Updated May 18, 2021

This information is provided by the Professors & Researchers Special Interest Group of The Naturist Society.  Please discover all of the other wonderful topics available by entering this site through the front door.

Campus Nudist Organizations

    For spontaneous unofficial nudity on many campuses, see the streaking page.  For dreams about what could be, see the visionary colleges page.  For non-campus groups of this same age range, see the young adult groups page.

    If you want to attend a college with nude activities today, your two choices are the organized off-campus events at Florida State University, or the monthly streaking at Rice University in Texas.  Here are the known student nudist organizations ever officially recognized by their colleges:

Hiram College in Ohio, 1966-c.70
California State University at Northridge, 1973-c.83
Rice University, 1985-86
University of Pennsylvania, 1994-c.98
University of Texas at Austin, 1995
University of Toronto, 1998-c.2000
Florida State University, 2009-17

    Most people had forgotten about the early student nudist groups at Hiram College, Cal State Northridge and Rice, before the University of Pennsylvania Naturist Student Association claimed in 1994 to be the first in the nation.  Unlike other groups, the Pennsylvania club staged a one-hour nude recruiting drive on campus, citing freedom of speech protection.  The group fell apart when Gons Nachman, the founder, graduated.

    The Longhorn Nudists organized at the University of Texas at Austin in February of 1995, but collapsed before the year was out.  Five years later, someone tried to revive the club with a web page that was never finished.  During the organization's brief existence, they managed to get themselves officially recognized by campus authorities, make contact with the local naturist group, and publish some useful pointers in Nude & Natural.

    The University of Toronto Naturists claimed (probably accurately) in 1998 to be the first campus nude organization officially recognized in Canada.  Unfortunately, their swims at an off-campus rented pool attracted some community members, but few students.  The group faded away when Thomas Lundy, the founder, graduated.

    And so, Naturally FSU, founded in 2009 at Florida State University, is the seventh known officially recognized student naturist group in North America.  Unlike the other groups, it is affiliated with a longstanding nudist organization in the community.


An Earlier Campus Nudist Group

    We have received word about a student nudist group at liberal Hiram College in Ohio.  It functioned from 1966 to about 1970—almost a decade earlier than any other campus organization we knew about.  Furthermore, it was the only one founded by a girl.

    Leslie Macy of the freshman class started the group in October of 1966.  While it was unusual for a freshman to be president of any campus organization, the school did designate a chilly room where the club could meet nude—but offered no money.  The room proved unsatisfactory, and other students threatened violence.  So they moved to a dilapidated maple sugar shack in the woods near campus, where they could sunbathe away from people, while fighting hordes of mosquitoes.  On warm spring and fall nights, the cemetery became a popular place for students to hang out nude.

    The club was still going strong in 1968, but the cold climate dictated that they do most of their nude activities in the summertime when school was closed, at the vacation homes of students or their relatives—sometimes as far away as Maine.  Local events dwindled as students concentrated on their studies and other extra-curricular commitments.  By the time the founders graduated in 1970, the organization was pretty much dead.

    This early group set the pattern for most of those that followed: rarely has a campus nudist organization lasted beyond graduation of the founders.


Au Naturel at CSUN
by Gary Mussell

    The first college nudist club in the country was at Cal State Northridge started in 1973.  I know, I was there, one of its charter members.  This preceded the campus clubs in Pennsylvania and Toronto by a full decade.  The CSUN group stayed together for about 10 years, through the 1970s and into the mid-80s.  Many of us remained active even after graduation as a non-landed club and some of us are still friends 35 years later. 

    The full story: We were officially recognized and registered with the college.  The 70s were the heyday of free beaches, so it wasn’t as tough as today.

    Even so, we went through quite a number of student government committee meetings as I recall, and our faculty sponsor had tenure and that helped.  We had to have all meetings off-campus.  Luckily one of the students lived only a mile from campus and had a large back yard and pool, so we met there and had monthly pool parties.  I remember each Halloween we had a body painting party at the home of one member who didn’t mind the paint splatters.

    After we all graduated we continued to use each other’s back yards for pool parties, plus there were a couple of houseboat trips.  Once we took over a motel in Palm Springs and had it nude just for us for a weekend.  Elysium Fields, which was about 10 miles away, gave us a “club day” once a month, so that is how many in the group were introduced to that nudist park.

    The club’s name was Au Natural.  Our downfall was we stopped finding new members and leaders on campus.  We were still going strong but eventually CSUN closed us for inactivity at the college.  After Elysium closed in 2000 many of us organized our current club, Southern California Naturist Association, and there are about 6-7 of us old timers from Au Natural still active in it today.  Somewhere there is a photo album of all of us VERY young in a hot tub and also on a houseboat I think, if you are interested.  Fun times.


A Forgotten Campus Group at Rice Remembered
by Randall Terrell

Professors & Researchers SIG Newsletter
August 2012

    I started Rice Students Seeking Total Tans in the spring of 1985, and it continued through the middle of '86.  We got official University recognition, a faculty sponsor, and even had a page in the year book.  [It shows two men and four women standing behind a blanket.]  These are just the officers and, as you can see, I had pretty good taste in choosing my officers.

    There was one newspaper article in the Rice Thresher, maybe two.  I got the club formed to raise a little hell in Spring '85.  There were a number of Christian groups that were growing on campus at the time and they were giving people trouble about the long-established practice of laying out naked on the sundecks.  I'd already done a little battle with them over the sundecks at Will Rice College (one of the dorms).  Most of our larger gatherings were actually on top of the architecture building.  So, I went whole hog and got official university recognition for our group as a campus-wide organization.  We had a table at the student organization fair (fall 85) and, possibly due to the help of my officers, we had over half the freshmen class sign up as interested.

    The group fell apart after I graduated—no one else to carry the banner.

    I will note that 4-5 years later, I was back in graduate school in Houston.  I hung with a number of folks who were still undergraduates, and those folks had excellent swimming pool access at a business.  They'd frequently throw after-hours parties.  Of interest about this is that all the students of around my school year who swam at these after hours parties—all of them, without exception—always skinny dipped.  And, among the folks who were still undergraduates, none of them EVER skinny dipped.  There was a huge difference in a just a few years concerning students' attitudes to nudity.

    At the time that I formed the club (1985) I remember that there were at least 2, maybe 3, other student naked organizations in the country.  Now, of course, I can't remember who they were.



U Penn Nudists Bare All at Rally
by Daniel Gingiss

Daily Pennsylvanian
May 13, 1994

    Due to the near-90-degree temperatures at the end of last month, most students were scantily dressed in T-shirts and shorts.  But for members of the newly-formed University of Pennsylvania Naturist Student Association, the day was an occasion to not dress at all.  The Association--the first of its kind in the United States, according to president, second year Law student Gons Nachman--held a one-hour demonstration at the Peace Symbol on College Green to show that "nude is not lewd."  As wide-eyed students, faculty and Open Expression Monitors alike looked on, the group of about eight stripped down to complete nakedness.

    According to the Association's Basic Principles and Philosophy document, the group believes that nudity is "natural, wholesome, and positive," and should not be equated with sexuality.

    "I started this organization because I wanted to take advantage of the intelligent environment of a college campus to make the philosophy of naturism visible in the community," Nachman announced to a group of about 50 passersby.  "We want to show, as you can see, that we feel comfortable with nudity."

    The event consisted of five brief speeches by Association members, plus a few videos on the naturist movement.  Nachman, who said he has studied constitutional and criminal law, maintains "that our behavior is lawful and is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution because we are trying to communicate a message."

    Nachman and company have defended that message several times in the past.  In April, 1993, after being denied permission to appear nude in a law class because a student was uncomfortable, Nachman stood naked outside the Law School on Sansom Street in silent protest.  And last summer, the Association performed in a nude run across campus--in broad daylight.

    Pierce College freshman Monica Obiols, who was one of two women to appear nude April 25, said she does not understand why nudity is considered more of a taboo for women than for men.  "I guess it's because it's an issue that has been around for many years, so women don't think about it anymore," she said.  "They just do what society wants them to do and just follow the rules."

    First-year Education graduate student Phillip Tromovitch said he is pleased not only with the turnout of people to watch the event, but with their attitudes as well.  "Most of the people here that are in the audience aren't really paying attention," he said.  "It's not a big deal--there's a bunch of naked people up here and people don't really care." Tromovitch, who spends most of his time at home in the nude, said the apparent apathy toward the nude students is good because it means people are accepting of it and that it is seemingly natural.

    College senior David Abramson, the only University undergraduate to appear in the demonstration, said it is important to differentiate between nudity and sexuality.  "Nudity and sexuality are not inextricably intertwined," he said.  "They are separable, and this should, if nothing else, demonstrate that."

    The event continued peacefully for more than an hour, and the once wide-eyed students on College Green went back to eating their lunches.

    "I think it's great--I don't think I could do it, but more power to them and I enjoy watching," said first-year Medical student Bill Resnick, who was dining on the Green.  "I think the people are actually pretty brave to do what they're doing, and act on their principles."


What Has Worked at the U.T.-Austin
by Kevin Kelly

Nude & Natural 15.3

Do:

    ● Do get the word out.  You need to distribute flyers, post bulletins, take out ads in the student paper, and anything else you can do to let people know that your group exists.  This is the most important step.

    ● Do register with your school as a bona fide student group.  At most colleges and universities you only need a few registered students in your organization for it to be recognized by the administration; at the University of Texas, for example, the minimum is three.  When registering, explain some of your activities to the Student Organization office.  For example, I let them know ahead of time that we planned to hold clothing-optional rallies at our free speech area, and they were fine with that.  However, each school is different, and may have more stringent guidelines for registering a group, or prohibitions on what kind of activities may be sanctioned.  It's a good idea to check out your school's policy first.

    One benefit of registering is, of course, greater exposure.  I have had several people browse through the list of student organizations, then call me for more information.  Being registered also gives you credibility; it establishes you as a legitimate group composed of people who are sincere in their organization's stated beliefs.  At some schools, registered student organizations are eligible for small amounts of grant money that may be used for further promotion of the group and for its activities.

    ● Do have a clear idea in mind of what your group's goals and activities will be.  My number was posted in the paper and people began calling right away.  I stumbled through a few conversations before I fully thought out the direction in which I wanted to take the club.  It's best not to let that happen.

    ● Do look for support from established local Naturist groups, if there are any in your area.  I approached Austin's Hill Country Nudists with my plans and they were more than supportive with ideas, materials, contacts and even places to hold meetings.  If you can, establish a good rapport with other Naturist groups.  They are a great resource, and can also add to your credibility.

    ● Do network with other college Naturist groups nationwide.  Contact their main representatives.  They can often provide you with great insight, experience and information; remember, they have faced many of the same challenges and questions you will be facing.

    ● Do network with other groups with whom you may share common ground.  I discovered that the Liberal Arts Council at our school holds skinny-dipping parties regularly, so they were very interested in our club.  You may also find people of similar interests in the art and drama departments, for example.  These are good places to post bulletins.

    ● Do plan special activities and events for your club to be involved in.  We thought of having art sessions with the art department, clothing drives at local laundromats, and other high-profile campus events.  Being involved in community service activities can help create a positive image for your club and add members to your roster at the same time.

Don't:

    ● Don't go ahead with clothing-optional events on campus without talking to the administration first.  It's also a good idea to be familiar with the local and state laws regarding public nudity.  In Austin, for example, it is legal for women to be topfree, and nudity must be considered "lewd" for citations to be issued.  This is important; you don't want your first big event to end in arrests and negative controversy.

    ● Don't let the media have the opportunity to portray your group in a negative light.  Inform the student and perhaps local papers of upcoming activities, and invite them to attend.  Discuss in detail your club's philosophy and explain in detail what the club (and Naturism in general, if necessary) is all about.  Provide them with newsletters, pamphlets or other materials your club produces.  If possible, invite them to an event that is already likely to bring you positive exposure, like a charity fund raiser.

    ● Don't rest on your laurels.  Be aware from the beginning that you are going to have to spend some time on this if it is going to work.  For example, I spent about two hours a week on our newsletter, and planned our meetings in advance to maximize their effectiveness.  A club that is poorly structured or managed sporadically can become disorganized faster than you can imagine, but...

    ● Don't overdo it; have fun.  Don't overstructure your group either.  I have been involved with some groups that spent way too much time dealing with officer elections and appointments and other red tape.  I have found that a senior representative (the club "leader") can easily guide discussions and the like with the rest of the members' input, and everyone can play a part in directing the club's activities.

    ● Don't be afraid to get involved.  I held back for one or two semesters because I wasn't sure how my ideas would be received.  But once things got rolling I was really glad I took a chance and started the group.



Students Go Starkers
(Nudist Club at University of Toronto)

Maclean's
April 26, 1999

    Thomas Lundy will not be forgotten by the lifeguards at the University of Toronto Athletic Centre anytime soon.  Lundy, 26, an education student, started the first official naturist (nudist) club on campus last September--actually the first approved naturist club at any Canadian university.  "I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went," says Lundy, who organizes monthly nude swims for the 100 members at the university pool.  "Besides a couple of guys who only came because they wanted to watch, everyone has been very supportive."

    When Lundy was eight years old, his family moved from Toronto to Lahr, Germany, where they got into the naturist lifestyle.  When Lundy returned from Europe 13 years later, he decided to import his clothes-free lifestyle to Canada.  He has since made it safe for University of Toronto students and faculty to enjoy nude swimming and volleyball--"the most popular naturist sport."  Now, he has turned his attention to the famous European Naturist Student Festival in Rotterdam, Holland, the largest nude event of its kind in the world.  Lundy and five members of the U of T club are going to the festival in May--becoming the first Canadian group to attend the gathering.  "It is a complete nude village," says Lundy, describing the setting for the four-day event that attracts more than 500 young people and includes activities such as music, dancing and body painting.  "And now we will be able to have a Canadian team for the organized competitive sports."  Nude curling anyone?


FSU Campus Group Officially Recognized

The Bulletin
March 2010

    For just the sixth time in history, a North American college has officially recognized a student nudist organization.  (The first four were California State University at Northwood in the 1970s, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Toronto in the 1990s.  The last three groups didn't last long.)  Now Florida State University has recognized Naturally FSU, a subsidiary of Tallahassee Naturally.  Richard Bertram of our SIG serves as the faculty advisor.

    Tallahassee Naturally has for decades maintained about a 15% student membership--better than any other club is doing.  So why would they bother with a campus organization--given the short-lived history of such groups, and the fact that Tallahassee Naturally draws its students from three or four different colleges?  The answer is growing xenophobia on the FSU campus that was making it impossible to let students know about nudist opportunities.  (The latest xenophobic manifestation is actual barriers in the streets, preventing cars from getting within several blocks of the library.)  As reported in this newsletter, community organizations or people with outside ideas are increasingly barred from display tables, speaking opportunities, and bulletin board use.  A student nudist organization is probably not what bureaucrats had in mind, but that is what their restrictive policies have produced.  So far, the news has not traveled through the entire bureaucracy; there could be trouble yet.

    There have been no problems at historically black Florida A & M University, Tallahassee Community College, or nearby Valdosta State University.  Also nearby, tiny Thomas University has always censored its student newspaper, so their students are unaware of nudist opportunities in the area.

    Some FSU professors see the new organization as entirely appropriate.  After all, the college streaking movement of the 1970s largely began at Florida State.

    Trevor Woods, a senior at FSU, seized the initiative, and steered the new group through the bureaucratic hurdles.  His next job is to find a successor.  That is where previous student nudist organizations have faltered.  But they did not have the support of a thriving nudist group in the community.  The hope is that if and when a leadership vacuum occurs, Tallahassee Naturally can step in and find new leadership.  The model here is FSU’s Center for Participant Education--the last survivor of the “free universities” of the 70s.  Several times, the center has nearly collapsed during periods of weak leadership, but each time, alumni and teachers of non-credit classes in the community have stepped in to keep it going.

    Naturally FSU’s constitution promises no nudity on campus.  Instead, the group will encourage participation in Tallahassee Naturally’s student-oriented events: the annual College Greek Athletic Meet, and monthly Full-Moon Skinny-Dips during the warmer months.  There have also been independent student-only skinny-dipping excursions to sinkholes in the nearby national forest.


Naturally FSU brochure
2011

Naturally FSU

    Naturally FSU is currently the only officially recognized college nudist organization in the nation.  It is part of a long tradition.  Other officially recognized groups have flourished at:

California State University at Northridge, 1973-c.83
University of Pennsylvania, 1994-c.98
University of Texas at Austin, 1995
University of Toronto, 1998-c.2000
Florida State University, 2009-

    There have also been unofficial groups such as the Hamilton College Varsity Streaking Team.  And many colleges for years had an annual streak, including the Naked Mile at the University of Michigan and the so-called Nude Olympics at Princeton.  Purdue, Stanford, Holy Cross, Southern California, and countless other colleges had similar traditions right up until recently.  Rice still does.  And don't forget that the national college streaking fad of the 1970s started pretty much at FSU.  Lots of Tallahassee's leading citizens cherish memories of those fine free days.

    Naturally FSU does not streak, but organizes participation in legal nude events in the Tallahassee area.

    Naturism is about being natural in nature.  It is not about sex.  Here is an opportunity to become comfortable with yourself, and take pride in all that you are.  Here is a chance to find your place in nature, just as thousands of generations have before you.  Feel the sun and the wind tingling every hair on your body.  Discover true freedom.  Find peace with yourself and the world around you.

-----

Full-Moon Skinny-Dips

    Naturally FSU is closely affiliated with Tallahassee Naturally, the local nudist group with the largest percentage of college students in the nation.  They sponsor Full-Moon Skinny-Dips during the warm months (usually April through October).  These events are free—just right for a student budget.

    Enjoy that all-American pastime: a skinny-dip at the ole' swimmin' hole.  Add to it the light of a full moon, a blazing campfire, a marshmallow roast, mellow conversation, chirping of the crickets, and the pine trees rustling overhead for a memorable evening attuned to yourself and nature.  A drum circle and/or overnight camping are additional options.

    Rides are available.  A guide will meet you at 7:00 in the parking lot south of the FSU bookstore, or you can get dates and directions to the lake on the Tallahassee Naturally web site.


            Follow Tallahassee Naturally on Facebook

            For lots of local information, go to:
            www.tallahasseenaturally.org

            For statewide activities check out:
            www.floridayoungnaturists.com

            And for general college nudity, visit
            www.paullevalley.com/sig

-----

College Greek Athletic Meet

    Each spring (usually late March), Tallahassee Naturally sponsors the world's only authentically nude re-enactment of the ancient pentathlon.

    Join students from several colleges for a day of authentic Greek athletics—nude just like 2500 years ago.  There are morning demonstrations and practice in the ancient methods, then afternoon competition in the pentathlon (long jump, discus, 200-yard dash, javelin, and stand-up wrestling).  Real athletes and people who have never tried anything like this before compete in separate divisions.  There are men's and women's divisions.  The idea is to discover what it really felt like to be a student in ancient Greece, where the goal was a well developed mind in a well developed body—where students spent all year perfecting themselves, then presented themselves naked before the gods as an act of worship.

    [Photo of participating athletes from several colleges omitted here.]

-----

Other Local Nude Opportunities

Suntan Lake

    Tallahassee Naturally rents a 40-acre woods with a 6-acre blue lake near Monticello (the next town to the east).  It is available every weekend year-round (from Friday noon till Sunday evening).  Sundays are almost always the bigger day.  From April through October, the last Sunday of the month is a picnic, so bring food to share.  Get that all-over tan without zapping yourself.  How about a game of naked volleyball or badminton or frisbee?  Or natural hiking and canoeing?  It's a great place to do homework or bring children.  First visit free.  Low student rates.

Sinkhole Tour

    The forests south of Tallahassee are honeycombed with sinkholes—places with deep clear water where people have skinny-dipped since the time of the Indians.  Learn where the best of them are, so you and your friends can go anytime you want.  Tallahassee Naturally sponsors at least one guided tour each summer.

Florida Young Naturists

    This statewide organization sponsors large college-age nude gatherings—often during breaks, and perhaps near where you are spending your break.

Why wait?

    Every year, college juniors and seniors finally get up their nerve to try nude recreation.  And they immediately kick themselves for not doing it a couple of years sooner.  Don't waste this rare opportunity.  Be free this year.


Campus Club Embraces, Seeks Public Nudity
by Renée Jacques
FSView & Florida Flambeau
Nov. 21, 2011

    30 minutes outside of town, in Jefferson County, a group of students enjoy a variety of activities at Suntan Lake.  They camp out, enjoy bonfires and spend some days picnicking and playing games of volleyball.  And they do all of this naked.

    They are all members of an FSU club—Naturally FSU.  They hold activities for people who want to embrace a “naturist lifestyle.”

    Ron Georgalis, president of Naturally FSU and anthropology major, said the idea of the club is based on a concept that dates back to the 1900s and focuses on the idea of acceptance.

    “Naturism is a philosophy that was first developed and articulated in the early 20th century,” said Georgalis.  “What it refers to is a belief that human beings should live in harmony with nature and should adopt an attitude towards themselves, one another, the planet and the natural environment based on respect and acceptance.  It’s all about acceptance of one’s own body, acceptance of other’s bodies, in whatever form they happen to be, and seeing that as an integral part of the natural world.”

    Georgalis said one of the main concepts of the club is to foster self-esteem among members, since there have been so many conflicting and troubling “ideal” body image models portrayed through media and in the fashion environment.

    “You might say that the more practical purpose of all of this is the very idea of acceptance of one’s own body,” said Georgalis, “however it happens to look, as a means toward the ultimate goal of enhanced self-esteem.  We have all of these idealized conceptions of what the ideal form should look like, promoted by women’’s magazines and by the fashion world.”  Georgalis said these images can really alter the way people see themselves.  Naturally FSU hopes to help people see the beauty in every human body.

    “It really is quite criminal how so many of these elements, especially through the media, brainwash people that they need to conform to what constitutes beauty,” said Georgalis.  “We see ourselves as being a movement against that.  It is mean to be the antithesis of that.”

    During the club’s season, from April to October, one of the most popular events they host is the “Full-Moon Skinny-Dip.”  The most popular one had a record attendance of 42 people in June.  At the event, members carpool to the lake where they swim, talk and gather around a bonfire.  Many students bring instruments and provide entertainment.  Georgalis said the “Full-Moon Skinny-Dips” allow for another fundamental aspect of the naturalist movement to take effect: connectedness with nature.

    “It’s a love of the human body and it’s a love of the planet,” said Georgalis.  “And you can say that that is based upon this deeply held philosophical notion that the two make sense together, simply because we are of the earth; so if you accept the body, then you are accepting a natural creation.”

    Georgalis said the lake provides the perfect backdrop for recognizing such an appreciation.

    “It’s a really good venue for reinforcing that message,” said Georgalis.  “Looking up at the stars and being able to see shooting stars or being bathed in the light of the full moon is really heavy and very thought provoking.  You feel very connected to the universe.  You are reminded that you are basically made of stardust.”

    Another popular event is the Collegiate Nude Olympics [College Greek Athletic Meet], held on the last weekend of March.  The event is a pentathlon, and participants engage in competitions that mimic the original Olympics in Greece.  They dash barefoot, throw a javelin, a discus throw, a long jump and, if needed, the tiebreaker is a wrestling match.  The event is free to all those who wish to participate.

    Many students are intrigued by the ideals behind Naturally FSU, but may feel reluctant and uncomfortable about their first time being nude in public.  Georgalis said the club tries its very best to make newcomers feel very welcomed and not pressured about having to remove their clothes.

    “We try to make sure that anyone who is new the lake is made to feel comfortable, that they are made to feel like there are no consequences to not getting nude,” said Georgalis.  “Most of us have gone through the process and we try to let them take it at their own pace.  You are meant to feel like you’re here at this beautiful lake and you are meant to enjoy it and there’s no one barking at you to take off your clothes.”

    Georgalis said newcomers can take as long as they need, as long as they show they are trying to embrace the lifestyle.  “Anybody who is new to the lake should not feel too pressured, as long as they’re making some kind of effort,” said Georgalis.  “You just have to be willing to experiment and step a little outside your comfort zone.”

    Georgalis said Naturally FSU views clothing as a restraint that creates barriers between people, and being nude allows for a complete free and equal environment.

    “Clothes serve as a boundary,” Georgalis said.  “They often connote social status and economic status.  People have been using clothes to differentiate ourselves from one another since the dawn of civilization.  The lack of clothes is a profoundly egalitarian experience because everyone is wearing one kind of suit: their birthday suit.”



Students Get Naked in Nature
by Blair Stokes

FSView & Florida Flambeau
July 19, 2012

    At Suntan Lake, tan lines aren’t exactly an issue for sunbathers.  That’s probably because these sunbathers are also naturists who enjoy the wilderness in an unconventional, yet truly natural, way: nude.  Suntan Lake is a defining feature of the North Florida naturist haven of Tallahassee Naturally (TN).

    Founding member of TN and over 20 year veteran of naturism, Paul LeValley clarifies the difference in naturism and nudism.

    “Naturists are attuned to nature, and focus on being at one with nature,” LeValley said.  “This is very much a back to nature club.  There are fancy resorts that call themselves nudists.  So we fit the naturist definition a little better.”

    Florida State U. boasts the only collegiate naturist club in the nation, aptly named Naturally FSU.  The club is likely known best for its full-moon skinny-dips in Suntan Lake during the warmer months, which attract many curious college students.  Naturally FSU derives its name from its parent organization, Tallahassee Naturally, which is the local naturist community founded in the ’80s.

    Ron Georgalis, a graduate student studying anthropology and the president of Naturally FSU, spoke of the intrinsic connection between Naturally FSU and TN.

    “Membership overlaps and the two organizations are not mutually exclusive in any way,” Georgalis said.  “Tallahassee Naturally is the community group, and we’re an arm of Tallahassee Naturally.  We are independent, but we also use the property that they rent and have events together.”

    Bonding over the common exhilaration of returning to nature in its most literal sense, TN members of the North Florida-South Georgia naturist community gathered on Sunday, July 15 to celebrate National Nude Weekend during which the organization hosts their annual Open House.

    The Open House event intentionally had staggered degrees of dress: from 10 to 11 a.m., all participants were clothed, between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., clothing was optional and from 1 to 4 p.m., the dress code changed to completely nude.

    Anyone was welcome to attend the Open House; however, the event was specifically designed to give TN members the opportunity to speak to candidates running for public office.  (The politicians did not stay after 11 a.m., which is when the clothing-optional dress code took effect.)  While tan lines aren’t a concern for the naturist set, matters of privacy and freedoms are.

    TN’s Paul LeValley, who is the Chair of the Political Committee, extended invitations to several candidates, including Mark Schlakman.  Schlakman is the Democratic candidate for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, who also holds the position of senior program director of the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at FSU.

    Schlakman’s expertise in the areas of politics and human rights made him the ideal guest for an organization so concerned with legal free expression.

    “I respect the issues here,” Schlakman said.  “Being at the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at FSU, the issues here resonate in terms of privacy interests and exercising their freedoms, rights, and liberties without encroaching upon others.”

    Located about 30 miles east of Tallahassee in Jefferson County, TN rents a 40-acre plot of wooded, secluded land (which includes a private lake) where naturists are free to be comfortably nude while avoiding voyeurs and the public eye.  The organizations are considerate of others in that TN and Naturally FSU go 30 miles or more out of their way not to offend the public.

    “I think that appropriate notice and discretion are important,” Schlakman said.  “It’s not that people are trying to foist their preferences upon anyone else.  It’s just to freely exercise rights while providing appropriate notice so that people aren’t offended.  It makes perfect sense.”

    Open House is one of Tallahassee Naturally’s clothed events, but Georgalis oversees two nude events that college students are encouraged to participate in.  The first is the Full-Moon Skinny-Dip which is usually scheduled for the Friday nearest the full moon from months April to October.  Students can take a shuttle out to Suntan Lake at 7 p.m. and take a dip in the lake’s blue waters in the light of the moon.

    The second event Georgalis described was the ancient pentathlon, which is based on the original Greek Olympic Games.  It closely resembles what the games would have actually been like because all contestants and even spectators must be fully nude to participate.  TN’s pentathlon events include javelin, discus, 200-meter dash, long-jump, and others.  Men and women compete separately and according to age and skill-level.

    The games promote sportsmanship and Georgalis encourages FSU students to experience the good-natured atmosphere for themselves.

    “There’s something primally gratifying about [naturism],” Georgalis said.  “I think everybody should experience something wild and unruly every now and then.”


Naturally FSU Presents Film Re-enactment of Greek Pentathlon
Naturist groups present classic athleticism with less clothing
by Lindsay Marshall

FSView & Florida Flambeau
Sept. 17, 2012

    On Friday, Sept.  21, in the Student Union, Tallahassee Naturally and Naturally FSU will premiere their film, College Greek Athletic Meet, a collection of home videos of the past 17 years of the organizations’ re-enactment of the ancient Greek pentathlon.

    Tallahassee Naturally and Naturally FSU are both naturist organizations in Tallahassee, with aims of creating awareness of the naturist lifestyle.

    “The way the Olympics were held in ancient Greece was nude,” Naturally FSU President Ron Georgalis said.  “The original athletes competed completely nude.”

    FSU is the only university in the country with a naturist club.  Naturism is not simply nudism, but rather the act of being in nature in the body’s most organic state.

    “Nudism is just the pursuit of being naked,” said Georgalis.  “That’s not what we’re about.  Being a naturist is more about nature.  It’s a communion with nature, a oneness with the natural world.  It’s a liberating experience.  It’s also about body acceptance.  Everyone should be comfortable in their own skin.”

    The pentathlon occurs in the spring, usually in April, near Monticello, Fla., about 30 miles away from Tallahassee.

    “Anyone of any age can compete,” Tallahassee Naturally President Paul LeValley said.  “But the winners are the top college students in each category.”

    Participants compete in the long jump, discus, 200-yard dash, javelin, and in the case of a tie, light wrestling.  Categories are broken down into male athletes, male non-athletes, female athletes and female non-athletes.

    “We have a lot of diversity,” said Georgalis.  “People of different races, different regional backgrounds, different sexual orientations, different native languages.  It’s a celebration of the human body in all of its form.  We have obese people, skinny people, people with surgical scars and people in great physical shape who could be underwear models.”

    The film's aim is to promote the competition and the organizations on FSU's campus.

    “We want to further our mission to promote awareness of local naturist opportunities," said Georgalis.  "And to promote interest.  In most cases, they’re already interested, but didn’t know about it.”

    College Greek Athletic Meet is a compilation of years of footage from past competitions, but was produced to appear as if it happened in one day.  The film focuses on the younger athletes, students and non-students alike.

    For a first-time naturist, it may be a little nerve-wracking to go nude. 

    “Some of the women are a little bit nervous, so they have to be reassured it’s not a sexual environment,” said Georgalis.  “It’s a safe place, and they don’t have to worry about that.”

    Georgalis describes naturism as being a social experience, while giving people an escape from the toils of daily life.  Along with the athletic aspect of the pentathlon, College Greek Athletic Meet incorporates good sportsmanship, health and physical achievement.

    “It’s the beauty of athleticism, and beauty of nudism,” said Georgalis.  “What could be more beautiful?”


Naturally FSU Offers Nudist Way of Life
by Christopher Wilkinson

FSView & Florida Flambeau
October 4, 2016

    [This reporter did all of his research by e-mail, and never realized Adrienne Yancey is a black man.]

    FSU is full of hidden gems that only the savviest students are keen to.

    Whether it be a particular parking area on campus, the best place to quietly study or a club strategically hidden right out in the open, these connections bind us together as explorers of all that FSU has to offer.

    One of FSU’s clubs that boasts varying degrees of awareness of is Naturally FSU, a club that practices and celebrates nudism.  Due to the somewhat unusual nature of a club that holds monthly skinny-dipping events and the apprehension most feel about being naked with others, it takes a lot of bravery to try, but could become one’s newest way to naturally relax.

    “To be a nudist is how life was meant to be,” says current club president and FSU grad student Adrienne Yancey.  “Many people in the club choose this lifestyle simply because it is the one place that is simply forever at peace.  Without the boundaries of clothes, there is no need to compare or compete with one another, simply natural beauty at its finest—free of judgment.  Individuals of all shapes and sizes come out, so it truly is an environment where one can feel at ease and free of the normal societal issues.  We were born naked and it is simply a freeing and liberating experience.”

    Many misconceptions litter the public eye about what a club based around nudism entails, but in actuality the club has the best intentions about enjoying natural beauty.

    “As I have commonly experienced over the years in promoting this club and lifestyle, people often think it is some sort of orgy or sexual club,” said Yancey.  “It’s actually the furthest from that.  It's a place where one can come and just be at one with nature, their surroundings and the very friends they may choose to embark upon this journey with.”

    The club’s central mission is to be an inclusive organization for the development of friendship through a shared interest, just like any other club.  It just takes a little bit more of a step out of your comfort zone, but according to Yancey, that step forward is well worth it.

    “Back in undergrad I routinely enjoyed skinny-dipping with friends and never really was into wearing clothes.  When I moved up to Tallahassee for grad school, after conducting some research on clubs to join, Naturally FSU popped up and I immediately became intrigued and wanted to inquire a bit more about the organization,” said Yancey.

    "After I learned of this, I immediately told everyone I could about the club and started regularly attending.  Here I am two years later, the President of this fine organization, happier than ever that I had made the initial decision to step out on a limb and take a leap of faith.”

    Yancey believes her involvement to be one of the greatest decisions she has ever made and is excited for anyone else that decides to embark upon this wonderful journey with her.

    Once you remove the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding nudism, it becomes possible to see this club in a whole new light.  Naturally FSU is one organization that supports the idea of expanding your comfort zone by stepping out of it.

-----

     In 2016, Naturally FSU lost their faculty sponsor, and thus their official recognition.  The group continued to function for another year, until Tallahassee Naturally lost the land they had been renting.  The club has since bought new land.  2020 was supposed to be the year of reviving the College Greek Athletic Meet, building a pool, and resuming the Full-Moon Skinny-Dips.  The coronavirus and sending most students home has put those plans on hold.


Return to the Professors & Researchers SIG home page.