May 5, 2008 BELLEFONTE, Pa. : Go Girl!: Elizabeth R. Burke, 20, of Jamison, was among eight people who participated in a common college tradition. At Penn State this is theMifflin Streak, held every year, a tradition that goes back decades, to kick off spring finals week.
More than 1,000 people gathered to watch this year’s streak on Mifflin Road. Among them was Lizz who showed up after a spur-of-the-moment conversation with a friend. "This seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a break from studying and have a little fun. I originally intended to just go and watch, but I got there and figured, 'Ah, what the heck. Next thing I know I’m in the middle of a human tunnel wearing a fuzzy hat and hockey mask, clutching my sweats and running for my life." The other few girls wore underwear.
But what should have been just ordinary yourthful frivolity ended sourly when police arrested them just after midnight.
When Lizz first broke the news to her parents, they laughed about it and chalked it up to a youthful misadventure. They told her she’d have to pay whatever fines she received and do community service. But then she got the official charges, a misdemeanor criminal offense of open lewdness and a summary disorderly conduct.
They were stunned to learn she would need a criminal defense attorney for a couple of seconds of silliness, Stacy Parks Miller, who has a reputation for courtroom tenacity. “That’s when they started to lose their sense of humor.” She also had to have her mugshot and fingerprints taken for police databases.
The other seven streakers opted to have their charges dismissed through acceptance into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program or with summary guilty pleas. But Lizz decided to fight the good fight.
She argues that that her naked sprint did not "affront or alarm" anyone, as the law requires for such a charge, because everyone was there specifically to watch the streakers.
“Just because a person doesn’t approve of the streak, that doesn’t make it a criminal act,” said Parks Miller, “Have we lost our senses of humor?”
Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane, (who probably never had a day of fun in his life) argued that people may have been affronted by the streak. To imply otherwise, Sloane said, is an affront to the Penn State community by assuming that wild behavior, including running through the streets naked, is perfectly acceptable.
Parks Miller said the spectators, “...positioned themselves perfectly to see the streak, so they cannot be victims.”
Centre County District Judge Thomas Jordan found enough evidence to order the charge, which would result in a criminal record, on to trial. Parks Miller said she will file motions in the Court of Common Pleas to have the charge dismissed, saying the commonwealth cannot offer any witnesses who will say they were offended.
Lizz never wanted her 15 minutes of fame like this.
But she fielded interview requests from the press and answered a long list of text messages and telephone calls offering support. “I’m not trying to make too much of a statement with this,” Lizz said. “I’m fighting this because I believe the charge is wrong.”
The misdemeanor charge would not look good when future employers check her background. “It was just a harmless bit of fun and the charge doesn’t apply to the situation,” Burke said. “It just doesn’t apply.”
Iit might have affected her job search. "I went to apply for a job yesterday and I was actually recognized by the manager. My hopes aren’t too high getting a call back from them."
Lizz now fears her dreams of studying abroad in Rome in the fall are dashed, because a criminal record may prompt Italian authorities “to say, ‘No, we don’t want you here.’ ” Yet in Italy they have strippers on TV, so if she explained the situation they might be quite happy to have her.
Until a ruling is handed down, Lizz is dealing with her accidental celebrity that began after her case was reported in the Centre Daily Times. “I had absolutely no idea it was going to cause such a ruckus,” she said. “There was a TV news crew outside my house when I got home. I gave an interview in the drive. I’m getting texts from people I haven’t heard from since high school.”
She’s also taken solace in the groundswell of support she’s received from the Penn State, Centre County and her hometown communities. She has read the more than 15 pages of comments that piled up below her story on CentreDaily. com and even posted a “thank you” to well wishers. “I love that I have so much support from people, I’m pretty excited the community has come out and supported me.”
But if she had to do again, Burke said she would have kept her clothes on that night. A friend told her the police were there only to make sure streakers did not leave that tightly contained area.
“I guess I should have checked my sources. Knowing the ruckus it would cause, and I meant no disrespect to the community or Penn State, but if I had known the police were quite serious about coming down on this and arresting people, I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
"I take responsibility for my actions, and even though I didn’t think they were going to arrest anyone, ignorance should never preclude a person from the consequences. We’re not arguing that streaking is okay, because in most cases it’s not. The law in this case just does not apply to the situation."
But last week District Attorney Michael Madeira said that youthful indiscretion or not, the law is the law and they are sworn to uphold it.
"It does not matter that perhaps no one at the Mifflin Streak that night was offended, Sloane said. The chance was there that someone may have happened upon the scene and been affronted by the conduct, Sloane said. (As if anyione who isn't a nut case would be affended by the site of such a lovely girl nude)
Authorities cannot simply surrender a section of public street to lawlessness once a year before spring finals." But they can surrender it to a parade.
If you wonder if she is available: "Single, yes. Passively looking, I suppose, but I’m very content at the moment. I worked with a guy this past semester that I was absolutely head-over-heels for, but he shot me down. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten a fair share of alarming messages on Facebook, so I’ve practically gutted my profile and made myself unsearchable. I value my privacy, which I suppose is a bit counterintuitive in this case, but it’s true. Also, the guys who just want to meet me because they think I’m some kind of perpetually nude wild-child will be sorely disappointed."
You have to meet her terms. "Tell any other gentlemen inquirers that if they want a date with me, they have to beat me in a one-on-one Halo slayer match."
I wish the best for her in her fight against the bad guys. Problem is, the bad guys always win, but our duty in life is to fight them anyway. I think this can only help her carrer wise. English majors have a tough time getting jobs, I know. Some sympathetic employer out there will see her charms and admire her steadfastness.
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