To the Editor:

As I was standing in the balcony covered with sweat and feeling the heat of the crowd at the R.E.M concert, I heard Stipe invite the crowd to get naked.

At that moment, I had the strongest impulse to do just that. Not for any exhibitionist reasons, but merely for the sake that it would feel quite nice due to the lack of ventilation. Of course no one took this opportunity to do so, myself included.

As the concert went on, my urge did not cease and I asked myself, “What is the big deal?” Why is it a social “taboo” for one to get naked in public when one feels the need?

Granted, during the winter months clothes are essential in keeping the body warm, but what about during the months in which clothes are part of the cause in the body overheating? I would love to walk down the street naked on a steaming hot day comfortably, but it would be virtually impossible due to all of the public stipulation cast upon the bare human body.

Society views a person without clothes on in public as perverted and disgusting. Why has society painted an impure image of the uncovered human body.

Personally, I find it strange that the media implies nudity and portrays men and woman as sex symbols, yet mainstream society condemns such doings.

Trisha Peckosh

Freshman

ISU