Men ogle at student-models One businessman, nervously gripping a Playboy hidden below a surfing magazine, stood uneasily in front of Tower Books on South Street yesterday. Sliding up beside 1995 College graduate Susane Colasanti and Medical student Alison Dietrich, he handed them his copy of the famous men's magazine, saying under his breath, "Make it out to Mike." Colasanti and Dietrich, the two University representatives in the "Women of the Ivy League" pictorial for the October issue of Playboy, signed magazines yesterday at Tower Books on South Street and at Waldenbooks in the Gallery. The men who asked for autographs were often surprisingly nervous and shy, the women said. Colasanti and Dietrich also noted that on several occasions, a group of young men walked by their table and one would say, "You go in," and the other would counter, "No, you." More courageous men had their pictures taken with the students, and one young man, Philadelphia resident Tim Guza, even had his skateboard signed. Guza said he did not buy the October Playboy because he thinks it is too expensive. "I just saw cute girls with pens and I thought I'd have them sign my skateboard," he said. The two women both said their day in the Philadelphia spotlight was "uneventful" in terms of the number of people who visited their signing table. But Dietrich said her day was extremely busy because she had tried to fit the signing tour in with her hectic Medical School rotation schedule. Colasanti said she was very pleased with the issue -- although her full nudity in the photograph surprised her. "I didn't think I was going to be as naked as I was," she said. "I thought they were going to use a different picture." Colasanti said most of her exposure to Playboy has been from former boyfriends who regularly read it. Although it irritated her then, she said her modeling experience has allowed her to understand why men are so attracted to the magazine. "Now I realize that men are very visual," she said. "They look at this very differently than women do. It's almost like women looking at clothes." Colasanti added that her mother loved the spread, but Dietrich said her parents wished she had not posed. But both said the biggest issue was how to tell their grandmothers about their appearances. The women both said they would model for Playboy again if given the chance. In fact, Dietrich said she thought about auditioning for the position of Playmate centerfold, but her fiance and parents persuaded her against it. 1993 College graduate Eric Umansky, who was in Tower Books during the magazine signing, said Colasanti was his neighbor last year and that she was quite eccentric -- especially because she scrawled poetry on her walls. "It was interesting living in the same apartment with her," he said. "And now that we have nude pictures of her, it makes it even more interesting."
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