OK, Now Let Me Get This Straight: If They’re Wearing Pasties, It’s Dirty?

You may have missed it (there was no film at 11) but the ‘60s idea that social activism and nudity are linked appears to be making a comeback.

A few nights ago, a group of female students at UC San Diego went on a “Take Back the Night” march organized by the Women’s Resource Center.

Suddenly, one of the women defiantly removed her shirt and bra. Another followed. And another and another.

One eye witness account put the number of female marchers walking bare-breasted at 50 or so.

“Going topless wasn’t planned,” said an editor at the student newspaper, the Guardian. “It just happened.”

Campus cops watched the march but made no busts.

There were no untoward incidents, although students (male and female) living in dormitories apparently cranked up the volume on their hi-fi systems.

One student wrote later that the nudity detracted from the righteousness of the march. However, she is a clothing and costume designer and presumably has a conflict of interest vis-a-vis nudity.

A spokeswoman for the Administration says that, although public nudity is not normally tolerated, there will be no discipline or sanctions meted out to marchers.

Compare this to a couple of years ago when a fraternity hired a stripper for a rush event. A stompin’ good time was had by all, and no injuries were reported.

But when word about the event got out, the stuff really hit the fan. Feminists demanded punishment.

The frat men were banned from using campus facilities for six months and sentenced to sit through a re-education-camp lecture by Ann Simonton, the ex-cover girl turned beauty contest protester who often demonstrates while wearing slices of baloney.

I asked the campus spokeswoman about the Administration’s disparate attitudes toward nudity in the two cases: Tolerance for the female marchers, censure and knuckle-rapping for the frat men.

The spokeswoman explained that nudity at the march was spontaneous and meant to engender “respect for women,” whereas the frat party was premeditated and meant to exploit female nudity for entertainment.

There you have it: breasts can be displayed on campus for politics, but not for fun. I’m not sure, but I think that’s called political correctness.

Retiring Minds Wanna Go

San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen has always promised that he would remain in the top job for at least five years--until September, 1993.

But now he’s trimming that a bit, saying he’ll probably stay into the beginning of 1993 but not much beyond.

He’s already bought a plot of land 12 miles outside Hot Springs, Ark., in a planned community with lakes, golf courses and tennis courts.

“There’s a certain fascination about life in the community we are relocating to that I am almost unable to describe,” Burgreen told Times reporter Mark Platte. “It’s a return to a previous time when people knew their neighbors, and volunteer work was important.”

Once he’s retired, he’ll occasionally consult on how to set up civilian review boards “that work” and talk about the “neighborhood policing” used in San Diego.

“I’ll be approaching 55 when I retire, and everyone who has done it tells me that it’s like the whole world has been taken off your shoulders,” he said.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Well, Things Are Rub All Over

Around town.

* I get worried when a waitress at a San Diego restaurant directs me to the salad bar with the advice that everybody needs some “rubbish” in their diet.

* The free (ride) press, no more.

Under a decree by City Manager Jack McGrory, starting next month, reporters receiving a media identification pass (good for crossing police lines) from the Police Department will be charged $8.

* Is Gov. Pete Wilson worried about Pat Buchanan?

Vic Kiklowicz, a landscape designer in Carlsbad and part-time political commentator for KCEO-radio, says he was escorted out of the room during one of the governor’s recent speeches to a Republican gathering.

He says his only sin was wearing a Buchanan for President button.

A spokesman for Wilson says that, if indeed Kiklowicz was shown the door, it wasn’t done by the state police or anyone connected with the governor’s office.

* San Diego bumper sticker: “Who Are the Grateful Dead and Why Are They Following Me?”