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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels July 21, 2004 Residents protest nude ban By John Darling Tidings Correspondent It was a first, even for supposedly diverse and tolerant Ashland - two dozen totally naked citizens out front of city hall, waving placards at passing cars, protesting the recently passed anti-nudity law and greeting the mayor and city council members as they walked into their Tuesday evening meeting. Matt Dusek, a 25-year-old ashland resident, protests the city's new ordinance banning the display of genitals in selected areas of the city during a nude picnic at the Ashland Civic Center before Tuesday's city council meeting. Sporting placards - "Keep Your Laws and Paws Off Our Bodies" - the two-hour al fresco, au naturale picnic and frisbee fest was greeted by astounded motorists on East Main Street mainly with honks, smiles, peace signs and the "hang loose" wave - and only a scattered jeer. Many protesters, including 24-year-old Andrea (who asked that her last name not be used) said the nude ban was a move to shape the town for tourists instead of "for the preservation of Ashland's original liberated community." Written on her rear was "Kiss My Nude Ban." The lettered derriere of Aubrey Sharp, 25, Ashland, proclaimed "Nude Bans are Assinine." Said Sharp, "Our bodies are beautiful. Repressing nudity and sexuality causes a lot more problems that it creates, like sexual exploitation and making people feel ashamed. Being naked if we want is liberating and a basic right." Mayor Alan DeBoer, filing into the council meeting, was not among the demonstration's admirers. "It shows an extreme lack of respect for other people," DeBoer said. "It's a small group of people bound and determined to impose their will on the majority. It shows a lack of common sense and if we have to make a rule to impose decency, that's what government is for. I'm just glad my granddaughter is not here to see this." Organized by brothers Eric Navickas, 34, and Ryan Navickas, 29, both of Ashland; Kristen Steuk, 25, of Talent; and Matt Dusik, 25, of Ashland, all of whom recently made news streaking out front of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the nude-in protested the law requested by Ashland Police Chief Michael Bianca and passed 5-1 last month by the council. The ordinance prohibits public display of genitalia (but not female breasts) in the downtown commercial area or in city parks. The lawn in front of city hall fell in neither category, said council Cate Hartzell. "It's legal," she said about the nude-in, suggesting that parties need to "sit down and talk more about this." City councilor John Morrison, who cast the only vote against the ordinance, said the demonstration and streaking were "entirely predictable" since there was no clear and compelling need for the law and it would inevitably be construed in a liberty-loving town like Ashland as "throwing down the gauntlet." Being a "no" vote, Morrison said he's unable to call for reconsideration of the law but might consult fellow councilors on the possibility. "They may feel it will settle down, but after listening to (opponents at the council last night) it sounds like this will keep going." As members of NORMAL (Nudes Opposing Repressive Mentalities and Legislation), the Navickas brothers and Steuk later donned clothing and addressed the council to ask members to rescind the legislation. "It's a shame I live in a community that passes repressive legislation and maybe that's because of ignorance of the human body," said Eric Navikas, who then used his five-minute comment period to read a detailed description of the anatomy and function of male and female genitalia to an attentive but silent council. NORMAL flyers invited the public to the nude potluck and proclaimed, "We will not allow our bodies to be criminalized. This redundant law provides authorities yet another excuse to crack down on protesters. We cannot trust police to use this law appropriately. [It's] an absurd attack on our basic civil rights." "Skyclad" demonstrators lounged on blankets, ate fruit, tossed frisbees with their unclad children, bicycled, stood stark naked buying goodies from an ice cream truck and waved placards from the curb at mostly grinning drivers. Only a few drivers steadfastly averted their gaze. Steuk bared all in protest because "this goes straight back to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and I'm doing it to oppose our culture's use of nudity mainly in pursuit of commercial interests which exploit women." The prevalence of nudity in the media but not in real life, Steuk added, has contributed to women not being able to accept their bodies, few of which measure up to magazine standards. "We have a hard enough time already, but this ban only heightens a woman's feeling that her body is shameful," Steuk said. Passerby Susan Madley, 58, Ashland - who danced nude in the '60s stage production of "Hair," said, "It seems really sad in a town like this to have a law like that on the books. It seems nasty and underhanded. It really brings up my [ire] around thinking my body is not good enough. It makes me happy to see this (demonstration), because our country is tearing down the life force and instead is building a death machine." Paul Copeland, a board member with the local American Civil Liberties Union, spoke against the law before city councilors in May, helping get its scope reduced from the whole city to just downtown and parks. "It's a censorship issue and a political expression issue," Copeland said, because nudity is often used in war or environmental protests, as it was here in the "Buns Not Bombs" march against the Iraq War. Police aren't trained to deal with nude people and have enough enforcement mechanisms already, he added. Police received some 15 nudity complaints last year, said Troy McGuire, 31, of Ashland, noting that young adults use the "fairy pools" in Ashland Creek, off the end of Granite St. for nude splashing and fear that right may eventually be lost if they don't protest the new law. Such "flaunting of what may be objectionable to others," said the mayor, could offend not just townspeople but visitors, resulting in economic harm "those who rely on salaries," and even to the protesters themselves. Many protesters rejected that set of priorities. Andrew Peek, 27, of Ashland, cited "an oppression set on Ashland because of tourists - people who don't live here." "People come here and it's great for commerce," said Dusek, "but (with the nudity ban) they're protecting their own interests and their own ass and they don't want to shock anyone. They've lost sight of the reason we moved here, for civil liberties for everyone." Said Ryan Navickas, "Our city core is a public space. It's not reserved for visitors. It's ours and and we need to keep Ashland as a real town, not protect our image as a tourist destination." Except for one 20-second stop with lights and siren going, police left the demonstration alone. "It was a fun evening," said Steuk. "We just got one 4x4 finger," meaning a rude gesture from the driver of a large truck. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams