Princeton - Final Report of the Committee on the Nude Olympics

PrincetonUniversity
Office of the Dean of Student Life

To: President Harold T. Shapiro
From: Janina Montero

Date: March 29, 1999

Final Report of the Committee
on the Nude Olympics

Introduction
University sponsorship
Communication and forum
Banning the nude olympics and discipline
Recommendations
Members of the Committee

On behalf of the Committee on the Nude Olympics, I am pleased to send you the following report on our work of the past two months as well as our recommendations regarding steps needed to end the nude olympics. We also have recommendations on the wording of the policy banning the nude olympics, sanctions for ignoring the ban, and a separate disciplinary and appeals process for cases related to the nude olympics.

When you met with the committee on February 3, you stated that the University no longer finds it acceptable to allow any event of the nature of this year's nude olympics to continue and that the committee's charge was to identify appropriate actions to stop the event. After you left that meeting, committee members decided on the following course of action:

To consider all options, including University "ownership" of the nude olympics, in order to clarify their own thinking, to ensure a fair process of review, and to enable committee members convincingly to help students understand the issues and the limited range of alternatives available to the University;
To communicate in detail to all undergraduates what actually took place during this year's event and potentially to persuade some students of the necessity of a ban by giving the student community a clear sense of the facts;
To hold a public forum to engage students in a discussion of the more intractable realities of the nude olympics;
To define adequately the activities or behaviors subject to a ban;
To consider the question of discipline (including sanctions and processes), bearing in mind that the process is twofold: to educate and to uphold community standards.
Committee members agreed that the freshman class (next years sophomores) should have the support of the University in developing an alternative event to be held the night of the first snow fall (or at another time of their preference), but also felt that it was not within their purview to consider or suggest the possible nature of alternative events.

The committee decided to meet weekly to complete its work expeditiously.

University sponsorship

Committee members felt it was essential to engage seriously the option of University sponsorship of the nude olympics both to ensure the integrity of the process and to respond in good faith to the belief, widely held among students and others, that the event can be safe if managed properly. Until now the University had meticulously avoided any suggestion of "sponsorship," while, at the same time, it had tried to provide as much of a net of human resources and a presence as it could to minimize the elements of risk and to respond quickly to problems. Our experience this January made very clear, however, that this approach is insufficient and the next step, if not a ban, would then have to be sponsorship of the event. Committee members considered the question, "If the University 'co-sponsored' the nude olympics, could the event then be 'safe'?" The committee's thinking was as follows:

Since the University would be obliged to minimize risks, at the very least it would have to do the following:
Schedule the event so that we could hire temporary staff as needed (including off-campus security personnel, who would have to be especially trained and paired with Princeton staff)
Find an appropriate location, preferably enclosed and secure from outsiders
Provide dressing rooms for people to disrobe and lockers or another appropriate venue to secure belongings.
Assuming for the sake of the discussion the viability of these steps, the committee then had to face a number of unanswerable questions:
How would the University ensure that only sober students participated?
If intoxicated students were turned away, how would we ensure that they stayed safe and would not spontaneously start another event in another location?
How could we be sure to protect the nude participants from spectators?
Even in a protected space, even if everyone were sober, how could the University protect naked students from sexual harassment or abuse?
If the University were to co-sponsor the event, wouldn't it in effect be encouraging students to attend? If so, and given the impossibility of eliminating the risk of injury or sexual abuse, what would be the additional liability for the University?
Given the risks and the well-publicized incivility of past nude olympics, how would the University justify the decision to sponsor the event to parents? To new students? To the public? To our own faculty and staff?
The committee in addition considered seriously the argument that alcohol is the only variable that makes the nude olympics a dangerous event as it tried to explore whether there were reasonable answers to the questions above. The committee, nevertheless, was persuaded that it is the combination of alcohol, the mob behavior, the nudity, the wet and cold, the slippery and icy conditions that constitute the problem, and that, even if alcohol could be completely removed from the event -- a very unlikely possibility -- the potential for sexual abuse, injury, the demeaning treatment of staff, and institutional liability would persist. Finally, the committee concluded that the option of sponsoring the nude olympics was not acceptable because the University simply would not be able to guarantee that students would be safe.

Communication and forum

Early on the committee agreed that an open meeting or forum would be a helpful venue to inform the community about the charge of the committee and the issues it was considering, and to share as well in a preliminary fashion some of the conclusions it was starting to reach. Members understood that the primary purpose of the forum would be educational, but recognized that it could serve a cathartic function as well. They agreed to present their thinking as work in progress and to give a detailed account of the deliberations to date, including banning the event and likely penalties for disregarding the ban. Justin Harmon, director of communications, provided guidance to the committee as it prepared for the forum, especially regarding issues related to the external press. In order to enhance the opportunity for productive dialog, committee members decided that, in advance of the forum, they would make available to students a detailed account of the ways in which the nude olympics affected members of the campus and the local community this January and over the past decade. On behalf of the committee, I sent an e-mail to all students on March 3 (attached) outlining documented facts about the nude olympics.

The forum, sponsored jointly by the USG and the freshman class, was held on March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in McCosh 10. The tone of the discussion was less rancorous than committee members had anticipated, and the forum served its purpose, although attendance was sparse -- ca. 65 people.

Banning the nude olympics and discipline

The committee, early in its deliberations, began to form consensus that a severe penalty, with increased sanctions for aggravating behaviors, might be necessary to function as a deterrent. Moreover, members felt that, while the punishment might seem overly harsh for an individual act of running naked in the snow, it would be fair in the context of the nude olympics, which pose intolerable risks. Committee members also agreed that the only excuse to avoid the penalty would be, "I was not there," and that, at least for the near term, a separate disciplinary process should be established to ensure that the discipline system does not become overwhelmed.

The committee reviewed the currently available penalties as per Rights, Rules, Responsibilities and decided to set one baseline sanction that could be increased for aggravating circumstances or behaviors. Members considered in particular a) two-year disciplinary probation with removal from University housing or b) one-year suspension, as the baseline sanction. Since removal from University housing affects different populations unequally and may have the potential to create a culture of students living comfortably off campus, that option was rejected as a minimum sanction (although it could be included as an additional sanction in the event of aggravating factors). Committee members ultimately concluded that, while suspension may appear to be an excessively severe penalty, it is nonetheless reasonable in the overall context of the nude olympics, which create intolerable risks. In addition, the committee felt that, in this case, the penalty must also be a deterrent and suspension is more likely to serve this purpose. Committee members emphasized, however, that the recommendation for suspension must be accompanied by an educational process to communicate fully and firmly the University's zero-tolerance policy for participating in -- and thus perpetuating -- the nude olympics.

The committee engaged the difficult task of defining what behaviors would be banned. Anticipating that students, in their desire to maintain the tradition of the nude olympics, might push the limits of any definition, members decided that a general delineation would be preferable, so as to take into account any activity that attempts to perpetuate the nude olympics or behavior that in the past has been associated with the nude olympics. Members sought the advice of University Counsel Peter McDonough in crafting the language of the ban.

The committee outlined options for a special disciplinary and appeals process that would be equipped to handle an unusually high number of cases in a short period of time, without paralyzing the discipline system. In this discussion, the committee reiterated that since participation in the nude olympics always entails a decision, and therefore it is not an "accident" or a "mistake," there could be no excuses for participating or coercing others to participate. It further agreed to the following process:
Cases will be heard by the dean of student life or a designee and, in general, will follow current practices (i.e., the student may be accompanied by an adviser, the student will be given the opportunity to examine the evidence, to make an opening statement, present evidence, etc.).
Appeals will be directed to a three-person committee composed of the dean of the college (or, in cases where the dean of student life's designee considered the matter originally, a designee) and two current or former members of the Committee on Discipline (a student and a faculty member). It was felt that this appellate structure would avoid excluding students from the process, while, at the same time, would ensure that the Committee on Discipline would remain available to attend to its other obligations. The grounds for appeal must be limited and clearly described so as to avoid a "rehearing" of every case.
In circumstances in which the student is charged with multiple infractions, the dean may find it appropriate to refer the case to the Committee on Discipline, and the normal course of appeal to the President will then be followed.
The committee consulted extensively with Mr. Witsil, director of Public Safety, and discussed with him a preliminary response protocol for Public Safety if students choose to run under a ban, as follows:
Pre-assigned teams of four would have specialized training, including apprehension of someone who is naked, as well as treatment for intoxication, injuries, hypothermia, etc.; teams would be assigned strategically around the campus; another team would be stationed at Stanhope or would be mobile.
Each team would be equipped with cameras, lighting, and blankets.
A van or vans would provide warm, safe transport of apprehended students to Stanhope.
Processing teams would have current information on students, including the facebooks, to hasten the ID process; it would be useful to have a representative of each college available to help identify students.
The committee recognized, however, that any future version of the nude olympics would be different and might not take place on the night of the first snowfall in Holder Courtyard. Mr. Witsil indicated that Public Safety understood the unpredictability of any future event and that he and Borough police had begun discussions of the possibility of versions of off-campus attempts to perpetuate the tradition.

Recommendations

The Committee on the Nude Olympics recommends to the President and the Board of Trustees adoption of a policy banning the nude olympics, as follows:
For a number of years undergraduates, predominantly members of the sophomore class, have gathered as a group in Holder Courtyard on the night of the first snowfall, virtually naked, and in an environment that includes student alcohol abuse, underage drinking, lack of concern for the welfare of fellow students, and risk of harm to themselves, other people, and property. This gathering has come to be known as the "nude olympics." The Committee on the Nude Olympics recommends to President Shapiro and the Board of Trustees that the University ban the nude olympics. In addition, the Committee recommends that the undergraduate student body be advised that they may not attempt to organize or engage in any activity that is perceived to perpetuate gatherings or events that contain or encourage some or all of the behaviors that, as noted above, have been associated with past nude olympics. These prohibitions should apply to the campus, as well as public and private property in the surrounding communities.
Any undergraduate engaging in activity that, in the judgment of the dean of student life or her designee, could reasonably appear to others to perpetuate gatherings or events that contain or encourage such behaviors is subject to suspension from the University for a period of at least one year. The penalty will be increased for aggravating behaviors, such as committing an act of vandalism, harassment, or avoiding apprehension by campus public safety officers or municipal police.
The normal discipline process will apply, EXCEPT (1) in general the dean of student life, or a designee, will hear the case and assign the penalty, and (2) appeals will be brought to a subcommittee of the Committee on Discipline.
The Committee also recommends that the President and Board ask members of the University community to report information they have regarding possible violations of this policy to the Office of Public Safety or the Office of the Dean of Student Life.
In addition, the Committee on the Nude Olympics recommends the following:
That the Department of Public Safety prepare to implement the steps needed to apprehend and identify participants in any future version of the event;
That the minimum penalty for behaviors that fall under the ban be suspension for one year, with additional sanctions to be imposed for aggravating circumstances or behaviors, including coercing other students to drink or to participate;
That the discipline process consist of a hearing with the dean of student life or a designee, at which an adviser may be present, with the understanding that the only acceptable defense is that the student did not participate or was misidentified;
That a three-person committee consider written appeals and, at its discretion, take any additional steps it deems appropriate before rendering a decision on the appeal;
That the committee considering appeals be composed of the dean of the college (or, in cases where the dean of student life's designee considered the matter originally, a designee), and two current or former members of the Committee on Discipline (a student and a faculty member);
That grounds for appeal be limited, that is, that the only grounds for appeal be procedural unfairness or personal bias; and that appeals for clemency be considered only as they pertain to penalties over and above the one-year suspension;
That two out of three votes shall determine the appeal;
That the dean of student life have the option to refer extraordinary cases to the Committee on Discipline and hence through the regular appeals process;
That the recommendations for sanctions and the description of the discipline process be included in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities as an addendum until no longer necessary;
That the recommendations, if approved by the President and trustees, be communicated to all undergraduates and discussed in the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Undergraduate Life Committees, and the Council of Masters.
That parents of all Princeton undergraduates be informed of the policy and of the institution's resolve to uphold it and to end the nude olympics in a letter from the President of the University;
That the University support the Class of 2002 in efforts to create an alternative event.
It should be noted that the committee does not underestimate the problems and complications in implementing each of these recommendations. While the work of the committee was difficult, it was always clear that the most troublesome moments for the University are yet to come, once the policy is adopted. Nevertheless, committee members agree with you and the Board of Trustees that the nude olympics cannot continue, that the risks are too great, that -- as you said -- this event is a "tragedy waiting to happen." Unfortunately, some students and recent alumni value the nude olympics, and the event has taken on such a meaningful character in their minds and memories that the dangers and risks have been consistently disregarded. The challenges will be great but the committee is hopeful that the community will understand and support the decisions that had to be made in the best interest of our students, the University, and the Princeton community.

We look forward to hearing from you and are of course available to answer any questions or to discuss further our deliberations and these recommendations.

Members of the Committee

Emily Hicks '00, Member of the Committee on Discipline
Justin Luciani '02, President of the Class of '02
Spencer Merriweather '00, President of the Undergraduate Student Government
Janelle Wright '00, Resident Adviser in Rockefeller College, former chair of the Third
World Center Governance Board
Professor Ted Champlin
Professor Mike Jennings
Professor Eileen Scully
Dean of the Faculty Joseph Taylor
Associate Dean of Students Kathleen Deignan
Dean of Student Life Janina Montero
Director of Athletics Gary Walters
Jan Logan *78, Assistant to the Dean, Administrative Secretary to the Committee on the Nude Olympics