We never intended for our college dorm to become clothing-optional. In fact, probably none of us girls would have moved in if we knew in advance that would happen. It just evolved. Our small liberal arts college in the midwest always prided itself on being, well, liberal. The dorms were made co-ed long before it became common. One dorm room on a floor would have women, the other men. Men and women's bathrooms were separate, but there was only one set of showers, a long room with communal showerheads. There were times when the showers were male only, then female only. We respected that, although there were occasional accidents of people walking in on the other sex in the showers around the change-over times. But apologies were made and accepted.
Our story began during the summer session, when in late July the massive air conditioning unit on the roof failed. It was high 90's degrees outside, and hotter inside. We were sweltering, and a new unit, on order, wouldn't be installed for weeks. Opening the windows brought no relief; it only invited in hot air. People began to dress with fewer clothes. Many of the girls walked around in bra and panties in their rooms, the guys in briefs. It would have been weird to put on clothes to go to the bathroom, so they walked the halls in that skimpy attire. It became commonplace and accepted.
The only real relief from the heat was cold drinks with plenty of ice -- and to take cold showers. A few enterprising students took to luxuriating under the cold water in their underwear, and then not toweling off. The evaporation of the water from their bodies and underwear acted as a cooling agent. The idea caught on and soon everyone was doing it. But like in a wet t-shirt contest, the water made the fabric cling to the body. The shape of our breasts, already revealed in a bra, was even more apparent. The panties formed camel-toes. The guys had a similar fate. The shape and size of their penis was outlined in their briefs. The dorm was turning into someone's fevered dream of a teenage slumber party.
Outdoors, things weren't much different. We took to laying on the large grassy area outside the dorm in bikinis, the men in swimwear, reading our class assignments, hoping for a passing breeze. We'd spray ourselves with a garden hose, staying wet. But while a breeze usually didn't appear, other things were stirring. Particularly if a guy and gal were dating, sitting together in wet, clinging swimwear encouraged more than a few embraces, and some bulges appeared among the men.
Everyone baked under the sun, sitting and laying on the grass, reading, drinking, talking and sunbathing. Some girls unhooked their tops as they lay on their stomachs, to avoid tan lines. It had to happen, and a few of the more daring ones rolled over, and lay with their breasts exposed. I hadn't seen that happen before, and I know it was the growing openness of displaying our bodies during the heat wave that caused it. Girls just began to do it, and it didn't provoke much comment -- at least not from the students. But the college administration took note. And was not happy.
The VP for Administration, Mr. Pritchard, called for a meeting of all dorm residents on a weekday evening. He addressed us. (We were wearing proper clothes, for the occasion.)
"I know the heat's been overwhelming, and I promise the AC will be repaired soon. But the heat is no excuse for the shocking and irresponsible conduct of some of you. We overlooked the scandalous display of underwear and skin inside the dorm. But public nudity is not permitted. This college is doing more than educating; we're trying to inculcate values too. This is not a nudist colony. The next student who is found not properly dressed on the lawn, or even in the corridors of the dorm, will face severe disciplinary action. Even expulsion."
He went on, but we were hardly listening. There was anger among the students. We are adults now, or so we're told. Don't we have control over our bodies? Who was being offended? No student complained. The college is outside of town, and even the professors live off campus. So it's just us. After the VP finished and left, we students stayed behind. A second meeting took place.
"So what are we going to do?" was the common question. Did we accept this mandate or challenge it? But who was brave enough to face expulsion?
One of the girls, Lisa, always a feisty one, stood up. "Men have for centuries told us women what to do, how to live, what to wear. We're in the 21
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