3 students punished for putting stripper pole in dorm
3 students punished for putting stripper pole in dorm at Jacksonville University
The Associated Press
Posted September 23 2004, 1:28 PM EDT
JACKSONVILLE -- Three students at Jacksonville University have been punished for installing a stripper's pole-dancing stage in an on-campus apartment and taking pictures as clothed female students performed on it at a party, a university spokesman said.
About a dozen women competed for a $100 Victoria's Secret Gift Certificate Sept. 11, said James Foster, a 20-year-old junior from West Palm Beach who hosted the party. None of the women disrobed.
The men bought the steel pole from Home Depot, bolted it to the concrete ceiling and attached the bottom to a plywood stage covered in red felt.
``Honestly, we just wanted to say we had a stripper pole,'' Foster said. ``We never actually expected girls to dance on it.''
When university officials ordered the men to remove the pole, they complied, but not before building a huge party around it.
Signs reading, ``Pole Dancers Wanted,'' were posted around campus and the men bought huge quantities of beer.
Friends were enlisted friends to check identifications and manage security. They charged $5 for men and women were let in free.
The party ended shortly after the beer ran out.
John Daigle Jr., a school spokesman, said the party's hosts may have broken several rules ranging from violations of policies banning lewd or incident behavior; making unapproved changes to university property and possibly violations of the school's alcohol policy.
Daigle, citing university privacy rules, declined to identify the students involved or the punishment they received.
``The university took this seriously and the punishment was appropriate,'' Daigle said. Punishments at the university can range from a verbal reprimand to dismissal.
Foster said he was put on residential probation through Nov. 9 and had to write a letter of apology. The penalties imposed on the other students were not released.
None of the women faced any type of disciplinary action, Daigle said.
``There was no public nudity involved here,'' he said.
Residential adviser Amber Davis said the party degraded women.
``There are other ways they can go out and get a girlfriend if that's what they want,'' she said.
The men have taken down the pole and converted the stage to a pingpong table.
