What a pity there weren't any girls like these when I attended University!!! http://media.www.theonlinerocket.co....But.Comfortable.Normal.For.Two-2982433.shtml Not wearing shoes rare to some, but comfortable, normal for two By Jessica Rupell Rocket Focus Editor Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: Focus Americans, and especially American women, love shoes. In fact, according to the Reuters Web site, "a poll of 1,057 women by the Consumer Reports National Research Center for shopping magazine ShopSmart found U.S. women on average own 19 pairs of shoes." However, shoes aren't important to everyone, such as Alex McNeill, 20, a junior political science major. McNeill, who is known around campus for her political T-shirts, long skirts and strong opinions, is also known for something else: she doesn't wear shoes. "The campus is just so beautiful," McNeill said. "There is so much green space and I just like the way it feels." McNeill said her non-shoe wearing days began during the summer of 2006 when she was working at a Girl Scout camp. She said it was like a home away from home, and she began to feel so comfortable there that she ended up not wearing shoes except for hikes. Since then, she often chooses not to wear shoes at all and said the only places on campus she will wear them are the dining halls and the health center. This means that even classrooms aren't off limits for her. "Only one professor has ever asked about it," McNeill said. "But just out of curiosity, not because they were trying to stop me." Even the weather doesn't stop McNeill. McNeill said that she loves to walk or run in the rain and that she actually gets better traction in the rain without shoes than with her flip flips. Not even snow can stop her. "I only start to wear shoes when snow actually starts to stick to the ground," she said. "But even then I usually wear flip flops and take them off when I get inside." Though she prefers not to wear shoes, McNeill doesn't do it be rebellious and will respect a shoe policy in any public place. "I always have them (shoes) with me in my bag, just in case," she said. At home, she wears shoes in restaurants and her church, though she mentioned the church she attends here is a bit more laid back and she can get away with no shoes. Freshman psychology major Sarah E. Smith, 18, is another who often walks barefoot around campus, and said her reason for not wearing shoes is that she simply doesn't like them. As a left-handed person, Smith said that it took her forever to learn how to tie her shoes and that she would always get in fights with her parents about wearing them. She said that from the time she was old enough to tell her parents she didn't want to wear shoes, she has chosen not to wear them. "I think I was about eight years old," Smith said. "And I would not wear them all summer because it was comfy." Like McNeill though, she isn't completely rebellious when it comes to footwear. "I wear shoes in classrooms and other public places," Smith said. "Mainly because I respect that people don't necessarily like feet." The weather does bother Smith some, she said, and in addition to being in buildings, cold weather is the only thing that makes her put on shoes. Smith said she gets comments about her feet, but with purple hair, she is used to comments about her looks and said they don't bug her. "I'm so used to it by now," Smith said. "There's not much I can do. If they want to stare, let them stare." McNeill said she also gets comments from people who see her on campus. "People make comments all the time and say things such as 'why is this crazy hippie not wearing shoes?' and 'aren't you cold?'" McNeill said. She said that while she gets such comments all the time, she has just started to ignore it. "I'm a very opinionated person and more than willing to share my opinion," McNeill said. "People have assumptions about me-some correct and some not-but there would be assumptions about me regardless of how I dress." As far as the dangers of stepping in something, McNeill said she's not worried about it and that, like everyone else, she just watches where she's walking. "Sometimes I walk in mud, but you can just wash it off," she said. In fact, McNeill has even begun to step on her own cigarettes to put them out. "My feet are so calloused now that it doesn't hurt," McNeill said. "And now I sometimes will do it for show and to get a reaction if a group of people are looking at me strange." Smith also said she isn't scared of what she could possibly step on, though she has run into a few minor problems. "I got a huge cut this summer and I've stepped on nails before," Smith said. "It's bound to happen and I don't think I'm going to learn my lesson." Though their actions may be odd to others, they said there's nothing weird about not wearing shoes to them. "I'm a normal person," McNeill said. "And I do shower. Some of it just stays (on my feet) and my feet are darker than what most people's are." Smith said she actually believes her feet are cleaner than others'. "I wash my feet at least every night, and it's the first thing I do," Smith said. Both women are also supporters of self-expression. McNeill said that all people choose to express themselves in some way, be it the kind of shoes they wear, make-up, jewelry or the way their hair is styled. "People are going to judge you no matter what, so do what you want," McNeill said. "If it's misinterpreted, then it's their problem, not yours." Smith agreed, and said that self-expression is something she feels everyone should experiment with. "You shouldn't be worried about what other people think," Smith said. "I'm actually considering shaving my head just to see how it feels." McNeill said that it's time people start accepting others for who they are. "If you're really that ignorant by judging people on looks then go back to high school with all the rest of the immature people," McNeill said. "Don't judge people on what they wear-or don't wear-and get over yourselves." Pic: Media Credit: Nate Daymut Junior political science major Alex McNeill says the only places she wears shoes on campus are in the dining halls and the health center. http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper601/stills/t4518w43.jpg
great article. thanks for the link, i will post this on the online barefoot groups of which i am a member.
def a good article there. good looks. i love walkin barefoot around my hometown. we got this wicked tiny college there and im one of a couple ppl that actually walk around barefoot.
Thanks for the article, DG2001! Hey, bkcmar. Other than SBL (barefooters.org), what other groups do you belong to?
I guess I had seen a link to this article in SBL messages before... but it seems, it was published here previously, since I had read it before. However, I am sure that it won't hurt the Society formerly known as DSS to read about a few more barefoot students. I was famous for being the barefoot student back in the 1990s, when I went to university... you hardly saw shoes on my feet, when sitting at a terminal in the computer lab, for instance. Evidence: Those were the days... 24/7 barefooting... wiggling toes of an enlisted DSS member (I joined when it carried the old name), ~*Ganesha*~ P.S.: I even have a cap with the old name on it... one member had these made for a barefooters' meeting in Berlin, back in the last century. See below:
seohsreven, i'm a member of a few yahoo barefoot groups: barefootlifestyle, barefoot sport, dirty barefeet, hiking barefoot, texas barefooters, gay barefooters and the world of barefooters."
thats a good article. campuses are great places to just go barefoot and be free, nobody seems to mind and anything goes.
I often wonder why someone feels motivated to write an article like this. After all, is the author desperate for new material? Also, isn't college supposed to be about exploring new boundaries? The last time I looked there weren't any "shoe police" there. An acquaintance of mine told me that when her son started university four years ago, there was a kid who attended the lectures at his university barefoot. Needless to say, her son wasn't impressed, but I was.
