Photo: David Demic

The art of foreplay is not an easy task to achieve, but with the right coaching you can turn your bedroom into a sweltering sauna.

Unlike men, women are not immediately raring to go. They need to run their engines a while to, you know, get their juices flowing. Foreplay is the perfect opportunity to accomplish just that. Before putting your key in the ignition, try to talk and tease. Dirty talk can be a great way to enhance the sexual content and it is a sexy way to let him or her know exactly how you like it. As you whisper sexy nothings into their ear, focus attention toward erogenous parts of the body, which can really raise sexual desire, such as their mouth, neck, inner thighs, lower back and ears.

Another great way to amp up the action before the magic happens is to provide your company with a strip show. Attention all men: stripping is not just for women anymore. We want to see you remove those suspenders and unbutton that shirt. First things first, though. Don’t forget those socks. Nothing is more of a turn off than eyeing your flavor of the week up and down to notice they are worried their feet will get cold.

Don’t hesitate to get your hands dirty – or your mouths for that matter – metaphorically speaking.

A great way to know what appeals to your partner is by reading their body language. If they look as though they are in pain or are uncomfortable, stop immediately. Here is a great time for dirty talk if that does happen. Try something like, “Where do you want me to rub” or “what do you want me to do to you?” Yes, surprisingly, communication is very sexy and makes sex that much better.

It’s important to get in the mood and there is no better way to get there then letting one’s imagination run wild. Adult entertainment (yes, you heard me right, porn) provides both partners with the perfect opportunity for arousal. Lie naked with one another and keep in mind, anything is up for grabs in this situation. Pay attention to one another and the steamy sex scene on screen.  Take notes of experiences you wish to try and express those interests to your partner. Judge your partners response before diving in head first. The desire here is to simply let your imagination flow freely. You do not need to try all of these suggestions tonight when you meet up with your sex kitten. Mix it up. Try one tonight and a different one next week or if you’re like me, try a different one in the morning.  Just remember to be sure things stay pleasurable, vigorous and erotic. The struggle with foreplay is that everyone is different and it takes time to make find those niches, but as long as you are attentive, you will bring much pleasure and success.

Reverse Cowgirl

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Photo: Dyann Diercks

With up to 125 personnel cuts looming over the heads of University of Wyoming employees, it is easy to forget that faculty and staff have been fighting a three-year long battle with the UW administration.

Specifically, university employees have applied and been denied raises in wages over the last few years.

UW President Tom Buchanan and the university administration have not been able to give these raises to employees because of the budget cuts the university has been experiencing, both this year as well as in 2009. In fact, Buchanan requested an additional $9.7 million dollars in January to be allocated to fellow university employees. The state Joint Appropriation Committee stated that it does see the logic in salary raises, because by giving out additional pay raises it would lead to the unemployment of others at the university to make up for the difference.

However, patience among university employees has been wearing thin over the last four years and the budget cuts only worsen the already negative morale around campus.

Employees deserve pay raises for their dedication and hard-work at the university. By denying the staff deserved compensation for the labor they do, the school finds that it is only hurting itself. The wage differences that professors see between UW and another university will deter academic research leaders and innovators from this campus – deteriorating the high level of excellence that our school can still pride itself with. With the many faculty members, who share and educate students in classes and labs, the risk of losing them is something the university and its students cannot afford.

Some general grief felt by employees even translated into proposals for walk-outs among the staff.

During the 2012 spring semester, an email calling for such measures was circulated among staff members. One staff member in the email was Office Associate at the Gender and Women’s Studies Department Wendy Perkins.

“How far are we willing to go to express our discontent?” said Perkins. “I have a faculty acquaintance who has suggested a two-hour walk-out. A walk-out by staff and faculty at the UW campus and other state offices. A show of force by state employees to make a statement of how important we are to the functionality of government entities and our value.”

However, employees were warned that such a walk-out would only be seen as a denial to fulfill their workload, essentially suppressing any notions of protest.

As the student voice on campus, the Branding Iron staff puts into question the logic behind the disadvantageous wages employees at the university are forced to suffer as state revenues severely fluctuate throughout the years.

This dissatisfaction also comes in light of the recently increased salary for Cowboys Football Head Coach Dave Christensen, who is now paid approximately $1.2 million per year – more than any other state official in Wyoming and certainly more than many university employees’ combined salaries.

From a student perspective, investing $1.2 million into a single person for a sports team that has an average winning record at best is not worth the budget allocation. Rather, the university should invest more money into the hiring of top professors and employees for the university to raise the academic bar of our institution to even higher standards.

Branding Iron

The Branding Iron is a Student Media project. Student Media gives University of Wyoming students valuable experience in writing, editing, advertising, sales, graphic design, photography and production through its publications with the guidance of professional staff members. If you find a mistake in an article, e-mail us at bi@uwyo.edu. We will make sure to torture the poor soul until it's corrected. Just kidding. We probably won't do anything, since we're busy studying for finals.

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Photo: Zoe N. McDonald

This fall Y Cross ranch could be sold, in a move that frustrates students, donors and the Wyoming community.

The 50,000-acre ranch sits in the heart of southeast Wyoming spanning 78 square miles between Laramie and Cheyenne.

A Denver philanthropist, Amy Davis, donated Y Cross ranch, cattle and machinery to CSU and UW in 1997 to aid agricultural programs.

Davis told the Associated Press, “I don’t think they’ve taken advantage in the last 14 years of what this ranch opportunity should have given to the students.”

“CSU professors didn’t know the ranch was available [for internships],” CSU summer ranch intern Ben Wurz said.

UW student, Drake Jorns, only knew about the internships when he looked up the ranch online.

“The ranch is intended to be a model of a working cattle ranch and to provide opportunities for students,” ranch caretaker Manny Monserrate said.

“Most students in the department now do not come from an agricultural background and are not familiar with agriculture in general. Internships on the Y Cross provide the much needed understanding of agricultural and the livestock industry from the ground up,” said Annette Monserrate in a letter to UW President Tom Buchanan.

“You can’t learn [ranching] in a classroom,” Jorns said.

“I’ve been ranching for almost 40 years and am still learning,” Manny Monserrate said. “We are here to teach the next generation how to work.”

To date, the ranch has had 25 interns and employees from both universities studying geology, range and wildlife management, and equine studies. The ranch also provides student scholarships.

“For the state of Wyoming to support the sale of a beneficial educational gift to the students of Wyoming and Colorado appears unethical and endangers the university’s Land Grant Mission,” said Annette  Monserrate in a letter to the state legislator. “Neighbors and the ranching community are aware of the facts surrounding the issue and are watching to see if the education of future leaders and the ethics of our political system are upheld.”

UW dean of the College of Agriculture, Francis Galey, told the AP, “It’s a very, very efficient and lean working operation. So the way it was set up staffing-wise, there just wasn’t a way to accommodate the teaching we wanted to do.”

In 2009, negotiations began for CSU to buy out UW’s portion of the ranch. The Davis Foundation agreed to help CSU purchase UW’s half of the ranch, but negations fell through as UW refused to be bought out.

The two schools attempted to trade Y Cross with land east of Laramie last year but decided that the land swap would not follow the intent of the gift.

In early June the presidents of CSU and UW met in La Jolla, Calif. to announce that they are moving forward with the sale of the ranch.

The ranch will be sold under a sealed bid method and could be sold early fall. Davis told the AP she estimates the ranch could be worth between $20 and $30 million.

The profits from the sale will be used to fund agricultural scholarships and internships at both schools.

Taylor Haynes, a Cheyenne area rancher told the AP, “Basically it’s a great teaching tool and it’s just too bad it would be gone.”

Zoe N. McDonald

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Photo: David Demic

“When the doors opened and everyone came in at once, there was a little panic between everyone,” bartender Joe Hruska said.

The stress and excitement of the Crow Bar & Grill finally opening was underway.

“We had a list of drinks on our order tape about 7 feet long within four minutes. It was a couple of hours before we really got into a flow of things,” Hruska said.

And with all this business flowing in the doors, there were some kinks that the newest of Laramie’s bars suddenly faced.

“We had seven or eight kegs on tap opening night and all the beer was pouring warm and the pressures were way too far off. They had just been installed that day, so we never had time to fiddle with them,” Hruska said.

This beer malfunction made it difficult for customers’ needs to be met. Overall, the process of opening the Crowbar & Grill was no easy task. Co-owner Andy Glines, who worked at Big Hollow Food Coop before he decided to open his own gastropub with friend and co-owner Justin Turner, describes the hoops he had to jump through to get the business going.

“I guess the pieces that took the longest were … our building permit which [took] about two months,” Glines said. “We were changing this entire space from basically just a retail store to a kitchen.”

Glines has learned a lesson in the short few days of being open.

“Everybody says ‘don’t open until you’re ready,’ but the first thing we found out was like when we thought we were ready – you’re really not,” Glines said.

After opening night, and realizing the issues that popped up, there are some changes being made to accommodate the flow of business.

“We are currently waiting for a walk-in cooler to chill the kegs and get some kinks worked out with the tap lines as well,” Hruska said. The Crowbar & Grill hopes to serve up to 15 craft beers on tap.

“Another issue has been keeping a steady list of bottled beers for people to choose from. The distributors didn’t expect us to be needing so much of so many, and we keep buying out their stock,” Hruska said.

The Crowbar & Grill sets itself apart by its mood and relaxed atmosphere.

“It’s a great place to go for groups just wanting to eat, sit around and talk and enjoy some beers and cocktails you don’t normally find in other establishments in Laramie, or go on a date, or just got sit at the bar and have a conversation with someone,” Hruska said. “The Crowbar and Grill is different because of the atmosphere we are trying to provide.”

Holly Diorio

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An bird-eye view of the Wyo./Colo. wildfires just north of Laramie. PHOTO: Bob Sylar.

Cooler temperatures and calmer winds Wednesday helped quell a wildfire burning in a remote and mountainous area of the Medicine Bow National Forest in east-central Wyoming, giving firefighters time to reposition helicopters and other equipment before hot, dry conditions return this weekend.

The Russell’s Camp fire is located about 30 miles south of Glenrock and has burned about 4 square miles since Sunday.

It remained completely uncontained as of Wednesday afternoon.

But fire spokeswoman Laura McConnell said the eastern edge of the fire was relatively quiet after strong winds caused active burning the previous three days.

“It’s kind of light and breezy,” McConnell said. “It’s certainly not the sustained gusts and heavy winds that we’ve had the last several days.”

There are about 300 firefighters and six helicopters assigned to the fire — the cause of which remains undetermined.

“In talking with our safety officer and folks around base camp, it was pretty much a quiet day,” McConnell said.

McConnell said fire managers took advantage of the better conditions Wednesday to reposition the base for the helicopters.

“The helibase was getting moved closer to the fire so it’s a shorter turnaround time,” she said.

Hot, dry conditions that lead to more active fire behavior are expected to return by this weekend, McConnell said.

“Saturday and Sunday are looking as being two days of concern,” she said.

Elsewhere, a wildfire that began in Wyoming on Tuesday burned into northern Colorado, but firefighters have already managed 90 percent containment. The fire has burned about 550 acres of juniper and brush.

What ignited the fire is under investigation.

And Guernsey State Park, which was closed down by a 2,500-acre wildfire in southeast Wyoming last week, is now completely open, according to the state parks department. The park was partially reopened last weekend.

Associated Press

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Noelia Antweiler (center left) strikes a dramatic pose with inmates of the Kentucky Northpoint Training Centre as part of the Voices Inside acting rehabilitation program. PHOTO: Voices Inside Courtesy

Being well rounded is one of former university student Noelia Antweiler’s many talents. She has performed in over two dozen plays, both educational and professional, played roles as diverse as the “Chicago” sex idol Velma and a mother trying to help her ADD afflicted child in “Distracted.”

And then there was that time she taught prison inmates in Kentucky how to write touching plays and feel characters’ motivations.

“In the beginning it was kind of weird, just being in prison with all these guys in orange jumpsuits,” Antweiler said. “I just remember feeling overwhelmed but also really excited.”

She found herself in the position of a teacher during an internship with the Kentucky Pioneer Playhouse, which gave her the opportunity to first perform a play in the prison and later teach a classroom of ten inmates.

“Noelia was hired as an actress at Pioneer Playhouse,” Pioneer Playhouse Managing Director Roby Henson said. “Our theater does outreach services to our community and we consider the Northpoint Prison 9 miles down the road as part of our community.”

Antweiler was initially concerned whether her presence would disturb the group dynamic of the inmates, who had been part of the “Voices Inside” outreach program for a year prior to her teaching. Her worries were unfounded.

“She totally bought into the concept of rehabilitation through creativity,” Henson said. “She helped the incarcerated polish their writing and performance skills and became the inmate’s favorite instructor last summer.

“I decided the best way to handle it was to be myself and treat them like humans,” Antweiler said. “And so, I totally fell in love [with the work] that week and proceeded to come back three or four times a week, every week, for the rest of the summer.”

Over these weeks, Antweiler and Henson worked closely with the inmates on refining their self-written plays as part of the Voices Inside mission to “increase communication skills, build self-esteem and humanize and enrich the lives of those closed off behind bars,” according to the program’s website.

The connection Antweiler developed with the inmates became one of respect and trust. Even after she left Kentucky, the inmates continued writing her letters and asking for her advice.

In one case, an inmate by the name of Ricky wrote Antweiler that the work she did with them moved many to want to live a better life.

His dedication was put to the test during an incident at the prison.

“Two days ago, while at work with a friend, while we were upstairs, another inmate attacked and attempted to kill two female officers. We were upstairs in the building, they were down-stairs, alone with the inmate,” Ricky wrote Antweiler. “By the time we were able to reach them, both had been injured and were later removed by ambulance.

“In pulling him off the female officer (a Sgt.), I ended up in one of the most brutal fights I have been in for many, many years. I broke the middle finger of my right hand and also fractured my right hand. He was a terror, Noelie [sic]. The Sgt. Said that we had saved both of their [lives]. In my humble opinion, she is correct. As I told Robby, though I would have undoubtedly came to their aid, the fact is that by being involved in the Playwriting venture where one is forced to explore himself, I was able to help save two [lives] with a noble heart and a clear mind.”

To Antweiler, who considers theater to be her “creative wild child,” it is also one of the most important things in society because it brings people together, she said.

“Theater can talk about taboo subjects in a really constructive way and can just be plain entertaining,” she said. “It really speaks to my soul and it’s where I’m happiest. And I believe in happiness – not doing things for money.”

David Demic

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“The players on the team give up their summer to play summer baseball in order to improve their game, learn new skills, rehabilitate injuries, and gain experience in a competitive setting with a lot of games in a short period of time,” Colts Manager Maria Almendares said. “These are the players that you will see playing at the next level.”

Photo: Edward Timmons. Second base forward Mason Smith during batting practice before the Colts versus Casper Cutthroats game June 7. The Colts won 14-9 against the Cutthroats.

But next to a strenous schedule, Colts Pitchers Alex Martin and Michael Coelho said that the team cohesiveness is also one of joking around and laughing with teammates. “We all love each other. We believe in the term ‘E.L.E.’ – everybody love everybody,” Martin said. The Laramie Colts Baseball Club started eight summers ago in 2005. They play on the University of Wyoming campus at Cowboy Field. This season, the Colts will compete with 27 players and three coaches on the team. “In the first seven years, the Laramie Colts have played in five league playoffs and won three league championships [in 2006, 2008, and 20090,” Almendares said.

The Laramie Colts Baseball Club has been off to a level start this season, with a record of 4-5 overall. With more than 40 games left to play, the Colts have plenty of time to turn their record into a winning one.

The Colts play that number of games in a relatively short season, lasting only a couple of months.

“Because the players are all members of their respective collegiate teams, our season is just two months in the summer,” Almendares said. “The players return to their schools for their regular seasons when school begins in the fall. Many of the players are on athletic scholarships with their respective colleges.”

In preparation for returning to school, the team is focuses on continually improving.

“The improvement of our guys [is our most important goal],” Head Coach Marty Berson said. “It’s about them.”

To Berson, working toward improving the players’ skills is the key to success as a team.

“It’s not about winning. If we improve, winning takes care of itself,” Berson said.

The Colts main competitor are the Ft. Collins Foxes, who are one of four teams competing in the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League and have defeated the Colts three times this season.

“I think eventually we are going to be on a par with them and I’m hoping that it’s between us for the championship,” Berson said.

Berson said he does not want his players working out too much during the season. He discourages players from lifting weights everyday, since it would be too strenuous with their schedule and it would be too easy for players to get injured, he said.

“These guys had a college season [and now] a summer season — these guys need a rest,” Berson said.

Martin said he would reccomend the beer and hotdog diet, which Berson referred to as the “Babe Ruth Diet.”

Since the Colts are just beginning their summer season, fans are welcome to come out and watch a home game at the Cowboy Field, Almendares said.

“The Laramie Colts are not affiliated with UW or the UW club baseball team, though our goal is to help continue to build a baseball community in Laramie and provide fun family entertainment during the summer in Laramie,” Almendares said.

Further information, game schedules and players statistics for the Colts can be found on their website, www.laramiecolts.com.

Holly Diorio

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Ingredients: 1 cup All Purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cup milk 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or melted butter 3 eggs To make the crepes Mix dry ingredients. Add the milk, oil or butter, and eggs and mix just to combine (over mixing will cause the crepes to get tough). Let the batter stand for 30 minutes to an hour. Heat a medium sized saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Using a paper towel, carefully spread a small amount of butter in the pan so the crepes don’t stick. Add enough batter to the pan so that the batter coats the pan in a thin, even layer when gently swirled. Use a large rubber spatula to loosen the crepe after about 2 minutes on the first side. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on the second side, depending on the thickness. This recipe is very versatile, for savory crepes you can add herbs, such as chives, to the batter; or fill them with cheese or chicken. For dessert crepes you can drizzle them with chocolate, sprinkle with fresh berries, or just a dusting of powdered sugar.

Fresh herbs and vegetables are everywhere in the summer. Basil, chives, oregano, mint and so many more herbs are at their peak, and also their most sustainable. Vegetables abound, and the taste of any veggie right off the plant or out of the ground cannot be beat by any supermarket offering. Go to your farmer’s market and pick up a couple tomatoes, some green beans, maybe a pepper or two, and see if you can’t taste the sun and the rain when you bite into them. Fresh picked lettuce? Divine. Cucumbers? Crisp and flavorful. And we haven’t even gone over the fruit selection.

We are blessed to have local meat producers too, who care about how their animals are taken care of, and the quality is a testament to their toil. Remember that summer is the season of chicken and fish. There are local free-range chicken producers that peddle their wares at the farmer’s markets and online, and sell and deliver locally only. This includes free-range, naturally produced eggs, whose superior quality is worth an entire column in itself.

Now what to do with all this bounty? With the obvious exception of meats, eat the foods raw, or lightly seasoned. Try fresh garlic, salt and olive oil tossed with just barely cooked green beans. Or an appetizer of sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and garnished with fresh basil. Need something heavier? Grill that home raised chicken with just picked rosemary and thyme.

And for dessert, try Fresh peaches, lightly grilled, with drizzled local honey. I’m sure you are thinking, ‘she just told me to grill a peach,’ well, yes I did. Halve a peach, put it skin side up, and give it a couple minutes. The sweetness that a little heat brings out will surprise you. Pair it with some ice-cold tea with a few mint leaves floating around and you will be left feeling sated and refreshed.

The moral today is, when you use good quality ingredients you do not need to prop them up with lots of other flavors. Forget the premade seasoning mixes. You do not need them.

I challenge you to try a new fruit, vegetable and herb this summer. With the easy access to the internet that we all now enjoy, you can find simply fantastic recipes in minutes. Feel free to contact me, also, if you need ideas or recipes.

Kendra Shamley

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Instead, two students at the University of Wyoming don expensive lingerie and shoes to work as exotic dancers – commonly referred to as “strippers” – in the Wyoming and Colorado area to earn their tuition money.

Photo: Edward Timmons. A dancer and customer at the Cheyenne based club "The Den."

“I’ve been doing this for 5 months now,” Suzan, a theatre major at UW, said. “I couldn’t afford school anymore and so I was working every day of the week and it was not cutting it close at all for what I needed for school and I was like ‘[screw] it’ and…I googled strip clubs.”

While both students were willing to go on the record under their stage names, for the purpose of avoiding any potential recognition, their names have been changed to “Suzan” and “Fiona.”

Fiona, a math major at the university, discovered her interest in the profession through a different route.

“I went to Amsterdam with a former boyfriend and participated in an amateur [stripping] night while we were there,” Fiona said. “It was a lot of

fun and I thought ‘I can do this back home. It would be great.’”

Sex work is often subject to stigmatization and stereotyping, depicting those working in the exotic dance industry as “whores” or worse.

“It is a reality that some women see sex work as a form of liberation,” Susan Dewey, assistant professor in the Gender and Women’s Studies Department, said.

Dewey, who wrote the book “Neon Wasteland” on her research with topless dancers, works with a group called Sex Workers Outreach Program, which works with sex workers in the Denver area.

Dispelling stereotypes, Dewey teaches classes on sex work on campus. She defines sex work as a continuum and a form of labor, she said.

“Think of sex work as a continuum ranging from complete choice to complete coercion. The reality is that many men and women who engage in sex work are somewhere in the middle,” she said.

Dewey referred to sex worker activist Carol Leigh who defined sex work as a liberating force in her life and a feminist choice “to use her body in a way that’s very empowering,” she said.

While money was a motivating factor to the two UW students, they said that dancing became about more than the monetary value.

“I think I’ve always been this, we’ll call it open-minded, person and stripping is nice because I meet girls who are just like me,” Fiona said. “Before, I was the crazy one of all my friends. I was more open-minded than they were and I was like ‘yeah, I’ll do that.’ And now, when you’re stripping, you meet girls who are exactly like you are.”

The dynamic of dancers both on stage and behind the scenes is one of camaraderie and competition.

“There is definitely a line of seniority that is respected beyond all believe,” Suzan said. “You don’t [mess] with this line.”

“When I was a new girl, you would not talk unless spoken to,” she said.

And while both girls had to earn their spots among the other dancers, the customers presented their own rewards and challenges.

“What’s funny is that I’m super confident, but the way I was raised I always have had some self-confidence issues,” Suzan said. “After working [as a dancer] those all went away, because you are dancing for 9 hours a day [and] you have people telling you how beautiful you are all the time.”

When it comes to dancing on stage and during private sessions, the dancers have full control, the students said. Any physical contact is only initiated by the dancers, or with consent of the dancers, giving them a high level of control over the customers.

But there are also “the creepers, the 50s, 60s – the truckers,” Fiona said.

“A guy comes in, gets a soda and tells me to tell him how much I love taking my clothes off. I get a lot of those,” she said. “Lots of guys … all they want to do is talk about sex and what they would do to me and blah, blah, blah, but they buy lap dance after lap dance so you say, ‘Yeah baby.’”

While both students work at establishments that have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to prostitution, or “hooking,” both said it does happen.

“Some girls do make that leap,” Fiona said. “Maybe 10 percent of the girls make that leap at some point.”

Both said that they have never engaged in the act or would ever want to.

“I mean we are in the sex industry, but there is different positions within that,” Fiona said. “We are not porn stars. I don’t know if I could ever do porn. And definitely no hooking.”

Work can follow the students home in other ways. One example is when dancers become so familiar with certain customers that they become their “regulars.” Customers will ask dancers for their phone numbers, to which dancers ask the customers to leave their numbers with the bar tender. When dancers feel comfortable enough to exchange numbers, they then have the option to text or call the customer.

“Regulars are a lot of work. So much work,” Fiona said. “Most expect you to call or text them on a daily basis.”

The benefit of keeping such relationships with regulars come in the form of more security in pay.

“If you’re having a slow night, you can text your regular ‘come see me’ and you make $500 that night,” Fiona said.

She said that the line between a relationship with a regular and a romantic relationship can become blurry.

“It’s a fine line, because a lot of the girls that are single meet guys in there and they become their boyfriend. It’s a grey area,” she said. “If you want to keep it over the phone that is fine, or you can grab coffee or go out to dinner — you can take it as far as you want to. You can take it to a physical, intimate sort of level [but] that will get you in trouble.”

Suzan said that she had coffee with a regular before, but would never do dinner.

“I have to drop a lot of them, especially when they realize that I won’t go home with them,” she said.

Suzan said she did not want to date while working as a dancer.

“I had a relationship when I started stripping and we weren’t doing so hot as is, but as soon as I told him on a trip, ‘hey I’m going to audition at [strip clubs]’ he looked both of them up and said that if I was at one club we could still be in a relationship but it wouldn’t work if I worked at [the other place],” she said. “So then I picked [the latter place] because you could probably make more money there and so we just kind of faded.”

Constant obstacles the students face are their families finding out about their employment.

“My family will never know, unless it gets out somehow, which I don’t think will ever happen,” Suzan said. “I mean it’s not like they’re helping me out with bills, so they couldn’t take away money from me, [but if they found out] I think half of my family would just be really angry and the other half would be really sad.”

Fiona would face monetary consequences in addition to familial stigma.

“I would be disowned,” she said. “I have a lot of inheritance money coming to me one day and it would be gone.”

Dewey said that this form of privacy and lack of unified sex worker movement is common internationally.

“Many women who are doing this kind of work [under that] stigma don’t want their families to know; don’t want their loved ones to know,” she said. “Then there are other women, like the street workers I’m working with in Denver, who don’t think of this as a form of work. When I say the [term] ‘sex worker’ to them, they’ll look at me like I’m crazy. To them, considering prostitution as work is crazy, because that’s how social norms tell them to think about it.”

Dewey also said that stigmatization over the years led to misconceptions regarding the difference between sex work and sex trafficking.

“Now what’s begun to happen in recent years is… that trafficking has become conflated with sex work,” she said. “I have many students who will use terms prostitution and trafficking synonymously, interchangeably. This is very, very problematic because when you say to someone ‘you do not have the right to do something legally’ that’s one thing entirely, but when you say to a person ‘you think are making a choice but you’re actually not, because no person with self-respect would make that choice,’ that’s a real problem.”

Fiona and Suzan plan on continuing their work as dancers for the rest of their time as students.

“[I think the stereotype] is funny, because I look at what we do every day and I’m like ‘it’s not that bad,” Fiona said. “I mean I do much less than the slutty girls at the club.”

David Demic

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Orientation leaders during last year's summer session share personal stories and campus experiences. Courtesy Photo.

To prepare students, the admissions office organizes annual summer orientations, which help students and their parents ease into college life and become familiar with campus.

“[The goal of orientation is to] help students feel comfy on campus, register, meet friends and know campus resources,” Orientation Coordinator Mary Aguayo said.

This summer, the university is offering eight different freshmen orientation sessions with an average of 170 students per session, with separate orientations for transfer and international students.

Last week was the first orientation session and this weekend marks the end of the second session. Students listened to a speech by Professor Meg Flanagan Skinner from the Physiology Department as well as members of the campus police department and the dean of students.

The students got a taste of college life by eating at Washakie dining center and spending the night in Macintyre Hall.

Orientation is student orientated with students breaking into small groups to play games and meet new friends, while parents learn how to support their children through the transition into college, according to the orientation website. Orientation leaders, students currently attending UW who have been undergoing training in preparation for the orientations, led the students through a regimented series of activities that included ice breakers, movies and games.

“Meeting people is fun,” incoming pharmacy freshman Erin Fulton from Cheyenne Wyoming said.

She is confident that she found friends on campus through her orientation already. She also said “foundation was really cool.” Foundation is a time where the students get to know each other in small groups.

When asked about eating at Washakie, Fulton said she likes the choices offered.

Andrew Hill a transfer student from Casper College chimed to say that, “it was hard to find the ketchup.” The room full of orientation leaders and students erupted with laughter, a scene that was characteristic of the totality of the orientation experience, where students, parents and staff filed the room with giddiness.

Orientation serves a practical purpose in addition to a social experience. Students go on campus tours and learn the location of important buildings such as the union, half acre and where they can find the shortest coffee lines. UWPD talks about violence, alcohol and date rape.

Registered Student Organizations set up booths and invited students to join their group. Students can also take the math placement or the foreign language exams. Parents attend presentations on how to adjust to being the parent of a college student.  After, Students break off into their colleges and wait for an advising time.

Mary Aguayo said that she “loves meeting families and students.” She feels confident that this summer’s orientations will be a positive experience for incoming students and their families.

Zoe N. McDonald

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