Hold your britches! For the first time since 1846, it’s no longer legal to be nude in the city of Burlington. The Burlington City Council’s final ordinance was passed in September 2025.

Roslen Wallstrom ‘28 witnessed a naked man walking past the school during their PE class last year. 

“Everyone was like ‘oh my God’, pointing at him and started taking pictures of him,” Wallstrom said. “Everyone was freaking out, and she [PE teacher Katlyn Mastrantone] tried to calm everyone down and lead them back to school.”

Wallstrom is glad the law is changing. 

“There is no situation ever where that should be okay, especially in downtown Burlington, where so many families hang out,” Wallstrom said.

Apsa Dieng ‘26 said she once saw one of the Burlington nudes on the street. 

“We quickly walked the other way to avoid him,” Dieng said. “I suppose it wasn’t really the fact that he was naked that scared me. I just thought that it must take a lot of bravery, so what else is he brave enough to do?”

Molly Welsh ‘27 said that initially, when she saw someone on her way home, she was “super shocked”.

“I thought it was funny at first,” Welsh said. “[Then] it hit me that there are little kids around that have to see that.”

In May, there was an incident in which it was reported that a naked person walked near an elementary school. 

This prompted over 100 angry letters from the Burlington Business Association regarding the issue of public nudity in Burlington. They wrote that the increase in nudity in Burlington “is causing alarm among families and negatively impacting Burlington’s reputation as a welcoming environment.” 

A month after the nudity event, the Burlington City Council voted to advance the ordinance, and it was passed unanimously in September.

Sam Doherty ‘26 said that in the past year, groups like the King Street Center and YMCA Summer Camps have stopped bringing children downtown, in part, because of this issue.

“This is a positive and necessary step for Burlington,” Doherty said.

On the other hand, some students like Sara Conner ’29 believe that this new ordinance goes against Burlington’s identity and values.

“People say keep Vermont weird,” Conner said. “This is not keeping it weird, it’s making it normal.”

Luca Stanton ‘26 agrees.

“As an American, I think I should be allowed to leave my house naked if I so choose,” Stanton said.

Historically, Vermont was one of the few states in the nation that did not explicitly ban public nudity, passing a law that said that nudity must be lewd to be considered criminal.

This stems from an 1846 case, State v. Millard, where the Vermont Supreme Court said Millard was a “pervert” acting “with intent to incite in their minds lewd and unchaste desires.”

This distinction of intent made it legal for people to leave their homes without clothing, as long as they didn’t undress in public.

The September ordinance marks the end of a legal nudity streak that lasted for 179 years.

And make no mistake, the Vermont City Council will not turn the other cheek. The punishment for not following the new ban for anyone over the age of 5 is:

• 1st offense, a one-hundred-dollar fine.

• 2nd offense within six months, a two-hundred-dollar fine.

• 3rd offense within six months, a five-hundred-dollar fine.

No ifs, ands, or butts.