because nudity would be heavily restricted during daytime hours, when most staff members are on campus. He stressed that the policy aims to increase awareness of nude-friendly spaces, making it easier for those uncomfortable with nudity to avoid those spaces.

No staff members have been consulted about the proposed policy change as part of the debate in the Senate, Holstege said.
Johnson said that implementing the policy would make the Pitzer Student Handbook clearer.


“Right now, people cannot know when they are breaking rules in the mounds," he said.

During several forums hosted by the Senate, students expressed concerns that the policy could damage Pitzer’s image and drive away prospective students, a possibility that Angel Perez, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid, also discussed.

“I guarantee you that if families come to visit and students are naked, that is the only thing they will remember about Pitzer," Perez wrote in an email to TSL. "While this should not be the reason to vote for or against the proposed policy, it is something to seriously consider.”

Alexander Jones, a Cambridge University student who is studying in Claremont for a year as the Pomona College Downing Scholar, said that a clothing-optional policy would not have deterred him from applying to spend a year at the 5Cs. However, he said other prospective international students might be “put off.”

“Given it would be in a restricted area, you would always have the choice to avoid it if you wanted to, and I think that’s a very important distinction that’s currently being made,” Jones said.

Pitzer tours do not avoid the mounds, where the majority of public nudity takes place, according to Perez. He wrote that he did not expect “negative feedback” from alumni in response to a change in Pitzer's clothing policy.

Johnson said that public sightings of nearly nude Pitzer students are not uncommon, especially on the mounds. Holstege said that he has never seen fully nude students in public, however. Pitzer officially prohibits nudity in its dining hall.

The resolution will not have any direct impact on Pitzer's clothing policy, but if it is passed, the policy change will be recommended to the Office of Student Affairs. The resolution calls for members of the Office of Student Affairs to work with two members of the Student Senate to review the clothing policy.

http://tsl.pomona.edu/articles/2014/4/18/news/5175-pitzer-senate-debates-proposed-nudity-resolution

[crasher35]

That's really cool! Where is this school at?

[NudistMetalHead]

Southern California.

[NatureForever]

I am going to find this college, and I will apply for it, and I will never graduate from it under any circumstances.

[closetnudist]

I am going to find this college, and I will apply for it, and I will never graduate from it under any circumstances.

lOL!

[INnudeguy]

IT'S HAPPENING....AMERICA IS FINALLY LIGHTENING UP

 

I hope your right Jo

[Paul]

I would definitely go to school there if they allowed for clothing optional, even on just part of the campus.

[Craig]

Didn't one actress go to this school?  I think she talked about it on a talk show once.