Strip Culture

Luke Hennings considers himself a normal college student.

The senior business finance major has been to strip clubs,

bachelor parties with private strippers and even has a friend who

is employed as a stripper.

He does not think that is out of the ordinary.

“Going to a strip club is a normal and social thing,” Hennings

said. “I think for girls it is more funny than social, but for guys

it is definitely just social entertainment.”

After visiting a male strip club in Dallas with a group of

friends, freshman Annie Timmerman agreed that the experience

remains humorous to her and her friends.

“It was a dark place and the stage had lights,” said Timmerman,

an open option major. “It was fun I guess, the guys just danced

around and it was more funny than anything.”

Regardless of age or gender, visiting strip clubs is a culture,

said Nate Ornelas, a disc jockey at Dandy Dan’s, a 21-and-over

topless club in Denver.

“We have everybody, from one end of the spectrum to the other,

from blue collar to white collar, from the ditch digger to the

lawyer to the stockbroker,” Ornelas said.

While many college students have viewed professional strippers,

Ann Hudgens, executive director of Campus Life, said she has little

knowledge of a strong association between strippers and college

students.

“My general reaction, over the years, is that I’ve seen very few

of these incidences,” Hudgens said.

Hudgens said there is a distinction between university reaction

to the general student population visiting or ordering strippers

and stripper involvement by students who directly represent

CSU.

“It isn’t an illegal thing, so with the general student

population it has to do more with helping people think it through,

asking them if this is the best thing to do in the long run,”

Hudgens said. “I don’t see it as a big issue.”

Yet, Hudgens views the university’s student representatives

differently.

“The university really has an opinion about it when it is used

by some student organization, a fraternity event or something that

is really affiliated to the university in some way,” she said.

Greek Life regulations concerning strippers vary between

sororities and fraternities, but strippers are strictly prohibited

at any recruitment events.

“For women’s organizations we don’t allow strippers at all,”

said Annie Miller, a senior psychology major and a member of Delta

Delta Delta.

Nathan Steinberg, Inter-Fraternity Council director of risk

management and a member of the Chi Omega fraternity, said there are

no fraternity rules prohibiting strippers, but it is not a

substantial problem.

“I’ve never heard of a fraternity party at CSU with a stripper,”

said Steinberg, a junior liberal arts major. “It’s not really an

issue with us.”

Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity member Dominic Trujillo begs to

differ.

He said that about once a semester strippers visit his

fraternity house.

“We get them for graduating seniors,” said Trujillo, a senior

liberal arts major. “There are usually two girls and they just do

the normal things: strip, do a dance, have whipped cream races. It

is normal, nothing out of hand.”

Trujillo said that he has also heard of sororities hiring

strippers, but Liz Warren, a Chi Omega sorority member said she has

never heard this.

“I definitely haven’t heard of it,” said Warren, a sophomore

social studies education major. “It is not OK with Greek Life.”

While individuals at CSU and university groups may hire

strippers without reprimand, students have varied opinions about

what should be done about possible stripper appearances at athletic

parties.

“I think it is unfair for athletes because other people can just

have strippers at a birthday party and it is over with that night,

no big deal,” Warren said. “Still, I guess it is something that

comes with being an athlete, you’re in the spotlight and people

look at you more closely.”

Timmerman agreed.

“Athletes are supposed to be role models, but they’re just

people trying to have a good time,” she said. “I think the

university should just let it go, if it is not affecting how they

play then it shouldn’t affect them.”

Timmerman added that visiting strip clubs is just a popular

pursuit for college students.

“I lot of people go just for entertainment for their night,”

Timmerman said.

Featuring strippers at athletic parties is just another way to

stand out to recruits, Hennings said.

“It is no different than buying a $200 meal,” Hennings said.

“People ask what stripping has to do with recruitment, but what

does a steak and lobster dinner have to do with recruitment either?

It is just there to impress.”