Privacy for naked drunkards

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

Following the discussion about Google Streetview vs. privacy, some may be interested in the haha brouing over at the Villeside Journal site.   One of the intrepid reporters took a video camera to the Tufts Naked Quad Run and posted it on Youtube.   Drunk streakers were not amused.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/fun/x805327507

Comments

[ron_newman]

A number of Somerville and Medford public streets run through the Tufts campus. As far as I know, it is perfectly legal to stand on such a street and take pictures of what is going on around you. Was the Naked Quad Run visible from public streets?

[clara-girl.livejournal.com]

just because you can doesn't mean you should.

there will come a time when you can even take your clothes off when you dance

[spatch]

Hey, I'ma get drunk and take off my clothes and run around in public.

BUT DON'T NOBODY TAKE NO PITCHERS, GOLLY THAT'D BE EMBARRASSING.



Excellent defense, Tufts Nudists, and congratulations on scheduling your naked shenanigans on one of the icier nights we've had so far.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I love all the unique and beautiful snowflakes screaming that a video of their naked, wobbling posteriors is "pornography." As if to say, how could anyone view us in our birthday suits and not derive SECKSHUL AROWZUL?

Re: there will come a time when you can even take your clothes off when you dance

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I'd call it semi-public. As far as I can tell, the event takes place on University property, which, while open, is still private -- they could put up fences and locked gates everywhere if they wanted to, after all.

That said, if it was just a spectator video on YouTube, I'd shrug it off, but from an actual newspaper (or some approximation thereof), I think it's in pretty poor taste and violates their own terms of use. The fact that they seem to have plagiarized, fabricated, and/or make tons of mistakes in the article itself makes it even worse.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

I actually agree with the students. The photos and video weren't meant as news coverage -- they were meant specifically to humiliate the participants. While that may be the bread and butter of publications like The Enquirer,/i> and other tabloid rags, it really is below a community newspaper.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

they were meant specifically to humiliate the participants.

The only thing unique about this is the website where it's located. Hell, they probably got the video from some Tufts student's Myspace.

[ron_newman]

Isn't the residential quad in Medford, not Somerville? Perhaps the wrong city's newspaper covered this event.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Yes, but it's actually the Rez (for resevoir) Quad. There used to be a huge reservoir in that space until the '40s. The term sticks since the Rez Quad is also a residential quad.

The city line runs through the library and then mostly along Professor's Row. Sounds like Somerville FD got the majority of the work. TuftsOTR reports someone fell off the Sigma Nu house.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I want to do this out in the open, but I don't want to be seen. Right...

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Correct. I require filthy townie rabble to avert their eyes while I scamper nude with my Tufts brothers and sisters in a beer-soaked bonding ritual meant to build self-esteem and create cherished memories to be treasured forever. Sorry, but you'll need Tufts student ID to see my tits.

[dfischman.livejournal.com]

"The test of a first-class mind is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the head at the same time and still be able to function." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Naked Quad Run is sophomoric. The Journal was practicing poor journalism when it covered it. Both these statements are true.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

Drunk streakers were not amused.

But I was, by their reaction. Aren't these are the generation which has grown up with Youtube and MySpace and whatnot? They (or at least their peers) post the most cringe-worthy stuff about themselves or their "friends", right there for future employers to google.

That said, I think that the newspaper should have shown better judgement. A bunch of drunk, naked people running around the streets is certainly a legit news story for a local paper. Video or identifiable pictures of naked people, on the other hand, while certainly legal, are in poor taste. Just let the students post it themselves :). The journal did, take down a non-revealing but clearly naked (and drunk) picture showing a couple of girls' faces, which was the right thing to do; the picture up now (guy wrapped in Israeli flag) is a good one.

On a related topic, has the enforcement underage drinking statutes against college-age kids gone completely out the window? I hope so.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

A Tufts police officer said it's the one night a year you can run around naked and he won't arrest you. It's much the same on underaged drinking (though I'm sure Spring Fling and Homecoming also get a pass). Besides, where would you carry your ID?

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Yeah, going out naked, in public, in this day and age, and NOT expecting to get filmed/photographed is...an unrealistic expectation.

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

If only the Google Streetview car happened to be driving by at the same time...

[anjaliesque.livejournal.com]

I ran three laps on the Quad on Monday night, totally sober, just I did the two years before that. It's fantastic every time.

To clarify, we don't choose which night we run, no matter how icy it is. NQR always happens at 10pm on the last class day of the fall semester - and it's a great way to blow off steam before reading period, which is happening now (I write this from Tisch library, where I arrived at 8 AM this morning and couldn't even find an open table, it's that crowded).

It's respectful not to take photos or video at NQR, though of course I know it's going to happen anyway. If people are going to get that upset about being documented, then obviously they shouldn't be running the first place (though alcohol often clouds thoughtful decision-making...) Though in my opinion, this is pretty low for a newspaper to go.

paging Mr. Stevens, white courtesy phone please

[spatch]

Hello, this is your Action News Reporter live on the scene at the university. Pardon me, sir, did you see what happened?

"Yeah, I did. I was just takin a stroll round the quad with my wife when there they come, runnin around the alma mater in the altogether, not wearin nothin but their smiles.

I looked over t'Ethel and I hollered DON'T LOOK, ETHEL!

But it was too late. She'd been matriculated.

Summa cum laude."

LOOKIDAT LOOKIDAT

Re: paging Mr. Stevens, white courtesy phone please

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

LOLZ! This is very appropriate, given the last line below from the Ray Stevens original. Invitin' public critique indeed.

Whoa, yes they call him The Streak
(Looka dat, looka dat)
Fastest thing on two feet
Looka dat, looka dat
He's just as proud as he can be of his anatomy
He gun give us a peek
Oh, yes they call him The Streak
(Looka dat, looka dat)
He likes to show off his physique
(Looka dat, looka dat)
If there's an audience to be found
He'll be streakin' A-round invitin' public critique

[ifotismeni]

ok, from a reporter's POV, i can understand the need to be there and report on this -- but the video seems unnecessary and totally voyeuristic. i would argue it doesn't add anything new to the story -- if you're writing that people were running around naked, do we really need to see videos of it to understand what happened? i can see this being a heated newsroom argument but honestly i don't see what the video added to the story other than pure titillation. sure papers are desperate for eyes but honest to god, that's not the way to do it.

The reporter's take

[jspazzer.livejournal.com]

Audi
2007-12-12T19:49:41

I was asked to cover this event and get photos and video - I did. I carried a big notebook, stood next to a Tufts police woman as I took the video and identified myself as a Journal reporter with everyone I spoke to that night, just as I would at any other event.
As a reporter here, I do not get to make decisions on what we cover or post here nor have the time to ponder over each and every thing I write. This is just one of a dozen stories I had to file this week and I did the best I could given the time and resources.
I took down the photo of the two girls after they contacted me as a courtesy even though it was not my job to do so.
Yes, I did use a line from Wikipedia for the first article put up the next day of the event but it is not included in the newspaper version of the story and could hardly be considered essential fact or breaking news.
Like most of the other articles we post online and in a hurry with whatever material we can get on short notice, the original story has been modified and reposted several times since and as I got more information.
I have contacted everyone I've quoted in this article, but the person who claims to not have been interviewed by me (even though his name was spelled out to me as I wrote it in my notebook that night) has not responded to my emails since last night.
Finally, I really do not get to decide what is published here or in the newspaper and frankly, this is not my most important story this week, believe it or not. You have issues - please contact the editor.
Thank you for your help and kind comments.

Privacy shmivacy

[shakes.livejournal.com]

The University of Chicago (a private school as well) has a Polar Bear Run on its campus every year. Lots of naked undergrads running in zero-degree weather. And there are cameras. mind you i've never seen anyone take video of it but still-shots have shown up on the internets.

anybody who is naked in public (even if it's a "private" institution) is liable to be photographed. duh. they know that going into it.

however, the person who compared this incident to being photographed at a nude beach is a bit off base...A nude beach is a nude beach ALWAYS. it is not legally public nudity. Private beaches have different rights compared to private institutions. the "private" in private institution does not mean "exclusive" or "naughty bits"; it means "privately-operated" (not state-run!).

the ethics of documenting public nudity are contentious but one thing for sure is it's silly to be outraged by it. embarrassed, perhaps. angry, no.

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

I don't condone dumbass college kids running around naked, but I actually thought the video was tastefully done - it was only the backside, individuals weren't identifiable, and it was actually kinda cute - like something you'd see from any generation of dumbass college kids. :)

Contains a Link with NSFW Material

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

The event was covered by the media. The media took pictures and video. They posted said pictures and video.

The event was not in a pivate, secluded place.

People were drunk and nekkid.

Here's a far less tasteful (http://www.coccozella.com/PIC/PROMO/TUFTS/tufts06home.htm) photo array from last year's event that I found in less than 30 seconds simply by googling "Tufts Naked Quad Run". Well, OK. I used Yahoo and it was the 6th entry found.

So. Why are these kids complaining again?

Sorry. Actions have consequences no matter how much you may not like them.

Quick! TO THE WAHMBULANCE!

[nalz.livejournal.com]

Severe lack of sympathy here as well. I don't even see why this is news or there is outrage.

Amazing what passes for controversy these days.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

funny - I have lived in Davis Sq for @ 10 years and never heard of this before. Tufts overall seems mostly invisible.

Anyway, the video is pretty innocuous. You can't see faces or um... stuff dangling. No doubt though that it will turn up at someone's confirmation hearing sometime in the future... ;-)

Davis Square Makes MetaFilter

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Look, we're on MetaFilter (http://www.metafilter.com/67398/The-naked-and-the-drunk)!

Amusing.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

I find the organizers' choice of momentos to hand out to the crowd to be quite interesting -- frisbees with CENSORED: Tufts Class of 2008

[balanclenr.livejournal.com]

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