News

STUDENTS SELL SEX

By STAR UNDERCOVER REPORTERS

SOME UNIVERSITY STUDENTS have found a new way to combat their ever increasing tuition fees by, believe it or not, becoming sensuous masseuses.

Based on investigations carried out by THE STAR news team, the girls also double as prostitutes to make up for these fees. THE STAR went to several parlours to find out just how far these intellectuals were willing to go to make a quick buck.

Our first trip took us to a massage parlour in a hotel, in upper St. Andrew where the cost to be pampered for 1 hour is $1,500.

The reporter was introduced to Tricia. She wore a skin-tight beige top and long floral skirt which hugged her 5' 6" medium-built frame. She shook hands with the reporter in a businesslike manner and guided him away from the reception area. As she led the way to the room where the massage would take place, the reporter could hear what sounded like female voices engaging in conversations in other rooms.

The massuese opened the door to a dark room and turned on the dim lights.

Oddly, everything in the room was white: the sheets on the queen-sized bed, the chest of drawers and a desk, and the towel she soon handed to the reporter for his bath. She undressed, revealing a black bra and black sequined g-string underwear.

After the reporter's bath, Tricia removed the rest of her clothes in an almost mechanical way and told the reporter to lie face down. She applied baby oil in silence.

The silence which lasted for three minutes, led the reporter to believe that there would be no conversation with this masseuse.

"What's your name again?" The reporter asked hesitantly.

"Tricia", she responded dryly.

"You have soft hands," the reporter said while he turned his head. She appeared to be in her early 20s.

"Thanks," she said smiling.

The reporter seized the opportunity to ask Tricia more questions about herself.

Tricia revealed that she had been a masseuse for more than a year. She told THE STAR that she was a part-time university student majoring in management, because she wanted to pursue a career in that field. She would not tell her exact age but confirmed that she was in her 20s.

As the music from a nearby club broke another round of silence, she explained that she started doing the job to help her pay her school fees.

She said she attended school "on and off, because of work" and had no money.

When asked about how much money she made, Tricia said that on a good night she took home as much as $5,000.

"Some of the clients are nice. They come in and tip you and make you feel good as well," she said, smiling.

Tricia said she also offered sexual favours to clients, and explained that she offered both oral and vaginal sex but refrained from doing anal sex. She told THE STAR that the cost for either act was $3,000 and that fee was non-negotiable.

Depressed

She admitted to liking her job, but said she sometimes felt depressed because she was looked down upon by persons who knew what she did.

"Nobody for me knows that I am a masseuse. My boyfriend doesn't know neither does my family although I don't live with them," said Tricia.

She said though she was the only university student at the parlour, she admitted knowing other students who worked elsewhere.

Allison, a final year university student who studies Linguistics, says she decided to enter the profession because she needed money to study for her Masters Degree.

She said the course she wished to pursue was only offered abroad, therefore, with little available options, she decided to become a masseuse.

"The thing is that I overcame the fear prior to going into it. I knew what people would think of me but I didn't care," she said.

Allison told THE STAR that on a good month she made as much as $60,000 which included tips. She said she did not offer any form of sex.

"I had a boyfriend who knew about it but he was cool with it but I didn't sell sex," she said.

Though Allison says she has stopped working as a masseuse, she explained that she knew of at least one other student who was in medicine who was also a masseuse. She says she does not know if that student is involved in the profession.

When THE STAR contacted both schools that the girls attend, the response to the news was mixed.

"I don't know about the situation so I would not be able to comment on it," said Rae Davis, President of the University of Technology.

In the meantime, Joseph Pereira, Deputy Principal of the University of the West Indies said though they have not received any reports, "what they are doing is not a massage... it is prostitution. As such, they are acting in breach of the law and they would be prosecuted under the law if caught."

He said each case would have to be dealt with on its own merit, and they would have to get the necessary details to determine what to do.

"We would have to determine where the acts took place. If they took place off the campus, then it would be up to the police to prosecute them, so we would not punish them in the same way as those who commit the offence on campus."

When THE STAR told him the overriding reason given by the students for prostituting themselves, he said, "This general moral position has been around for a long time - it predates all of us: on whether people which to prostitute themselves for material gain. But the University does not have a moral position on the matter, it has a legal position that governs our code of conduct and disciplinary actions that can follow."

not their real names.