Brazenly baring his flesh on one of the frostiest nights of the year, School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Tom Rodney took a solo jog in the nude on College Green early last Friday. "I did it for cheap thrills," Rodney said. "Streaking is very liberating." Rodney said he stripped off his clothes near the Quadrangle at approximately 3 a.m. Friday morning, and ran from there to Van Pelt Library in nothing but his sneakers. Although it was "freezing cold and rainy" outside, he said he felt "surprisingly okay" while running disrobed. "I thought I would be all shivery," Rodney said. "But the fact that I [was running naked] inspired energy." Not everyone agrees with Rodney's rationale. "I thought he was very disturbed," said College sophomore Christopher Robbins, who witnessed Rodney's athletic feat. "He should be sent to the most capable mental institution in the area," he added. Rodney said his naked evening run was a "rehearsal" for the traditional Quadrangle streak, scheduled to take place next week. When he "streaked the Quad" last year, Rodney added, he "didn't really enjoy it." "I wanted to loosen up more this year," he said. Robbins said he feels "it wasn't appropriate" for Rodney to streak on campus. "But," he added, "to each his own." Rodney answered these charges saying "streaking was a fad that should not have died out." "I think the human body is more beautiful than Calvin Klein jeans or any other high-fashion garment," he said. Rodney added that he is "very comfortable" with his body. Although he said he was not "sexually aroused" by running in the nude, he said some of his fellow streakers might be aroused by the act. Rodney said his solo streak was "very therapeutical." "In an interesting follow-up, I had a dream that night that I was an opera singer," he said. "As a kid, I always loved the opera, but I didn't have the voice to sing it." Rodney said he thought his dream was "symbolic" of running through campus naked. "If I could do that, I can do anything," he said. While Rodney said he doesn't think "streaking is for everyone, he said he "highly recommends it."
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