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Meet the RA who swore off shoes

Most students are either buying the most expensive pairs of new shoes or counting the holes in their old ones, but this guy bucks the trend, eschewing shoes entirely
Alexandra Isakova - Staff Writer

Alexander Metternich/release photo editor
Adam Shale sets himself apart from other students by walking around campus barefoot during the warmer months. He prides himself on keeping his feet impeccably clean.

He’s a regular student with a notebook in his hand, a cap on his head and a pen in his pocket. But, as he walks further away, what’s different about him becomes blatantly noticeable – he’s not wearing any shoes. Most students are either buying the most expensive pairs of new shoes or counting the holes in their old ones, but this guy bucks the trend, eschewing shoes entirely.

He’s sophomore Adam Shale, an RA from Mohawk. Shale used to be like everyone else - wearing shoes, that is. That all changed in the summer of 1999 when he worked at a sleep-away camp, Tyler Hill, in Pennsylvania. Because he was a water-skiing instructor and his campsite was so close, going barefoot was no problem. Of course, when he returned home it was back to footwear.

Like many students, Shale wore sandals when he arrived at college. When rain came, he still wore sandals, but with a new twist - socks. He said it eventually got on his nerves, and he gave his feet an ultimatum: shoes or nothing. So he took off his shoes and walked on. But this wasn’t his first time going commando. Even before he swore off shoes altogether, he would take off his shoes from time to time. It started when he would have to run somewhere wearing sandals; he just couldn’t get anywhere as fast, so he would take off his sandals and run barefoot.

Shale admitted that, at first, a walk on a rocky road wasn’t all that comfortable. Now he claims that he’s gotten used to it and for the year that he has been doing it, it feels good.

And his feet never sweat.

Shale said the newly paved roads are better because they don’t have any of those rocky, uncomfortable spots. However, he complained that the new pavement gets hot and cold faster than the old.

The only thing that bothers Shale is the comments and the looks he receives every day as he walks to class.

“Are you drunk? Isn’t that pavement hot?” they say as they shower him with dirty looks.

“I don’t do it for popularity; it just feels comfortable for me,” Shale said. “So when someone notices me, it feels good. When people begin to give me looks, I get upset. But what really gets me mad is when the same people ask me over and over again why do I do this. If you say you understand the concept, why keep on asking?”

Reality has caught up with Shale, and as of Nov. 1, he proclaimed that he would wear shoes again—until March 15. Shale said he didn’t want frostbite or any other sickness from the snow. He chose the date based on when it stopped snowing last year and from his own research from www.weatherchannel.com

Shale knows there are some places where there is a “no shoes, no shirt, no service” policy, and he also knows that public bathrooms are sometimes unsanitary. For these reasons, he carries a pair of sandals, just in case.

Home is another place where Shale can’t go barefoot. His parents force him to wear shoes outside. He said his mother worries that he will get sick or catch something, but it’s been a year and nothing has happened, yet.

Adam takes showering very seriously, claiming to spend most of his showers washing his feet so that before he goes to sleep, they are nice, smooth and clean.

And who knows? Maybe bare feet will be the next trend in footwear – or lack thereof.