Taking a stand, man bares all

First-year Law student Shalom Nachman calls himself a naturalist, but as he stood outside on the street yesterday in front of the Law School, his actions spoke much louder than his words. Nachman said he believes in a constitutional right to appear nude in public -- and he proved it by removing every stitch of clothing before a crowd of about 50 fellow law students and passersby. "The parts of my body that I consider private are seen by others as offensive and threatening," Nachman said as he began his brief speech. "I see nature as something of beauty and very positive." Nachman was protesting a 1991 Supreme Court decision that prohibits individual states from legalizing public nudity. He said his action was sparked by a discussion about the case in his constitutional law class. At 12:30 p.m. -- amidst the snickers and shocked expressions of his audience -- Nachman removed his purple t- shirt and Penn Law sweatpants. Still wearing a long string of black beads and a blue bandana around his waist, he spoke for a few minutes about nudity as an acceptable form of appearance, and said the Supreme Court should not be able to enforce its own moral standards. "In this country, as long as you're wearing a G-string, you're OK," he said. "Because I feel comfortable being nude, I am now going to remove the bandana." Nachman then removed his last article of clothing and commented on the beauty of the human body, holding up a sign displaying a sketch and picture of nude families. Members of the crowd took pictures and commented on the scene, and one woman videotaped the event. Meanwhile, a Law School security guard just stood and watched. Nachman said he had originally planned to attend class in the nude. "My professor told me that I needed the consent of the entire class first," Nachman said. "Two percent of the students were opposed . . . I decided to do it on the street so the Law School wouldn't get in trouble." Associate Law Professor Seth Kreimer, Nachman's professor for the class, said that although he accepted no responsibility for the event, he praised Nachman's strong convictions and courage. "It's not something I would've done," Kreimer mused.

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