Naked mile brings seedy element to Ann Arbor

The Naked Mile, a yearly tradition in which hundreds of students celebrate the last day of classes by running nude through the streets of Ann Arbor, has in recent years become a spectator sport - leaving many questioning the safety of the run.

While the Naked Mile started out small, with only members of the University men's crew team participating, Ann Arbor Police Department Deputy Chief Larry Jerue said it attracted about 800 runners and more than 10,000 spectators last year.

Jerue said the thousands of spectators who come from around the world and take pictures and videos usually show up not only in newspapers and on television, but are distributed uncensored on the Internet.

"It does allow a very seedy element of society" into Ann Arbor, he said, and along with the "party atmosphere" and alcohol consumption, "sexual deviates come to just to reach out and touch participants as they run by," compromising both safety and privacy.

But Jerue said that since Naked Mile participants are taking part in an illegal act - disrobing in public is against Michigan state law - the AAPD "in no way endorses this activity," and therefore is limited in taking safety measures.

Police officers try to control extra traffic, crack down on public drinking and monitor the area, he said, but the AAPD doesn't have sufficient manpower to control the huge crowds. In addition, since the Naked Mile is not an organized event like a city parade, with permits issued, they cannot "make a fully developed plan," Jerue said. "That would condone the activity ... we can't ensure safety at an illegal event."

Jerue also pointed out that state law brings a one-year misdemeanor charge against those who undress in public.

"If found guilty, you could be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life," he added, although he said they have not charged runners in past years. But people need to be aware of the possible legal ramifications, make sound decisions and try to find "a far better way to celebrate the end of the semester," he said.

The only way to ensure complete safety, Jerue said, is "by not having it occur ... we would rather see it come to an end without having any police action."

Sarah Heuser, training and education coordinator for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, said that "women in general are more targeted to abuse of a sexual nature," but both male and female runners can report assault, as some people did after last year's run.

"It is still a crime," Heuser said. "Running in the Naked Mile shouldn't be a deterrent."

The Michigan Student Assembly, like the AAPD, also does not endorse the Naked Mile, but its Safety Committee is taking extra steps to ensure runners' safety this year.

"The Naked Mile is basically a disaster waiting to happen," MSA president Trent Thompson said, adding that the Ann Arbor community does not support the activity. "It's grown so big that it's becoming very dangerous."

As part of last year's attempts at safety, Thompson said, MSA provided 'Naked Mile' t-shirts for finishers, but they didn't have enough because spectators took them as souvenirs. This year they are accepting t-shirt donations from other student organizations, as well as providing blank ones for runners, he said.

LSA first-year student Kym Stewart, who heads MSA's Safety Committee, said the t-shirt idea is mainly "to make sure women aren't taken advantage of" as they pass the finish line and walk home. "It's so important that people be safe," Stewart said. "That's what we're focusing on."

In addition to the t-shirts, she said, groups of volunteer students will be posted along the route with walkie-talkies to notify police of potential problems and hold the crowds back away from the runners.

MSA nursing Rep. Jen Seamon said a meeting for interested volunteers is scheduled for April 15 at 9 p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union.

Engineering sophomore Rodrigo Palma, who attended the Naked Mile last year, said that although the safety efforts seemed pretty organized, there still is potential for problems.

"With lots of people coming from outside campus just for the voyeurism aspect, and males who are drunk off their asses, it could be potentially dangerous," Palma said.

LSA senior Claudia Lopez has run the Naked Mile four times - twice her first year because the crew team traditionally runs before the rest of campus. She said she is thinking about not running this year due to potential legal trouble.

The increasing number of spectators has made the run more dangerous than the first year she ran, Lopez said, because of the videotaping and the way they crowd the runners.

"It's a very good tradition but the spectators take away from that," she said.

Females are more vulnerable than males during the run, she said, but if they run sober it will make it safer.

"Probably a good 90 percent of people running for the first time drink," Lopez said.

03-18-99