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.”
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