The Collegian

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: {Photo courtesy of Jon Gibbons}

Near the end of the spring semester two seniors decided to place the capstone on their Hillsdale College careers.

Jon Gibbons '06 and Dave Frank '06 started their night by hosting Beat Night, an annual party at an off-campus house along West Street.

"There were some people chilling out, drinking wine, reading some poetry," Frank said.

While 30 friends waited, Gibbons, Frank and a fellow housemate descended from their
second floor bedrooms with a surprise.

"We descended the staircase in all our glory - pasty, college-student-too-much-beer glory - and we entered our party completely naked," Gibbons said. "We went up to people and asked, 'Hey, How are you doing? Yes, we are naked.'"

Fully nude, they were ready for adventure.

Frank said they knew Sigma Chi fraternity was having a party. So they schemed to streak through the house and out the back door.
"Me and Jon knew that we were more endowed than many of the guys there," he said. "So we figured we would let them know."

Sneaking through an alley to the fraternity house, Gibbons said they moved in a group causing those passing by to ask, "Are they naked or am I too drunk?"

The streakers' plan hit a snag when they reached the front door.

"We ran up to the door," Frank said. "The house mom came up to the door - out of nowhere - and just said, 'No.'"

"We were expecting the traditionally beefy fraternity guy - not every Midwesterner's subconscious mother," Gibbons said.

Shocked to disbelief, Gibbons and Frank fled from the front door.

"It was more of a reaction like you were at a seedy bar in Tijuana and the mom from the Brady Bunch walked in," Gibbons said. "It was a meeting point between two worlds and we couldn't have maintained our grasp of reality if we had stayed."

Frank said they figured they should take advantage of the freedom before them and took off toward Central Hall.

While a friend documented the event with a camera, Gibbons and Frank streaked across campus to Central Hall and posed on the steps.

"We had grown steadily disenchanted with Hillsdale College every year we were there," Gibbons said. "By the time we were seniors our disenchantment was at an all-time high. Central Hall, being a large phallic point on campus, it was a way, in an alpha male sort of way, for us to present our phallic presence over Hillsdale College."

Gibbons said students should conjure the courage to streak at Hillsdale, but use the gym regularly, along with hair removal products and instant bronzer.

"At the time we both thought Hillsdale College was a very repressive environment and there's nothing more repressive than wearing too much clothing and there's nothing as liberating as not wearing any clothing," Gibbons said.

Frank said he could see streaking benefiting Hillsdale's campus.

"I'd especially like to recommend Dr. Sundahl does it - I've heard stories," he said.

Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007

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