Administrators want to end the 'Nude Olympics' tradition at the school, citing safety concerns. When the stress of exams sets in, Penn students have been known to gather for an Econ scream or a late-night game of basketball. Princeton University students, on the other hand, are known to strip naked and run around drunkenly in the snow. But despite its long history, the celebrated Tiger tradition of the so-called "Nude Olympics" may cease to exist, as Princeton administrators try to weigh the value of tradition against the safety of its students -- a predicament similar to the one that faced Penn officials last fall when they tried to stop students from taking down the Franklin Field goal post. The controversy stems from the latest chapter of the quarter-century-old tradition, which historically takes place at midnight on the night of the year's first snowfall. On January 8, several hundred students fled their dorms in the nude and ran through Holder Courtyard, located in the middle of the New Jersey campus. Traditionally, only sophomores participate in the fracas, but since there was no snow in 1998, many juniors decided to get involved, as well. This year things got out of hand, say administrators. Five students were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning and four more were treated for similar ailments at the school's student health center. The Nude Olympics got their start when the school went coed in 1969. Several male students, upset with Princeton's decision to admit women, started the event as a protest. Today, both men and women participate. Officials don't seem to want to take the chance of something worse than an alcohol-related hospitalization happening in the future. In a strongly-worded letter to The Daily Princetonian, Princeton President Harold Shapiro wrote, "I am simply not willing to wait until a student dies before taking preventative action." Shapiro announced plans to create a task force charged with studying ways to make the night safer, or -- if need be -- canceling it altogether. But according to Princeton spokesperson Justin Harmon, the future of the event may already be sealed. "The operating assumption is that it will be impossible to make this event safe," Harmon said. "We have been concerned with the safety of the Nude Olympics for a number of years," Harmon added. "However this year was the worst ever." In 1992, 31 Princeton students were charged with violating a local ordinance when they streaked through the surrounding Princeton Township, off of the school's private property. They were all fined and given community service. Adding to the craziness, drinking before and during the Olympics has escalated in recent years. "There was a horrifying degree of alcohol abuse this year," noted student body President-elect Spencer Merriweather. Merriweather said he hopes to take part in a focus group to study the future of the event. The committee, which will convene this semester, will be composed of students, faculty members and administrators. "If the committee decides to ban the Olympics, a recommendation will be made with respect to enforcement," Harmon said. "Students will be made to abide by the decision." "As important as what decision is made is how it is made," Merriweather said. "It is important that students have a voice." Princeton administrators may learn the same lesson that Penn administrators learned last fall, when the Division of Public Safety tried to stop the goal posts from coming down after the Quaker football team clinched a share of the Ivy crown: tradition dies hard.
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