Stinky student fights for right to reek

January 26, 1998
Web posted at: 9:36 p.m. EST (0236 GMT)

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- A college student is taking Norway to court over
his right to reek.  The man was barred in 1981 from the University of
Oslo, where he was an astrophysics student, because his strong smell
and tattered clothing drew complaints from fellow students and staff,
the Oslo newspaper Verdens Gang reported Monday.

The man, whose name was not released, has lived in a plastic-foam
shack in Oslo since 1978. He claims that avoiding soap and living in a
shack helps him achieve a deeper understanding of astrophysics, the
newspaper said.  He has repeatedly challenged the university's ruling
in court, but lost every time. Now his attorney wants to take the
matter to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

"We are pointing out several regulations ... including the right to a
private life and the right to an education," attorney John Christian
Elden told the newspaper.