The naked guy - Berkeley

At the University of California at Berkeley in 1992, a student named Andrew Martinez ¹Andrew Martinez decided to express his belief that the unclothed human body was beautiful and natural. Martinez felt there was no reason to cover his body and started attending classes completely nude. He wore only for sandals, and a bandana that he would spread on his chairs and sit on, for hygienic reasons.

“The Naked Guy,” as he was called led a nude-in to protest social oppression. ²Andrew Martinez Martinez continued to be naked on campus for an entire semester, before the University could decide what they would do. The University had rules that specifically prohibited nakedness on campus. At the time, the city of Berkeley had a law against “lewd behavior”. If Martinez behaved sexually in public they could have stopped him—but he didn’t. He went through his day as normally except that he was naked. This meant he was not actually breaking any current laws or regulations at the time.

Eventually, the University did create a regulation banning public nudity on campus. Martinez was expelled after he showed up naked to his disciplinary hearing.³UC Berkeley Expels Campus Nudist for Naked Disobedience

Martinez later suffered from mental illness later and struggling with schizophrenia, eventually took his own life in 2006.⁴How Berkeley’s ‘Naked Guy’ met a tragic end The city of Berkeley passed an  ordinance prohibiting public nudity in 1993.

References

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  Andrew Martinez
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  Andrew Martinez
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  UC Berkeley Expels Campus Nudist for Naked Disobedience
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  How Berkeley’s ‘Naked Guy’ met a tragic end