Best places to be naked on campus

The best places to be naked on the UB campus present themselves in mysterious ways.

Alone, in one of those individual study closets on the fifth floor of the Lockwood library, one might chuckle at the thought of studying or writing a paper completely in the nude. The same person may even begin to laugh if, while looking out their window, some free spirits on the ground below make their way to Baird point with nothing on but trench coats.

A ways across campus, an inventive student is likely to combine both ideas and undress on top of the Capen Hall roof. What is it that fuels these inventive minds?

Reserving a private place like a study booth at Lockwood seems like a waste to not at least unzip the fly for an hour or so. The peace and quiet, the serenity of one's own thoughts, the monotony of bookwork and the sheer irony of stripping down in a library can make clothes seem like a burden.

Outside the booth, other students are glued to tables and desks, reading page after page of information. Their thoughts wander about, wondering if the cool library air would put goose bumps on a pair of bare buns. If you happened to bring your birthday suit along you can run some tests for them in your own private study.

Those who seek a little more adventure may enjoy some nude time outside. If any one is reading this who has been naked at Baird point before, go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

For those who haven't had the pleasure, just imagine that it's nighttime; the windows from Ellicott and the streetlamps from campus reflect off the water providing you all the light you need to watch your nipples stand on end. In the far distance, what can be seen of the dark monstrous clouds seems to loom over the entire world and all of the naked people in it.

Suddenly you feel united; a tribe of Yanamamo people in South America wearing loin clothes at most, a baby walking in shallow water with her mother holding her by the wrists, or a group of skinny dippers anywhere in the world all feel the communal blanket of air around them. The police searchlight nicks your butt cheek as you hide behind one of Baird point's stone pillars. Oops, that's part of the game too.

While you're running from the cops looking for another place that a naked person can hide, head for Capen Hall. The roof of this building is a place for more ambitious nudists. The wind is a little higher, the trip is a little trickier but the view is a lot better. When you get on to the roof you have to make sure the door doesn't lock behind you, or you may end up staying the night.

Maybe it's not much different than Baird point but there's a little something in the altitude that seems even more freeing; the people on the ground below you have no idea that there is a naked hero watching them from the rooftops.

These college years are precious and cannot be put to waste. So often we are forced to spend our days buttoned up in our sweaters, covered from head to toe in "appropriate" attire. If every shirt is starting to feel like a turtleneck, if your denim coat is starting to feel like a straightjacket and if your chain mail is starting to feel like jail... well, don't wear chain mail. The point is, society isn't right about everything and if your instincts tell you to go bare, there are ways to do it.