Streaking tradition climbs to to new heights

University students flying to Cancun over Spring Break knew their trip was going to be something special when they saw a man streak past them. And they were still on the plane. About two hours after Aerocancun's flight 71 departed from Philadelphia International Airport, a Wharton junior, who did not want to be identified, walked into the front bathroom of the plane. He then proceeded to strip naked and walk down the aisle. While a friend tried to keep the plane's steward from interfering, he stopped to talk to some friends and tried to "pick up" some women, the streaker said. When he reached the back of the plane and put on his clothes, the steward and pilot confronted him and told him indecent exposure is a federal crime in Mexico and that he would probably be deported when they arrived. The pilot then radioed Mexican officials and told them of the incident. "I don't understand how he doesn't have any respect for the people on the plane, not to mention himself," said Maria Joaquina Sierra, a stewardess on the plane. When the plane arrived at Mexico at 1:30 a.m., no one was allowed to get off the plane and two federal officers came on board to take the student to the airport's security office. The student said a group of his friends put him up to the stunt. "I think it was a combination of wanting to set a precedent for the week, a substantial amount of money, and the fact that I didn't know all the consequences [streaking would carry]," he said. The student said he was taken to a local Mexican jail at around 3 a.m., was advised he had a court appointment at 8 a.m. and told he would probably be deported and heavily fined. The student said that at about 4:30 a.m., he was taken from the room where he was being held and the deputy chief of police began questioning him. "When he found out what I did, he loved it," said the student. The student said he befriended the officer, who even offered him a drink of Tequila. About an hour into the conversation, the officer asked him how much money he had on him, but the student had been advised to leave all valuables with his friends. The officer then left the student's friends a message at their hotel and they came in at about 5:30 a.m, the student said. He added that the officer asked the friends for a $100 "bribe" to tear up the paperwork for the case, which would tie up the processing long enough for the student to remain in Cancun for the week and return safely to the States. After bargaining with the officer, the friends gave him $50 and the streaker was released at 6:15 a.m., he said. "When you leave for Mexico, the first thing people tell you is 'don't get arrested' . . . and that's the first thing I did," the Wharton junior said.

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