Student’s nude ride through lecture hall for a good cause
Talk about real life learnings.
A University of Otago student cycled naked through an undergraduate anatomy lecture on Thursday.
Paddy O’Brien, a 19-year-old student from the United States, said he completed the stunt to raise awareness of testicular cancer.
The Knox College resident suffered from a rare type of bone cancer more than eight years ago, which he said ‘‘profoundly changed my life’’.
‘‘Ever since then I’ve been really motivated to give back to people who are in my situation,’’ O’Brien said.
With a team of mates manning the necessary doors, O’Brien left Knox College, cycled the streets and breezed through the lecture theatre, packed with more than 200 onlookers.
O’Brien chose the Human Body Systems lecture, focusing on physiology and anatomy, because it was the biggest crowd available.
He wore a helmet – safety first – but little else.
‘‘I made sure to tape up my bits with rugby strapping tape, I wanted to avoid any indecent exposure.’’
The lecturer did not seem to notice the free-rider until he was within arm’s reach of the lectern.
Sniggers rippled across the crowd until O’Brien departed, stage right, when students erupted into laughter.
‘‘It was quite funny really,’’ O’Brien said.
After several rounds of chemotherapy when he was younger, O’Brien went into remission and became the face of fundraising efforts to build a new children’s hospital in San Francisco.
‘‘I would never wish that on anybody and it’s a really tough thing to go through, especially at a young age.’’
Nearly $US1 billion (NZ$1.4b) was raised to build the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital, finished in 2014.
‘‘With this ride through the university, I wanted to show that fundraising doesn’t have to be bake sales and fundraisers. You can generate awareness by something fun like this,’’ he said.
The economics student hoped to finish his degree in two years before returning to the United States.
A University of Otago spokeswoman said O’Brien ‘‘was spoken to [yesterday] morning by our Proctor in relation to this matter’’ and ‘‘warned’’ against further stunts.